Hi Rosemary! I graduated college and am currently paying my way for the first time, so I sympathize with being on a budget. Here's what I do, although it isn't always super easy. First, I spent the money and stocked up on non-perishables. Went to an Asian grocer and some good health food stores, and I now have a pantry full of dried sea veggies, beans, grains, and some nuts/nut butters, asian condiments, and some baking ingredients that I received as gifts from my mom. Stuff that doesn't go bad, I have a lot of and don't buy more until it runs out. A lot of times during the week, I eat very simple meals that consist of simply the grain, beans and veggies. I read my fancy vegan cookbooks and take the ideas, but I only end up trying a cookbook recipe about once a week; other than that, I improvise with what I have on hand. Alas, I don't often season the beans and grains except with a little sea salt. I just eat very simply. Sometimes I'm really in the mood for that, sometimes not. The only "convenience" processed foods I have are soy/rice milk and Earth Balance. Now that my cupboards are stocked with the basics in dried or non-perishable form, I only need to include fresh veggies and tofu on my shopping list each week. I give myself a budget of about 30 dollars a week, sometimes more if I've run out of essentials like olive oil. I manage to get enough veggies that way, mostly organic. I'm lucky because the health food stores here have reasonable prices and student discounts. However, it takes a lot of restraint for me not to buy the fake meats, yummy juices, breads, vegan snack foods, ice cream, kombucha...When you're on a budget you have to be careful. But the point is you can eat really well, and I'm slowly but surely trying out the recipes in the Kind Diet and allowing myself to bake periodically because it is one of my great pleasures :).
5 Comments