Budget-friendly vegan eats -
But pricier super foods aren't imperative to achieve a balanced, vegan diet. Regardless of how you choose to structure your vegan lifestyle, here are some ideas to help you save money while you're shopping! Most grocery stores display the unit price for each item, but a lot of grocery stores also display the price per weight for items.
Use this to compare prices between brands and different sizes of products. If your grocery store doesn't list price per weight, consider using a calculator to compare prices.
Often times, the "cheaper" option can turn out to be more expensive by weight. If you're into making smoothies, adding fruit to oatmeal, or baking with fruit, consider buying frozen fruit.
Frozen produce isn't always cheaper, so make sure you're being thorough with your price comparisons. If you come across a great deal on fresh produce, stock up and freeze it.
This works great with berries, bananas, and other fruit for use in smoothies. Remember, frozen produce usually contains more nutrients then fresh produce - this is because the product is frozen at its peak ripeness and will not lose nutrients during transport to your grocery store.
It is a misconception that nutrients are somehow lost during the freezing process. Purchasing some items from the bulk sections can be a great way to save money, especially if you only need a small amount.
Often, the largest package will be the cheapest by weight, but don't bother if you don't need much. Great things to pick up in the bulk section include:.
Whether you choose to buy organic or not is up to you. In general, organic foods tend to be more expensive. If you don't usually buy organic produce, make sure you check out the organic section anyways.
When organic produce goes on sale it can be cheaper than non-organic. Generic brand items can be an great way to save money when shopping.
Items that are awesome for buying generic are:. Always check the flyers of all your nearby grocery stores online, and build your shopping list from there. If you happen to live somewhere where there are a few grocery stores to choose from that are located in the same area, I suggest shopping all of their sales.
This can be time consuming, but it can be really worth it. Try to get there earlier in the day for the best selection if there are specific sale items you want to pick up. Paying for a membership at a wholesaler such as Costco can be very worth it, even for a single person or small family you can still save a lot of money.
Before purchasing a membership, try to find someone who already has one and go in with them, this will give you a good idea of whether or not it will be worth it for you.
If you're shopping for only 1 or 2 people, focus on buying non-perishable and far-dated items to prevent wastage. Some of my favourite foodstuffs to pick up at Costco are:.
Find out when things are marked down, some places do markdowns in the evenings and you can pick them up before the store closes, and some put out their markdowns early in the morning so you'll want to try and get there right after the store opens.
My grocery store puts out a large display of discount bakery products every morning, I use this as an opportunity to stock my freezer with whole grain breads, bagels, wraps, etc. Luckily, this also means a slower turnover rate on these products and more frequent opportunities for markdowns.
Take a quick peak at the dates of items on the shelf, if something is out-dating in a few days and there's still a lot of stock left you can try coming back a couple of days later. Pay attention to find out how many days prior to the Best Before date that items are marked down or put on clearance.
Like I mentioned earlier, wholesale memberships are great to save on items like nut butters, convenience foods especially frozen , snack foods, vegan bars, and super foods like chia seeds and hemp hearts. Utilize online options to take advantage of all sorts of great deals.
Sites like The Better Health Store and iHerb are great options for getting vegan products especially personal care items, specialty snack foods, and supplements.
Take advantage of sales, coupon codes, and referrals for even better deals. This is a great opportunity for me to stock up on toothpaste, deodorant, face wash, moisturizer, soap, vitamins, supplements, etc. ELF eyes lips face is a fantastic option for vegan, cruelty free cosmetics and skin care products.
They have frequent sales, free shipping to the US, and very reasonable shipping rates to Canada. Sign up for their newsletters to stay informed about sales events as well. Prepackaged foods are often more expensive than preparing your own food from scratch. By being prepared and cooking for yourself you can easily save a lot of money.
Preparing your own meals also allows you to be aware of exactly what's in your food. If you often find yourself needing to pick up convenience foods, consider buying an insulated lunch box and making your own meals and snacks to take with you.
An even more budget friendly option is to use a reusable grocery bag for a lunch bag. Keep your food cold by freezing one or two water bottles and throwing them in with your lunch, later in the day your lunch will still be cool and you'll have ice cold water to drink.
Luckily for vegans, most of the necessary staple items are cheap! Fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, legumes, tofu, nuts and seeds are typically very affordable. Make sure to take advantage of all of the tips mentioned above to guarantee that you're paying the lowest price possible.
Fruits and Vegetables - Buy in season and on sale produce, stock up on good deals and preserve any extras by freezing them. Watch for sales and markdowns in the frozen aisle and stock up when you see fit.
I keep all of my bread, wraps, English muffins, bagels, etc. in my freezer and just take out what I need on a daily basis. You can also use canned beans or legumes for convenience.
They're a little more expensive, but still a very viable option for a budget vegan diet. When it comes to canned goods, look for low-sodium options whenever possible. Tofu is also very budget-friendly and is a fresh product. Keep an eye out for mark downs as tofu can be frozen too, the texture will become a little bit chewier which is good for using tofu as a substitute for ground beef in recipes like chili or pasta.
For some easily added flavor, mix your pasta dish with garlic powder, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and nutritional yeast. For a recipe to model your meal after, try this spaghetti with spinach and white beans.
Just swap the chopped onion and garlic with one tablespoon of onion powder and one teaspoon of garlic powder. SEE D JAN. Spread some peanut butter on top and add sliced bananas for a quick, affordable meal or snack.
This meal includes both complex carbohydrates from the whole grain toast, plus simple carbohydrates from the banana, both of which provide energy to help you go about your day. As convenient as they are, vegan canned soups can sometimes leave the stomach wanting, calorie-wise.
But, for a quick meal, you can and should add your own accouterments, such as frozen vegetables, brown rice, or whole grain toast on the side. Be sure to pick a low-sodium soup, as regularly eating high-sodium foods can lead to high blood pressure over time.
Oats are a good source of complex carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and an array of important vitamins and minerals, including manganese, copper, and vitamin B1. Frozen fruit like strawberries and blueberries can be added on top and microwaved with the oats.
But if you see fresh fruit on sale, buy it and freeze it at home. Julieanna Hever. You can make a nutritious vegan stir-fry without ever having to chop vegetables, let alone an onion. If you want to use all frozen produce, look for bagged mixed vegetables that contain flavor-packed produce, like onions and bell peppers.
As for the rice, using microwaveable brown rice will cut down on preparation time while delivering healthy carbs. But if you have the time and energy for it, cooking a batch of rice that you can use during the week is a good option, too. Whether you need to save energy or just time, these easy plant-based meal ideas are worthy of your regular dinner rotation.
You can make this vegetable stir-fry easier by using pre-baked and seasoned tofu and by skipping the chopped vegetables in favor of using a bagged mix.
JUMP TO Latest News Recipes Guides Health Shop. Kat Smith is a Queens, NY-based freelance writer and editor who loves cooking and discovering local vegan hidden gems. jump to the meal ideas It often goes like this: you come across a purportedly simple vegan recipe on a blog, but then the first step asks you to chop an onion or dice up vegetables for mirepoix.
Sam Turnbull 1 Whole-grain pasta with frozen greens and beans Pasta often comes to the rescue on those busy days when appetites are ravenous and the willingness to cook is low. Vaaseenaa 3 Dressed-up low-sodium canned lentil soup As convenient as they are, vegan canned soups can sometimes leave the stomach wanting, calorie-wise.
Rocky89 4 Oatmeal with frozen fruit and peanut butter Oats are a good source of complex carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and an array of important vitamins and minerals, including manganese, copper, and vitamin B1.
Julieanna Hever 5 Stir-fried vegetables with rice You can make a nutritious vegan stir-fry without ever having to chop vegetables, let alone an onion.
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Lisa Budget-friendly vegan eats Bueget-friendly a Budget-friendly vegan eats dietitian and nutrition editor. Vegwn studied at the University of Vermont, where she Budget-friendly vegan eats Affordable event catering undergraduate studies in Wallet-friendly drink specials, food science and vegaj, and attended the dietetic internship program at Massachusetts General Hospital to become a registered dietitian. She went on to earn a master's degree in nutrition communication from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. She was a nutrition editor at EatingWell for eight years. Prior to EatingWell, Lisa worked as a research dietitian at Griffin Hospital in Connecticut and also taught cooking and nutrition classes.
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