Going vegan on a budget?!
Going vegan on a budget?
How easy is it to go vegan from being a vegetarian? Is it easy to find lots of stuff to eat? And is it possible to be vegan on a diet, considering that alot of vegan specialist foods and fresh foods are quite expensive?
Thanks.
Answers: I would say it's quite easy to become a vegan if you're already a vegetarian. Eating at home's fine but it is harder to eat out... most restaurants should be able to adjust one of their dishes if they don't have a vegan option. Pizza express for example uses vegan dough and sauce so you could have a cheese-less pizza there which doesn't taste as bad as it sounds!
Specialist vegan food can be expensive but they're not essential on a vegan diet when you can make things yourself. I'd stock up on lots of soymilk... it's full of protein, calciaum and vitamins. I think it's 64p a litre for tesco's own brand long life soymilk. Brands like alpro can be expensive so I only buy them now and again. Try and get vegetables on special offer, they're not too expensive anyway. Also, stock up on beans. They're really cheap and an excellent source of protein. Peanuts are cheap too and just shop around for other nuts... I find they can be quite expensive but Julian Graves is quite cheap. Holland and barret in my opinion's a rip off when it comes to food.
I think the best bet would be to look around your supermarket for vegan food. I've found quite a few of tesco's own brand food, including snacks and biscuits, are vegan. There are also things like falafel mix which are vegan too. Once you get to know what is and isn't vegan, shopping will become a lot easier.
Congratulations for making the change... it may seem hard at first but after the initial few weeks you just get used to it. Good luck! Be careful becoming a vegan. Nutrition has to be worked out very carefully. A friend of mine became very ill when she didn't watch what she ate carefully. dont do it Being Vegan on a budget is probably easier than being a carnivore (meat is expensive) or even vegetarian on a budget (cheese can be expensive). Buy dry foods in bulk. Make alot of your own food. Splurge on fresh produce. Drink lots of juices and stay away from soda.
As far as keeping your nutrition in check, supplement your vitamin B-12 with pills (or you can also get monthly shots from a naturopath, though more expensive). Buy "Braggs liquid amino's" for protein basics. Some other items I recommend;
Flax seeds
Nutritional Yeast
Morning Star products
Amy's products
Nuts
& tofu (of course), it's cheap and you can make a million and one dishes with it.
Good luck, and thanks for making the planet a little healthier. http://dineropopular.blogspot.com... it's much cheaper and you'll be saving money, if you shop smart. some quick tips, but only what you need and will eat, don't buy junk food=it's expensive, unnecessary and unhealthy. buy pound bags of beans, rice, old fashioned oatmeal, and pasta. soy milk and boxes of cereal (healthy ones) buy wheat bagels and peanut butter. buy tofu. buy fruits&veggies that are on sale/in season. dont buy sports drinks/soda/drink only water/tea/and soy milk. you'll be saving money and get more creative with the meals you eat..from where/how/when and the way you cook them...even the way you set it up on your plate! keep it healthy and avoid frozen/processed and pre-prepared foods like fast food... good luck xoxoxo vegan food are whole foods for the most part. Frozen veggies, beans, grains are not expensive.