Eating vegan (or vegetarian) cheaply

[SunnieRN]

Check and see if you have Bountiful Baskets near you. They're fantastic!! You don't get to choose what you want, as each basket is the same.

The regular basket is $15 and the organic basket is $20. They also have add ons, for example this week I'm getting coconut oil.

http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Lentils often make a good "ground beef" substitute, and a bag of dried lentils can sometimes be found for as little as 99 cents, but even if it's more than that, it's generally not much more. I generally sub 1 cup uncooked dry lentils for 1 lb ground beef in recipes...once cooked, the lentils seem to be the right amount and similar-ish in texture.

Lentil tacos (although black bean tacos are good too)
Lentil sloppy joes
Add lentils to spaghetti sauce or make lentil balls instead of meatballs
Lentil (and bean) chili
Lentil nachos

And lentil shepherd's pie is a favourite here.

Lentils also make a great base for soup because they cook up pretty quickly.

TP

 

[Miss Whimsy]

I'm an omnivore but my BF is mostly vegan (vegetarian and doesn't eat eggs) so I cook that way a lot. I second Veganomicon for sure, and Bittman's "how to cook everything vegetarian" is really good for basics and a lot of things are either vegan or can be adapted that way. If you are super on a budget, I recommend a lot of burritos.

Also, I saw someone already posted a PPK recipe--I highly recommend that site! Her pancakes are the best I've ever had, I'm never going to use another recipe ever again even if I'm cooking for non-vegans. http://www.theppk.com/2011/12/puffy-pillow-pancakes/

 

[Miss Whimsy]

I'm an omnivore but my BF is mostly vegan (vegetarian and doesn't eat eggs) so I cook that way a lot. I second Veganomicon for sure, and Bittman's "how to cook everything vegetarian" is really good for basics and a lot of things are either vegan or can be adapted that way. If you are super on a budget, I recommend a lot of burritos.

Also, I saw someone already posted a PPK recipe--I highly recommend that site! Her pancakes are the best I've ever had, I'm never going to use another recipe ever again even if I'm cooking for non-vegans. http://www.theppk.com/2011/12/puffy-pillow-pancakes/

 

[mum2simon]

I've been vegan now for about 12 years, and my kids have been vegan since birth (3 boys)....we LOVE Isa's books and her blog (theppk.com) for recipes. Dreena Burton's books are also great for kid-friendly recipes.

Budget friendly tips - cook as much as you can from scratch. I think you've already received these tips, but dried beans are cheaper than canned (but less convenient). Also, buy veggies and fruit that are in season - if it is not on sale, it means it is not in season so we don't buy it. Right now we are eating lots of tomatoes, eggplant, squash, and greens are starting to come back in season.

We get the majority of our organic produce through a local CSA (community supported agriculture), but that won't help you for a thirty day challenge....look for local farmers markets, but your cheapest is going to be Aldi's or Trader Joes.

This is an awesome "Mac and Cheese" recipe...double the sauce for 1 lb of pasta, use olive oil instead of margarine, I don't make the bread crumb topping and I exclude the cayenne for the kids...we serve our with broccoli:

http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=40&catId=10

 

[DSNY4ever]

We are vegetarians and it IS tough on a budget. I have never heard of Isa, but I am going to check out her stuff!

We love the blogs "Plant Based on a Budget", great, cheap recipes. I also love "Cookie & Kate" and "Oh She Glows". We love our Moosewood Cookbooks and I am constantly googling around for good recipes and looking on Allrecipes.com.

Good luck. We are trying to cut down our dairy and it is tough (mostly for our yogurt, cottage cheese, and ice cream loving 3 year old!). When you want a treat I promise these are easy and DELICIOUS!-http://leitesculinaria.com/86550/recipes-chocolate-fudge-pops.html

 

[marmalade]

Spices are the most important thing in being a successful vegetarian/vegan (I think). I can make tons of different dishes using the same ingredients just by changing out my spices.

You can try different spices for cheap by getting them in the bulk section of your grocery store or any ethnic food store in your area.