Typical vegan diet while broke and in college?

stephnsuarez
stephnsuarez Posts: 68 Member
edited October 3 in Food and Nutrition
I have gained 8 pounds in a month back at my university and it has been awful. I'm eating so much potatoes pasta and oats and cheap things that are unhealthy :( It's horrible that I had to reset my clicker from current weight 134 to 142... I lost weight initially in spring because I had more scholarship money to spend on food and more time to cook yummy healthy vegan things. I have NO scholarship money this semester because my classes are getting more and more expensive and so it was all used up to pay for my labs and whatnot. My schedule this semester is awful too :( I leave at 8 AM to get back at around 5, and yeah there are healthy options on campus but they are ridiculously overpriced. It's really bad because not only have I gained weight, but my triglyceride levels are at 208, which is pretty high for a 21 year old according to my doctor. What do I need to do to cut down on these starches while still being able to maintain my vegan diet AND afford it? A more raw vegan diet? I'm at a loss :(

Replies

  • ctkennedy
    ctkennedy Posts: 19 Member
    There is a cookbook that gives recipes for vegan meals $4.00 or less. I found mine on Amazon.
  • stephnsuarez
    stephnsuarez Posts: 68 Member
    There is a cookbook that gives recipes for vegan meals $4.00 or less. I found mine on Amazon.

    What's it called? That sounds awesome!
  • fueledbystina
    fueledbystina Posts: 18
    Eattingwell.com has a lot of cheap (around $3 a serving for most) vegetarian recipes that could be made vegan pretty easily. :)
  • anjukins
    anjukins Posts: 103 Member
    I'm in college too, following a primarily vegan diet, and what I have to say is... SALAD!! When we don't have any money (which is basically the second half of every quarter) i just depend as heavily as I can on fresh veggies... if there's a coop near you, they usually have a reduced bin, where they throw stuff that is extra, ugly, or very ripe... in college, the reduced bin is a lifesaver- usually it's something like $.50/lb. for perfectly good, delicious, fresh food. I don't like cold foods during the winter, so i make a lot of hot salads that are basically a cross between a salad and a soup- sautee tiny tomatoes with green beans, fennel, broccoli, and/or cauliflower... a half cup to a cup of each, cooked on high heat with 1/2 tsp olive oil, sea salt, dill, and a little water... it makes a brothy hot salad that fills a mason jar and sustains me for hours. Also Trader Joe's has a nice multigrain vegan bread that's only 80 cals/slice. still sticks to your ribs but doesn't overload you with calories. I also like those Under The Nile soup cups when I need something really cheap and really fast. Also MAKE SOUP. It lasts for days, and the brothier it is the lower the calories :) and really... potatoes are such comfort. don't cut them entirely.

    If you don't mind that I eat goat cheese and eggs once in a while (they're my mom's happy chicken eggs!), take a look at my diary. It's 95% vegan and I never go over my calorie count, and I'm living on a college budget with two kids, so... that's saying something :)
  • anjukins
    anjukins Posts: 103 Member
    p.s. this is the book that the previous poster was talking about: http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Vegan-4-00-Day-Conscious/dp/1570672571
  • Barelmy
    Barelmy Posts: 590 Member
    I recently started a series on my (vegan) blog on cheap vegan meals. You can see the links in the sidebar; http://vegan20eleven.blogspot.com/search/label/Meals for Under £3

    Not much atm, but I seriously recommend the lentil pasta sauce and the chickpea soup (the latter of which is crazy low in calories).

    There's also a thread here on making three course meals for under £5; many are vegan, or easy to veganise; http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=816965&page=1

    The specific prices are UK centric, but you should get some ideas.
  • Corruptkitten
    Corruptkitten Posts: 157 Member
    When I am on a budget I stick with salad, veggie tacos, pasta with lots of veggies, brown rice, lentils, black beans, any bean really, veggies and hummus for dipping, my bf also makes a great Portabella Mushroom Parmesan with vegan cheese that ends up being pretty inexpensive. I don't think it costs too much to make veggie curries either.
  • stephnsuarez
    stephnsuarez Posts: 68 Member
    I'm in college too, following a primarily vegan diet, and what I have to say is... SALAD!! When we don't have any money (which is basically the second half of every quarter) i just depend as heavily as I can on fresh veggies... if there's a coop near you, they usually have a reduced bin, where they throw stuff that is extra, ugly, or very ripe... in college, the reduced bin is a lifesaver- usually it's something like $.50/lb. for perfectly good, delicious, fresh food. I don't like cold foods during the winter, so i make a lot of hot salads that are basically a cross between a salad and a soup- sautee tiny tomatoes with green beans, fennel, broccoli, and/or cauliflower... a half cup to a cup of each, cooked on high heat with 1/2 tsp olive oil, sea salt, dill, and a little water... it makes a brothy hot salad that fills a mason jar and sustains me for hours. Also Trader Joe's has a nice multigrain vegan bread that's only 80 cals/slice. still sticks to your ribs but doesn't overload you with calories. I also like those Under The Nile soup cups when I need something really cheap and really fast. Also MAKE SOUP. It lasts for days, and the brothier it is the lower the calories :) and really... potatoes are such comfort. don't cut them entirely.

    If you don't mind that I eat goat cheese and eggs once in a while (they're my mom's happy chicken eggs!), take a look at my diary. It's 95% vegan and I never go over my calorie count, and I'm living on a college budget with two kids, so... that's saying something :)


    That sounds great! And your diet is great too! Now I feel whiney lol Lord if you can do it so can I! My mom actually just sent up an immersion blender for me so I could start making soups! Especially now in the winter :) Thanks so much and thanks for the link to the book!
  • anjukins
    anjukins Posts: 103 Member
    Yes of course! I also meant to say, I have class from 8-4 so that's basically... two meals plus snacks, right? SO!!! I bought this: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=laptop+lunchbox&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=16415782788029893488&sa=X&ei=aV2DTricOLTSiALP9L3wDA&ved=0CGwQ8wIwBw and I actually have SO much fun putting it together the night before class. I add everything into mfp as i'm packing the box, and so when I get home from school at night I know exactly how many calories I've eaten and how many I can have for dinner. I also include a drip coffee with 1/2 c. soymilk from the college coffee shop so I feel like I'm getting a treat :) If you can get into the habit of it, it helps SO much and is WAY cheaper than getting food at school. :)
  • heybrit
    heybrit Posts: 140
    Thank you for posting this! I needed more CHEAP meal ideas myself and prefer to eat vegan when I can :)
  • ctkennedy
    ctkennedy Posts: 19 Member
    Thanks to whomever for posting the info about the book!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories