February 2, 2015

Is Being Vegan Expensive?


I am frequently asked, "Is being vegan expensive?". Short answer, "No way!". Vegans eat a relatively affordable lifestyle consisting of lots of fruit and veggies, beans, seeds, nuts, grains, wholefoods etc... You can purchase all of these staples at your local supermarket. Think about how expensive meat is! Now replace this with tofu and beans for example... it will be much cheaper! Just think, most people will buy a range of vegan food. I am sure that you will see the average non-vegan person throwing some rice, pasta, fruit and veggies in their trolley. What is the difference? You just won't be adding meat, dairy or eggs to your trolley... some of the most expensive products ever! Also, the great thing about our eating habits is that it is so nourishing, satisfying and amazing for your body so one grocery visit should last you quite a while! Oh and don't forget, just because you are vegan doesn't mean you now have to eat your weight in organic, sun-dried, picked at sunset by a virgin, bag of activated, spirulina covered chia seeds. Have a look below for some tips on keeping your vegan grocery list to a minimum:

  • Shop at your local supermarket as prices will be a lot more affordable compared to a specialised healthfood store... especially for your organic groceries!
  • Check out any local fruit and veggie markets or stores that may sell cheaper fresh produce.
  • Buy in bulk!
  • One bag of beans, lentils etc... will yield a few meals! Cheap as!
  • Check out your discount grocery stores such as Aldi. They sell really cheap nuts and seeds!
  • Don't go crazy on the mock-meats and faux-cheeses... they are so expensive and aren't too healthy. But by all means, have them as a treat once in a while if you feel like it!
  • Try making your own veggie burgers and marinating your own tofu. This will save you loads of money!
  • Grow your own herbs! I cannot stress this enough. I hate buying those tiny bunches of herbs from the supermarket which only have about 5 usable leaves. Grow your own and go crazy with the herbs!
  • Check out our vegan grocery lists. There are so many things you wouldn't know are vegan... and cheap too!
  • I find that Indian and Mexican are the cheapest cuisines to make... and the yummiest!
  • You don't have to splurge on recipes that use a billion raw organic cashews and your weight in unrefined, pressed at sunset, jar of coconut oil if you cannot afford it.
  • There are so many websites for vegan recipes on a budget! 
  • Plan your recipes for the week out. This way you can cook on a budget.
  • Plan your recipes out and use recipes that call for similar ingredients.
  • Check out your grocery shop brochures to see which fruit and veggies are cheap this week... then stock up, make a big pot of soup and freeze it!

Just think, eating well is the best thing for your health and will save you on lots of medical costs later on in life! 

Feel free to share your tips below :)

8 comments :

  1. Ha, hilarious - picked at sunset by a virgin! Love iylt. So true, no need to suddenly buy specialized health foods all of a sudden because you're making a vegan dish!
    Another budgeting tip could be to buy a soy milk maker if you consume a lot of non dairy milk and tofu. They are around $200 in Australia but you'd make that back! I'm considering buying one visit comes with a tofu press too and you can make other non dairy milks in it too, eg chickpea. Do you have one by any chance?
    Cheers, Felicity

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    1. Hehe thank you! I don't have one... let me know it goes!

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  2. I've recently just turned vegan 1 week ago, I've been struggling on things to eat for dinner and heaps of other things.

    Just found your site tonight and oh my I am in love! Everything so far has been so helpful, specially shopping lists for Coles, considering its my local store I go to in Melbourne.

    Looking forward to more posts :)

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  3. This lovely website is making my journey to becoming vegan so much easier, thank you! Keep up the great work and can't wait for the posts to come :)

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  4. I've been working on being vegan since February 4, 2016. I say working because I'm still consuming meat on average of once per week. What I've found is I am more inclined to eat non-vegan if I am not prepared. So I know I have to take some time on the weekends to plan and prepare meals for breakfast and lunch during the week. I am fine for dinner, its mainly lunch that has been the problem. I will be making use of your Speedy Vegan Dinner e-book to keep me on track and focussed...thank you.

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    1. Good luck!! Sounds like you are doing such a great job already :)

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