Healthy, Vegan shopping

[rowan]

I am going vegan again tomorrow because of moral and weight reasons.

I'm on a pretty low budget but am ridding my house of all things non vegan and unhealthy tomorrow so that I don't have any temptations, so I need to buy some healthy, low budget, vegan food.

I know about the obvious things like tofu and vegetables, I don't like soy milk so cereal probably isn't an option and I don't want to eat a lot of bread.

I was vegan for 6 months before but I wasn't very healthy and didn't even lose weight because I ate the wrong things.

Any advice?

[carl669]

have you tried almond milk instead of soy milk?

[rowan]

Yep don't like that either, I don't really like any milk substitutes or milk, I don't have milk with my cereal unless it's too unpleasant without it

[Bonkasaurus]

I hate milk and almond and soy milk because it's so thick. I prefer rice milk, it's a creammier lighter substitiute.

[Del678]

Remember your B12 supplements! As a vegan you won't be getting nearly enough, if any, from natural sources. I'm not vegan but just a lazy cook so would rarely cook meat. Had a blood test once for a general check-up and my B12 was low. The doctor had a hard time believing I wasn't vegetarian. 

Sorry if you already know but thought I would post because I had a friend who was veggo for years and always focused on getting enough iron and never considered B12.

http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/vitaminb12

edit: also will help with energy so you won't be 'tempted' as much.

[gerrymcd]

Hi,

I've been vegan for 8 or so years.   It wasn't a particularly difficult transition......but, in answer to your question "healthy, low budget, vegan food"?  Its easy to get healthy or low budget or vegan.  Getting all three at once is more of a challenge if you can't spend considerable time preparing food (I mean, its easy to slap some faux meat into a sandwich, but not so easy to make something from scratch).  It takes some time and pre-planning.  I have no problem making something and eating it for dinner one night and lunch and dinner the next day.   But thats not for everyone. 

Good luck.  Stick with it.  You won't regret the change in the long run.

[SunsetRunner]

Hi! 

Nice to meet you and hope to be helpful!

Been vegan for 4 years, and in much better shape than I was before that, and have discovered exercise routines that work best for me (and can help you!).

You can certainly be vegan on a budget, just all the more incentive to avoid the faux meats and seek out plant-based, earth-grown goodness!!!

As you mentioned though, it is possible (and easy) to be a junk food vegan and it took me some time, and finding vegan community locally on meetup.com to grow past that.  Happy to help with your growth too!

(now if I can only figure out how to 'friend' on here!  lol!)

[SunsetRunner]

nutritional yeast....fortfied cereals, some breads...no worries for me....

[lovetheplanet]

Good Morning

I loved your post, as it has a lot of resonance with myself. I will reply later today when time allows.

[SunsetRunner]

I like what gerry said.  Plus, many recipes make up like 4-6 servings, and many freeze for reheating later on so cook in bulk when you get an hour or 2 free. #LeftoversRULE

[mpigs]

Try the Vanilla Almond Milk, it is 10x better tasting! You can also get it unsweetened

[lovetheplanet]

Hello. first of all. CONGRATULATIONS. Well done on making an intelligent move towards healthy eating and compassion towards animals . Support? The vegan society (just google it) has regualr meetings where you can make friends and share ideas. google "The Happy Cow" New Zealand, for vegan and vegan friendly cafes and restuarants. Also Wise Cicada, in Crowhurst st, Newmarket Auckland is plant based cafe. GREAT. and Revive always have great vegan salads. Burger Fuel have three delicious vegan burbers. Indian restaurants with Dahl and lentals, Thai cafes ask for vegetarian soup and you will be surpised. Try Raw Family (Google) and also Fredercik Patenaude (google) and for fun and heaps of medicinal advice www.herbdoc.com or Dr Schultz (look at his blog on the LHS) . Get recipie books out and to begin with stick to a few recipies that you can do and love. MILK" , Almond is great as is almond and coconut milk. you can try rice milk and oat milk also. The friendly people at SAVE (Save animals from exploitation) www.save.org.nz will befriend you, ask for Amanda. if you want to.  Find and stck to a few simple things first, make friends and your circle and expertise will expand. Happy Days Heather Stubbs

[lovetheplanet]

oops I forgot to say. The Cruelty Free shop in St Kevins Arcade will assist . Also there are tofu foods in most supermarkets if yourask, also go for the Tahini. Its made of chickpeas - lots of protein. B12 - get a daisy supply, ask at WWW>globalhealthclinics.co.nz for the one with the folic acid, take every day (easy peesee) and you will likely be fine...also remember that being vegan (or vegetarian) is all avout eating... guess what.... vegetables!!! which are also easy to grow in a bucket . Tank has juices but Green Smoothies are better at getting vegetables into you. Look up Raw Family or google Green Smoothies, for assistance here.......have fun.. we may meet at some time. Heather PS Huckelberry Farms, 2 locations in Auckland will also assist with queries and has some great stuff

[FFJohn]

It's been over six months for you....how's your vegan adventure going?  I agree with some of the other posts about just sticking to the most natural foods possible instead of the processed vegetarian foods.

I can also identify with the temptations to eat junk food.  I've been a vegetarian for many, many years and I'm in pretty good health.  Most of mainstream society and medicine will try to scare you about how you won't get enough of this or that...what they don't tell you is that if you continue to eat animal protiens you will most likely become ill later on in life from the effects of that kind of diet.  I suggest you visit NutritionFacts.org to see how nutrition affects your health, both, in a positive, and negative way.  Stay strong and committed to your vegan diet and you will feel so much better.

[tenfeetofsteel]

Congrats and hope you are doing well on your journey.

I use a lot of recipies from Happy Herbiovore.  Her recipes are clean, low fat, and so far they all taste amazing.  

http://happyherbivore.com/recipes/

[Nicou]

Try pineterest , they have great recipes . They're easy to make and budget friendly.

Happy cooking!

[HelenaFitbit]

I hope your journey is going well! I'd recommend checking any farmer's market in your area, so your food is fresh, seasonal and local, all the time 

[madmen]

Hi @rowan 

I've been vegan for a year or so and we've been finding a lot of alternatives that are tasty and healthy! We have also found that most of the times it's less expensive to just make it yourself. One simple example is Almond Milk. It's SO EASY and you have the advantage of adjusting the recipe to match what you like (creamy, vanilla or cacao taste, sugary or no sugar replacement like Stevia). Check out this BLOG POST for the recipe.

Also, think about starting with dry products like lentils, beans, chick peas and use them to make salads (lemon + garlic + olive oil), soups, hummus, there's many alternatives! Keep it up and ask for advice!