Eating vegan on a tight budget: 5 easy tips

Being a full-time student, I have to carefully plan and budget what foods I’ll buy for the next three weeks. Finding a way to eat healthy and vegan on a budget can be tricky.

This image is sourced from Wix

When you think of vegan, you automatically think of the word expensive. Everyone, including myself, have a common misunderstanding that being healthy and living on a plant-based diet can be expensive. We have this idea that when becoming vegan, you have to buy expensive supplements, powders, superfoods, or even vegan meat and dairy-free substitutes.However, since doing this vegan challenge, I can safely say that you don’t have to break the bank to sustain a vegan lifestyle.

If you buy the basics, you’ll find that it can be very cheap and affordable. Here are five tips that will help you save money.

1. Prepare you own meals

This is a great way to save your money. Going out to restaurants or getting take-outs are much more expensive compared to preparing your own meals and eating at home. You can find easy recipes to make on Pinterest that only need to few ingredients to make. Eating out should be an occasional treat.

Since going vegan, I’ve started preparing my own meals in advance and take them with me to university. This way you’ll have full control over what goes in your meals and won’t have to worry or depend on take-out foods that aren’t even healthy for you. I’ve saved so much by just simply preparing my own meals. You can also consider cooking in large batches and freeze the leftovers in separate containers.

2. Prepare simple meals.

There are so many simple and tasty recipes on Pinterest that don’t need much time to prepare. Simple does not have to mean boring. I’ve made starches my base for every meal and experiment with different ingredients, flavorful sauces and spices. You don’t want to stuff your recipes with too much ingredients so keep it simple. Think of sweet potato with guacamole or banana ice-cream. Delicious yet simple!

This image is sourced from Wix

3. Buy Smart

When shopping for your foods, look for the lower-priced items. Consider store brands as they offer the same quality and goodness at a much lower price. Only buy fruit and vegetables you are going to eat for the week. They don’t last very long and you don’t want your food to spoil. Make sure you look out for any specials to make extra savings on foods that you are buying. Make sure you eat before you go shopping. You want to be full and satisfied otherwise you’ll end up buying the whole store.

4. Freeze your leftovers

If you find that you bought too many fruit or vegetables and you’re worried they might turn bad, you can freeze them. you can make a delicious smoothie or use the frozen vegetables to make soup. Another alternative is just buying frozen fruits and vegetables. It is very convenient and often cheaper than buying fresh fruit and vegetables every week. The frozen foods are picked ripe so they still maintain a good amount of minerals and vitamins.

5. Drink water

Plain water nourishes your body and is all your body actually needs. I take my water bottle with me where ever I go. I normally boil the tap water (to enhance the quality) every night, so it’s ready in the morning. You can infuse your water with lemon or other fruits if you’re not a big fan of plain water. I found that drinking water instead of sodas or sugary drinks gives me an extra energy boost throughout the day. Sugary drinks aren’t good for your health anyway and don’t do any good to your wallet either. So, stick to drinking water.

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These are just a couple of ways to cut down costs if you’re on a tight budget like me. Healthy foods can be extremely cheap. You can build your diet on starchy foods and add vegetables that are high in vitamins and minerals. Make sure you don’t sacrifice your health when on a budget. Giving your body the nutrients it needs is very important!

Let me know what tips have worked for you when on a budget. You can share it in the comments below. XXX