Eating Vegan is too expensive

Eating Vegan is too expensive!

I cannot tell you how wrong the misconception is that eating Vegan is expensive. I won’t even get into the debate on investing your money into your health and how that is invaluable. Let’s just talk basics. Any special “diet” can be expensive. There are a number of factors that go into this. I wish I could cover them all, but I’m writing this blog before my very rambunctious baby wakes up! Here’s the deal. Eating Vegan can be expensive, but it certainly doesn’t have to be. Below are some of the key ways I keep our budget down and still get the deliciousness of plant based eating.

1.     Believe it or not, all Vegans don’t get their groceries from Whole Foods. Don’t get me wrong! I love Whole Foods. However, most of what you need can be purchased at your local farmer’s market or other regular grocery store where you probably already shop.

2.     Buy your basics in bulk! Beans, seeds, etc can be purchased and saved for awhile. I recently started getting our items for much lower on Jet.com. Sticking to certain basic items that can be used in multiple dishes is the key to dropping that grocery bill. I have a whole chapter on this in my e-book coming out. I refer to these items as your “dream team.”

3.     Meal plan! You probably already know how planning your meals ahead of time saves money, and it is certainly true with eating plant based. Combine that with using and remixing the staples in your “dream team” and you will be surprised how much money you save not having to buy meat! This can be a little overwhelming at first, but that’s where Chefy101 comes in.

4.     Eating out Vegan can be a challenge, but most of the time your bill will be much less than your meat eating friends. A solid benefit I have loved about eating Vegan is that it cuts back on the fast food runs and other meals out since most of the items have some kind of dairy in them. Not only is this a huge health boost but your bank account will thank you as well!

-->

So there you have it folks. Following these basic steps will definitely slice your grocery budget. As always, if you want to take the stress and time of Vegan meal planning off your back please head over to my site.  For less than $13 a week you can have all your meals planned out on a budget based on your current diet/allergies/preferences. All meal plans are $45 for 30 days but mention this blog for $10 off!

How am I supposed to eat Vegan and travel?

The traveling Vegan

Who doesn’t love to get away every now and then? At the time I was transitioning to becoming a Vegan I was travelling a lot for work. My husband was working in another state and we were constantly trying to make as many trips happen on points as possible. Factor in travel to see out of state family and you find yourself on planes a whole lot. There’s just one problem with this: not every airport is Vegan friendly. I am including this tidbit because traveling is usually when people drop the ball on their plant based eating. Most of the places in the airport will have plenty of vegetarian options, but almost everything has dairy in it! Here are my tips for staying on track while traveling.

1.    Eat a GOOD and high protein Vegan breakfast. My favorite is a breakfast burrito loaded with beans, tofu, and cheese. I make this the night before.

2.    If you are a coffee drinker, make sure to get a cup at home. Another option is to check online to see what coffee shops are at your airport. Starbucks will most likely be PACKED so if you are there early enough go for it. The airline will not have soy/almond/coconut cream for your coffee so plan accordingly. This won’t be an issue for you if you can handle black coffee.

3.    Utilize technology! Grubhub, Eat24, and Seamless are your best friends. They will filter out your options for you to see the Vegan options available. The best part is you can deliver to your hotel or airbnb location. This way you can ensure that you are getting your meals taken care of without bothering your traveling group. In some instances you may have to eat before you go out with the group and just enjoy whatever Vegan option may be on the menu. This way you got your protein and nutrient rich meal without bothering anyone else.

4.    Prepare a bag of food to take through security before leaving your house. It comes in handy when you are on the plane and starving.

5.    Bring your glass water bottle! You can refill it in most airports and stay on track with your water intake.

Trying out Vegan 30 days without losing cheese!

I can’t live without cheese!

Giving up cheese is the hugest hurdle for a lot of us when it comes to taking the Vegan plunge. Fortunately, there are a lot of alternatives out there to help you substitute those cheesy urges. However, in my experience they are NOT all created equal. Trust me on this one. I have been through almost every “cheese” recipe on Pinterest and had some nightmares! If you have a nut allergy, obviously cashew cheese it out. If you don’t- I highly recommend going this route. It takes a lot of trial and error to get the recipe just right as long as you stick to some general rules.

Rule #1- Soak, soak, soak your cashews! It makes a huge difference in the creamy texture of the cheese. Texture is a huge part of making your own cheese.

Rule#2- Do NOT skip the nutritional yeast! This adds the “cheesy” flavor and I love the way it makes your cheese have the natural color that mimics regular cheese.

Rule#3- You MUST use a quality blender and patiently blend until you have the right consistency. Nobody likes grainy cheese.

Here’s my favorite recipe for cashew cheese below:

One cup of cashews

3 tablespoons of berbere. Berbere is an extremely spicy Ethiopian mixture. I add this because of the flavor it gives but it is totally optional! You can also use chili powder or omit completely if you wish

1/3 of a cup nutritional yeast

1/3 of a cup of non dairy milk

1 tablespoon of minced garlic

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 tablespoon of cornstarch ( to thicken the sauce)

1 tablespoon of diced onion

2 tablespoons of oil( any kind)

Make sure your cashews have been soaked overnight or put them in hot water for about 30 minutes. Sautee your onion and garlic for a few minutes. Add the berbere( if you are using it) after about 30 seconds on medium heat. Turn off and let this cool for awhile. Once your onion mixture is cool blend everything together. Stop periodically and taste the cheese to see if you want to thicken it/thin it out. If you want to thin it out simply add little bits of water as needed.

If you want to try out eating Vegan without losing your cheese or the food you already love let me meal plan for you! For less than $12 a week I will customize your Vegan meal plan to mimic your current diet plus provide support along the way. Coupons are included! Follow this link for $10 off our $45 meal plan. 

Until next time, 

Saba