frugalvegan????

[betharoo0]

I was reading the grocery thread, and you say you guys don't spend much on food. have you ever ate meat? Dairy?
See Iam trying to figure out if a vegan diet is cheaper than a meat eating one. I have seen articles that a vegan diet is more economical, but when I have tryed the switch to organic and vegetarian i was spending ALOT!
Can you help me with ideas on how you stay frugal?
recipes?
I ask because i have one son who HATES meat. and i do not feel comfortable making him eat it. I use to be veg. but i just learned to conform to eating meat by all the meat eaters around me.
anyone who is a vegan/vegetarian feel free to post.

[frugalvegan]

hi! i grew up eating meat, but really haven't since 1995. i'm lactose intolerant, which made going vegan very easy...really, we eat a lot of stir-fry (veggies, tofu, spices), soups, salads, smoothies, vegan burritos...i don't feel i'm missing out on anything. i actually feel great!

[patchouli]

Hi betharoo0!

I know this post was such a long time ago, but I'm hoping you still want some info.

A vegetarian/vegan diet is made expensive by buying all the processed foods that are supposed to 'replace' animal products.
But it doesn't have to be that way. A meal doesn't need to be 'meat' and two veg and it certainly doesn't need to have meat or a substitute to make it!

My cupboards are filled with rice, pasta, lentils, quinoa, dried beans etc. You only need very basic ingredients to fill them out.

vegweb.com has thousands upon thousands of vegan recipes, a lot of them can be quite expensive if you want to splash out on posh veggies and overpriced things like vegan sour cream or cream cheese! But if you look hard enough you'll find some really good frugal recipes.
There's also a frugal vegan website (UK-based) that has a few good recipes.

I find my vegan lifestyle very economical - if I stay away from unnecessary fast foods!

Patchouli

ps - Don't conform! Reform!

[acidcookie]

I'm a vegetarian, was rasied that way. I do agree that it seems that people are saving money left and right and I feel like I'm paying the same amount all the time, but that's because I'm buying so much produce. I'm not sure what you're buying, but I don't really buy much packaged food (i.e., no pre-made pasta dishes or such). I try to buy fruits & veggies that are currently cheaper, and I still buy other stuff in generic brands and in bulk when I can. I don't know, I don't have many tips on saving specifically on a vegetarian diet, but I understand your feelings.

[heidiiiii5]

My dd is a vegetarian. She is thinking of making the switch to being a vegan. There are some things that are more pricey but I think that is because I am shopping for two types of eaters.
Vegan sour cream...regular sour cream
Vegan margarine...regular margarine
Vegan cheese...regular cheese.
you get the point
Plus Tofu, and tempeh...Nuts for protein. Beans are cheap and you can make them stretch.
You can also freeze alot of the recipes you make to have later. I make and can vegetarian spaghetti sauce. That way if someone wants meat in it, they can add it.

Vegweb is good.
Also try the post punk kitchen .com
And I also like The vegan lunchbox . com
This woman blogs what she sends off in her sons bento box for school and tells if he liked it or not. Lots of great ideas.

[Maisiedotes]

I think it is the processed foods that are so expensive. Like frozen dinners, veggie burgers, etc. I mean, the cheapest stuff available is bulk rice, dried beans, lentils, oats, etc. I have a food budget of $40/week for DH and I and we rarely spend that. We buy big bags of rice when it is on sale (the Asian markets are a good place to find these)- we make our own seitan, buy tofu when it is on sale and freeze it, make lots of soups from scratch, chili with TVP, etc. We completely stopped buying pre-made foods except for soymilk (I have not broken down and purchased a soy milk maker) and it is amazing how cheap we can live.