Anyone here Vegetarian or Vegan on a budget?

One product that I found to be rather cheap was TVP or Textured Vegetable Protein. http://www.bobsredmill.com/tvp-textured-veg-protein.html I sprinkle it on many foods including pizza.

I just made a Moroccan sweet potato and chickpea stew. There's a lot in season, now and I have a well-stocked spice cabinet.

I'm vegan and the best way to save money is avoid processed meat and cheese fakealike products. I mean, they are okay to ease through the transition, but over the longhaul they are very gimmicky and expensive. Buy up frozen fruits and veggies. They're cheap. Buy produce that is in season, when it's cheapest. Rice and tofu are inexpensive. Potatoes (sweet and white) are inexpensive. Beans are inexpensive. I do intermittent fasting, so I don't eat breakfast. I drink coffee with stevia and almond milk. I buy my almond milk at Aldi for super cheap. Let me give you a sample run down of what I eat in a day:

Breakfast:
Coffee with 3 stevia packets and 1/4c plain, unsweetened almond milk

Lunch:
Serving of baked beans or tofu with salad and a potato or home fries

Dinner:
2 scoops of VeganSmart vanilla protein powder (literally the most expensive part of my diet. Costs me $32 per container that lasts me about a week and a half) with 1/2tbsp of bulk purchased chia seeds, 3 tbsp powdered peanut butter, 1/4c quick oats, 2c almond milk, and a frozen banana blended up

Snacks:
Fruit
Cucumber and bell pepper slices with hummus

Also, try to go shopping at night. The supermarkets often discount produce at night before it goes out of date, but it's always still fine to use. I recently got 12.5 KILOS of potatoes for 9p. The husband and I track our spending separately so I know I have only spent 8.20 for a week's groceries for one person (although I already have a lot of dried beans, millet, barley and rice in the cupboard, maybe that's cheating.) I eat greens with every meal and always feel full, just making whatever produce is discounted and stretching it with beans/grains/spinach/soy mince.
Tonight's dinner was vegan haggis, potatoes, carrots and swede with mushroom gravy. Last night was veggie burgers, wholegrain pasta, kale, carrot and spinach. Tomorrow night is most likely going to be broccoli, brown rice, tofu and broad beans.
I would say that I do get tired of beans sometimes, but they make a world of difference in your protein levels, and as other users have said, the trick is to introduce variety in your seasonings- try Italian one night, then Mexican or Indian the next.

janejellyroll wrote: »

You can learn how to make your own meat and cheese. It's surprisingly affordable.

Trufax. I make cashew cheese and TVP crumbles all the time.

I am vegetarian with a mild sushi habit (I get sushi maybe once every month or two. Sometimes I have fish in other circumstances, but it's getting more rare). I also consume very little dairy. I eat lots of beans, love Asian noodles like soba and ramen, I love rice and quinoa. I buy TONS of frozen veggies (it's ridiculous). I do also eat pasta, because i love it. I buy stacks of tortillas (be sure they aren't made with lard), and so all sort of things with them. It's also supposed to cheaper if you buy produce locally and seasonally from your farmer's market or farm stand, though I don't always find that's true in my area.

There are simple ways to cut costs, though you may have to put more effort in (dried beans vs canned. Don't buy instant rice. Buy dry goods in bulk, etc). The pricey stuff ends up being the vegetarian specialty things like faux meats and prepared meals. The more you home cook, the cheaper it can be!