Are you on a budget and trying to stay healthy and vegan? Check out my top 5 suggestions on how to stay vegan and on budget.
Buy in bulk
I cannot stretch this enough why it’s important to buy in bulk. I buy most if not all my grains, nuts in bulk. I also buy fruits and vegetables in bulk when they’re super cheap and in season of course. I’ll then go home, clean, cut, and freeze for rainy days. My frozen fruits and vegetables usually last weeks/months at time so don’t be afraid to buy vegetables and fruits in bulk and stuff them in your freezer. If you want to stay within budget and not spend money too much on food, my suggestion is to always buy in bulk.
Buy seasonal fruits and vegetables
Every vegan/health coach person you interact with will tell you to buy seasonal fruits and vegetables ALL THE TIME. Why? Because it’s less expensive and cost-effective. I have a list of seasonal fruits and vegetables and I go nuts when I’m at the farmers market. I buy a lot and freeze them for future use. I take advantage or opportunity to go fruits/vegetables picking.
Back in Macedonia, it was so much easier to walk to the farmers market and get fruits and vegetables. The market there opens everyday except in rigid weather/temperature. I built such great relationships with my people there to the point I would get free/extra produce thrown in my bags. I miss those days when my monthly budget was around $20 to $30 (depends on season). However now I’m in back home in the states and I must continue the search for a farmers market and stay within budget.
Nowadays, I get all my organic produce at HUNGRY HOLLOW CO-OP. It’s a community based market and I’m so happy to be a member of the hungry hollow community tribe. Another great place is 14 street Union Square farmers green MARKET.
Anyhow, back to buying seasonal fruits and vegetables. My suggestion is to always do your research. A quick google search on seasonal produce takes less than a minute. However, I want you to be mindful of your geography site. Why? Because certain fruits and vegetables might be in season in California or Florida and you can find it anywhere in New York or Michigan. At this moment, we are in season for cucumber, tomatoes, summer squash, peppers, corns, green beans, mango, plums, cantaloupe, apricot, berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries), watermelon, peaches, and more.
Meal prepping and meal plan
I did a whole post on meal prepping and it’s correlation to healthy lifestyle. Honestly speaking, Saturdays are my market days. It’s also my day to be in nature so you’ll sometimes find me hiking or enjoying some outdoor activity. Sundays are my meal prep days. I love my Sundays because aside from being in nature and on top of a mountain, I love being in my kitchen. I love the smell of fresh produce so I’m rinsing/cleaning, chopping, concocting, and packing. I envision what I’ll eat everyday from breakfast, lunch, and dinner including snacks. It’s also my time to work on new recipes (what I call trial and error Sunday).
Meal prep is as important as meal plan. Why?
- You won’t starve yourself.
- You won’t have to buy unnecessary food because you can easily just unpack and make a quick meal because it’s been packed and set aside.
- You have a busy life and you’re trying to keep up with work, healthy life balance so spending time prepping your meal in at night may be a nightmare. If you do not want to spend time prepping your food on a weekday, then meal prepping and planning will give you that peace of mind you need and help you maintain a healthy balance.
- Ain’t no body got time for that (lol).
- You want to save money.
- Meal prepping and planning gives you quality time with yourself, your spouse, children, family, parents, or partner. My Sundays are therapeutic and it’s my way of healing my mind and investing in my health.
Stop eating out
Your goal is to save money and budget wisely. So it only makes sense that you don’t rely on outside to feed your body. It’s a fact that you’ll spend a fortune if you buy food and eat out at a restaurant every day. Vegan or not, it’s a given that you won’t be saving money. Again, our goal is to help you save money. Therefore, if you want to stay within budget, home cook meal is the way to go.
Wait a minute now! I’m not saying not to go out and enjoy yourself once in a while. What I’m trying to say is to stop eating out at restaurant every day and night.
Homecook meal
The best thing you can give yourself is a home cooked meal. It’s also the best way to make sure you’re getting all the right nutrients. You’re in control of what’s in your food and what ingredients you use. You know your food is healthy and loaded with all the yumness and goodness. Your plate is full, very nutritious, filling, and healthy.
I understand if you don’t like cooking. If you don’t know how to cook. And lastly, if you have a busy life and cooking is the farthest thing on you mind. However, nothing is better when you take your time to learn and make something that will satisfy and flourish your body. There are tons of simple cool books with simple, quick meal ideas. Don’t wait until it’s too late to invest in your health. Don’t believe in the hype that a vegan lifestyle is expensive. It’s all false because being vegan, staying within budget has been the easiest and simplest thing to do in my life.
Experiment, try, but don’t give up. It’ll get easier and easier with time. Cook away and don’t give up. Use that time as a way to bond with yourself more, family, spouse, partner, children. Use it to communicate and learn from one another. Also, use it as a way to heal yourself mentally and emotionally. Home cook meals can only get better and it SAVES YOU MONEY TOO.
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