Let’s raise a toast to 2020. It’s the new year, a new decade, and it marks the perfect time for sustainable transformation in our lifestyles. And the best way to guarantee sustainable transformation is by adopting a balanced and plant-focused diet.
But isn’t eating a plant-based diet so expensive?
With packaged foods, expensive superfoods, and luxury products, it can feel like eating healthy just isn’t an option. It’s simply out of the budget.
But I have a secret to share…
Eating healthy doesn’t have to be expensive.
It doesn’t even have to be kinda expensive. I know as a full-time student, I have found so many life hacks that allow me to eat healthy on a budget.
So how do you do it? How do you eat plant-based on a budget?
Luckily, I had the chance to sit down with Danny Ishay, a vegan activist, and bodybuilder. You might know him from his social media and YouTube as ‘Lifting Vegan Logic’, and I had a chance to ask him his thoughts on eating healthy on a budget.
People often think that eating a plant-based or eating healthy, or a vegan diet has to be expensive, but that just isn’t the case.
There are things like oatmeal, pasta, rice, lentils, bananas, these are some of the cheapest foods on the planet and they’re all plant-based
Danny makes a great point, plant-based foods are some of the lowest-priced foods on the planet.
So let’s look at the top 20 ways to eat plant-based on a budget in 2020.
1. Pasta Is Your Best Friend
Be honest, who doesn’t love pasta?
Pasta is one of my favorite foods. I love pasta so much… I LOVE. pasta. so. much. Coming from an Italian background, we ate pasta all the time growing up. I could literally say the olive oil runs through my veins.
But actually, pasta is an amazing meal option because you can get either regular pasta, which is classic; or you can get protein pasta, which I really love because it’s a great way to get more protein in and more macronutrients.
Another reason that I love pasta so much is because it’s so easy to meal prep with pasta.
You can make one batch and then use it throughout the week, so you have food multiple days and I really love to do that. So that’s why pasta is my number one healthy meal staple on a budget.
2.Smoothies Are Your Go-To “Fast Food”
I try to always have the ingredients for a smoothie in my kitchen at all times, and that’s not hard because you can pretty much make a smoothie out of anything.
I love making smoothies because they’re nutritionally dense and they’re delicious. I always try to add different fruits and vegetables to make my smoothie as nutritious as I can make it while also making it super-duper tasty.
My personal favorite smoothie is a budget power smoothie, loaded with bananas, dates, frozen fruit, and everything else.
3. Oats Never Go Out Of Style
My number three healthy food staples while living on a budget are oats.
That’s right, oats. I love oats.
They’re so versatile. They’re so inexpensive. I can’t believe how much deliciousness is packed into these grains at such a good price. Literally, oats are so good.
My personal favorite way to prepare oats is to make protein oats; and the way you do that, you take your oats, I personally like to mash my oats with the banana, and then you make sure that after you cook it or after you soak them overnight, add some plant-based protein powder to it.
And honestly, it tastes really good. A little bit of protein, a little bit of sweetener, a little bit of plant milk, and wow, it’s so good.
I make oatmeal all the time, breakfast, lunch and even for a late- night snack.
You will also find yourself beginning to love making oat baked goods… You know I never really enjoyed oatmeal raisin cookies growing up, but for some reason, now I look forward to those LOL.
Oats will change your life. Also, oat milk is delicious too, it’s actually one of my personal favorite milk of all time. So if you haven’t tried oat milk yet, I highly encourage it, it’ll literally change your life.
4. Everybody Was Tofu Fighting
A lot of people might be surprised to hear me say tofu. People don’t actually understand tofu. Tofu is one of my favorite foods; because number one, it is so inexpensive. At Walmart, I can get a block of tofu for about $1.50 and that’s one to two meals right there. So tofu is a very economical option.
It is also packed with protein and it’s delicious. A lot of people don’t realize how good Tofu is because they just don’t know how to prepare tofu.
The best way to make tofu is to drain the block of tofu. From there, you dry it off with paper towels or cloth, until most of the moisture is absorbed. You want to cut it into cubes. Go ahead and flavor it with any seasoning that you want to put on it and then, saute it.
But you’re not done yet.
You can be done and it would be really good; but once you see the tofu starts to turn golden brown, that’s when you want to finish it off in the oven. Go ahead and bake the tofu for about 15 minutes.
And wow! it’s going to crisp up and just be amazing and truly life-changing.
5.Salad Power Ups
A lot of you might be confused because when you think of salad, you think of either expensive or boring.
So how does it make any sense that’s on this list?
Let me tell you, a power salad is significantly different than your average salad.
You want to take your salads to the next level; you want to give it superpowers by adding extra fruits and veggies to it to really kick it up a notch.
So go ahead and start with the basic greens, which aren’t that expensive. I’ll put add-on vegetables, I’ll put add-on fruits, maybe I’ll put some nuts or seeds, and then top it off with my favorite dressing, which is ginger dressing.
Sometimes if I’m feeling really crazy, I might even make my own dressing using tahini and lemon juice!
I love making these power salads. I feel satiated, they’re delicious. They really hit the spot and they’re pretty cheap. And not to mention, they are salads so they’re super healthy for you too.
6. Stock Up Your Freezer
I generally use more frozen produce than I do fresh produce. And that is saying something.
I try to always have frozen produce stocked in my freezer, because it makes eating healthy so much more convenient! Even more important than that, frozen produce is more more cost effective, on average saving you $0.40 to $0.50 per item when compared to fresh.
Another great benefit of buying frozen produce is that generally there are no fungicides sprayed on them because it is being frozen. This means that you will be saving money, eating healthier, and eating fungicide free food… all by buying frozen!
7. Beans And Legumes Are The Truest Homies
Beans and legumes are easy to prepare, they are full of plant-based protein, and they are inexpensive! I always try to have both canned and dry beans in my home. Let’s be real though, I use cans way more often. They are so much more convenient and EASY!
Next time you go to the store, stock up on multiple cans of your favorite beans and just keep them around the house! Some of my favorites are chickpeas, pinto beans, and lentils (lentils are usually dry but are SO easy and cheap to cook.) By incorporating beans and legumes as a staple in your diet, you will see dramatic changes in your grocery bill!
Pro tip: Look up some recipes and get more acquainted with beans and legumes, they can literally be used in ANY situation. Eating a salad? Throw in some chickpeas! Making soup? Black beans are a must! Looking for a cheap meat replacement? Lentils are awesome for replacing meat in recipes!
8. Always Have Rice Prepared
Rice is one of those foods that is such staple that you simply must keep around. It is inexpensive, a quick energy source as it is packed with carbohydrates for sustained energy, and it makes an amazing base for SO MANY plant-based recipes. What I like to do is cook one big pot of rice once per week, usually a Sunday afternoon, and use it throughout the week as meal prep.
Incorporate more rice into all of your meals, your salads, soups, tacos, etc. that way you can pack an extra calorie punch while still keeping to your budget.
9. Buy More Fresh Produce
The more whole fresh produce you buy, the less processed junk food you will keep around the house. When you hear about how expensive plant-based foods are, this is generally in regard to items that are packaged and/or highly processed. This is why keeping your house stocked with fresh produce will make all the difference.
Feeling snacky? Grab an apple rather than chips.
Lunch on the go? Bring a bag of salad instead of stopping at Taco Bell.
I will admit that this is something that I have been working on improving myself. I often get lured into the delicious-looking snack foods, and then pretty much eat only those snacks foods for 3 days after the grocery trip. But I am working on instead of keeping more fresh produce in the house, that way I can snack sustainably, healthfully, and economically.
10. Dates… They Are Pretty Great
Dates have truly changed my life, as they are the most versatile ingredient in my kitchen. They are a cheap and nutritionally dense food that can be used as a base in smoothies to add a sweet and caramel flavor. They can be used to make desserts, my favorite being cookie dough date balls. They are delicious chopped up and tossed in oatmeal, adding sweetness and depth of flavor. You get the idea, dates are awesome and the options are literally endless!
My recommendation, buy them in bulk to get the best price.
Otherwise when buying dates in smaller quantities, the price can sometimes be quite high.
Lightening Round
11. Start planning – Plan a few meals before you shop and then buy what’s on the menu. Start with only planning for 3 or 4 different meals and eventually work up to planning for the whole week.
12. Learn how to cook or bake – Both are valuable skills that will save you SO MUCH money. Cooking at home is one of my personal favorite ways to conserve and save.
13. BOGO meat replacements only – Only buy meat replacements like Beyond and Gardein when they are on sale… And when there is a sale, STOCK UP!
14. Cashback! – Use rebate apps like Ibotta to make cashback from your grocery shopping purchases.
15. Go bananas – Buy 2-3 bundles of bananas at a time and then freeze them when they start to turn brown. Bananas are extremely inexpensive and they are very versatile. It is nice having them on hand and ready to use.
16. Tahini is a budget bestie – This might sound like a weird one… But buy a big jar of tahini and use it for salad dressings! I hardly buy salad dressing anymore from the store and it saves so much money! Sometimes I do splurge and buy ginger dressing, I have low will-power for that one lol.
17. Get creative with cauliflower! – Cauliflower is inexpensive and can be used as a base in sauces and dips, making it a good replacement for more expensive items like nuts or seeds.
18. Frozen spinach for the win – To avoid wasting money on salad that goes bad, buy more frozen spinach. Frozen spinach can often be used in the same way that you would you fresh, such as in smoothies or cooking, and you don’t have to worry about it getting gross and slimy!
19. Buy store brand, not name brand! – This is a universal tip, but take advantage of store brand items. They are often the same quality with product, just less expensive.
20. Learn one “go-to” meal – Find your rhythm and learn which meals will best help you stick to your budget. For me that Is one pot pasta and smoothies. I promise you will find your own “go-to budget meal.”
The most important thing to remember
The whole message here is just being mindful about your food, being mindful about your budget and about nourishing your body with plant-based foods. Just do your best and think about the larger implications that your food has on a broader scale, like your health, your budget, and your future.
Designing Your Lifestyle Without Disrupting Your Life
The most important takeaway here is just to take steps towards eating a more balanced diet, focused around plants, while maintaining a frugal budget. Consistently making good choices towards this vision of a better life. If you do this, you will find it making such a difference on so many levels.
Thanks for reading and best of luck on your 2020 goals! 👍
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