If you're anything like me, you're on a showstring budget and you love trying new recipes every week. Usually, though, those recipes call for some seriously over-budget priced ingredients.
Like Spelt flour. Do you know how much that ish costs?! Try $5 or $6 a bag, yo! Sheesh.
About a day ago, I signed up to get infinite email messages, or missions, from Marisa at Vegan at Heart (
www.kindgreenplanet.org). VAH is a program dedicated to making the vegan transition a cinch with little ten minute missions you can complete and/or practice anytime from the privacy and comfort of your own home. Get this, it just so happens that my first mission was to create a shopping list. Not just any shopping list; one that you made as the weeks went by of the things you remembered you needed.
Creating a shopping list and sticking to a meal plan is one of the most important and constantly repeated tips to saving money when shopping vegan. "The best solution is to plan out your meals, including snacks, two weeks at a time, and prepare a grocery list that fits the bill," says Kim Barnouin, author of the Skinny Bitch book series, and her latest book, Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook.
Personally, I love making grocery lists and meal plans (if I could make money doing it for others, I would). But being vegan on an interns salary is tough. So, here's what I do to make use of the advice my guru's write about. Since it's just me - one single female - I plan for one gourmet meal that calls for ingredients I already have in the fridge or pantry; a few low budget, lazy meals for lunch, like soups or frozen dinners (Yay, Candle Cafe!); and an easy peasy, cheap and simple meal like sandwiches, veggie burgers, or "soy-rizo" tacos. I know, I know, it doesn't sound like I get my veggies. That's why I also try to plan a salad in there somewhere for good measure using veggies that haven't yet been subjected to my juicer, i.e. the container of radishes dying to be used in a salad this week.
Here's what the experts have to say:
"Anyone who shops for vegan groceries in a supermarket knows there are several departments that can be avoided entirely. Still, it can be helpful to have a grocery list template, organized by department, such as Fresh Produce, Canned Goods, Frozen Foods, and Grains and Pasta, and you can fill in what items you need in the appropriate category. If you find that you purchase basically the same ingredients each week, it may be easier to have a master grocery list on which you simply highlight the items you need before you go shopping." - Robin Roberston, author Vegan on the Cheap
That reminds me of another point. Most vegans will tell you to stay away from Wal-Mart, I say, stay far far away from Wal-Mart's produce. They have the absolute worst produce in the world. Probably because it travels more than the average 1,500 miles of the rest of our food.
The best solution for that problem is simply buying your produce locally. The farmers' markets in Oklahoma are amazing, and cheap! I think for produce I spent about $35 and got enough produce to make as many meals as I wanted. On the downside, I know what it's like to be without transportation; ride your bike there, or take the crummy bus, right? Absolutely.
Yet another solution that I only recommend for people making more than an intern, is to join a local CSA (community supported agriculture). Say bye-bye, Whole Foods produce and hello, produce at my door! CSA's allow you to choose what produce you want delivered to you and how much, that way you won't get unnecessary veggies and fruits. Check out
www.localharvest.org to find a CSA and farmers' markets near you.
Imagine all of that delivered to your doorstep. Wow, I'm in.
Remember, make a grocery list according to a meal plan, and save some moolah! Let's go vegan!
Dani
