Happy #MunchieMonday, everyone! Welcome to the first post of Heaven in Health's Ask a Pro series. I'm just gonna give a little disclaimer here: I started my transition to a vegetarian diet 9+ years ago under the supervision of my wonderful mother who is a nutritionist, but I am by no means a professional in nutrition. The tips that I am about to give are simply ones that have worked for me. If you have any health or dietary concerns, you should talk to your doctor before making any drastic changes to your diet.
Since that's out of the way, let's move on to the four key things that helped me save money when grocery shopping.
1. Take advantage of fresh and frozen produce
Frozen fruit is always a good option to keep around your house to use in oatmeal, baked goods, and smoothies. Frozen veggies are also something I love to keep in stock to eat by itself or in stir fry. Don’t fall for the myth that frozen produce isn’t as healthy as fresh produce. Frozen produce is usually frozen at its ripest point and can sometimes hold more nutritional value than fresh produce as a result. Also, you won’t have to worry about your food rotting after forgetting about in the back of the fridge for two weeks.
Frozen produce isn’t always a money saver, however. Be sure to check prices in your local grocery store, wholesale store, and farmer’s market to find out what works best for you. Fresh produce can be frozen for convenience and freezing fresh produce can save money in cases where the pre-frozen stuff happens to be more expensive.
2. Buy in bulk
As long as you aren’t buying more stuff than you can use, buying food in bulk can be an excellent option to save money. Items that I would recommend buying in bulk are nuts, seeds, spices, herbs, flours, grains, dried fruit, and dry beans. Basically, any non-perishable food that you might want to keep around your house is a good candidate for a bulk purchase. I would avoid buying perishable foods in bulk since they often go bad before all of it can be used. You might also consider avoiding buying expensive foods you’ve never had before in bulk. Usually, the largest amount will be the cheapest by unit/weight—but try to avoid buying more than you think you’ll need.
3. Buy generic brand foods
Everyone is a brand loyalist in one way or another, but there are a few branded food items that can easily be substituted for generic items without making any difference other than lowering your grocery expenses. Such items include but aren’t limited to: flours and other baking items, oatmeal, pasta, rice, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, beans, and legumes. Don’t forget to make sure you’re getting the maximum weight for the cost when comparing two products of the same price.
4. Prepare your own meals
The most challenging issue I faced when transitioning to a plant-based diet almost 10 years ago was learning what to eat. I was used to having a piece of meat with every meal that I had no idea what to replace it with when I started ‘weeding’ it out of my diet. Experiencing that period of uncertainty is the main reason that I always recommend transitioning to a plant-based diet in steps rather than all at once. Start by learning a few quick vegan or vegetarian meals and learn a new one every couple of weeks. Eventually, you can replace your entire diet with a plant-based one. Consulting with a doctor or dietitian in case you have any specific dietary needs will make the whole process easier as well, although it isn’t usually required.
In my experience, I’ve discovered that the idea of plant-based diets being more expensive to adopt is a misconception. Meat is more expensive than plants. When I made the final decision in 2013 to stop buying meat entirely, it cut the amount I was previously spending on meat almost in half. I’ve learned so many recipes since then, developed a life skill in cooking, and I've gotten so much enjoyment out of it. Plus, I have saved a ton of money on food during my time here in college. There are some complications involved with eating away from home as a vegetarian in Georgia, but it’s nothing that can’t be worked around with a small amount of cooking ability and a little bit of Tupperware.
What now?
I’ve given you the four key tips that helped me save money when I changed to a plant-based diet, but those won’t help you if you don’t know what to eat right? The staples of any plant-based diet are whole foods. No, not the expensive grocery store chain. I mean whole grains, tubers, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. Aside from staying on top of your vitamin B12 intake, That’s really it! Here are 31 easy vegetarian recipes to get you started!
Fruits and vegetables
Buy in season produce, take advantage of sales, and save some for later by freezing or fermenting it. Keep your eye on the frozen aisle for deals too. Leafy greens such as: kale, spinach, cabbage, napa cabbage, arugula, and broccoli form staples in my diet. Sweet potatoes and plantains are incredibly easy to cook and are rich sources of starch and dietary fiber. Add some colour to your diet with squash, bell peppers, eggplant, carrots, and seasonal vegetables while keeping fruit readily available for snacking.
Grains
One of the common issues that people have when embarking on a new plant-based diet is feeling hungry all the time. Whole grain foods such as: brown rice, oatmeal, whole-wheat bread, popcorn, millet, bulgur, barley, and buckwheat will provide an extended feeling of fullness with less calories. An added benefit is that whole grains provide a good source of fiber which is said to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.
It seems like a difficult thing to incorporate into a diet, but it can be very simple. The recommended amount of whole grain is only half of the recommended daily value of grains. Adding more whole grains into my diet was as simple as making a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread for a snack or making my next lasagna with spinach on whole wheat pasta so I wouldn’t feel as guilty about my next pasta binge. Refined grains are good too! Most refined grains these days are actually enriched with the B vitamins that they lost during the refining process and some are fortified with iron and folic acid.
Another common issue that people are confronted with when embarking on a new plant-based diet is finding sources of protein. Quinoa represents the only source of complete protein out of all grains. So, whenever I’m not stuffing my face with beans and legumes, quinoa is where I get a bulk of my protein.
Beans & legumes
Dry is the cheapest option for beans and legumes, however, canned is more convenient. So, how do you choose? It took me a while to figure this out, but the solution is very simple. Lentils cook in about 20 minutes with no presoaking required. So, lentils and other legumes with similar cook times should be purchased dry to get more bang for your buck. Dry black beans require presoaking and take over an hour to cook. So, black beans and other legumes with similar cook times should be purchased canned to save more time for your buck. If you have a slow cooker and you don’t mind waiting a few hours for your beans, then you might get the most value out of buying dry beans.
Personally, I try to limit my canned good purchases to low sodium varieties whenever possible. Tofu is a relatively low-cost food and it’s also a great source of protein that can be worked into any dish. My favourite type of tofu, extra firm, is incredibly easy to stir fry, deep fry, pan fry, and freeze to achieve a chewy texture for when you want a beef substitute. Check out this page on tofupedia for a complete rundown on types of tofu and tofu preparation.
Nuts & seeds
Nuts and seeds are a great thing to keep around for baking, oatmeal toppings, or
even snacks by themselves. Nuts are a great source of healthy fats & oils and are also high in protein! Buy them in bulk or in smaller amounts, but make sure you use them before they expire if you decide to go bulk. Surprisingly, nuts and seeds tend to keep well when frozen, so you can keep some in your freezer to save them for a later date.
I loved this Meek! Great read. Very professionally written ♥️