Eating Vegan on a Budget
A healthy and compassionate lifestyle begins with our food choices. Each purchase we make has deep implications beyond our self-interests. The workers who grow and harvest our food depend on consumers to buy produce from sources that treat them with respect and pay them a fair wage. The animals who live in anguish each day on animal farms rely on consumers to reject this oppression and needless suffering.
Fortunately, a healthy and compassionate lifestyle can be accomplished on a limited budget. The meals listed below contain fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and grains—the staples of a vegan lifestyle. These simple ingredients can be combined to form nutritious and satisfying meals that will fuel your body as well as send an ethical message to food producers. As often as your budget allows, choose organic foods to further promote a safe and sustainable future for workers, wildlife, and the environment.
Food Empowerment Project (F.E.P.) acknowledges that even having a budget for and access to certain food items is a form of privilege as many do not have that ability. In accordance with our mission, we are committed to advocating for equitable access to healthy foods for all so that everyone has the ability to make healthy food choices regardless of budget.
Here are some tips that will help save money:
- Create a grocery list before going to the store. Planning desired meals ahead of time will help you know exactly what to get and minimize the risk of spending extra time and money.
- Oftentimes, fruits and vegetables that are local and in season tend to be the freshest and most affordable produce items. Your local farmers’ market is a great source for high quality and reasonably priced produce. In accordance with our values, F.E.P. encourages supporting Black and Brown farmers when possible, as these communities have been historically disadvantaged.
- Many Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms offer sliding-scale payment options, and many farmers’ markets and CSAs are SNAP and WIC-friendly. Some states even match SNAP and WIC spending at farmers’ markets to make local purchases of farm vegetables more affordable.
- Explore the bulk aisle. You will find many of the same foods that are commonly packaged and sold at higher prices. Most bulk aisles include oatmeal, beans, lentils, dried fruits, nuts, rice, and grains.
- Choose foods in their natural state. Highly processed foods tend to be more expensive and relatively unhealthy—often containing chemical preservatives and stabilizers.
- Be a flexible shopper. Be prepared to adjust your meals to accommodate particular ingredients that are on sale.
- Fruits, vegetables, and meals like soups and chili can be frozen. This is helpful for waste prevention, longer storage time, and having food prepared during times when you don’t have the time or capacity to prepare an entire meal.
- Although fresh foods are best, buying frozen fruits and vegetables is also a good alternative.
- Prepare meals three days in advance when you have time. This will ensure that you have a healthy, satisfying meal when you need it most.
- Buy shelf-stable plant-based milks. They have long shelf lives that can range from six months to a year or longer; however, once opened they must be refrigerated and consumed within a week. Plant-based milks are not only the most sustainable milk option, but by drinking plant-based milks you’re not contributing to the suffering and exploitation of non-human animals.
- Don’t rely on convenience meals as your main source of food. This includes items such as vegan alternatives of frozen TV dinners, frozen pizzas, deli slices, etc. Buying a lot of these products will cost a lot more money than eating more whole, less-processed foods.
- Make meals that typically create multiple servings such as soup, stews, curries, tofu scramble, etc.
- Go off brand. Choose store brands of food items whenever possible because they are oftentimes the same quality at a much lower price due to less packaging and advertising.
- Check out F.E.P.’s resource on ‘How To Grow Food’ if you have the means to grow some of your own food!
- Instead of buying expensive egg replacers, use more affordable alternatives such as aquafaba, ground flax meal, silken tofu, bananas, and applesauce.
- 1 tablespoon aquafaba = 1 egg yolk replacement
- 2 tablespoon aquafaba = 1 egg white replacement
- 3 tablespoon aquafaba = 1 whole egg replacement
- Mix 1 tablespoon of ground flax meal with 2 1/2 tablespoons of water and let sit for 15 minutes until thickened to replace 1 egg.
- ¼ cup of silken tofu will replace 1 egg. It is important to puree the tofu beforehand to avoid unwanted chunks.
- Half of a mashed banana or ¼ cup of puréed banana will replace 1 egg.
- ¼ cup of applesauce will replace one egg.
Note: Sometimes vegan items will be labeled as vegan with various indications such as a symbol of a circle around the letter V; however, there are a lot of vegan foods that are not labeled and require a scan of its ingredients list. Vegans avoid consuming anything that comes from non-human animals. Some non-vegan ingredients listed that are harder to identify include (but is not limited to) honey, whey, lactose, lactic acid that is not explicitly derived from plants, casein, gelatin, confectioners glaze, L. Cysteine, lard, carmine, and vitamin D3 that is not explicitly derived from plants.
Kitchen Staple Items
- Condiments (sriracha, hot sauce, ketchup, barbeque sauce, mustard, etc.)
- Nutritional yeast
- Seeds (hemp, flax, chia, pumpkin, sunflower, etc.)
- Rolled oats
- Vegetable broth/stock
- Plant-based milk (almond, cashew, oat, rice, etc.)
- Pasta
- Nut butter (peanut, almond, cashew, sunflower, etc.)
- Tofu
- Potatoes/sweet potatoes
- Spices (turmeric, cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, etc.)
- Sweetener (agave/maple syrup)
- Flour
- Grains (quinoa, white rice, brown rice, wild rice, etc.)
- Legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans, white navy beans, etc.)
- Canned and/or dried goods (such as rice, beans, fruits, and vegetables)
Breakfast
- Grits
- Loaded sweet potato/sweet potato bowl
- Tofu scramble (made with tofu, veggies, and potatoes)
- Potato, veggie, and bean hash
- Toast or bagel with soy margarine, nut butter, or jam
- Oatmeal with fruit and or nuts
- Breakfast burrito (made with beans, potatoes, scrambled tofu, and veggies)
- Potatoes/hash browns
- Peanut butter & jelly
- Pancakes/waffles (Both pancakes and waffles can use the same batter, many batters are vegan, though many are not, so be sure to check beforehand!)
- Avocado toast—please visit F.E.P.’s ‘The Problem With Avocados’ page to read about the avocado industry and how to make informed choices when possible!
- Dairy-free yogurt with fruit and granola/yogurt parfait
- Breakfast smoothie
- Smoothie bowl (a breakfast smoothie in a bowl with added toppings such as granola, seeds, or fruit)
- Tofu chilaquiles
- Sweet potato toast with nut butter and toppings
- Overnight oats
Lunch/Dinner
- Pasta with red sauce or vegan pesto
- Pasta salad
- Lentil soup
- Rice and beans
- Veggie wrap (hummus and veggies)
- Chickpea noodle soup (noodles, chickpeas, chopped veggies, and broth)
- Peanut butter & jelly
- Falafel wrap
- Prepared tempeh, lettuce, and tomato sandwich
- Baked beans and soy margarine on toast
- Bean burritos with guacamole and roasted veggies
- Black bean tacos
- Potato tacos
- Loaded baked potato
- Tofu, tempeh, mushroom, or seitan stir-fry
- Chili and tortilla chips or cornbread
- Tostadas with beans, lettuce, and avocado
- Portobello mushroom burger
- Lentil curry and rice
- Chickpea curry
- White bean soup
- Tomato soup
- Butternut squash soup
- Barbeque jackfruit sandwich
- Barbeque tofu
- Hummus quesadillas (use hummus as filling instead of cheese)
- Black bean and sweet potato quesadillas
- Fried green tomatoes
- Lentil sloppy joe
- Lentil bolognese with spaghetti noodles
Dessert
- F.E.P.-recommended chocolate
- Banana bread
- Strawberries and chocolate hummus
- Peanut butter cookies
- Dairy-free ice cream
- Mug cake
- Nut butter stuffed dates
- Sorbet
Snacks
- Popcorn (Plain or kettle popcorn is typically vegan. Nutritional yeast is a great addition to popcorn giving it a savory flavor.)
- Kale chips
- Edamame
- Dried seaweed
- Dried fruit
- Pretzels
- Roasted chickpeas
- Oats and nut butter balls
- Rice cakes with nut butter
- Rice cakes with avocado
- Chips and salsa or guacamole
- Frozen grapes
- Pita chips and hummus
- Vegetables and hummus
Many vegan foods are extremely versatile and can be used in a variety of ways.
Bananas are also an excellent egg substitute in addition to being a delicious and nutritious topping. Blended frozen bananas make a simple but incredible creamy ice cream. Please visit F.E.P.’s page ‘Peeling Back the Truth on Bananas’ to read about the banana industry and how to make informed choices when possible!
Chickpeas are a great example, as they can be roasted or cooked. Mashed chickpeas can be used to make falafel and blended chickpeas make a smooth hummus. The liquid in the cans of chickpeas is called aquafaba and can be used as an egg replacement or, when whipped (added sweetener optional), used as a whipped cream alternative.
Oftentimes used as toppings, mushrooms are a great option for “meat” alternatives. The portobello mushroom is one of the cheapest and is easy to grill or place in the oven. It is also very absorbent and picks up the flavor of whatever you want to marinate it in well. Shiitake mushrooms have more of a distinct flavor but work incredibly in stir fry dishes or pan cooked with soy or miso sauce and noodles. Oyster mushrooms are commonly found at farmers’ markets at affordable prices and have a savory flavor and tender texture that makes them great for frying, sauteing, braising, or roasting in a variety of dishes. Lastly, white button mushrooms are also pretty accessible and affordable and are largely used as toppings on pizza or mixed into pasta sauce!
Oats are very filling and nutritionally rich. Besides oatmeal, oats can be used to make plant-based milk (when blended with water), granola (when baked), rolled into snack balls (with added nut butter), overnight oats, and used as a topping.
Sweet potatoes, similar to golden or russet potatoes, can be mashed, made into fries, baked and loaded, blended into soups, roasted, and used as a tasty topping. Their sweetness also makes them great for pies and other sweet treats.
Tofu comes in a variety of textures including silken, firm, and extra firm. Extra firm and firm tofu can be baked, fried, scrambled, or smoked, while silken tofu is typically used for creamy sauces, desserts, dips, dressings, and smoothies. Because tofu has no specific flavor, the possibilities are endless for using this high-protein ingredient!
Tomatoes, whether fresh or canned, can be used to create your own salsa or red sauce, in addition to being added to tacos, sandwiches, or burritos as toppings. Many folks eat tomatoes as a snack on their own, and although green tomatoes are ripe and thus firmer for frying, both red and green tomatoes can be fried for a delicious treat!
Walnuts are incredible snacks alone, topping, and mixed in with other nuts for trail mix, but they also make a great meat alternative. “Walnut meat” is simply made by grinding up walnuts with added seasoning and soy sauce. It is great in tacos, burritos, nachos, and power bowls!