Poor vegan, cheap living

[DiaShel]

Just to clarify, you have completely confused me. :confused:
;)

[emzy1985]

Whalespace - sprouts! Mmmmm I love sprouts! MissB - you can make me a salad anyday!

[Festered]

I am the poorest I have EVER been, or at least felt! At the moment!
Bearing in mind I have been homeless, been a student twice, spent over a year unemployedhave lived with manipulative men who have taken me for everything and got me in mega debt, too!
I have a 2K over draft, and it's almost at the tip of the 2K at the end of every month-I don't get a rubbish Salary either (about £1750 a month I come out with.I am baffled as to why I have so little monies now! I have been keeping a diary to help me work this out!
Anyway. I have been trying to diet, as well as eat cheap as possible.
Things that I have worked out are;


Tinned tomatoes (40p ish a can) mixed with veg stock, a bit of fried onion, seasoning and chilli powder makes an ace low cal soup.
Going to the supermarket not long before it closes-salads and veg are on offer if they are only going to last 24 hours or so.

I 'fry' veg in vegetable stock until tender, and season. Curry powder and chilli sauce helps, aswell as cheap vegan cup soups added to the mix.
I buy frozen veg in bags, the cheapest the SMarket has, and cook in stock and seasoning, perhaps adding lentils or chickpeas if I m not watching my weight so much.
Anyone else this skint?Please? lol

[Back-Space]

Well, I may be broke.... but as far as I can tell I'm not skint :p I'm still unemployed right now, just looking for work in my new town. I like the lentil soups myself. Some vegetable stock and water, then corn, beans, and lentils. Tastes great, cheap to buy, and only takes me a few minutes to put together so I can get back to sitting around :D I've got just enough money in my account to make it through next month, and I'm charging everything to my credit card. I'm seeing more jobs come up online, so I'll be applying for some positions I might like tomorrow, then I can start saving up for a new snowboard :p

[Verencemos]

I live in uk and though I have a job that normally makes me well paid, I am certainly feeling the pinch - combination of increases in food and fuel prices, and frozen salary. I am coping by keeping a list of everything I spend, spotting the outliers and finding am alternative. So am making mince pies and pasties (I'm Cornish!) rather than buying them. Also like people say, lots of pulses in stews , soups and curries. I am fortunate to have a pressure cooker which means I can buy cheap dried pulses and after a soak, it only takes 8 mins of pressure to cook. I would recommend one for every vegan! I am also sprouting seeds and beans as a cheap source of goodness. All this is very time consuming so I have just resigned myself to it and decided it's my hobby. Cheap and not so time consuming - no eating out, less booze and bourbon biscuits (70p for a packet that lasts us a week) instead of Mccoys crisps (60p and gone in a flash!). What a horrible insight that gives you into my life!

[TXvegan]

I agree with getting a pressure cooker! I love mine. Make a big batch of stew, soup, or curry every Sunday and then take them for lunches or heat them up for a quick dinner during the week. Not eating out is a great way to save cash. If my husband and I go out to dinner, we spend the same amount of money that I can make do in a week's grocery bill.

[Festered]

I live in uk and though I have a job that normally makes me well paid, I am certainly feeling the pinch - combination of increases in food and fuel prices, and frozen salary. I am coping by keeping a list of everything I spend, spotting the outliers and finding am alternative. So am making mince pies and pasties (I'm Cornish!) rather than buying them. Also like people say, lots of pulses in stews , soups and curries. I am fortunate to have a pressure cooker which means I can buy cheap dried pulses and after a soak, it only takes 8 mins of pressure to cook. I would recommend one for every vegan! I am also sprouting seeds and beans as a cheap source of goodness. All this is very time consuming so I have just resigned myself to it and decided it's my hobby. Cheap and not so time consuming - no eating out, less booze and bourbon biscuits (70p for a packet that lasts us a week) instead of Mccoys crisps (60p and gone in a flash!). What a horrible insight that gives you into my life!

Lol! I dislike eating out anyway, even if I have the money. I love cooking, and it's always a rip off when you are a good cook, I tend to always think 'I could do this better for a fraction of the price'.

I also think things have gone up in price so much :(

[Hemlock]

We're really hard up at the moment as we've had time out from work so we've been looking for really cheap food recipes. We found a couple of secondhand books but even so called frugal food had 6 eggs in a recipe and loads of ingredients which is fine if you have a plentiful larder but not otherwise.
What we've been doing is trying out and veganising wartime recipes - fantastic. We've saved tons of money and the recipes cost pennies.
Today I made an eggless (well obviously) fruit cake and it was fab - more than acceptable as cake and didn't cost me anything as I already had the ingredients in the cupboard:

http://www.scotsindependent.org/features/food/eggless.htm

It came out quite solid and I'm wondering if the tannin had anything to do with that?

[leedsveg]

Hi Hemlock

Have you been using the following recipes?

http://1940sexperiment.wordpress.com/100-wartime-recipes/

My mum used the Marguerite Patten cookery books during WWII and she carried on using them into the 1950s because money was tight.

Leedsveg

[Simon]

I find cooking in large batches a really cheap way of cooking. I'll often make a big batch of chilli, curry or pasta sauce that does about 15-20 servings and then freeze what I don't need right away. Can often make a serving for as little as 30p and then eat with rice/ pasta/ quinoa or even use as a filling for pasties.

[harpy]

Even though I am not a big fan of tea as a drink I think cakes etc with tea in are really good - barm brack, which can also be vegan, has tea in it as well I think?

Talking of war-time recipes I bought a wartime recipe book for a friend in the shop at Bletchley Park, assuming it would be mostly vegan and made with stuff from their allotments etc, and while some of it was it had a lot of recipes with things like offal in :( Another theory bites the dust.

[leedsveg]

Even though I am not a big fan of tea as a drink I think cakes etc with tea in are really good - barm brack, which can also be vegan, has tea in it as well I think?

Any relation to bara brith harpy? (My Mum who is a big lover of tea, used to make really nice bara brith.)

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=28567.0

Leedsveg

[SlackAlice]

Any relation to bara brith harpy? (My Mum who is a big lover of tea, used to make really nice bara brith.)

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=28567.0

Leedsveg


I am familiar with bara brith Leeds! It a Welsh 'thing' isnt it? I know this because during my childhood in North Wales this was commonly served with coffee or tea as the 'cake option' ...very cheap to make apparently and tastes delicious if I remember rightly!!

Slack

[harpy]

I was looking at a website that suggests barm brack and bara brith are pretty much the same thing - think barm brack is Irish and bara brith is Welsh?

[SlackAlice]

I was looking at a website that suggests barm brack and bara brith are pretty much the same thing - think barm brack is Irish and bara brith is Welsh?

Yes thats my understanding as well:)

[leedsveg]

I was looking at a website that suggests barm brack and bara brith are pretty much the same thing - think barm brack is Irish and bara brith is Welsh?

I think I may have a bash at making the bara brith, I'd love to be able to take some for my mum to eat. It's just a shame her mind has gone and she wouldn't be able to remember ever making it herself.

leedsveg

[harpy]

You never know, she may remember at some level. Anyway if she made it that's probably a sign she likes it, at least!

[Korn]

Eating Vegan on the Cheap (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/eat-vegan-cheap_b_840191.html#s257915&title=Long_Term_Rewards)

[Korn]

Link: 6 Tips to Eat Vegan on a Budget
(http://www.care2.com/greenliving/6-tips-to-eat-vegan-on-a-budget.html)

There’s a common misconception that a vegan diet is also an expensive one, but I don’t think that has to be the case at all! Sure, if you eat lots of fake meat products and load up your cart with out of season veggies, a vegan diet can definitely break the bank. If an omnivore ate nothing bit filet mignon and fancy cheeses, that would get pretty expensive too, right?



More here (http://www.care2.com/greenliving/6-tips-to-eat-vegan-on-a-budget.html).

[Sidhariel]

I've been on a low budget for the past few years so I know my fair deal of strategies for cheap living. I was amazed at how cheap being Vegan turned out to be, it's by far cheaper than being omnivore and even vegetarian.

My advice for living vegan cheaply:

-Make a week menu schedule and buy everything you need exept fresh fruit and vegetables at once one day a week (don't shop when hungry)

-Buy fresh produce at the local market or buy discount veg and fruit at the organic store if it's something you like

-Go to Asian, Middle eastern and Carribean stores, they often have lots of foods that are suitable for vegans and they're cheap

-Buy things you can store longer when they're discounted (like canned and dried beans, tomato paste, canned tomatoes, rice/pasta, tinned fruit, coconut milk etc)

-Eat your leftovers and try to keep waste to a minimum! Learn to cut veggies etc properly, that saves waste

-Don't buy too many substitutes or fake meats because they're expensive

-Make sure you eat whole wheat bread/pasta etc as they will keep you full longer and if you eat less you save money on your food budget too

-Keep treats like cookies and crisps for the weekend, they're nice but expensive compared to nutritional value. Eat fruit if you have a sweet craving during the week.

[TXvegan]

I find that the book "Vegan on the Cheap" was a great addition to my cookbook collection, both for the recipes and the excellent tips on how to eat deliciously, but cheaply. I got it second hand on Amazon and it has been a great one!

[amethyst]

HOBO CASSEROLE ( lol)Vegetable cooking spray
1 c. onion, chopped
1/2 c. green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can kidney beans, drained(or soaked equiv)
1 can pinto beans, drained(or soaked equiv)
1 (16 oz.) can tomatoes, chopped, juice and all
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. mustard
1/8 tsp. hot sauce(I like Tapatio)

BREAD MIXTURE:
1 c. yellow corn meal
1 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 c. soy milk
1/2 c. egg substitute (i omitted this alltogether lol)
3 tbsp. Canola oil (if desired)
1 (8 1/2 oz.) can cream style corn (i mashed reg corn and added silk creamer-not toomuch lol)

Spray skillet with vegetable cooking spray, saute onion, green peppers and garlic until tender. May add 1/4 cup water if desired. Stir in beans and next 7 ingredients. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Pour into 9x13 baking dish. Set aside.Combine meal and flour with next 3 ingredients, add to dry mixture next 4 ingredients. Mix well. Spoon evenly over bean mixture to within 1 inch of edge, all around.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until corn bread is done.


Thank you! I am sooooo making this in the next day or two. Our weather is supposed to dip into the 30's at night, and a filling meal like this will be great over the weekend. :)

[amethyst]

I am lucky though too that I have my mom who seems always willing to feed me. I'm actually going over tonight and she said she will make fallafels for us. Then she always sends us the left-overs. I feel a little bit moochy but I suppose that's what moms are there for. We haven't been to visit them for a few weeks anyway, so it was over due.

Yes, I am sure your mom enjoys knowing that she is helping you. One of my sons who is a student always shows up hungry! LOL. It makes me happy to know that he gets stuffed on homemade food here, and then takes the rest home. Hopefully, it helps to balance out all of that fast food and convenience stuff he eats. If it makes mom happy and your tummy happy, why not do it more often? :heart:

[amethyst]

I am new to the forum, and have been reading thru this thread. I love it, and thank all of you for your wonderful suggestions.

I am curious about one thing. While being poor, do most of you eat more veg/fruit with some grain/beans added, or the opposite? Which is more economical, while maintaining health and nutrients?

Background on me: Vegetarian for 6 years, then went vegan earlier this year. (I know! I know! What took so long?! LOL) I am still experimenting with different combinations of food to try to get the most nutrition for my dollars.

I am on page 8 of 13, btw. On with my reading.... :)

[missbettie]

I eat a lot of veggies and lettuce type things....I'm not a big fruit person. And most of my veggies and fruit are frozen so they won't go bad if I don't use them right away. :)