A few weeks ago I had a question from one of my readers about eating vegan on a budget, which got me thinking about all the ways that I save money on food. Being a vegan can be expensive, especially if you want to buy mostly organic produce, and there’s all those tempting (and pricey) superfoods available these days. Here’s how I feed my vegan family of 5 for about $150 each week.
Grow your own vegetables
Growing your own vegetables is extremely satisfying, and it can be pretty easy too. I aim to grow all/most of my vegetables someday but right now I am content with growing my own herbs and greens (currently spinach, silverbeet and kale). Most years I grow some other vegetables like carrots, garlic, tomatoes, corn, leeks, snow peas, but sometimes the harvests are pretty pitiful. Growing your own leafy green vegetables is quick, and if you drink lots of green smoothies and make lots of salads, you will definitely appreciate the savings from growing your own! Don’t think you need a huge garden to do this either – you can grow a good amount of greens in large containers (see my photo of my spinach growing in a styrofoam box), perfect for those who only have a balcony. Growing your own sprouts is also another way to save money. I estimate I save about $10-15 each week by growing my own vegetables.
Check out the farmer’s markets
I’ll admit, I have become lazy and like to do all my grocery shopping at the supermarket, but once upon a time I was more thrifty (and didn’t have 3 kids to drag to the shops with me). You will find that if you buy fruit and vegetables at the farmer’s markets, you will not only save money, but your produce will be fresher too. I’ve even found that buying as much organic produce as possible from my local organic market was about the same price as buying non-organic produce from the supermarket!
The Dirty Dozen
If you can’t afford to buy everything organic (and I’ll admit, most of the time I can’t), at least try to buy items on the Dirty Dozen list organic. This list is created by the Environmental Working Group and shows which produce items often have the most amount of pesticide residue, and is updated each year.
Cook your own legumes
Instead of buying canned beans and lentils, have you tried buying them dried and cooking them yourself? It might seem like a bit of effort, but I have a few tips to make this easier:
- Cook in bulk: I buy my dried beans in 375g packets which usually results in 3-4 cups of cooked beans, more than what I need for 1 recipe. But I cook them all at the same time, and either store the remaining beans in the fridge (covered in some cooking water) to use later that week, or I drain and freeze the beans in a snap lock bag.
- Get into the habit of being prepared: for best results, you’ll want to soak your legumes overnight or for about 8 hours (sometimes I leave mine soaking for up to 24 hours). I’ve gotten into the habit of checking what I’ve got planned for the next night’s dinner every night so I know whether I need to soak any beans or do any other pre-preparation.
Don’t be afraid to buy store’s own brands
Another way that I save a lot of money on our grocery bills is by buying the store’s own brand of products, when organic isn’t available. For many products, there isn’t much different between “gourmet” brands and the cheapest brand. So if the ingredients don’t contain any animal products or artificial additives, a lot of the time I’ll go for the cheapest option.
Limit eating out
Another leading factor that allows us to save a lot of money on food is by not eating out. I know a lot of people love eating out, but for us (especially with 3 little brats young kids), we don’t dine out very much at all. Also, there aren’t many vegan dining options in my town, so that definitely helps! But if you want to save money on food, I suggest you look at how much money you are spending on dining out/take away food. For example, you might buy lunch everyday and spend $10, but you could take your own lunch for a fraction of the cost (like, $2). I realised my husband was spending over $50 a week on work lunches, but these days I make his lunches and it costs me about $10 for the week.
Make your own
One reason why vegan diets can become expensive is because premade vegan foods (for example, vegan cheese, coconut yoghurt, other processed foods) cost more than their non-vegan counterparts. While I love that veganism is growing and I love that I can find more vegan products in store, I simply can’t afford to buy that $10 tiny block of vegan cheese (true story – each bite of cheese would have cost me $1). Instead, I make my own. My grocery shops contain very little, if any, processed foods.
Are expensive superfoods worth the extra money?
Another trap that many vegans fall into (myself included) is forking out top dollars for so called “superfoods”. Don’t get me wrong, I love superfoods! Give me all the chia seeds, maca powder, raw cacao nibs and goji berries! But don’t feel like you absolutely need them. Moderation is the key – when I do buy superfoods, I make the packet last for at least a few weeks.
With all that being said, I find that a vegan diet is much much cheaper than the Standard American (or Australian) Diet. This is mainly because when you adopt a vegan diet, you often adopt healthier eating habits and stop buying as much processed foods. Of course, you can have an expensive vegan diet if you buy all the vegan cheeses, fake meats, vegan cookies, etc. But if you shop smartly, buy less processed foods, learn how to grow some herbs or leafy greens, and spend a little extra time in the kitchen, you will find you can save a lot of money by following the vegan diet.
What do you think about eating vegan on a budget?
- Do you spend less now than before you were a vegan?
- What are your tips for eating a vegan diet with limited funds?
Interesting to hear how you keep your costs down. I agree about trying to limit processed food. However I sometimes get a bit wary of the home brand products as I don’t trust the supermarkets. I do know some of the brands I like and when they are discounted I buy a few tins, jars, tubs.. The other strategy that helps keep costs down is using up leftovers and getting creative/flexible with what is about..
Thanks for your comment Johanna! That is a good point about home brand products, I am wary of supermarkets too…there are some products I will buy home brand but others I wouldn’t even poke with a stick, haha. Thank you for your additional cost-saving strategies, I especially love the idea about being creative with what you have – this is something I do a few times a year when I realise I have a pantry full of half-empty packets :\
Kyra, these are great recommendations! I was thinking about doing a post like this myself soon because I received a few questions too. I was going to add that I use bulk bins at the grocery store to save money. I also agree with Johanna that I try to use my leftovers any way that I can so I don’t waste food. I feel like sometimes we don’t even realize how much money we waste on things we throw away unused.
Thanks Mary Ellen! Yes, I totally forgot to mention the bulk bins! They are a new addition to our local grocery store but they do make buying nuts & seeds cheaper than pre-packaged. I totally agree about wasting food – we do literally throw our money away when we throw away food, this is a big issue for me, especially with young children who eat half an apple and claim they are finished :\ I usually eat the rest of the apple myself, haha.
What a great read! I love all the tips! So many people think that vegan diet is more expensive than a “normal” diet. But a vegan diet can be cheapest diet ever when done right.
In our city we have a couple of different supermarkets, while some have a huge range of vegan processed foods, others don’t have them at all. I try to avoid those with a great variety or processed items, because I know I’ll be weak and they’re expensive as hell :D
Thank you Bianca! It’s funny but I do the same thing – we have one health food store in town, which I absolutely love, but I try not to go there much as they have all the expensive vegan goodies like chocolate and coconut yoghurt…it’s too hard to resist sometimes, even though I know I can make my own for a fraction of the price!
I love suggesting to go to an Asian/Indian/Mexican/whatever ethnic food store for some specialty foods. For example I love going to the local Indian market and buy large bags of spices. It is much cheaper and I freeze the bags so they last several months/years.
I think the only vegan “food” I buy that can be easily made is soy/almond milks. I usually improvise when I run out by just using water and oats in my smoothie. I just use it too often to make it fresh, but other things like fake bacon, seitan, etc I make because it isn’t that hard.
Oh and you mentioned using dried beans, which is cheaper. I try to buy the big bags and cook them all at once. I try to plan meals around them, but if I can’t or don’t think I’ll use them all up in a week, I measure them out into cups and put them baggies and freeze them. I do the same with other grains like rice, quinoa, etc.
Thank you so much for all your tips Jennifer, I love the idea of going to ethnic stores for specialty foods! I haven’t actually done that but I definitely should. I love your tip for cooking dried beans/grains and freezing them – I hadn’t thought to do that with grains! There’s so many ways to eat vegan while on a budget :D
My grocery bills are insane! But I do think I spend less now than I did in my pre-vegan days. I follow most of your suggestions already (can’t grow my own food with lack of backyard or even balcony :/).
I could definitely go back to my early vegan days before they made good pre-packaged (and expensive) vegan cheezes though. I tend to make my own – but a treat once in awhile is ok =)
I am lucky enough to live walking distance of a farmer’s market and go every single weekend. I guess that’s my tradeoff for not having a backyard ;p
I can’t say I have the experience of buying groceries in my pre-vegan days, but I know the weeks when my husband insists he needs cheese/meat that my grocery bill skyrockets. Luckily that’s not very often any more :) that is so cool you live so close to a farmer’s market, I am jealous! Definitely a good tradeoff for not being able to grow your own :D
I love your styrofoam boxes! I wanted to do this, but there was no sunny spot in my yard. I had to use pots everywhere around the lawn’s border (I have to remember to water the lawn even though it’s such a stupid invention)
PS your site just told me off for commenting so quickly :-(
Thanks Sarah! I love my styrofoam boxes :D haha, I agree about the lawn though, it can be a pain. If it was up to me, I would dig up my entire yard and transform it into a garden bed, but I don’t think my landlord would appreciate that…
Naughty blog, be kind to my quick-typing friends! Haha :)
Hi. I enjoyed reading this post and browsing through your website! I just signed up for your chocolate e book too
I grow my own greens, fruits and herbs. My harvests are not huge but are enough for us (husband and wife). I tailor my meals depending on what’s growing outside. Because my garden is not as big, I still buy veg and fruits from the local grocery store. Buying the from the farmers market is definitely cheaper and fresher.
I recently started exploring the plant based life style and would love book recommendations you know that one book I go to for basic recipes like a basic cookie or a basic cake not fancy but normal basic recipes that we can add too. Oh and I blew the budget at a health store when stocking up all the different syrups, butters, flours and powders coz many recipes include different types of flours and syrups in the same dish. Would love to hear from you
Thanks for stopping by on my IG feed earlier today
Thank you so much! It is so satisfying growing your own fruit and veg, hey?
About vegan cookbooks, I haven’t actually come across one that has basic recipes, although I’m sure there are some out there! Sorry I can’t help you out with that one. Although I do find it easy to veganise many non-vegan cookies/cakes etc as long as they don’t require more than 2 eggs :)
Yes, it can be sooo expensive going to the health food store! I have been making my own nut butters this year which has been saving me money. Flours can be expensive, so sometimes if a recipe calls for a certain flour that I don’t usually buy because of the price, I will just substitute another flour instead. I usually use spelt, buckwheat, or wholewheat flours. I also tend to not buy maple syrup because of the price – I’d say it’s a lot cheaper in the US/Canada as they all seem to use it a lot in their recipes. Instead, I often use rice malt syrup or make a date paste by blending medjool dates with water. I also bought a stevia plant with the intentions of using stevia tea in place of syrups in recipes (haven’t tried it yet as I’m waiting it to grow some more leaves!) – this might be something you would be interested in?
If you have any questions please contact me, I’d love to help you with any questions about making the transition to plant-based :) so glad to have connected with you on IG!