CHALLENGE: VEGAN ON THE CHEAP!!!
In order to prove that preparing vegan meals can be done without breaking the bank, I have challenged myself to spend only $60 on groceries for our family of four. I think that it’s important to show you how I plan to accomplish this task. First of all, maybe this challenge is not completely fair because looking at my refrigerator and cupboards… they are completely full of food!!! Why do I have all this? Do we really need to have all of this extra food? Here is a picture of my (messy) refrigerator and pantry. Note: we have an embarrassing number of condiments! Notice our hot sauce shelf at the bottom. Shheesh!.. What is wrong with us!
Week One
Sunday: Chinese Food (Tofu, Rice, and Broccoli)
Monday: Baked Falafel and Roasted Potatoes
Tuesday: Tostadas… (not sure what else, my husband is cooking)
Wednesday: Crock Pot Split Pea Soup and Corn Bread
Thursday: Pizza with Tempeh Sausage and Salad
Friday: Picnic at the Park (Cesar Salad and Pasta Salad)… still not sure what else we will eat
Saturday: Pizza and Salad
You may have noticed that I have pizza listed twice. Since I make my own dough and sauce, they make enough for two days. This makes this meal EXTREMELY inexpensive. The only expensive item for this meal will be to purchase cashews for Vegan Parmesan.
In order to get all of the groceries for this week, I will need to shop at two grocery stores. I chose our local conventional grocery store, Kroger, and a national specialty grocery store, Trader Joe’s. I am still buying canned pumpkin for my dog because now he won’t eat his dog food without it! What a DIVA!!!… (or the male equivalent!) For the falafel dinner, I will be using dry chickpeas that I had in my pantry and pita bread that I purchased last week.
Kroger
| Item | Category | Quantity | Price | Extended Price |
| Almond Milk | Non-Dairy | 1 | $3.00 | $3.00 |
| Pumpkin | Canned | 2 | $2.00 | $4.00 |
| Crushed Tomatoes | Canned | 1 | $3.00 | $3.00 |
| Wheel Noodles | Pasta | 1 | $3.00 | $3.00 |
| Rice | Pasta | 1 | $2.00 | $2.00 |
| Split Peas | Soup | 1 | $1.75 | $1.75 |
| Canola Oil | Bakery | 1 | $3.00 | $3.00 |
| Corn Meal | Bakery | 1 | $2.50 | $2.50 |
| Flour | Bakery | 1 | $2.00 | $2.00 |
| Pretzels | Snacks | 2 | $2.00 | $4.00 |
| $28.25 |
| Item | Category | Quantity | Price | Extended Price |
| Bananas | Produce | 8 | $0.20 | $1.60 |
| Lettuce | Produce | 1 | $3.00 | $3.00 |
| Cashews | Nuts | 1 | $7.00 | $7.00 |
| Carrots | Produce | 1 | $1.00 | $1.00 |
| Tempeh | Refrigerated | 1 | $2.00 | $2.00 |
| Bagels | Bakery | 1 | $2.50 | $2.50 |
| Flour Tortillas | Bakery | 1 | $2.50 | $2.50 |
| $19.60 |
Side note: I am juicing fruits and vegetables every morning during the week with my Breville Juicer, and I have lots of produce left in the refrigerator to continue for the next several days. So, additional produce for this has not even come out of my budget, yet. It looks like I will be able to continue to juice for the remainder of the week since we have money left over. I realize that juicing may affect my budget next week when I run out of fruits and veggies. I may have to resort to only making smoothies.
Wish me luck in sticking to this plan!!!!
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I’ve been trying to go vegan. Do you have any tips or resources I can start reading?
Yes I do!!… Here’s a link to my new blog!!
http://www.sillylittlevegan.com/2015/05/vegan-resources-for-the-newbie-vegan-%e2%99%a5.html