Help [with inexpensive veggie meals]

[VeggieCutie.x0]

I'm 14 and i recently went lacto-ovo-vegetarian but my family isn't exactly doing well financally right now so my mum is worried about how much extra food she'll have to buy and if it's expensive. Tips on good staples to buy? perferably not too expensive?:shy:

[steinbock]

at my local grocery store, i can get a can of beans (various kinds) for 79 cents a piece.
i made this yummy....stuff for lack of a better word.
i just took a can of corn, a can of kidney beans, a can of diced tomatoes, a can of....(i can't remember, but some other beans I think), some tomatoes, and some onions and let it all cook together (cook the potatoes a little before, they take a little longer) and then i had enough to last me through four or five dinners (and it was really filling :) ) I was thinking about the cost of that one when i made it, i think it probably cost me 6-9 dollars for the whole thing. (i hear dried beans are really cheap, but they take longer to deal with)
other than that, i just eat everything my family makes (except meat containing stuff obviously) so it's not too much extra (I'm lacto ovo as well. and i don't eat "specialty foods" more cuz my family doesn't like me being veggie, but same idea) another thing I do, is when my fam goes grocery shopping, i go along and scan the aisles for good sales (which actually are kinda common)
oh, pasta's another good thing. if you're the only lacto-ovo, then a box of pasta can last you a while.
cook big main dishes (like pasta or soup of some kind) and then refridgerate left overs....
that wasn't exactly on topic, but i hope it helped you out some at least :)

[piratemoon]

There is so much stuff out there that is lacto-ovo anyway - margharita pizza for example. So many staples can be easily vegetarianised, and you don't have to buy special foods neccesarily. Like stienbock said, dried beans are really cheap and last for ages - all you need to do is to ask to use some of the family veggies, which are cheaper than meat anyway (in the UK at least). Hope it goes ok, stick with it. Its a learning curve, but you'll be fine. :)

[Junia]

rice (esp. bulk)
beans (esp. dry)
fresh produce (esp. seasonal, on special)
pasta and tomato sauce

the less processing/packaging, the more likely it is you'll be able to find a good deal.

[catgirl67]

I'm 14 and i recently went lacto-ovo-vegetarian but my family isn't exactly doing well financally right now so my mum is worried about how much extra food she'll have to buy and if it's expensive. Tips on good staples to buy? perferably not too expensive?:shy:
I found that when I was a lacto ovo, my grocery bill was cheaper, because I wasn't buying processed foods. I bought eggs, feta cheese, whole grains, tofu, soy sauce, beans of all kinds, bisquick, soy milk.

Convienence foods like Boca burgers and the like will run your bills up like crazy!

Peanut butter is dirt cheap too.

Look at the recipes on veggieboards and www.vegweb.com has thousands of recipes that don't require any super expensive food.

Make sure you get a good multivitamin and B-12.

You may want to PM Rincaro. She feeds a family of I believe five on a budget, and they eat very well. I hope this helps. :)

Congratulations on going veg! If your family has any concerns about your health, just tell them that the absence of animal fat and fresh or frozen produce will LENGTHEN your life. You never know, they may even join you in being veg.

When I was an omni, food was boring. You can only cook beef or chicken so many ways, but they always taste the same.

Veggie cooking has so much more variety, and is never dull. Have fun and don't worry about the budget. Whole Foods may be too expensive for you right now, so your local market should take care of all of your needs. :)

Good luck!

You can also go to PETA. They have a list of vegan foods that are pretty cheap.

[bethany17]

I would add tips but they've already been posted. Just follow them and ask your parents to prepare less meat, so that the food bill goes down and you have more to eat.

[VeggieCutie.x0]

Aww thank you guys your sweeties that helped alot..i made broccoli and tofu pitas yesterday off a recipe i found and my mum even ate one
-xoxo:shy:

[peasoop]

I'm at uni so a bit short of $$ and I find eating veg*n I spend way less than any of the omnis I know, meat is so expensive. A piece of chicken costs ~£1.30 (this is UK) and would do one meal, a can of beans costs ~£0.40 and will feed me for two meals. By anyone's maths that's a lot less cash!!

[Junia]

Yeah, the expense comes in if you're buying specialty things like meat substitutes. But just basic whole foods, pretty affordable.

Cheese can be expensive, too, so be careful not to use it as a meat substitute. Also, it's (healthwise) not good to rely on it too much (I know I did when I first went veggie, and it wasn't the healthiest way to go about it).

[rincaro]

If you can get your hands on tvp/tsp granules or chunks, they go really far. A $2 bag of chunks will feed my family of four for at least three meals. You can mix the chunks with veggies & some soy sauces for stir fries, or do our favorites which is chunks with bbq sauce on buns. Cheap and easy! Chunks are high in protein & fiber and low in fat, so pretty darned good for you too. Plus they are shelf stable so you can keep the leftovers until you're ready to use them without fear of them spoiling like some other things might.

[bstutzma]

Nothing is cheaper than rice and beans! Its a staple around the world for a reason. Lentil vegetable soup is soooo cheap - I can make enough for 4 people for around $3-4!

Make an individual pita pizza - take a pita, put a little pizza sauce on it, top it with veggies and cheese, and put in the oven at 450 for 8 minutes. It comes out awesome!

[MaryC1999]

I'm 14 and i recently went lacto-ovo-vegetarian but my family isn't exactly doing well financally right now so my mum is worried about how much extra food she'll have to buy and if it's expensive. Tips on good staples to buy? perferably not too expensive?:shy:

I presume your family eats veggies and fruit anyway along with grains (like pasta and rice) so it shouldn't really cost anything extra.
You can simply omit the meat from meals with them and that should get you through most meals. All of the following require no more ingredients for a L/O veggie as for a omni:
Mac&Cheese
Lasagna
Spaghetti with marinara
Fried rice
sandwiches (PB&J, grilled cheese)
pizza (lots of veggie topping options)
soups (use veggie bouillon cubes instead of beef/chicken)
etc., and there are lots of veggie based meals that most omni's find very palatable. Use canned or frozen veggies for anything out of season and that should cut down on extra costs. You won't even notice if it's something being cooked up anyway.
Ask your mom to buy a decent veggie cookbook with you and ask your family if they would mind eating one or two veggie meals a week. The rest of time offer to dish yours up separately or cook a small portion for you sans meat.
The veggie alternatives are quite good and some omni's don't mind them in place of the "real" stuff. For instance my omni husband and mother gladly eat the veggie crumbles in tacos in place of actual hamburger and have never noticed the difference. Looking at reasonably, they're closely priced to actual meat and if you're not making up two separate dishes it's not extra expense.
Help your mom plan out meals, trying to use what's on sale that week, and offer to make the veggie ones yourself. You can also look online at goveg.com or allrecipes.com for veggie recipes. Some have more expensive ingredients than others so just look around and cook what's in season. :shy:
Mary

[khoshgel]

You can make your own veggie burgers. Last week I made black bean burgers and chickpea burgers. There are many recipes on Google. The ingredients are pretty much:
Beans (or other legume)
Veggies like onion, green pepper, carrot, garlic
whole wheat bread crumbs
egg

I cook them and top with different things every time. i like tapenade (made with kalamata olives, capers, lemon juice & olive oil), Dijon mustard, feta or some other cheese, avocados.

[catgirl67]

I presume your family eats veggies and fruit anyway along with grains (like pasta and rice) so it shouldn't really cost anything extra.
You can simply omit the meat from meals with them and that should get you through most meals. All of the following require no more ingredients for a L/O veggie as for a omni:
Mac&Cheese
Lasagna
Spaghetti with marinara
Fried rice
sandwiches (PB&J, grilled cheese)
pizza (lots of veggie topping options)
soups (use veggie bouillon cubes instead of beef/chicken)
etc., and there are lots of veggie based meals that most omni's find very palatable. Use canned or frozen veggies for anything out of season and that should cut down on extra costs. You won't even notice if it's something being cooked up anyway.
Ask your mom to buy a decent veggie cookbook with you and ask your family if they would mind eating one or two veggie meals a week. The rest of time offer to dish yours up separately or cook a small portion for you sans meat.
The veggie alternatives are quite good and some omni's don't mind them in place of the "real" stuff. For instance my omni husband and mother gladly eat the veggie crumbles in tacos in place of actual hamburger and have never noticed the difference. Looking at reasonably, they're closely priced to actual meat and if you're not making up two separate dishes it's not extra expense.
Help your mom plan out meals, trying to use what's on sale that week, and offer to make the veggie ones yourself. You can also look online at goveg.com or allrecipes.com for veggie recipes. Some have more expensive ingredients than others so just look around and cook what's in season. :shy:
Mary
:lol: I thought you said spaghetti and marijuana!

[MaryC1999]

:lol: I thought you said spaghetti and marijuana!

lol
Well I guess it's still vegetarian but I'm not sure the 'rents would approve!
:sealed:
Mary

[peasoop]

I'm confused, I always thought that marinara was a tomato sauce with seafood in it?

[cftwo]

Marinara is (almost always) a tomato sauce with no meat/seafood/poultry/etc. in it at all. Sometimes it will have vegetable pieces in it, but it is usually safe to assume it's vegetarian. A generic spaghetti sauce, though, usually has meat in it (at least around here.)

[MaryC1999]

Marinara is (almost always) a tomato sauce with no meat/seafood/poultry/etc. in it at all. Sometimes it will have vegetable pieces in it, but it is usually safe to assume it's vegetarian. A generic spaghetti sauce, though, usually has meat in it (at least around here.)

When out, it's always good to ask too. Non-Italian restaurants, I've come to find out, don't distinguish between a marinara and a meat sauce. At least not around here. I always thought it was a traditionally meat based sauce also until I was corrected by an Italian American friend on it. At least I think she was right. lol Now I sort of just use it as a term for spaghetti with a non meat sauce, at least until that's proven wrong to me! :D
Mary

[rabid_child]

One serving of meat should be the size of a deck of cards. At mealtime, everything else on the plate should be fruits/veggies/whole grains/legumes etc.... Non meat stuff, essentially. I lived quite comfortably off of "side dishes" at my parents' house when I wasn't cooking/the meal wasn't veg. Some sides need to be modified so they're veg (i.e. no couscous cooked in chicken broth) but it really doesn't cost any more than what they're already spending. You may want to throw in beans though if you're not eating them regularly/getting lots of other protein, but as everyone else has mentioned -- they're dirt cheap!

[Katieq]

Marinara sauce sometimes contains butter, so be sure to ask.

[Ashlan]

When out, it's always good to ask too. Non-Italian restaurants, I've come to find out, don't distinguish between a marinara and a meat sauce. At least not around here. I always thought it was a traditionally meat based sauce also until I was corrected by an Italian American friend on it. At least I think she was right. lol Now I sort of just use it as a term for spaghetti with a non meat sauce, at least until that's proven wrong to me! :D
Mary

I Wiki'd marinara and bolognese: (en.wikipedia.org)

Marinara sauce (from Italian alla marinara 'sailor style') is another term for a simple tomato sauce for pasta made without meat and usually including tomatoes, onions and herbs.

Bolognese sauce (ragù alla bolognese in Italian), also known as "Bolognaise sauce", is a meat-based pasta sauce originating in Bologna, Italy.

So. There's that, for what it's worth.

BTW, as to inexpensive vegetarian meals, anything w/out meat makes the meal cheaper. After grocery shopping for 30 years in the midwest, I've found that per portion, animal flesh of any kind is by far the most expensive item. The biggest problem I've had moving over to vegan?

Other than doing it in the land of the cow (What!?! you don't want cheese!?) is to think out side the entree' (meat) with 2-3 side dishes mentality. Let that go and just eat what looks/tastes/feels good, making sure to get variety and nutrients. Heck, even the three meals a day isn't needed anymore.

Ash

[isowish]

baked beans on toast is veeery cheap (especially if, like me, you're not particular about brands of beans) & reasonably healthy.

[Gita]

Beans, rice. grains like Barley, whole winter wheat, millett. It is all about fresh whole grains, beans, and fresh fruits and vegetables. I save a lot of money by going to ethnic groceriers. Do you have any Asian or Indian Markets near you? Since a lot of their cuisine is based on things like rice and beans you can find fabulous and interesting choices like forbidden rice, and Mung beans, and chana dahl and a lot of spices in bulk, all for lower prices then you would expect. By bulk bags when you can (your mom anyway) because you end up saving.
With beans and brown rice, soak overnight-- if you pre-cook a lot of beans in a crock pot you can split them up and store them in the freezer, thaw them and use them for single meals. Oh with beans, to stop Gas, when you soak e them overnight throw in about 3-4 tablespoons of baking soda, then right before you start to cook them drain the water, rinse them and add fresh water. This trick really works- I can eat 3 meals with beans a day and not have any distress. Eggs are extremely cheap unless you buy the organic. noodles like spaghetti are fairly inexpensive-- look for sales. As a L/O Veg your food really is similar to an omnivore-- except no meat or things like gelatine-- which is found in a LOT of things (watch out for Yoghurt and candy. You may have to get a vegitarian kind or make it yourself), rennet found in some expensive cheese (many store brand cheeses use a fungus called Mucor Meihei)-- do a web search to find rennet free cheese-- there are a lot of less expensive like "land of lakes" Philidelphia cream cheese" etc. Potatoes, cabbage, carrots, apples-- get fruit and vegies on sale! I love hash browns and also fried cabbage with caroway seeds. Also take some of those dried beans and sprout them. Sprouting totally changes dried beans, grains and peas. There is really a lot to eat without ever buying expensive meat analogues, and you really dont need sietan or temphe-- they are just grain.
I also save money by growing a garden. Its not a huge garden, a few pots on a porch or deck can grow some fresh tomatoes, peppers or a zuchini plant. She would probably appreciate good fresh vegetables too.

[WillowDancer]

It's extra, but ask your mother if you can cook dinner for a week. This is what I did, and it was a great success.

1. Make money.
2. Offer to make dinner every night for one week. All ingredients will come out of your own pocket.
3. Find seven recipes.
4. Intentionally buy too much of everything you need.

Let dinner go on as planned. At the end, give your mom the recipes. When it's all done, they'll probably see everything tastes great, and that they have enough to keep doing it and survive for a while on minimal meat.

[animallover7249]

at my local grocery store, i can get a can of beans (various kinds) for 79 cents a piece.
i made this yummy....stuff for lack of a better word.
i just took a can of corn, a can of kidney beans, a can of diced tomatoes, a can of....(i can't remember, but some other beans I think), some tomatoes, and some onions and let it all cook together (cook the potatoes a little before, they take a little longer) and then i had enough to last me through four or five dinners (and it was really filling :) ) I was thinking about the cost of that one when i made it, i think it probably cost me 6-9 dollars for the whole thing. (i hear dried beans are really cheap, but they take longer to deal with)
other than that, i just eat everything my family makes (except meat containing stuff obviously) so it's not too much extra (I'm lacto ovo as well. and i don't eat "specialty foods" more cuz my family doesn't like me being veggie, but same idea) another thing I do, is when my fam goes grocery shopping, i go along and scan the aisles for good sales (which actually are kinda common)
oh, pasta's another good thing. if you're the only lacto-ovo, then a box of pasta can last you a while.
cook big main dishes (like pasta or soup of some kind) and then refridgerate left overs....
that wasn't exactly on topic, but i hope it helped you out some at least :)
This sounds tasty...and good advice. I always tag along shopping and pick out food, or my mom buys extra things for me.