Need Help with a Vegan Diet for 1 on a Budget

[darkelfx]

I know there's been posts about this already, but it seems most of the budgets I'm seeing are for couples and/or families, which would not apply to me.

I want to switch to a whole foods, plant-based diet (no meat, dairy, or gluten) for the health benefits. I've read around these forums and elsewhere and the general consensus is that it's more expensive than a normal healthy diet.

Now, I live in the Los Angeles area and groceries prices are not cheap relative to elsewhere.

Is it possible for me to go on this diet if I'm targeting a $100-125/month budget for 1 person?

I know that's asking for a lot given the food options I have, but if there are any fellow mustachians on the same diet as me, I'd like to know if I can hit my target budget. I'm not particularly picky in terms of things being organic. If I can save buying non-organic, then I'm fine with that too.

Please and thank you!

[lightmyfire]

I am single and pretty much vegan.  My food grocery budget comes in under $100 a month.  Granted, I don't live in a HCOL area like LA, so it will be more challenging for you, but here are some tips.

1. Trader Joe's can be really great for certain things.  Not so much for others.  Lately I've been addicted to their soy chorizo, which is great in tacos, burritos, chili, etc.  They also have random vegan friendly healthy stuff that is very frugal, but you have to be a smart shopper.  The good thing about California is that there's a Trader Joe's on nearly every corner!

2. Grocery store produce can be extremely cheap if you shop selectively and in season.  My staples are lettuce (or spinach if on sale, other greens on occasion), tomatoes (generally roma because they are the sturdiest and best size), bananas, onions, mushrooms (I tend to just get a few in the bulk bins and use them in salads or grilled mushroom sandwiches).  I buy whatever fruit is on sale, including canned.  I buy the dollar bags of frozen vegetables.  Canned beans and diced tomatoes/tomato sauce (generics) are the other things I always have on hand, along with tortillas and tortilla chips.

3. I supplement from Dollar Tree.  No, I would not want to do my regular grocery shopping there, but you can get soy milk, coconut milk, nuts, dried fruit, spices, juice, condiments, etc. for WAY cheaper, and they are pretty much the same products.  Again, be selective.

4. When you get a chance, stock up at ethnic markets, especially Asian markets.  They will have a lot of the products you buy on a regular basis for really cheap prices.

5. Make stuff you can make in bulk, freeze and easily bring to work.  Soup is the best, but there are many other quick, cheap things such as stir-fry.

I will add that I am not one of those people who eats rice and beans or ramen for every meal.  I love to cook, I'm very health-conscious, and I love variety in my diet.  Many ethnic foods are vegan, cheap to make, and delicious.  I do shop at farmer's markets occasionally because I would like to support the locavore movement, but if you are on a strict budget it's not really feasible.

Hope this helps!

[honeybbq]

Light my fire basically said everything I would say.

Dried, bulk beans are amazing and cheap. They just need a game plan so you can soak over night prior to cooking.

Shop Asian or Mexican markets- they often have very cheap produce and spices.

Try to buy in season. Squash, kale, dark leafy greens, peppers, tomatoes right now. The possibilities with those are endless.

Create foods that can be made for multiple meals - soup, casseroles.  Use your crock pot.

Search for a Deborah Madison or Moosewood cook books at a used book store. Not specifically vegan, but they are vegetarian and most substitutions are pretty straight forward.

[darkelfx]

I am single and pretty much vegan.  My food grocery budget comes in under $100 a month.  Granted, I don't live in a HCOL area like LA, so it will be more challenging for you, but here are some tips.

1. Trader Joe's can be really great for certain things.  Not so much for others.  Lately I've been addicted to their soy chorizo, which is great in tacos, burritos, chili, etc.  They also have random vegan friendly healthy stuff that is very frugal, but you have to be a smart shopper.  The good thing about California is that there's a Trader Joe's on nearly every corner!

2. Grocery store produce can be extremely cheap if you shop selectively and in season.  My staples are lettuce (or spinach if on sale, other greens on occasion), tomatoes (generally roma because they are the sturdiest and best size), bananas, onions, mushrooms (I tend to just get a few in the bulk bins and use them in salads or grilled mushroom sandwiches).  I buy whatever fruit is on sale, including canned.  I buy the dollar bags of frozen vegetables.  Canned beans and diced tomatoes/tomato sauce (generics) are the other things I always have on hand, along with tortillas and tortilla chips.

3. I supplement from Dollar Tree.  No, I would not want to do my regular grocery shopping there, but you can get soy milk, coconut milk, nuts, dried fruit, spices, juice, condiments, etc. for WAY cheaper, and they are pretty much the same products.  Again, be selective.

4. When you get a chance, stock up at ethnic markets, especially Asian markets.  They will have a lot of the products you buy on a regular basis for really cheap prices.

5. Make stuff you can make in bulk, freeze and easily bring to work.  Soup is the best, but there are many other quick, cheap things such as stir-fry.

I will add that I am not one of those people who eats rice and beans or ramen for every meal.  I love to cook, I'm very health-conscious, and I love variety in my diet.  Many ethnic foods are vegan, cheap to make, and delicious.  I do shop at farmer's markets occasionally because I would like to support the locavore movement, but if you are on a strict budget it's not really feasible.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for all the great tips. Yea, I figured this wasn't going to be easy, and multiple shopping trips seemed like the norm.

Would you recommend shopping at Costco? I know buying in bulk can make things cheaper, but from my experience shopping at Costco is only slightly cheaper and sometimes even more expensive than the average grocery store.

[Kimchi Bleu]

I love to shop at Costco but have found that I need to be careful of food waste even with 5-6 of us eating.  Can you split the cost and bounty with a friend/coworker?  That would help to reduce food waste.

[lightmyfire]

I've never shopped at Costco.  From my anecdotal understanding, it's great for families or people who like to stock up, not necessarily for single people.  If you have a lot of storage space keeping things in bulk might be a good idea, but in my experience I end up wasting stuff that way. 

[GreenSheep]

To answer your question, I'm not sure. My food expenditures per month vary widely, depending on whether I'm stocking up on things, whether I'm traveling for a week, etc. I probably spend around $300/month on average, but that's without doing a whole lot to try to save money (which is something I need to start working on.) Having said that, I'll throw in my two cents on the things I do to cut costs:

Great advice here already. Regarding Costco, I just made my first trip there a couple of weeks ago, and I'm still undecided as to whether it's worthwhile. I am also a plant-based eater, and I love to make 95% of my own food. My boyfriend has a free Costco membership through work, and I don't think I would have spent the money on a membership if I'd had to buy it myself. Also, it helps to have a really good handle on what things cost elsewhere before you go to Costco because you're right, there are some deals there, and then there are some things that are not deals at all. I did stock up on some basic staples that will keep for ages, like brown rice.

Also, my freezer is my best friend in this endeavor. Of course I freeze leftovers in individual portions, which not only minimizes waste but also makes life really easy. I also freeze just about anything I can in terms of raw materials. Even fresh spinach can be frozen; all of the spinach from one of those 5oz boxes can fit in a Ziplock bag, which I then just roll up from the bottom, compressing the spinach as I go, so I end up with a tube of spinach that fits easily into the freezer and can be used for smoothies (or maybe soup?). This allows me to stock up on spinach when it's on sale. Works for kale, too. I also store flour, flax seeds, chia seeds, etc. in the freezer because they last longer that way; again, that means I can buy them in huge quantities when they're on sale. (And in case you didn't already know, only grind flax seeds just before you use them, or grind just a small amount to keep on hand, because they go bad more quickly when ground.) Oh, and I buy lemons and limes when they're on sale, juice them, freeze the juice in ice cube trays (measure yours to be sure, but mine are exactly 2 tablespoons per cube), then pop the cubes out into a Ziplock bag. Easy cooking later on, and cheaper! (Also zest them and freeze that!)

And... dry beans! Never buy beans in cans! Dry ones are so much cheaper, and it's not a big deal to cook them as long as you plan a day or two in advance so there's time for soaking.

Finally, I've been getting into gardening. Nothing better than fresh, organic, almost-free food! My boyfriend started it, and now I'm hooked. He grows all sorts of things, but regardless of your situation in terms of growing space, even if you can just have a potted cherry tomato plant and a potted basil plant, that will make a world of difference. I made a ton of pizza/pasta sauce this summer for almost nothing and stashed it away in the freezer in Mason jars.

Oops, one more. If happen to find yourself in Arizona for another reason, this program is fantastic -- or maybe there's something similar closer you.
http://the3000club.org/wordpress/marketonthemove/

[GreenSheep]

One thing that is absolutely indispensable to me, but not very Mustachian in terms of initial cost layout, is my Vitamix. I think the cost is worth it for my health, though, and I'd like to think it saves me money in the long run because I can make a wider range of things at home, which minimizes my desire to eat out or to buy convenience foods. I got a refurbished one from Vitamix.com for $300, and I use it every single day, and often multiple times a day. I think today I used it 5 times. It's obviously excellent for smoothies (the smoothest smoothies ever, even if you put things like kale in them), but it's also fabulous for sauces (delicious cashew "cheese," chocolate, salsa, etc.), desserts (banana-chocolate-peanut butter shake, anyone?), soups (super-smooth butternut squash soup is a fall staple around here), and nut milk (don't waste money on a nut milk bag -- just get a $2 two-pack of paint strainer bags at Lowe's -- took me 2 years to wear out the first one). I would say that it made my transition to a plant-based diet easier, but that would be a gross understatement. I used to cook because I needed to eat, and now I cook because I love the cooking itself and have a blast trying new things that are not only delicious but also healthy. The Vitamix really expands the range of what I'm able to do at home. (No, I don't work for the company. They probably should pay me for all the free advertising I do for them, though. :-) )

[Gerard]

Lots of good advice on here already.  Personally, I was amazed by how cheap LA was for groceries, at least by Canadian standards. Close to growing areas, plus big Mexican and Asian populations and the supermarkets that serve them.

If I lived there, I think I would go long on citrus (many cheap foods like cooked legumes or grated raw carrots become awesome with some lemon or lime juice, chili, salt, and sugar). Also, you don't mention if you have the option of gardening, or at least windowsill herb gardening, but that might add some cheap/free variety. Sprouting is feasible, too.

Another unlikely source for decent produce: the 99 cent store! I got some really good grape tomatoes last time I was there.

[Kimchi Bleu]

DH bought me a Vitamix from Costco one year.  Love it as well for smoothies.  I haven't really done much else.  Would love to have your butternut squash recipe as I have one on my counter that I would like to use.

I also recommend ethnic grocery stores.  I can buy a bunch of produce much cheaper there.

Great idea on freezing produce.  Haven't heard of that before.  Will have to do this in the future.

[darkelfx]

Thanks for all the replies everyone!

It seems like the general consensus recommends checking out ethnic grocery stores. While I do occasionally shop there, my experience with ethnic grocery stores is that they're cheaper if you want ethnic types of food (beans, rice, certain veggies), but if you want more traditional western (pasta, boxed/canned foods, etc.), they tend to be on the more expensive side. I know my local Sprouts that I normally shop at usually has better deals (and organic options), as well as better variety (if I want things such as dill pickles, almond/coconut milk) and snacks too. If I were to try to buy these at an ethnic grocer, they either wouldn't have it or be marked up.

Now, I could be completely wrong and maybe it's the area I live in. I'm almost completely surrounded by ethnic (mostly Asian) grocery stores and have to drive a bit to get to the closest Sprout's (or Trader Joes).

[The_path_less_taken]

I've never shopped at Costco.  From my anecdotal understanding, it's great for families or people who like to stock up, not necessarily for single people.  If you have a lot of storage space keeping things in bulk might be a good idea, but in my experience I end up wasting stuff that way.

Single, but found the AMEX card (which is being replaced, although I'd imagine the same % cash back will end up in play) and Costco save me big bank each year.

Especially on organic carrots, organic spinach and greens, organic blueberries, fish, cheese....I have an issue with some stuff like the bulk bok choy....but I also have chickens and ducks that I can give that to if I can't utilize the entire package. Although freezing would work for most of it....I need to buy a freezer.

Also, stuff on sale literally saves me well over a hundred bucks a month: just went, for example. The organic pumpkin/flax cereal is $2.50 off a box. You can only get two.....per trip. I'm up to 8 boxes (Costco is on the way home from work). On things that aren't perishable, I really stock up.

Your mileage may vary, but if you really 'know' the store (I used to do Road Show Events in them) you'll find that it really does pay you, especially linking the credit card cash back thing: that has gotten me as much as $800 a year.

But I went for years without a card: would just load my crap on the belt, whip out cash and say "ah crap, I have my boyfriend's card but forgot it" and the person ahead or behind in line would always---since I was paying cash---let me pay under their card. Costcos vary on how they treat that though: mine is a small townish one.

[purplepear]

Costco does have pretty great deals on things like almond milk & soy milk, and those last for a while so you shouldn't have to worry about waste. It can also be great for stocking up on canned and dry goods. I currently have 10lbs of organic dry black beans in my pantry (the equivalent of 30 cans!!!). Also you can get giant bags of steel cut oats for cheap. Hello $0.10 breakfast!

I'm not sure if the cost of a membership would be worth it for a single person. Maybe you could split a membership with a friend or try someone's out for a few months?

A plant-based diet doesn't have to be more expensive. Stock up on cheap and filling grains (rice, quinoa, etc.) and beans/legumes (black beans, pinto, garbanzo, lentils). Then buy fresh produce weekly. You can also do things like buying dry beans (instead of canned), cooking them in the crockpot (super easy), and freezing them for later use. This cuts the cost of beans in half!

Good luck!

[GreenSheep]

For the person who asked about the butternut squash soup, here it is! I got the recipe from a friend who saw it on the Food Network, but we've both modified it so much that I think it's safe to say I'm not breaking any copyright laws (just in case, I believe it was originally a recipe by Giadia deLaurentiis).

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped in ½” pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into ¾” pieces
6 cups low-sodium vegetable stock (I like Better than Bouillon -- or make your own!)
¼ cup chopped fresh sage leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large stockpot, cook the onion and carrot in oil until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds.
Add the squash and stock. Bring to a boil. Add sage.
Boil until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
Blend until smooth and thick (immersion blender or transfer a bit at a time to Vitamix).
Season with salt and pepper to taste.

[frompa]

I'd say this is totally doable within your budget, with minimal fuss, particularly if you stay low tech in both food prep methods and food choices.  For example, people are talking about good prices for replacement milks like almond or soy or rice... better and cheaper to simply skip the milk substitutes. I use water for most things.  Ditto for any smoothie/juicer gizmos.  You simply do not need them.  Shop at your ethnic stores and get the most local produce you can, then make meals out of that.  If you supplement that with staples of rice, barley, and other whole grains, as well as lentils, beans, etc., you will have more than enough to eat and you'll probably be satisfied by your food. Check out the recipes at the website straight up food http://www.straightupfood.com/blog/ ... she is your diet, and has some great ideas. Have fun with this challenge!!