Where do I start?

[extrexor]

My girlfriend recently asked me to watch the documentary Earthlings with her. Needless to say I was amazed at the amount of cruelty that was carelessly done to the animals that I used to give no thought about eating. I knew they died to feed me but I was naive enough to think that at least they died quickly.

Since watching Earthlings my girlfriend has decided to go vegan and I have decided to at the very least cut back on my consumption of meat and animal products and see if I can continue on to vegetarian/vegan. The only problem is we really don't know where to begin.

Im used to spending maybe 50-75 dollars a month on food. For just myself. I previously did this by buying inexpensive meat products and making a whole bunch of sandwiches. Im concerned about cost, about taste, about nutrition.

Are there any stores that I could go to and be reasonably sure that most of the products dont come from animals so that I have a basis for comparison when I go into mainstream groceries? Is top ramen okay? Do all beef/chicken flavorings come from animals or are there artificial ones that are okay?

Just trying to get started. Any help/advice is appreciated.

[Dizzycow]

Hi, I'm a new vegan and like you have a limited funds (I'm a single mother and student) I don't eat eat replacement product so can't give you any comparisons but would just like to let you know it's not as hard or as exspensive as you might think.

If you go on to the Vegan Society website they list many stores and that product own brand products that are vegan and are often cheaper than branded products.
I've found my normal bread, pasta, jam, peanut butter, are all vegan.

Pasta and noodles are great for a base food and tomato sauses are easy to make or buy vegan.

I could go on but I've got to take the kids to school.

Good luck and have fun on your new journey : )

[harpy]

Hello - Welcome, and congratulations on your decision. Some US forum members will probably be along soon with ideas about where to shop etc. I think this site may be helpful: http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/vegan.htm but I don't know how up to date it is.

The good news is that being vegan often works out cheaper than not being, but you may find yourself preparing more of your food from scratch from things like seasonal veg and dried beans and lentils. (Also saves reading too many product labels!) Even I do that quite a bit and I'm not a big fan of cooking - I've just found a number of things that are quick to prepare.

We do have a few threads about feeding yourself on a budget, e.g. http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7093. There are a few more if you use the 'cheap living' tag (which may not sound as appealing in US English as it does in Britisn English? :D )

[karenann33]

See I think once I get the hang of this it will be cheaper. Meat and dairy products are VERY expensive when you look at the price per pound vs produce. My husband can eat a TON of meat but I promise you he cannot/will not eat that same quantity in produce. LOL!!

Also I'm noticing that now that I'm off animal products I'm eating a whole lot less and I'm not even hungry. It's weird. I mean for example for lunch I'll have some beans, broccoli (that I got frozen for free after coupons), cooked carrots and some rice and I'm stuffed. I cook brown rice up ahead of time so all I have to do is microwave when I want it.

I'm avoiding the vegan convenience and junk food because I don't need it and it's expensive. I bake my own breads (working on either converting my recipes or finding new ones that call for eggs) so thats not a problem. I don't have to pay $4 for a loaf of bread.

Only issue for me is just getting some vegan staples that I didn't have before.