Get the best plant-based bang for you buck.

I’m a foodie.

There, I said it.

I like food, as much as the next person.

Yes, I like to eat the same things over and over occasionally, but ultimately, there’s nothing better for the soul than a delicious plant-based home cooked meal.

I see plant-based food as an INVESTMENT in my health and that is SO IMPORTANT. You can read all about The 8 Best Health Perks Of A Vegan Plant-Based Diet for more details on how a plant-based = health.

But then there is another piece of me, that sees food as one of my major costs of the month. Like the rent or mortgage, heating or water for the house, it’s another expense.

Whether I like it or not, I HAVE TO PAY FOR FOOD.

I NEED to eat, like I NEED to breathe.

Not only that.

I need to eat well. In a way that will nourish my body for me to feel on top of my game day-to-day.

Oh, but the COST.

Why does food have to feel like it costs SO much?

I don’t mean luxury splashes out on shaved truffle sprinkles or even organic quinoa from the ancient land of the monkeys (I just made that quinoa product up but you know what I mean).

I mean just the basics. The fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, bread, almond milk and so on.

Why does even just ‘survival’ food feel like it costs a lot?

In some ways, I see food as lost spend that I’ll never see again. Especially if I feel like I’m overpaying for something that can be cheaper for the same item elsewhere.

No one likes the feeling of wasting money.

The other issue is time.

Let’s face it, we all have lives to live.

No one wants to spend a ton of time price comparing or ripping out every coupon they ever come across. So I’m going to just share a few of my basic tips that will help you to eat a dirt cheap vegan diet, but without it taking too much of your time.

Buy In Season

Hopefully, as you’re following a predominately whole foods plant-based diet, you’ll be needing to buy lots of colorful and delicious fruits and veggies.

Prices fluctuate for produce for when it’s considered in or out of season.

If food has been imported then this is bad for the environment AND your wallet. If it’s out of season and supply is low but demand is high, as with anything, the price goes up.

Different fruits and veggies vary for seasons depending on which part of the world you are based in. The USDA offers this Seasonal Produce Guide for those based in the US.

Go To Farmer’s Markets, Big Grocery Stores Or Start Shopping Online

I will ALWAYS favor the farmer’s market option as often the prices are excellent value.

If you haggle and flash a cheeky smile you might be able to buy in bulk at a reduced rate.

The produce is sourced locally, which is better for the environment. You are also supporting your local independent traders over large conglomerates and backing your local community. Win win!

In most places, you’ll have smaller convenience shops, larger grocery stores, with everything in between.

In the smaller stores, you can end up paying just for the convenience.

If you have no local farmers markets, the larger grocery stores usually have better prices and potentially more deals on produce and items for the pantry. Buy from farmer’s markets will help you to be vegan on a budget.

Shop Own Brand

This applies for just about everyone doing their grocery shopping, not just those eating a plant-based vegan diet. But is a sure fire way to be vegan on a budget.

Wherever you are buying your groceries from, keep an eye for own brand produce. They tend to aiming for the lower price bracket and more locally sourced.

Buy Frozen

If you do happen to go the big grocery stores, always check the frozen section before heading the check-out with your fruit and veg finds.

Items in the frozen section, including frozen mixed veg, peas, corn, broccoli and fruit can be SO MUCH cheaper than the fresh section.

A classic example for me is blueberries. I used to buy them fresh, a smallish amount of them. I LOVED them with my vegan protein pancakes in particular. But then I realised I could get around 10x the amount in the frozen section for the SAME price. I’ve never looked back since this discovery and now always buy frozen blueberries.

Look For Deals

Depending on which country you reside in, there are deals to be had!

If you live in Canada, grocery store Sobey’s has what I call ‘cheap Tuesdays.’ On the first Tuesday of every month, they offer 15% off from your bill. It’s an AMAZING deal.

In the UK, there is Ocado. They offer 25% off your first grocery shop and free deliveries for three months. They also have an EXTENSIVE range of vegan foods. It varies in price, but there is definitely some cheaper stuff available if you keep an eye out for their own brand of products.

Walmart is a great option for those in the US, it’s so cheap, it doesn’t need a % discount offer lol. Am I right?

Collect Airmiles/Loyalty Points

Research what Airmiles or loyalty point schemes might be running in your local area or at your local stores.

Over time these all add up, and at the end of the year you can either cash them in for something fun, or do what I do, which is get an entirely free shop, all on points or Airmiles.

Food tastes SO much better when it’s free! (Free as in Airmiles or points paid for it).

In the UK you can find many loyalty point schemes. Sainsbury’s offer their Nectar Card where it gives you a variety of discounts and they’ll send you coupons straight to your door based on what like you buy.

Steer Clear Of Processed Foods

Buying ready made foods is not just bad for your health and full of potential additives and preservatives. It can also be super pricey.

I did something naughty the other day. No judgement please.

I found a pre-made beetroot quinoa salad thing in the freezer section. It didn’t have a price showing, but I thought “screw it, how much can this really be? I might really love it.”

I got to the check out, and….

Urgh.

Obviously the barcode wasn’t in their system either, just like the price hadn’t made it to the shelf.

You know the story of what happens next. Fellow store colleagues all started gathering round looking at the salad, all bewildered about it not having a price.

I was just stood there, like a lemon, being polite but really thinking I had to go.

We’ve all been there.

It was all taking minutes up of my day, when I really was happy just to leave it rather than have hassle myself or hassle the staff about the whimsical beet salad I had just grabbed.

I said not to worry and I’ll get it next time, but the check out assistant INSISTED it would only be two minutes to get the price.

Five minutes later or so, the price comes in over on the walkie talkie.

It was $12 USD. For me, that was expensive, it was TINY. I knew I could make it for MUCH cheaper.

As you do. I bought it anyway, just to save face to the check out assistant and because it had been this big kerfuffle over getting the price.

The moral of the story is don’t grab random stuff from the shelves.

The OTHER moral of the story is make it yourself at home.

But back to my point about buying processed foods. If you are sticking to a whole foods plant-based diet that are not processed, the great news is that these foods can be REALLY cheap.

Spinach, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, beets and whole host of other veggies are usually very cheap. As are many legumes such as lentils.

Cook At Home

This is always going to be cheaper than eating out. Eating out means paying for the service.

Just by simply buying the ingredients and spending twenty minutes to cook, it might cost $4 instead of $10 for roughly the same thing eating out or by delivery.

If you go out to work most days like the rest of us, it’s usually much cheaper to take your lunch with you rather than grab something from cafes or restaurants.

It’s a way to to cook cheap vegan recipes.

Not only is it cheaper, but it might even taste better as you won’t put in any ingredients you don’t like!

Batch Cook

Kind of plays into the benefits of cooking at home too.

I frequently batch cook and put it in the freezer in a reusable container. It saves so much time in the long run, it’s also really handy for when you’re short on time and the food is just there, in the freezer, ready to go.

Some great meals to batch cook include The ULTIMATE Vegan Shepherd’s Pie, Mexican Three Bean Vegan Chili  or The BEST Vegan Lentil Bolognese.

But buying and cooking a batch, you also benefit from economies of scale from when purchasing the ingredients. The more you buy, the cheaper it can get. Buying a big bag of potatoes and cooking those can be much cheaper per potato than buying just a couple of potatoes.

Cook Simple Meals

A meal can be both simple and delicious at the same time.

Sometimes simple means fast and easy, but it also means eating cheaply as there may be fewer ingredients to consider.

Some secret weapons of plant-based eating include stocking up in having a variety of herbs and spices, as well a different nuts/seeds if you don’t already have them already. To buy these initially can carry a small bill, but once you have them, eating a plant-based diet can be easily done on a budget by cooking simple meals and enjoying your array of herbs and spices.

Look for recipes with cheap ingredients, you could try Creamy Vegan Thai Chickpea Lime Curry or these Chickpea Quinoa Protein Jazzy Jars.

Freeze Any Leftovers, Never Throw Food Out

The key is to never throw out unwanted food.

Be ON IT in terms of freezing. It’s so quick. All leftovers from cooked meals can go into a reusable container, if it doesn’t get eaten soon after then I put it in the freezer and eat it a later date.

Also, if you happen to overbuy fruits or vegetables, or you can see them going bad before you you get a chance to eat them, the freezer is there to save the day. My trick is, where possible, to chop it up into pieces before freezing, and then just pulling it out and throwing in recipes in their frozen and already chopped form. An example is bananas, oranges, mangos – I pull out and put them straight into smoothies for blending. Carrots, leeks, zucchini – I pull them out and put them straight stews or curries.

Shop Around

Over time you can easily get to know which grocery store offers the best deal for certain ingredients.

A classic example is nutritional yeast, chia seeds and pumpkin seeds.

These are staples in our pantry but they are not cheap. You can buy them in the larger grocery store, but in fact they are considerably cheaper in the local health foods shop.

I just tend to grab them whenever I’m walking past and top up supplies at home so that it doesn’t really feel like it’s a pain to go to the extra shop.

Grow At Home

Absolutely LOVE this one! It might just be my favorite of the list.

Become your own outdoor or indoor farmer!

If you have an outdoor space, think about what could grow. Imagine picking your very own cherry tomatoes straight from the vine harvest into your salad. SO FRESH!

Or indoor you could get some window boxes going or an Aerogarden. I’ve had mine for over a year and love it.

Growing your own harvest can be time demanding, but the financial savings are huge. It’s also very nurturing for the soul to watch things grow you are responsible for.

Costco

Ahh where cheap grocery shopping dreams are made of.

This is it. This one point stands to save you a lot of money.

The trick to Costco – BULK BUYING.

You need a membership, these are around $50 or less. But the savings over the course of the year can be something to behold.

It’s great for:

• Chickpeas
• Lentils
• Beans
• Nuts and nut betters
• Seeds
• Oats
• Rice
• Pasta
• Snacks
• Canned tomatoes

When you arrive you have to up for spending a few hundred dollars, but if you’re in it for the long game it will save you a good amount of money.

Look For 9 Or 11 Bean Mixes

These are packets of beans.

They have different types of beans included, combined with a small packet of tasty herbs to throw in. They come uncooked and you need to cook them on a low heat for 3-4 hours, potentially throwing in some vegetables (I use onion, garlic, carrot and celery), but they taste great! Super nutritious with no naughties and they are so cheap! They are around $7 USD, but from one packet you can usually get around six good-sized filling meals. That works out to around one dollar a meal.

Free Water!

If you want to keep down the cost, it’s a good idea to knock out any ready made or processed drinks.

Obviously tap water is free, but if you are worried about toxicity levels for chemicals such as chlorine, it’s now possible to get spring water completely free. Check out Find A Spring for local sources of entirely free spring water.

Recipes You Can Make Cheaply

Check out this delicious Mexican Three Bean Vegan Chili. Instead of buying expensive meat substitutes you could make Epic Vegan Nut Roast instead. If you’re looking for vegan snacks to make the check out Vegan Lit Chocolate Chip Cookies.

A Side Note On Plastic

There is change happening, some countries or shops are making an effort to cut back on single-use plastic.

Unfortunately grocery shopping still has a lot of plastic packaging for its products.

I try to shop cheaply but I also take into consideration how much plastic packaging it has before purchasing.

You can read more about How To Reduce Your Plastic Footprint in 2020. It can be worthwhile to take a reusable shopping bags with you when grocery shopping.

The Bottom Line

There is a myth that eating plant-based is expensive.

The reality is that meat is expensive.

Plant-based foods are either equal to or cheaper than the cost of eating an animal product based diet. You can read more on Dispelling The 11 Biggest Myths: The Vegan Plant-Based Diet .

With a bit of time and the above tactics, eating plant-based vegan on the cheap can feel easy peasy.

If you’re new to eating plant-based vegan foods, then check out Going Vegan In 2020 – The Ultimate Guide for Beginners for more handy tips.

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