Newbie Veg*n On a Budget
Hello, all,
I'm mostly new to the veg*n world- I tried it as a teenager, but got no support in my large, 'meat and potatoes' type family, and so gave up. I am now married and have 5 young children- ages 7, 4 (twins), 2, and 2 mo. Being a SAHM means giving up a rather large portion of my grocery budget and despite urging from my family, we have no desire to apply for food stamps. I know it's possible to do this on our own.
I have already done some research, at the library and on the internet, and stocked my pantry with the basics- dry beans, rice, pastas, canned tomatoes, spices, etc. I cook just about everything from scratch, including bread. (And yes, I'm breast feeding.) DH, bless his heart, is willing to try almost anything (except beets, lol) and my kids are fairly un-picky. We've eliminated all meat/fish from our diet and I hope to give up at least eggs within the next few months, but I truly cannot afford to give up WIC (a program that provides milk, eggs, cheese, peanut butter, cereal, and juice to low-income families). So we are lacto-ovo vegetarian, for now. (Sorry if that offends some people, it's just how it is. One thing at a time.)
The problems is, I sort of miss food being exciting. What I really need is some ideas/advice on how to keep this up. One cannot live on beans and rice alone, figuratively speaking. But short of going back to work just so we can afford the 'frills', I have $200US/mo. to feed my family. (Whether we go veg*n or not.) Any advice, ideas, tips, etc. are very much appreciated.
Usually health food stores or farmer's markets have bulk beans and grains that are cheaper than in the local supermarket. Farmer's markets also have cheaper fresh produce. You can invest in special storage bags to help your produce stay fresh longer. I use the E.G.G...it is 20.00 but it lasts for a whole year. It is an egg that you put in your crisper drawer and it helps keep produce fresh, and it really works, I am in my second year of using it. Also, usually buying uncooked beans is cheaper than buying them already canned if you have the time to cook them. Tofu is usually fairly cheap, I buy it at the local asian store and the package is bigger than what I find in the grocery store and cheaper, sometimes they have produce there as well. When you are ready to go truly vegan, soymilk is very cheap if you make it at home. You can get a good soymilk maker for 100.00 BUT it will save you 100's of dollars a year in soymilk. I have two young children that drink it constantly and it gets expensive. You can get organic soybeans for about 1.00/lb in the health food store or online. Good luck, you can do this! Good for you for making a great decision for your family! ;)b
This is a popular topic! We've had a few threads about it just recently:
Lowering food costs
cost of being vegan
food budget? (poll)
There's lots of good information there! ;)b
Go to meetup.com to see if there are any co-ops in your area. My area has an organic produce co-op and for $20 a week we get a round laundry basket full of produce.
I have to say, interestingly enough I have found health food stores to be cheaper lately than the regular main stream supper markets (with food price inflation and all). It's really cool though!
As far as the need to mix-it-up, I recommend The More-With-Less Mennonite Cookbook and the other cookbooks in that series. They're not veg cookbooks, but they're about consuming fewer resources and big fans of beans and plant protein, so probably 50% of the recipes are veg*n. The reason I mention it is that they incorporate recipes from all over the world - which is a great way to change up old standbyes. One night it's Mexican, the next night it's Indian, the next night Chinese, Italian, etc. etc. That keeps things from being boring, but incorporates the same ingredients in different ways.
Good luck!
I do The Grocery Game. I get all of my groceries for 50% off. PM me if you would like more information. I would post it, but I don't if I can. I am new at this.
Well, I don't know about feeding a large family, but it seems like cutting out analogues and going super heavy on the grains, beans, vegetables (fresh, juice and frozen) and fruit (juice, canned and fresh) is the good way for me to go. I'm planning on cutting out soda and every day vendor type stuff from work this payday for good which I know would free up more money.
Are you doing the basics, like not buying anything on an impulse, making a realistic list and sticking to it, not eating out at restuarants. Going to the store and buying enough for the week each week seems like a good idea too just so you don't buy anything that might go bad and you may have forgot about. Planning out meals for a week or two in advance might be nice. Clip coupons, buy generic whenever possible. I work at a Wal Mart SuperCenter, so I know that most of the store brands are about equal to name brand labels. Avoid prepackaged meals wherever possible. Having a wide array of seasonings does a lot more than most people realize. I go to a local health food store and stock up on different seasoning blends and herbs and spices that are in bulk jars and it is a so much better value than buying a jar of something from the grocery store since you only get however much you want. And cookbooks are your friend, but choose wisely as some are loaded with expensive analogues and some have a bunch of good vegan cheap recipes.
Hope I've helped some.
I would echo what Dinkfeet suggested. Spice things up.
Mexican Monday: Rice with salsa (diced canned tomatoes, onion, pepper, lime added after its cooked), Pinto beans and Kidney beans seasoned with mild chili powder and adobo. Served with lettuce, tomato, avocado and tortillas.
Italian Tuesday: Minestrone soup - mmmm little ditali pasta with creamy cannelini beans!
Venezualan Wednesday: Rice with diced cilantro and lime served under saucy garlic black beans and served with a simple avocado, cilantro and lime sauce.
Indian Thursday: Channa Masala, Aloo Gobi, Curry Mushrooms
Fun Friday: make burgers from mashed beans, leftover rice and diced veggies. Add just a bit of Vital Wheat Gluten and make into patties and bake em! You could bake up some fries or kale chips though a nice pasta salad of diced veggies and Italian dressing is yummy too.
Simple Saturday: Chili
Sensational Sunday: "Tuna" Mushroom Noodle Casserole from this site. Its fantastic!
These are just 7 suggestions. Scour the recipe section under beans, under regional and under quick and easy. Plenty there to try and be inspired by!
Having a wide array of seasonings does a lot more than most people realize. I go to a local health food store and stock up on different seasoning blends and herbs and spices that are in bulk jars and it is a so much better value than buying a jar of something from the grocery store since you only get however much you want.
I agree with this, but check out any "ethnic" grocery stores in your area. Brazilian, Indian, etc. They usually have wicked cheap bulk spices. That can change rice from one dish to a bajillion dishes! And if you don't have any funky grocers, even the "Latin" or "Asian" section of your regular grocery store may have the exact same spices as the other aisle, but cheaper!
Wow, I'm excited about food again!! :D
Thank you all so much for the suggestions! For my birthday this weekend, my darling husband took me to the local health food store, where I got a pair of cookbooks that focus on 'cheap and easy' veg cooking. Also, I poked through the bulk spices and expanded my collection by about half! (Poor DH didn't know what he was getting into, but he loved the curry I made later!) Also, my mother-in-law is now collecting veg*n recipes for me; after years of picking on me, 'why don't you just eat meat like the rest of us?', she's finally trying to be supportive. (I about had a coronary, let me tell you.)
P.S.
Cali, TY for the menu ideas. We did try the burger one, and plan to play with the idea a bit, the kids loved getting 'normal food'. I'm having my 7 yr. old go through the recipes on this site, looking at the pics, to decide what she might like to try.
In my experience, Aldi's has the cheapest groceries in the US (even tho they're a German chain). Google them and see if there is one near you. Whatever you buy, they usually have it cheaper than the sale price anywhere else.
Also, a lot of people don't realize that the library has cookbooks, and if they don't have one you want, they can get it on inter-library loan. This can save a lot of money.
If you buy yeast for your baking, or spices, get them from the health food store in bulk, usually that's much cheaper than the grocery, and good for the environment, too. I can buy yeast at the health food store for about $1.50 that the grocery charges $7. or more for.
Good luck, and keep checking in here! It's great to hear that you're starting such a great new way of doing things!