Vegan at college?
Mkay, I go to college next year ( 2009) but I am already having to prepare some things ahead of time and I am curious of how easy/hard it is to be vegan at college.
I live in Brazil, my parents are missionaries, but I just got back from the states a month ago after being there 7 weeks. I noticed that even at Walmart and Kroger and Ingles there are vegan options.. although sometimes on the expensive side and almost 99% of things need to be refrigerated.
The college I am hoping to go to has a rule that I MUST purchase their food plan for the first two years ( which kind of seems like a waste of money since i won't be able to eat that much from there anyway)
So: I'm on a very tight budget ( i have to pay for college on my own, with no help from home) and I'm curious as to if anyone has any good ideas of how I may save money in purchasing vegan foods and products
You might be pleasantly surprised at the choices at your dining hall--I haven't lived on campus since my freshman year, but our dining hall is now offering a lot of vegetarian and vegan options (beyond a salad bar). It's still not great, but it's much much better than it used to be. You might want to check it out, or talk to the dining hall folks to see what is going to be available for you.
If your dining hall is crappy, buying your dry goods in bulk (if there is a health food store around) is a big money saver--grains, spices, beans, flours, sugars, nuts. Use your meal plan as much as you can, and if you can get away with it, take extra pieces of fruit with you when you leave. If they aren't going to give you vegan options, then get your money's worth out of that plan! Limit packaged stuff as much as you can--that stuff adds up really quickly. Instead of Boca burgers, make your own black bean burgers. Much cheaper!
I assume you're going to be living in the dorms (since you have to buy a meal plan)--see what the residence halls allow with kitchen gadgets. If you can have a toaster oven, you can make one to two person portions of most foods you would cook in a regular oven. I would say even if you aren't allow to have one, you should bring one anyway and just hide it (I had a toaster, an iron, my roommate's coffee maker, and a George Forman grill--all outlawed, but it wasn't a problem. Perhaps I am setting a bad example ::) ). The toaster oven I have has bake, toast, broil, and grill options with different temperature settings and a timer--it works really well!
Hi beccalynn! Canned/dried beans and dried grains are the best. They are so cheap, especially in bulk. The bulk food section is your friend! More processed/ready-made vegan things will be more expensive. I find that tofu is generally pretty cheap, and tempeh isn't too bad every so often.
Hopefully your dining hall will have a good salad bar, so you can at least get some nice fresh veggies there. Then you won't have to purchase so much produce.
Also, I don't know anything about this book, but it might be useful:
http://www.amazon.com/Students-Vegetarian-Cookbook-Quick-Recipes/dp/0761508546
MKay so I was talking with a representative from the college and I was asked about the meal plans and mentioned I was vegan. She said that there were alot of vegans in the school and that they had a very nice salad bar . I didn't say anything, but i looked at my mom and gave her " A Look" because obviously I can't live off of just veggies.
I'll look that book up online.. and hopefully buy it- thanks Kbuettne
Okay, I'll google where I will be able to dry goods or whatever... I"m not quite sure what that city is like. We were there on a tight schedule and never acually went into the town because we went through some backroads.
I'm not sure if i can have a toaster oven - Thanks for the great idea!-( I"m going to go back and look in the fine print) but I do know i can have a fridge... so i should save money up now and get one haha
Also, I don't know anything about this book, but it might be useful:
http://www.amazon.com/Students-Vegetarian-Cookbook-Quick-Recipes/dp/0761508546
I actually have that cookbook..and I've had it for many years. I think it might be a good "starter" book, but I don't know how much cooking experience you have. I think I've only made a couple of things out of it. It's also not completely vegan; mainly just vegetarian. but, you definitely should look into it and see if it would be helpful for you. It has a 'guide for picking up the best stuff at the market.' If you have more than a little cooking experience..it might be a little too simple for you. Of course, this is just my opinion! :)
MKay... yeah I do have a little bit of experience cooking.. i cook meals for my family all the time.. so thanks for the heads up.. does anybody know of any good books or recipe books that are good?
Also, I don't know anything about this book, but it might be useful:
http://www.amazon.com/Students-Vegetarian-Cookbook-Quick-Recipes/dp/0761508546
I have that book. It's good! Most of the recipes are portioned for one or two people and have few ingredients.
Edited to say: Never mind, it's this one I have:
http://www.amazon.com/Students-Go-Vegan-Cookbook-Recipes/dp/0307336530/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209770891&sr=1-1
I'm sure both are good. It's exciting to hear that there are "lots of vegans" at your school! I hope the representative is right!
Edited to say: Never mind, it's this one I have:
http://www.amazon.com/Students-Go-Vegan-Cookbook-Recipes/dp/0307336530/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209770891&sr=1-1
I'm sure both are good. It's exciting to hear that there are "lots of vegans" at your school! I hope the representative is right!
Yeah, it seems like the one that KMK has might be a better choice. BUT I am not the best judge of this since I have never lived in a dorm. Since you are vegan though..you would probably want a vegan book. ;)
..KMK, I read your post before the edit and I was going to say, "uh oh, it's something we disagree on!" ;)
(yeah, I know, I didn't read your post either before I posted that. That's why I sound oblivious to the rest of the thread. Bad forum manners on my part.)
The book I posted is also pretty simple, but if you want to save money, I think that's a good thing. I have Veganomicon and other nicer cookbooks but I don't often make things out of them because it is too costly to buy all the ingredients. Maybe you could thumb through it at a book store if you get the chance and see what you think.
Thanks KMK
Now I'm looking up stuffon Amazon.com haha
Btw, this is a very weird question.. but does anyone know if vegan books are printed on recycled paper or normal paper?
Also, I don't know anything about this book, but it might be useful:
http://www.amazon.com/Students-Vegetarian-Cookbook-Quick-Recipes/dp/0761508546
I have that book. It's good! Most of the recipes are portioned for one or two people and have few ingredients.
Edited to say: Never mind, it's this one I have:
http://www.amazon.com/Students-Go-Vegan-Cookbook-Recipes/dp/0307336530/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209770891&sr=1-1
I'm sure both are good. It's exciting to hear that there are "lots of vegans" at your school! I hope the representative is right!
People have recommended to me Sarah Kramer's cookbooks, especially Garden of Vegan, because it has a chapter on microwave cooking. PETA also has a college cookbook out now, but I don't know much about it.
P.S the microwave brownies in Garden of Vegan are TO DIE FOR!
If you want the best options in the dining hall, get a student job in the cafeteria. You get all the behind the scenes info on what is in what foods, and can have the option of making some of your own food. My brother who is GF did this when he went to a teeny tiny school, it worked great!
If you want the best options in the dining hall, get a student job in the cafeteria. You get all the behind the scenes info on what is in what foods, and can have the option of making some of your own food. My brother who is GF did this when he went to a teeny tiny school, it worked great!
I worked for my school's dining commons too. Before then, though, I contacted the executive chef and got some more vegan options (gave him some recipes, and we found soy milk and soy yogurt from their distributor). It worked out pretty well; the soymilk always sold better than the cow milk, and several of the recipes I gave him became regular fare. At least one was from here too!
I never had a problem with dining room food at college because I had a small on campus with it's own campus. It was the smallest apartment you can imagine but I loved it.