How I Eat Vegan on a Budget
How I eat vegan on a budget with a busy work schedule. These are my tried and true methods that I use to make tasty vegan meals on a budget with minimal prep work.
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How I Eat Vegan on a Budget
Good morning friends! Today, I am so excited to share some of the methods I use to make delicious plant based recipes on a budget. I like to save as much money as possible on food, and the methods I am about to share help me do exactly that. When it comes to cooking, I try to keep things cheap and simple. Anyway, enough on that. I hope you find this post helpful in some way. If nothing else, I hope it gives you inspiration and ideas for some easy ways to save money on your next trip to the grocery store.
How I Eat Vegan on a Budget – #1
The first method I use to make plant based meals on a budget is to buy the generic brand grocery store products whenever I can. I personally don’t taste a difference between many generic and name brand pantry staples, such as beans, legumes, cereals, rice, etc. By purchasing the generic brand over the name brand for many of these goods, I save a ton of money. I get the same amount of food for a lower price.
Just to give you an example, my local Kroger grocery store sells their brand of whole wheat pasta for $1.00 per box, which is about $0.50 cheaper than the name brand pastas. Now, this might seem like a tiny difference, but the extra cost for multiple items compounds quickly. Of course, if you taste a difference between certain generic and name brand products, then that’s a different story. It all comes down to your personal taste and what you want to justify spending that extra money on. Everyone’s different, so always do what works for you.
How I Eat Vegan on a Budget – #2
The second way that I save money and eat vegan on a budget is by not going out to eat often. Of course, I don’t mind going out on special occasions. However, I don’t make it an every week occurence. A simple vegan meal at a restaurant will easily cost $20 – $25 with the tip factored in. However, I can get a full week’s worth of groceries for about $50.
So, rather than going out to eat or ordering take out all the time, I like to eat most of my meals at home. Then, on the weekend, I’ll usually splurge on one to two lower cost items, like a drink one night and a cup of coffee at my favorite coffee shop the next morning. Again, everyone has different lifestyles. But, for me personally, I prefer to cook most of my meals at home, which helps me save a lot of money on food each month.
How I Eat Vegan on a Budget – #3
The third method I use to eat vegan on a budget is to shop mostly the perimeter of the grocery store. Now, each grocery store has a unique layout, so let me explain this strategy a bit further. For the most part, grocery stores have the fresher items available around the perimeter of the store. The convenience foods that are pre-packaged tend to line the aisles. What I have found is that I can save a lot of money by purchasing fresh and frozen produce items as well as pantry staples like pasta, canned beans, nuts, seeds, etc. Again, the pantry staples and canned goods that I buy are mostly located around the perimeter aisles, so the “shop the perimeter” phrase works well for the layout of my grocery store. In general, my method can be summarized as follows:
- I buy the fresh stuff, pantry staples, and canned goods.
- I avoid the pre-packaged convenience foods (they tend to be a lot more expensive for the amount of food I can get).
However, even while following the above method, I like to treat myself to one or two more expensive convenience foods every few weeks, such as a box of pre-packaged vegan cookies. After all, life is about the little joys :). In sum, by adhering to the “shop the perimeter” rule each time I head to the grocery store, I come home with much more cost effective ingredients. It’s a method I truly love, so I will continue to stick with it.
How I Eat Vegan on a Budget – Final Thoughts
All in all, I really enjoy grocery shopping. It no longer feels overwhelming to me. I try to save money wherever I can. However, I also splurge when I feel like it’s worth the cost. I like to purchase little things that make me happy. By striking this balance, I am able to stay on my food budget while still enjoying the meals, snacks, and treats that I eat each day. Anyway, that’s it for this post. As per usual, I will be back with more content very soon.
-Alyssa 🙂
