The KInd Life Community Forum

Hi Everybody! I saw part of Oprah's show where she had Michael Pollan and Alicia Silverstone, etc. and Alicia displayed the supper yummy looking food. :)

My only issue is that 1) she was shopping in whole foods, which, in my city (one of the most expensive in the world), it is known as Whole Paycheck. People who work at whole foods, even with the discount, cannot afford to buy their food from them. So, I do think that it is very easy to be vegetarian and kinder if you have a larger budget and can buy fresh and organic, but since I am not a millionaire, I would love more information about being kind in any budget range.

I remember that Whoopi Goldberg had asked Alicia how do people with barely any access to a good supermarket, by the kelp products that were used in a recipe and Alicia responded with that it is available online. :( I think she missed the issue that there are many of us who want to live kinder, but are economically challenged.

Any possibility that Alicia would do another book, but from a more frugal perspective? BTW, I am considering buying the book, even if I can only make one recipe per month. :)

I agree, the book is definately worth reading for information and recipes!

There are lots of ways to eat a vegan diet on a budget, not wasting your whole paycheck at Whole foods. Regular Grocery stores carry the same products usually cheaper. Costco has organic choices that save $$. Farmer's market, CSA, ordering online from Azure with a group of people( if that is by you).

I find that I save money...when I make a menu plan and a grocery list and stick to it! Plan out your breakfast,lunches,dinners and a snack/dessert for the week.
Doing this has helped me save hundreds of dollars each month. I have a family of 6 with 3 teenage boys who love to eat! LOL......so following a food budget is very important!

I agree with the other responses. When I started this journey one of my husband's big things was that I not go crazy at the store and spend up all our money on what he considered gimmikey health food. I think I really surprised him when I brought home lots of delicious food and actually started COOKING every night (a big change for me and a BIG money saver) and that I did not spend any more than I would have before. And of course each time I go, I get a few pricey items. But this is balanced by the cheaper items like rice, beans and tofu that are staples for us now AND we don't buy the expensive meats we used to. AND about 80% of what I buy is from Kroger. I get a few items from Trader Joes because that is available here, but that is not necessary to do this diet.

All that being said, it does take a lot of planning, which has been a hard habit to change for me. And it is easy to get carried away at the store too and spend more than you mean to, but that has always been a problem for me, so I am still working on my impulse control too!!

Hope this helps. And the great thing is that if you can even replace one day a week (check out Meat out Modays...) it helps your body and the environment too. OK, I am sounding like a Kind life commercial again....
:)

Wanted to add my two cents...Whole Foods can be very expensive, they carry several gourmet items. I have found that they have one of the best bulks department though. I buy my grains, beans, seasonings, etc in bulk. A trick that helps me is to make a couple different trips through out the week to the grocery store just for my fresh produce. I try to buy a couple of items, then cook them up. Finish them in leftovers and then go and purchase two different items. Makes 2 to 3 nights of the same veggie, but saves space and ensures freshness and less waste for me. I am the ONLY person in my household that is vegan. For a couple or small family there might not really be the leftover issue on the fresh veggies. I'm in OK so during the winter months, do not have access to farmers markets like the larger cities do. My quick trips really don't add up to much time, just a few minutes. I ONLY go to the produce (unless I have a pre-determined list) and grab my items and then I'm checking out and done. Good luck and remember just do what you can do and it's prolly more than what you were so you are making a GREAT difference!!! :-)

I agree with what everyone else is posting and wanted to add that I'm spending the same amount of money that I already was, plus we're not going out to eat nearly as much as before, so it's almost cheaper in a way. With the money I've saved from not going out as much, I have allowed myself a few "specialty" items that I wouldn't normally have bought. Whole Foods is kind of far from me, so I'll be limiting that to once a month, for the bulk grains and special things that our local store doesn't have (like seitan and Field Roast "meats", veganaise, etc.)

But like everyone has already said, beans and rice are pretty darn cheap, you can get lots of fruits and veggies when they are on sale or in season, and the farmer's market is your friend. And you don't have to follow all the recipes in the book to be a Kind Lifer :) It's fun to try new recipes and foods but don't be afraid to search for recipes with more common ingredients online. I hope its okay to post this, but I recommend the NutritionMD website; they did most of the recipes for the 21 day Vegan Kickstart. Simple easy recipes, low in fat, lots of common ingredients! Good luck!