Buying Vegetarian food on a budget?

eating vegetarian is usually cheaper than an omnivore's diet. You don't have to buy meat, which can get expensive fairly quickly. Mostly, you just need to worry about what you're going to do for protein. Beans and lentils are good protein sources, and you can buy them in a bag for about a dollar and make A LOT of meals from that bag, especially if you're only cooking for one or two people. Diary and eggs are also good protein sources and can be fairly inexpensive depending on what you're getting. make sure you're eating a lot of fruits and veggies which contain a lot of vitamins and minerals you need.

you don't need to buy fake meat to be vegetarian, especially because it costs more. just remember to do your research and have a plan of what you're going to make BEFORE you go to the store. it will make things a lot easier in the long run. I promise.

I buy all of my food at Walmart and I'm on a definite budget. It's totally feasible!

My staples include:
veggies: spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, potatoes, carrots (great snack food), bell peppers
fruits: whatever is on sale! (usually apples are pretty cheap and melons can be priced well in the summer)
Carbs: whole grain pastas (you can get an entire box for like $2), pita bread, tortillas
Dairy: greek yogurt (it's about $1 per serving, but you can definitely find coupons), fat free cheeses (great value has a few options), eggs, When I feel like splurging, I'll buy laughing cow cheese wedges (they aren't that expensive and taste delicious with triscuts as a snack) and skinny cow ice cream bars.

*Don't forget about beans, lentils, and hummus. These can also be affordable.

It's definitely doable to be vegetarian on a budget, you just have to be a bit more purposeful about planning your meals in advance. I usually spend about $30 per week for myself, which breaks down to less than 4.50 per day.

I have found it so helpful to peek at my MFP friends' food journals for ideas. Feel free to add me as a friend and you're more than welcome to look at my diary. As a note, I'm pescatarian (I eat fish, but nothing that walks on land) so you'll see fish and seafood in addition to vegetarian dishes

Rice, canned chick peas, black beans, lentils. Chili is super easy and cheap to make, plus you can freeze it after having it for supper and then use it for lunches. Fruit and vegetables are cheaper this time of year so I buy lots of fresh ones: strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, apples, zucchini, green peppers, romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes etc.

With chick peas you can make a spaghetti sauce out of as your protein and add in your usual vegetables you like. I use onion, green pepper, and zucchini to mine. Then get spaghetti squash rather than pasta. Cheap, healthy, and filling!

For black beans you can make your own veggie burgers and freeze the leftovers to use as you want. There are all kinds of recipes listed online. Black beans also make good for your own burritos or fajitas!

Tofu is cheap and 1 brick can do several meals depending on what you make (especially if you do chili or shepards pie then you can freeze the rest), beans and lentils are a good choice specially if you buy them in bulk and again make big recipies and freeze the leftovers for quick meals, rice and quinoa are inexpensive (if you make a big batch of quinoa you can store it in the fridge for days and use it for breakfast with some sweetner and/or fruit and then also for lunches and dinners with stirfry or whatever and it's a great source of protein). I like buying the bigger packs of convenience foods like the yves like ground and hotdogs.

I buy most of my vegetarian foods at walmart or superstore, there are only a few items I need to buy from a specialty organic shop.

Check out my diary. I am vegetarian. I spend anywhere from $25 - $60 a week on groceries and household items, including cat food/litter and cleaning supplies.

I started at Walgreens and bought a cheapie crock pot for $10. I also splurged and purchased a food processor for under $100.(not from Walmart)

I buy frozen foods from Sav - a -lot. I also occasionally buy dried beans from them. It's cheaper than canned and if you make them yourself, you control the sodium.

Do you have a farmer's market or produce market nearby? I go to them weekly more than anything else. They sell eggs 3 doz for $3, they also have bags of quinoa, oats, cous cous and brown rice for $1.. for $20 I can easily get 2 big bags of produce.

I sometimes make my own veggie burgers with a mix of beans, veg, wild rice or oats. The morningstar or boca products are good but high in sodium. I only buy them when they are on sale and I have a coupon.

I buy almonds in bulk and separate them into single serving (12-20) snack ziplocks

I go to Whole Food for the following:
Unsweetened almond milk, Ezekiel bread, 365 all natural smooth almond butter, brown rice pasta, lightlife smoked tempeh, daiya dairy free cheese maple Syrup, Fage 0% greek yogurt and organic mix salad greens. The salad greens come in a package 2 ½ time the size the either the market or the produce market sell and is only $1 more. WF also gives you a %5 discount if you buy a case of anything.

On Sunday's (sometimes Monday) I prep for the week. I make a pot of beans, boil at least a half dozen eggs and make a pot of whatever grain (usually brown rice). I also cut up and fruit or veg that needs a bit of prep to make it easier to grab and go during the week. I also review circulars and coupons for the week. Takes a total of 2-3 hours to do both but it means I have food prepped and ready for the week and meals never take more than 15 min to fix.

Oh & now that I see where you live, I also strongly recommend Meijer. I get a lot of sales there, but I also find a lot of vegan/vegetarian items at Kroger.

Have a look at Indian recipes - there are soooo many yummy vegetarian meals and if you cook them yourself you can limit the amount of oil and coconut milk which can make them quite high cal.
Buying any kind of processed food (like veggie burgers etc) is always going to be more expensive than cooking them yourself. I'd suggest look up some recipes for the kind of food you like, cook a big batch and freeze stuff ready to use when you need it.
This will save you heaps!

I'm glad I found this thread. Everyone's suggestions for the OP are pretty awesome, and I'm going to see what I can find when I go to the grocery.