[chickpeachica]

I haven't moved into college yet but have recently decided to go vegan. Problem: My parent's diet is a vegan's nightmare. Meat, cheese, and more meat.
I became obsessed with nutrition and have been eating separately from my parents for a few years now so the switch isn't completely new. I buy what I can and my mom is willing to tack on a few of my requests to the grocery list.
I've seen posts on here about groceries but they were all fairly long lists. I was wondering if you guys could give me your top ten (or 15) favorite/essential foods that work the best for you. I don't want to lack nutrition because of my strict budget. Thank you!!

 

[lavender phase]

Here is my top 15 grab n go shopping list
1. Almond milk or non dairy milk coconut
2. Fruits, veggies and herbs (your choice)
3. Nut butters, seeds, nuts (your choice)
4. Grains , pastas , rice, oats I love quinoa!
5. Sriracha I never have enough of this sacred sauce the rooster brand is best!
6. Beans I prefer dried but again your choice
7. Oils I prefer coconut and olive oils but I do have a small bottle of sesame oil too for my sesame noodle recipe with sriracha!
8. Tofu and your choice of Faux meats not much of these do I purchase ....
9. Cans of tomato sauce San marzano my favourite ....
10. Ramen make sure vegan yummy try low sodium I buy less of these now :/
11. Vegan raw fit protein I like this one !
12. Tea and fees I'm off of coffee oh, I feel a cheat coming
13. Your favourite veggie broths and condiments like veganaise or earth balance ....
14. Egg replacer for recipes
15. Organic sugar, I use pink or grey salt fresh pepper and dried organic spices
Cook or learn to cook get vegan cook books and explore! Good luck!

Animals should be loved not eaten !

 

[chickpeachica]

Here is my top 15 grab n go shopping list
1. Almond milk or non dairy milk coconut
2. Fruits, veggies and herbs (your choice)
3. Nut butters, seeds, nuts (your choice)
4. Grains , pastas , rice, oats I love quinoa!
5. Sriracha I never have enough of this sacred sauce the rooster brand is best!
6. Beans I prefer dried but again your choice
7. Oils I prefer coconut and olive oils but I do have a small bottle of sesame oil too for my sesame noodle recipe with sriracha!
8. Tofu and your choice of Faux meats not much of these do I purchase ....
9. Cans of tomato sauce San marzano my favourite ....
10. Ramen make sure vegan yummy try low sodium I buy less of these now :/
11. Vegan raw fit protein I like this one !
12. Tea and fees I'm off of coffee oh, I feel a cheat coming
13. Your favourite veggie broths and condiments like veganaise or earth balance ....
14. Egg replacer for recipes
15. Organic sugar, I use pink or grey salt fresh pepper and dried organic spices
Cook or learn to cook get vegan cook books and explore! Good luck!

Animals should be loved not eaten !

Thank you so much that was extremely helpful!! Which beans are your favorite?

 

[lavender phase]

Pink beans! I also love yellow lentils they make a great tasting Indian dahl

Animals should be loved not eaten !

 

[Jordy Verrill]

My top 15 items...

Brown Rice (Jasmine is my favorite variety)
Soy Sauce
Sriracha
Garlic
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Carrots
Beans, a variety of canned, because I am too lazy to cook dried. Except lentils,they cook quick.
Almond Milk
Potatoes
Kale
Peanut Butter
Mushrooms
Tofu
Bananas

 

[chickpeachica]

Thanks so much!

 

[CatherineLove]

I buy the majority of my foods from the bulk section at whole foods...
Saves a lot of money!
Make sure to have
Lentils
Beans
Rice
Nuts
Seeds
Oats/Grains
Try to get your fruits and veggies from a weekly or bi weekly co-op that will save you money because you'll always have a set amount of money to spend weekly on your veggies....

 

[60225]

1) Egg-free Noodles
2) Egg-free Pasta
3) Rice
4) Sweet Potatoes
5) Beans (canned or dry)
6) Tinned tomatoes (sauces, soups, stews etc)
7) Wide range of spices
8) Tinned sweetcorn
9) Olive Oil
10) Mushrooms
11) Garlic
12) Tofu
13) Sriracha
14) Red onions
15) Vodka .......

 

[Jordy Verrill]

15) Vodka .......

I like the way you think.

 

[lavender phase]

I like the way you think.

Me too! She always without fail puts a smile on my face!

Animals should be loved not eaten !

 

[Vegan Dave]

Fruits
Vegetables
Grains, like rice, pasta, etc.
Beans, legumes, etc.

That's about it.

 

[Tiger Lilly]

First, good on you for going vegan WHILE going to College! I could barely cook at all at that point in my life, so already you're doing well.

Top 15-
1.Chickpeas
2. Lentils
3. Rice
4. Pasta
5. Baked Beans
6. Iron skillet- I'm in the process of finding one of these. It's meant to help with Iron levels, to cook your food in an iron skillet!
7. Orange juice.
8. Alternative milk- We have soy, but whatever one works for you. If you can find a brand that fortifies itself with things like vitamin B, then all the better!
9. Tofu/Tempeh- I prefer tofu for a lot of things and it tends to be cheaper than the tempeh with have here. But sometimes tempeh is nice to have in tomatoey sauce.
10. Tomatoes- Tinned or otherwise, depending on how you're feeling about tinned stuff.
11. Frozen veggies- There are assortments of veggie mixes out there, but even just your standards are good. Though, if you can find edamame I like to use them as a snack.
12. Garlic
13. Assorted herbs and spices. There's an 'Italian Mix' and a 'Bolognaise mix' over here. If you're not used to using herbs and stuff, I'd start with that.
14. Cumin. Honestly, you put that in a sweet potato/pumpkin soup and it's just....it's just LOVELY!
15. Mushrooms.
16. Vodka because.... it's....vegan and you're at college


I used to buy a lot of tinned stuff when I was at Uni. It just kept for longer, meant I didn't need to do too many trips to the store too often and meant I always had SOMETHING to eat when money got low. But, I wasn't very health conscious at that point in my life, when I really should have been.

I'd also recommend learning how to make simple things, like pastry and even your own bread. If you're at home at the moment, now's the time to try it out. Honestly, I think we save money not buying faux meat products because I can make a decent veggie pot pie now (with my own pastry and flour costs almost NOTHING).

Regardless of all of that, I just want to say again that doing this while also moving out of home/learning, is so amazingly awesome of you. It's not going to be easy, but I wouldn't have even attempted it that stage in my life (wasn't even aware enough of the world at that point) so good on you!

 

[Naturebound]

1. lentils (red, brown, green split peas, yellow split peas)
2. dried or canned chickpeas
3. dried white beans (varies from week to week, sometimes kidney or black beans or pintos but white are my favorite)
4. tempeh or tofu but mostly tempeh
5. millet, brown rice, buckwheat groats, bulgur wheat, oats...varies each week but these are my most commonly used grains and I always have several on hand
6. fruit (pineapple, cantaloupe, always bananas, oranges, frozen berries, apples, etc)
7. bell peppers almost every week as well as mushrooms, tomatoes, and onions
8. rotate each week (and buy several bundles of each, now growing my own collards in my garden): collard greens, bok choy, kale, spinach, mustard greens, chard, broccoli
9. some type of squash (yellow, zucchini, winter, butternut) or sweet potatoes or carrots or pumpkin (this one I buy canned which is very cheap and I use pumpkin for sauces and casseroles or straight with banana and cocoa powder)
10. dates or raisins to snack on or in smoothies etc
11. almond milk (am just starting to make my own seed and rice milks in place with calcium powder and vitamin D drops added to save money as I am now broke from finishing school and owing student loans)
12. once every few weeks, whole wheat flour for making my own bread
13. blackstrap molasses (about once a month I buy a jar; I use it in stir fries, hot cereal, homemade breads, over beans and in squash as a source of calcium, iron and other minerals)
14. seeds: sesame, pumpkin, sunflower, chia
15. staples like pure cocoa powder, nutritional yeast, or jars of salsa (these items I buy once or twice a month)

 

[chickpeachica]

Wow thank you all so much! Your support REALLY means a lot to me, especially since I mostly get made fun of for my decision in my home and school life.
And to Tiger Lilly -- Thank you! I know college will be tough, especially since I have to use the college dining hall meal plan my first year. But I believe veganism is misunderstood and there are so many health benefits (for the human and the animals). Online communities such as this one are so fascinating and I really admire all of you for your persistence and passion!
Thanks again! xo

 

[60225]

You're not alone, don't forget that x

We may not be able to rock up at your halls with cous-cous, vegan ice-cream and sympathy when things get tough but we will be here for you in cyber terms when that happens.

 

[LedBoots]

Wow thank you all so much! Your support REALLY means a lot to me, especially since I mostly get made fun of for my decision in my home and school life.
And to Tiger Lilly -- Thank you! I know college will be tough, especially since I have to use the college dining hall meal plan my first year. But I believe veganism is misunderstood and there are so many health benefits (for the human and the animals). Online communities such as this one are so fascinating and I really admire all of you for your persistence and passion!
Thanks again! xo

Hi and welcome! Those are some good lists ^^^, great thread you started!

Congratulations on starting college. Some colleges are good about offering vegetarian food, vegan a little harder. There are lots of vegan foods you can have in your dorm room, too, and blogs out there with ideas.

 

[chickpeachica]

Hi and welcome! Those are some good lists ^^^, great thread you started!

Congratulations on starting college. Some colleges are good about offering vegetarian food, vegan a little harder. There are lots of vegan foods you can have in your dorm room, too, and blogs out there with ideas.

Thanks a bunch! Yeah, I've been looking into my college and all I know is that they label vegan foods. I doubt the foods will be as great as the ones you all suggested, but hey, that's college for ya.

 

[chickpeachica]

You're not alone, don't forget that x

We may not be able to rock up at your halls with cous-cous, vegan ice-cream and sympathy when things get tough but we will be here for you in cyber terms when that happens.

That made me so happy to read hahaha you're the best! You'll be seeing some less mentally stable posts from me in college very soon.

 

[a Balloon a Balloon]

Rice
Potatoes
Lentils
Wholeweat pasta
Vegetables (especially peppers and broccoli)
Oat milk
Vegan cornflakes/mueslie
Bananas

Sent from my GT-P3110 using Tapatalk

 

[kallyho]

you have all convinced me that I need to buy this srirachi sauce with the rooster. What do you use it on? It will be on my next shopping list.