Your Daily Vegan

Are you a Vegan on a Budget, a VOAB?  I am.  I’m constantly searching for a better, easier, and- yes, cheaper way of doing things.  So how do I keep myself on a budget?  Glad you asked.  I’ve got a few tricks that may just save you time and money.  We’ll start out with my top three.

1.  Buy in Bulk. This one always makes budget lists all over the world for a reason- it’s true.  Take for instance rolled oatmeal.  It’s a staple in my house, even my dogs love warm oats on a cold morning.  A one pound bag of Bob’s Red Mill Rolled Oats is $2.19 at my local health food store.  I can purchase one pound of organic rolled oats in bulk for $0.99, saving me a cool $1.20!  I also buy my raw nuts, seeds, and dried fruits in bulk as well.  Why pay for the packaging?

Tip: Save jars from things like peanut butter and reuse them to store food items purchased in bulk.

2.  Buy dried goods. I buy dried beans and legumes over their canned counterparts and save a bundle in the process.  While the prices vary depending on bean (or legumes), you can easily find one pound of dried beans for around $2.00.  The same beans in a 16 ounce can would be around $2.00 – $3.00 (for organic, conventional would be cheaper).  Think about this, one pound of dried beans is equal to 6 cups of cooked beans.  Now that, my fellow VOAB’s, is some serious savings.

Tip: Since dried beans require soaking/cooking time to be usable, make the entire bag of beans at a time.  Once cooked and drained, portion them out (I use 1 cup measurements to make it easy on myself) and put them in freezer bags.  For maximum storage space in the freezer, lay the bags of beans flat until they are frozen- once they are you can stand them up to save space.  Make sure to add the date on the outside of the freezer bag so you can rotate your food accordingly.

3.  Skip the pre-packaged faux meat section and make your own. Faux meat products are popping up in refrigerated sections of stores all over.  And I’m not going to lie, I adore Gardein’s vegan line up of faux meats- but I don’t eat them often.  These faux meats offer up quick and easy preparation and a decent amount (usually) of plant protein- which can lure you into purchasing them.  But buyer beware, these quick cooking faux meats are hell on any budget.  A two to four serving package can cost anywhere from $4.00 – $6.00.  Instead, make your own.  Faux Meat Steam Sausages (think Italian Sausage Style) are easy peasy to make and taste super yummy.  Maybe you are more of a faux sausage crumble kind of vegan, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.  Me, I like these savory breakfast style sausages.  And there’s more, so many more recipes you can find just by doing a quick internet search.  There’s even some for vegan lunch meat recipes out there!  So, grab a recipe and experiment away.  You’ll save some some $$ in the process.

Tip:  Take the time now to save some time later.  Make double batches of the recipe at a time, portion out into freezer bags, and freeze for later use.

These are my favorite tricks to keeping my budget in line, but what about you?  What do you do to keep your vegan budget healthy?  Share it in the comments and lets all start saving some serious loot!