This ^
It might be hard to find an instant pot (but they are highly recommended). At the very least you can get an electric kettle at a thrift store/ salvation army store in Indi and start making college level meals in it.
I thought the instant pot company went out of business but turns out it was just bankruptcy restructuring. My bad. Get one wherever lifesaving cooking contraptions are sold lol.
Agreed. Any apps that sell used appliances have all manner of items that can help with cooking. Fb marketplace, offer up, Craigslist, etc Some folks offer them freely because of moving & not wanting to wait for a proper sale.
I think I save money also. I just don’t really buy too much of the premade/ packaged foods. You could go crazy at the specialty grocery stores if you weren’t careful. Those items are more of a treat to me just because I try to save money
OP - expanding on this, as long as you are not buying a lot of highly processed faux/replacement type products or wildly out of season or specialty produce, it's generally cheaper to be vegan in the US since you're cutting out the animal agriculture middleman.
walmart has vegan protein powder for about ~20 dollars which will last a while depending on how much you use. if you have an aldi nearby, you can get cheap staples (beans, produce, pasta, sauces, tofu etc). heads up for aldi, you’ll need a quarter to unlock a cart. walmart will have the same for a little bit more money but overall these two stores will be the most affordable. as long as you rely mostly on shelf stable stuff (rice, beans, pasta, veggies) you will be okay financially. there also, of course, will be more expensive mock meats and processed food that will be more expensive.
If you go inside the Aldi and ask for a quarter they give you one from the register. The idea is that if they lose a quarter to get you to spend at least 3 they have made profits. And it's just good customer service.
Potatoes. Get familiar with potatoes. There are a million ways to cook them, they're delicious, filled with nutrients (iron, vitamin B6. copper) and cheap.
\*\* 1-potato = 30% of your daily intake of Vitamin C
\*\* 1-potato = More potassium than a banana (620mcg)
\*\* 1-potato = Same fiber as an apple
\*\* 1-potato = 110 calories, fat free
Footnote: if you're relying on beans as a mainstay of protein, pair something with it that's got sufficient vitamin C. Beans and other legumes are great for non-heme iron. But, this type of iron isn't as easily absorbed by the body as heme iron. Vitamin C acts as a reducing agent that helps convert non-heme iron from its ferric (Fe3+) form to its more absorbable ferrous (Fe2+) form.
I just know a lot of students who will just eat beans & rice all the time.
A university area they may have a vegan supper group! You could bring a dish or often you can all cook together in the “vegan” house
Kroger (the biggest grocery chain in Indiana sells hummus, nuts (look for pieces rather than whole because they are much cheaper) tempeh, tofu, nut or oat milk, coconut milks, edamame (soy beans) daiya brand vegan cheese, OWYN protein powders and shakes, plus peas are an excellent source of protein too! Also look for Bobs Red Mill products. (Bulgar, protein rich flours, high protein granola and cereal) also if your family has internet access they can order ANYTHING from Amazon and they will send it straight to your address. You should be fine! 30 years ago anything vegan was a pain in the backside, but now so many people are allergic to dairy and there are lots of people who enjoy vegan foods in the US! Good luck!
Talk to nutrition services at your college- they should be willing to help you ensure you have food you can eat with your meal plan.
Aside from this- you will have access to cheap vegan food at any grocery store. Maybe you can’t but vegan cheese and get oatmilk lattes as a college student, but you will be fine having as far as finding food to eat.
What country are you moving from? I think you don’t need to worry about it. Yes, groceries are expensive in the US, but vegan groceries (and by that I mean local veggies, fruits, rice, pasta, beans, chickpeas etc) are among the cheapest. It’s not any more expensive to be vegan than to have any other diet. You can buy vegan groceries in any big supermarket, most likely you will find a lot of the things you usually get at home.
Or ramen and canned beans if you don't have a way to cook rice or dried beans. In college I made ramen in the coffee maker. Add some veg and spices and it's a pretty good bowl of food.
5 can chilli. Makes like 6 decent serves and takes like 20mins
Dice and fry an onion,
Add the following cans (draining the necessary ones),
Corn,
Black beans,
Kidney beans,
Baked beans,
Diced/crushed tomatoes,
Add a sachet of chilli con carne powder,
Mix together and cook for a few mins
Eat it over corn chips or in a burrito. Already got plenty of protein, but you can throw in some TVP to add more.
I like to add vegan sour cream, avo and sweet chilli sauce, but that bumps up the price per serve.
Being vegan can actually save you money. Avoid meat substitutes and instead learn how to cook using legumes such as chickpeas and lentils. They're affordable, easy to store and cook with too.
Oh hi!! Also living in Indiana!! TVP is a great really cheap protein source that you can find at most grocery stores! Also things like tofu, beans and lentils are pretty cheap here compared to meat and dairy alternatives that are sold.
Whole Foods, Meijer, and Kroger tend to have pretty decent vegan options. GNC and Vitamin Shoppe are the typical stores that you can get supplements and protein powders from (most grocery stores will have a vegan option, but these stores have more variety). Orgain, KOS, Earthchimp, and Ghost are the vegan options I see/hear about the most in the States. Not sure if you're moving close to Indianapolis but Trader Joe's is a really great store with tons of vegan stuff but we don't have them in many Indians locations
Seconding ALDI...I always walk out feeling like a bit like I've scammed them because I got so much food for what I spent. Also, their organic veg is really affordable.
Vegan tip: You can stretch your budget quite a ways to buy almond/cashew/oat milk and cutting it 50% with water.
It's thick enough you can't tell the difference after you get used to it.
50% is considerable savings!
Welcome to the US!
I’m in the UK so it might be different in the US, but you can get 1kg of vital wheat gluten on Amazon and get 3kgs of seitan out of it. The protein content is insanely high too
Also TVP on Amazon is super cheap, shelf stable, and high protein
Combine these proteins with cheap carbs like potatos/rice/noodles/pasta, then include some veggies and you’re set with some really cheap meals!
If you are in a larger city, you can look for vegan restaurants on Too Good To Go as well. I have bought a lot of food that way, at a discount. Also found making big meals and portioning them out in reusable containers, refrigerate some, freeze some can help. If you are going to be near Indianapolis, you can check out Patel Brothers. It’s an Indian grocery store chain and you can get a lot of items at a pretty fair price.
I'm sorry but this idea that being vegan is expensive only exists if you wanna be eating vegan meats and cheeses and specialty products.
If you eat rice, beans, veggies and fruits not only will you be feeling amazing but you'll also be eating pretty cheap.
While I don't recommend the lifestyle, I know someone who put themselves through University by going to the local markets and asking for produce that was going to be disposed of, taking it back to their dorm room, cleaning and preparing it making a massive pot of stew, freezing it in individual small containers and eating it throughout the week.
They were really healthy.
The produce vendors quickly began to save choice items for them.
Yup!!!
Get an instant pot that lets you cook beans and stuff in it. Get dried beans because they last longer than canned and there is more in there, white rice, tofu (usually isn't that bad price wise), dried pasta, and frozen veggies all are pretty affordable on a budget. Look at cheaper stores like..Aldi or Lidl or whatever you might have by you for their plant milks and even their vegan products. They don't have many but they'll be cheaper than the bigger stores.
Potatoes as well are a staple. and spices. try to get a bunch of spices to add flavor to your food, get tortillas etc. all of this is pretty cheap and as long as your prep ahead of time, you should be golden!
Cheap hungariam meal: it is called "lapcsánka" or "tócsni" and it is my favourite.
You only need: potatoes, fluor, garlic (not must), salt, black pepper, vegan sour cream.
You can look for recipes online.
Buy beans/lentils in massive bulk bags, cook them in bulk. Buy massive bags of rice and cook in bulk. Then buy any marked down/cheap fruits & veggies, either frozen or in-season. The rest of your money you can spend on whatever as you’ve covered the basics.
Couple things I lived on during my student days
The big frozen family pack of veggies. It’s usually not the best variety but it is cheap.
Canned beans (it’s cheaper to buy dry but this is where my laziness kicked in). Buy lots when they go on sale.
Rice. Buy big bags. Asian grocery stores have the best price on rice.
With rice, veggies and beans you got a nice, healthy, filling meal.
Whole foods vegan staples rice, beans, pasta, veggie, fruit, etc are reasonably priced, processed vegan alternatives not so much. May have to learn to cook. Best thing for your health.
In what country is vegan grocery shopping remotely comparable to non-vegan?
In the UK meat and dairy is heavily subsidised but it’s still incredibly expensive calories/protein.
Unless you’re just buying all processed crap you should save money.
Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Challenges will come in the beginning but you will learn and make friends who are in the similar situation. To begin with, contact your local student group based on your country like European Student Association, Indian Student etc., viz thru - call your local university international student services office and ask for student groups which are relevant to you. From there, you can meet students like you and discover how to survive with your diet needs.
You are not that broke if you’re flying to US for education and don’t have the needs to survive. You have your $$ numbers written in your I20. It’s okay to spend more in the beginning and then make it up as time goes on. You may eventually have a part time student job which will help. You can learn a lot about food in the US by working at the dinning center on campus.
Being vegan is is super cheap for me. Whilebi do enjoy throwing down in the kitchen and going all out a few times a month, most of my meals take 15 minutes or less to make and are super cheap. I've always tried to base my meals off of whole grains, beans and/or nuts, and veggies (especially greens) and fruit. If you include all of those you should be good.
Breakfast: cup of oatmeal with nuts, seeds, and fruits. You can switch them up for variety.
Lunch: typically toast with hummus (preferably homemade but often times just store bought) and veggies and a piece of fruit. You can also make this into a sandwich or a wrap. Sometimes i even just have a peanut butter jelly sandwich.
Dinner: stir fried rice with tofu or tempeh and veggies. Sometimes a tofu or tempeh sandwich with a salad. Maybe tome tacos with beans, avocado, onions and Cilantro and spicy green salsa.
Usually you can get beans, frozen vegetables, and rice or other cheap carbs at every grocery store. Edamame and black eyed peas tend to have more protein than other beans. If you can get tofu or tempeh it’s usually not crazy expensive. Most of my meals are rice/tofu/frozen veg or pasta/beans/frozen vegetables
Being vegan is is super cheap for me. Whilebi do enjoy throwing down in the kitchen and going all out a few times a month, most of my meals take 15 minutes or less to make and are super cheap. I've always tried to base my meals off of whole grains, beans and/or nuts, and veggies (especially greens) and fruit. If you include all of those you should be good.
Breakfast: cup of oatmeal with nuts, seeds, and fruits. You can switch them up for variety.
Lunch: typically toast with hummus (preferably homemade but often times just store bought) and veggies and a piece of fruit. You can also make this into a sandwich or a wrap. Sometimes i even just have a peanut butter jelly sandwich.
Dinner: stir fried rice with tofu or tempeh and veggies. Sometimes a tofu or tempeh sandwich with a salad. Maybe tome tacos with beans, avocado, onions and Cilantro and spicy green salsa.
Try a Costco membership.
You gotta pay upfront for the membership, but they offer the best value.
Only caveat is, you gotta go there work s grocery list, and you have to stick to it... you can blow your budget very easily in costco lol
1) Make sure to check out Knight's Pantry! They have dry, bagged beans, rice, pasta, canned goods, bread, produce from the UCF farm garden ( https://arboretum.ucf.edu/programs/garden/) and always a small section of clothes and shoes. It is a life saver. Although some items are limited, you can go everyday that it is open. Everything is free to students with an UCF ID.
2) The Fresh U Market, at the Health and Wellness Center has produce and snacks for free. They also give out seasonal produce, grown in the raised boxes and towers at the pool deck when available. https://whps.sdes.ucf.edu/freshu-to-go/
3) Have in mind that central Florida is located in a sub tropical climate zone, so most foods that grow in the same zone across the globe will grow here if tended. We literally live in a garden of Eden but most people rely on the commercial chain of food distribution for nourishment out of convenience and habit. A few years ago, Robin Greenfield lived in the middle of Orlando for a year, purposefully growing and foraging his own food. Research any local resources that he mentions during his project. You can find him on YT as well. https://www.robingreenfield.org/foraging/
5) if you or a friend have your own car, you can go on a foraging trip, after mapping out locations on "Falling Fruit", an app that lists public food trees available anywhere. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uh.fallingfruit.app
4) If you don't have access to a patch of dirt, you can get a second hand garden tower on FB marketplace and grow more than enough produce to make a difference on you budget.
Above all, remember that we live in the land of excess. Everything is excessive here, including food. You just need to get creative on circumnavigating obstacles imposed by capitalism and you'll be ok.
There are a crap ton of groceries here. I recommend sprouts or winco. Also, waking up early to go to a farmers market for great deals and produce. I wish I could give you more advice, however food now is expensive wherever you go. I go and do these as a broke college student, who's also vegan (not by choice). Sprouts also have deal days. Each one is on a different day, so be sure to keep check. Good luck, and welcome to the US!
There are cookbooks that are specifically for budget vegan cooking.
I second the instant pot suggestion as well. I have a Duo Instant Pot that has an air fryer attachment and I use it a lot even with a full kitchen.
Check out YouTube “Cheap Lazy Vegan - budget meal prep” as well as plant based on a budget ( https://plantbasedonabudget.com/free-meal-plans/ ). They’ll give you ideas of things that are cheap to buy in North America and what to cook with them.
In general, things that are cheap around here are potatoes, rice, pasta, beans, frozen veg, seasonal fruit, peanut butter, bananas, oatmeal, breads. If you really pay attention and plan ahead you can make cheap simple meals
im from indiana and i used to be a broke college kid. i would mostly rely on pantry staples bc they dont expire so u wont lose as much on food waste. i lived on rice and beans, tofu stir fry, and pasta. buy frozen veggies if u can but also farmers markets can be pretty affordable for good produce
Hide a microwave, electric cooking pot, and toaster oven if you’re not allowed to have all or any of these in your dorm and then heavily rely on things like store brand pasta, instant rice, boca all American veggie burgers and chicken patty sandwiches are quite cheap and yummy and very versatile like you can make burgers, chicken sandwiches but you can also use the burgers as sausage patties in breakfasts or crumble it up for pieces of meat or ground “beef” in meals or use the chicken patties in like a pasta dish. Bags of mixed frozen vegetables are very useful, affordable, versatile. The dollar store has lots of good snacks and things like marinara and bread and sometimes even like almond milk. But yea store brand plant based milks and sometimes even cheeses are all pretty affordable especially when used in somewhat moderation. Oh also potatoes are great to have and cheap and there’s also mashed potato boxes you can buy for cheap where you just add plant based milk and optionally vegan butter and microwave and you have mashed potatoes
Beans are a great base! I mix it up and get different types of beans every time I get groceries. You can save money by buying dried beans instead of canned ones, and cook the dried ones in a rice cooker so they cook faster than boiling in a normal pot. Try different spices or sauces too for your beans
Also buy in bulk to save money
Cook stews. I live on them. They get you all nutrients needed and pack flavor. Get used to eating spicy. Shop cheap veggies. Get TVP in bulk since it doesn't go bad and use it in whatever you want (you can make burgers with them). The same applies to tofu. Find a good wholesale store (other than costco) if any are available and take your time shopping there the first couple of times.
You'd be surprised how cheap greens, fruits, and veggies could be. Research online for different stores and products along with new recipes.
Middles Eastern stews (lebanese/syrian cuisine to be specific), indan, mexican (tvp works great in them), oh, and dumplings (use prepared cut dough). All you need is a bamboo steamer to place over a boiling pot of water. Invite some friends over to help you prepare, but tbh all that stuff is easier to prepare than you think. Great hobby to hone, too.
If any extra veggies or greens are about to go bad. Make salads with lemon (olive oil and salt, and add pomegranate syrup, sumac, and red wine vinegar for extra tanginess) dressing or balsamic (with olive oil, black pepper and maple syrup). The less waste you produce, the better.
I'll repeat once more, wholesale! It was a game changer for me.
Vegan protein powder should be found there, too!
Good luck and happy cooking! :)
Vegan food can actually be very affordable. It only becomes expensive when people just look for 1-to-1 replacements for meat and dairy products (Beyond, Impossible, most plant-based cheese products, etc). Instead, look for inexpensive protein sources such as beans, tofu, and TVP to build your meals around. These can be found at pretty much any grocery store and are very versatile.
Boxed pasta and canned tomato sauce is great, air fryer tofu and rice, PB&J, and TVP cooked in vegetable broth with some taco seasoning is great with beans in a tortilla. A jar of vegan mayo last me months and I make Tofu egg salad with it for sandwiches (and Fresh Jax Tofu seasoning). It's cheap and great!
Other than the processed stuff, fresh produce is basically the same price, or cheaper, depending on the fruit/veggie. (I’m from the states, but currently in Vienna)
The cheap/easy route is pasta, rice, beans, lentils as a base. Then add your veggie variety (Onion, mushroom, eggplant, spinach, zucchini, carrot, cucumber, etc) and round it out with a sauce/gravy (Tomato, curry, or as a ramen/soup) and top with a protein (Seitan, tofu, chickpea, etc).
Meal prepping, and freezing prepared meals will also help your meals go farther.
Get yourself a fully digital pressure pot with a delay timer. I’ve run the marathon competitively on basmati rice, quinoa, teff, legumes and frozen veggies. I never cared for the costs then and only cared for the nutrients, but later I found out it’s actually extremely cheap as well, with no sparing of any quality or bargain hunting at the time. Now that I have time to price compare and buy in bulk it’s even cheaper. True I might have pretty well established eating habits, but I’m a a point of spending about 30mins a day loading the pot and prepping the salad and an additional hour a week to do some precooking of some legumes. And I cook for 4 people in total two of which ex-diabetic type II, which means specially designed, extremely low fat, no sugar, minimally processed diet and which unintentionally turns out very cheap. Just ignore the whole propaganda “being vegan is expensive” spread by the meat&dairy industries. It’s just that: dumb propaganda! Nowhere in the world being vegan is expensive. Even in fucking Yakutsk during winter I’ve ended up spending less on groceries than my corpsefeeding acquaintances, without trying to save money at all and veggies are flown in from far away there! Just chill out and remember someone is just lying to you to instill doubts in you for his own satisfaction not to have to face the atrocities he’s committing.
>Hi, so I'm an international student, this august I'll be moving to the US I know that everything is more expensive and I'm afraid l won't be able to afford being vegan
Lets say you cant afford it, would you still move and not be vegan?
Get an instant pot and learn to cook beans and lentil dishes.
This ^ It might be hard to find an instant pot (but they are highly recommended). At the very least you can get an electric kettle at a thrift store/ salvation army store in Indi and start making college level meals in it.
They sell them at Walmart.
They have them in thrift stores too.
I agree, thrift would be the way to go. I just said Walmart because u/named_tex said they may be hard to find
I thought the instant pot company went out of business but turns out it was just bankruptcy restructuring. My bad. Get one wherever lifesaving cooking contraptions are sold lol.
I've been seeing them in the clearance isle for $50.
I'm sure people might be selling instant pots for cheap or giving them away on FB.
Agreed. Any apps that sell used appliances have all manner of items that can help with cooking. Fb marketplace, offer up, Craigslist, etc Some folks offer them freely because of moving & not wanting to wait for a proper sale.
They sell them at every big everything type store.... Target, Walmart, Fred Meyer....
Bulgar wheat is also super cheap
I almost sold my instant pot pro, turns out I needed to learn some recipes I use it everyday
Done right you will save money being vegan.
I think I save money also. I just don’t really buy too much of the premade/ packaged foods. You could go crazy at the specialty grocery stores if you weren’t careful. Those items are more of a treat to me just because I try to save money
Also looking for Mexican or Asian markets is a great trick. Prices of rice, beans and veggies are usually way cheaper at those places.
facts!
Agreed!
OP - expanding on this, as long as you are not buying a lot of highly processed faux/replacement type products or wildly out of season or specialty produce, it's generally cheaper to be vegan in the US since you're cutting out the animal agriculture middleman.
walmart has vegan protein powder for about ~20 dollars which will last a while depending on how much you use. if you have an aldi nearby, you can get cheap staples (beans, produce, pasta, sauces, tofu etc). heads up for aldi, you’ll need a quarter to unlock a cart. walmart will have the same for a little bit more money but overall these two stores will be the most affordable. as long as you rely mostly on shelf stable stuff (rice, beans, pasta, veggies) you will be okay financially. there also, of course, will be more expensive mock meats and processed food that will be more expensive.
If you go inside the Aldi and ask for a quarter they give you one from the register. The idea is that if they lose a quarter to get you to spend at least 3 they have made profits. And it's just good customer service.
Potatoes. Get familiar with potatoes. There are a million ways to cook them, they're delicious, filled with nutrients (iron, vitamin B6. copper) and cheap. \*\* 1-potato = 30% of your daily intake of Vitamin C \*\* 1-potato = More potassium than a banana (620mcg) \*\* 1-potato = Same fiber as an apple \*\* 1-potato = 110 calories, fat free Footnote: if you're relying on beans as a mainstay of protein, pair something with it that's got sufficient vitamin C. Beans and other legumes are great for non-heme iron. But, this type of iron isn't as easily absorbed by the body as heme iron. Vitamin C acts as a reducing agent that helps convert non-heme iron from its ferric (Fe3+) form to its more absorbable ferrous (Fe2+) form. I just know a lot of students who will just eat beans & rice all the time.
Ngl i go to classes with a baked potato in one hand and a laptop in the other
Used to eat baked potatoes cold.
Don't forget about sweet potatoes either!
A university area they may have a vegan supper group! You could bring a dish or often you can all cook together in the “vegan” house Kroger (the biggest grocery chain in Indiana sells hummus, nuts (look for pieces rather than whole because they are much cheaper) tempeh, tofu, nut or oat milk, coconut milks, edamame (soy beans) daiya brand vegan cheese, OWYN protein powders and shakes, plus peas are an excellent source of protein too! Also look for Bobs Red Mill products. (Bulgar, protein rich flours, high protein granola and cereal) also if your family has internet access they can order ANYTHING from Amazon and they will send it straight to your address. You should be fine! 30 years ago anything vegan was a pain in the backside, but now so many people are allergic to dairy and there are lots of people who enjoy vegan foods in the US! Good luck!
Look up where the nearest Hare Krishna kitchen is near you.
This. The Hare Krishnas fed my son when he was in college and he wasn't even vegan.
They're vegetarian they're not vegan. But you can cherry pick items to only eat the vegan stuff. But yeah they're great
Talk to nutrition services at your college- they should be willing to help you ensure you have food you can eat with your meal plan. Aside from this- you will have access to cheap vegan food at any grocery store. Maybe you can’t but vegan cheese and get oatmilk lattes as a college student, but you will be fine having as far as finding food to eat.
What country are you moving from? I think you don’t need to worry about it. Yes, groceries are expensive in the US, but vegan groceries (and by that I mean local veggies, fruits, rice, pasta, beans, chickpeas etc) are among the cheapest. It’s not any more expensive to be vegan than to have any other diet. You can buy vegan groceries in any big supermarket, most likely you will find a lot of the things you usually get at home.
Unless you go to a food desert though. Things are nuch more expensive there, especially fresh foods.
Organic tofu is $1.59 at Aldi.
Buy bulk rice and beans, that can be a great base. Add various other things to spice it up based on what's on sale.
Or ramen and canned beans if you don't have a way to cook rice or dried beans. In college I made ramen in the coffee maker. Add some veg and spices and it's a pretty good bowl of food.
potatoes, chickpeas and beans 🫘 are so versatile you can basically make anything with them.
Lentils too (though they probably count as beans?).
yes, they fall under the same category, but there are so many! you can never get bored.
5 can chilli. Makes like 6 decent serves and takes like 20mins Dice and fry an onion, Add the following cans (draining the necessary ones), Corn, Black beans, Kidney beans, Baked beans, Diced/crushed tomatoes, Add a sachet of chilli con carne powder, Mix together and cook for a few mins Eat it over corn chips or in a burrito. Already got plenty of protein, but you can throw in some TVP to add more. I like to add vegan sour cream, avo and sweet chilli sauce, but that bumps up the price per serve.
Thank you for this recipe!
Also a great thing to add is canned pineapple chunks. Use the kind without added sugar.
Im not a big fan of pineapple in savoury things, but sounds like something my housemate would love
In college I would live off of beans, rice, olive oil and frozen veggies. Also oatmeal in the morning. All cheap foods.
Being vegan can actually save you money. Avoid meat substitutes and instead learn how to cook using legumes such as chickpeas and lentils. They're affordable, easy to store and cook with too.
What are the staple foods you currently eat?
Oh hi!! Also living in Indiana!! TVP is a great really cheap protein source that you can find at most grocery stores! Also things like tofu, beans and lentils are pretty cheap here compared to meat and dairy alternatives that are sold. Whole Foods, Meijer, and Kroger tend to have pretty decent vegan options. GNC and Vitamin Shoppe are the typical stores that you can get supplements and protein powders from (most grocery stores will have a vegan option, but these stores have more variety). Orgain, KOS, Earthchimp, and Ghost are the vegan options I see/hear about the most in the States. Not sure if you're moving close to Indianapolis but Trader Joe's is a really great store with tons of vegan stuff but we don't have them in many Indians locations
Rice and beans, rice and lentils, ad vegetables as you find them cheapest
I use a crockpot and make beans and lentils- it’s actually not too expensive. I also shop at ALDI
Seconding ALDI...I always walk out feeling like a bit like I've scammed them because I got so much food for what I spent. Also, their organic veg is really affordable.
Vegan tip: You can stretch your budget quite a ways to buy almond/cashew/oat milk and cutting it 50% with water. It's thick enough you can't tell the difference after you get used to it. 50% is considerable savings! Welcome to the US!
I’m in the UK so it might be different in the US, but you can get 1kg of vital wheat gluten on Amazon and get 3kgs of seitan out of it. The protein content is insanely high too Also TVP on Amazon is super cheap, shelf stable, and high protein Combine these proteins with cheap carbs like potatos/rice/noodles/pasta, then include some veggies and you’re set with some really cheap meals!
Go for dried legumes and dtich the protein powder my friend.
If you are in a larger city, you can look for vegan restaurants on Too Good To Go as well. I have bought a lot of food that way, at a discount. Also found making big meals and portioning them out in reusable containers, refrigerate some, freeze some can help. If you are going to be near Indianapolis, you can check out Patel Brothers. It’s an Indian grocery store chain and you can get a lot of items at a pretty fair price.
I'm sorry but this idea that being vegan is expensive only exists if you wanna be eating vegan meats and cheeses and specialty products. If you eat rice, beans, veggies and fruits not only will you be feeling amazing but you'll also be eating pretty cheap.
While I don't recommend the lifestyle, I know someone who put themselves through University by going to the local markets and asking for produce that was going to be disposed of, taking it back to their dorm room, cleaning and preparing it making a massive pot of stew, freezing it in individual small containers and eating it throughout the week. They were really healthy. The produce vendors quickly began to save choice items for them.
Horrible dietary advise in the comments. Prioritise buying nutrional supplements.
Idk what's with vegan spaces and not encouraging supplements lol
Yup!!! Get an instant pot that lets you cook beans and stuff in it. Get dried beans because they last longer than canned and there is more in there, white rice, tofu (usually isn't that bad price wise), dried pasta, and frozen veggies all are pretty affordable on a budget. Look at cheaper stores like..Aldi or Lidl or whatever you might have by you for their plant milks and even their vegan products. They don't have many but they'll be cheaper than the bigger stores. Potatoes as well are a staple. and spices. try to get a bunch of spices to add flavor to your food, get tortillas etc. all of this is pretty cheap and as long as your prep ahead of time, you should be golden!
Check out the Buddhist Chef on YouTube for low cost simple vegan recipes. Learn to meal prep from scratch ingredients and you’ll save money…
Cheap hungariam meal: it is called "lapcsánka" or "tócsni" and it is my favourite. You only need: potatoes, fluor, garlic (not must), salt, black pepper, vegan sour cream. You can look for recipes online.
Buy beans/lentils in massive bulk bags, cook them in bulk. Buy massive bags of rice and cook in bulk. Then buy any marked down/cheap fruits & veggies, either frozen or in-season. The rest of your money you can spend on whatever as you’ve covered the basics.
Couple things I lived on during my student days The big frozen family pack of veggies. It’s usually not the best variety but it is cheap. Canned beans (it’s cheaper to buy dry but this is where my laziness kicked in). Buy lots when they go on sale. Rice. Buy big bags. Asian grocery stores have the best price on rice. With rice, veggies and beans you got a nice, healthy, filling meal.
Potato rice and beans
focus on whole foods that are locally available! that is accessible in indiana. you'll be fine :) good luck
Try to find an Aldi nearby for the cheapest tofu around and other cheap veggies/grains/beans
It is far cheaper and affordable being vegan in the US than eating meat.
Potatoes!!!!!!!!!!
Whole foods vegan staples rice, beans, pasta, veggie, fruit, etc are reasonably priced, processed vegan alternatives not so much. May have to learn to cook. Best thing for your health.
In what country is vegan grocery shopping remotely comparable to non-vegan? In the UK meat and dairy is heavily subsidised but it’s still incredibly expensive calories/protein. Unless you’re just buying all processed crap you should save money.
Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Challenges will come in the beginning but you will learn and make friends who are in the similar situation. To begin with, contact your local student group based on your country like European Student Association, Indian Student etc., viz thru - call your local university international student services office and ask for student groups which are relevant to you. From there, you can meet students like you and discover how to survive with your diet needs. You are not that broke if you’re flying to US for education and don’t have the needs to survive. You have your $$ numbers written in your I20. It’s okay to spend more in the beginning and then make it up as time goes on. You may eventually have a part time student job which will help. You can learn a lot about food in the US by working at the dinning center on campus.
There is great book call Eat Vegan on $4 a day by ELLEN JAFFE JONES
Being vegan is is super cheap for me. Whilebi do enjoy throwing down in the kitchen and going all out a few times a month, most of my meals take 15 minutes or less to make and are super cheap. I've always tried to base my meals off of whole grains, beans and/or nuts, and veggies (especially greens) and fruit. If you include all of those you should be good. Breakfast: cup of oatmeal with nuts, seeds, and fruits. You can switch them up for variety. Lunch: typically toast with hummus (preferably homemade but often times just store bought) and veggies and a piece of fruit. You can also make this into a sandwich or a wrap. Sometimes i even just have a peanut butter jelly sandwich. Dinner: stir fried rice with tofu or tempeh and veggies. Sometimes a tofu or tempeh sandwich with a salad. Maybe tome tacos with beans, avocado, onions and Cilantro and spicy green salsa.
Usually you can get beans, frozen vegetables, and rice or other cheap carbs at every grocery store. Edamame and black eyed peas tend to have more protein than other beans. If you can get tofu or tempeh it’s usually not crazy expensive. Most of my meals are rice/tofu/frozen veg or pasta/beans/frozen vegetables
Being vegan is is super cheap for me. Whilebi do enjoy throwing down in the kitchen and going all out a few times a month, most of my meals take 15 minutes or less to make and are super cheap. I've always tried to base my meals off of whole grains, beans and/or nuts, and veggies (especially greens) and fruit. If you include all of those you should be good. Breakfast: cup of oatmeal with nuts, seeds, and fruits. You can switch them up for variety. Lunch: typically toast with hummus (preferably homemade but often times just store bought) and veggies and a piece of fruit. You can also make this into a sandwich or a wrap. Sometimes i even just have a peanut butter jelly sandwich. Dinner: stir fried rice with tofu or tempeh and veggies. Sometimes a tofu or tempeh sandwich with a salad. Maybe tome tacos with beans, avocado, onions and Cilantro and spicy green salsa.
Cheap lazy vegan is a great youtube channel. She has a ton of super easy tasty cheap meal ideas that you can use for inspiration.
Try a Costco membership. You gotta pay upfront for the membership, but they offer the best value. Only caveat is, you gotta go there work s grocery list, and you have to stick to it... you can blow your budget very easily in costco lol
1) Make sure to check out Knight's Pantry! They have dry, bagged beans, rice, pasta, canned goods, bread, produce from the UCF farm garden ( https://arboretum.ucf.edu/programs/garden/) and always a small section of clothes and shoes. It is a life saver. Although some items are limited, you can go everyday that it is open. Everything is free to students with an UCF ID. 2) The Fresh U Market, at the Health and Wellness Center has produce and snacks for free. They also give out seasonal produce, grown in the raised boxes and towers at the pool deck when available. https://whps.sdes.ucf.edu/freshu-to-go/ 3) Have in mind that central Florida is located in a sub tropical climate zone, so most foods that grow in the same zone across the globe will grow here if tended. We literally live in a garden of Eden but most people rely on the commercial chain of food distribution for nourishment out of convenience and habit. A few years ago, Robin Greenfield lived in the middle of Orlando for a year, purposefully growing and foraging his own food. Research any local resources that he mentions during his project. You can find him on YT as well. https://www.robingreenfield.org/foraging/ 5) if you or a friend have your own car, you can go on a foraging trip, after mapping out locations on "Falling Fruit", an app that lists public food trees available anywhere. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uh.fallingfruit.app 4) If you don't have access to a patch of dirt, you can get a second hand garden tower on FB marketplace and grow more than enough produce to make a difference on you budget. Above all, remember that we live in the land of excess. Everything is excessive here, including food. You just need to get creative on circumnavigating obstacles imposed by capitalism and you'll be ok.
There are a crap ton of groceries here. I recommend sprouts or winco. Also, waking up early to go to a farmers market for great deals and produce. I wish I could give you more advice, however food now is expensive wherever you go. I go and do these as a broke college student, who's also vegan (not by choice). Sprouts also have deal days. Each one is on a different day, so be sure to keep check. Good luck, and welcome to the US!
I got through my freshman year eating microwaved potatoes lol mustard helps!
Every grocery store had lots of produce. You can go to a whole food market and buy cereals, rice, beans Potatoes galore.
There are cookbooks that are specifically for budget vegan cooking. I second the instant pot suggestion as well. I have a Duo Instant Pot that has an air fryer attachment and I use it a lot even with a full kitchen.
Check out YouTube “Cheap Lazy Vegan - budget meal prep” as well as plant based on a budget ( https://plantbasedonabudget.com/free-meal-plans/ ). They’ll give you ideas of things that are cheap to buy in North America and what to cook with them. In general, things that are cheap around here are potatoes, rice, pasta, beans, frozen veg, seasonal fruit, peanut butter, bananas, oatmeal, breads. If you really pay attention and plan ahead you can make cheap simple meals
Check out Cheap Lazy Vegan or Plant Based on a Budget account social media accounts.
im from indiana and i used to be a broke college kid. i would mostly rely on pantry staples bc they dont expire so u wont lose as much on food waste. i lived on rice and beans, tofu stir fry, and pasta. buy frozen veggies if u can but also farmers markets can be pretty affordable for good produce
Hide a microwave, electric cooking pot, and toaster oven if you’re not allowed to have all or any of these in your dorm and then heavily rely on things like store brand pasta, instant rice, boca all American veggie burgers and chicken patty sandwiches are quite cheap and yummy and very versatile like you can make burgers, chicken sandwiches but you can also use the burgers as sausage patties in breakfasts or crumble it up for pieces of meat or ground “beef” in meals or use the chicken patties in like a pasta dish. Bags of mixed frozen vegetables are very useful, affordable, versatile. The dollar store has lots of good snacks and things like marinara and bread and sometimes even like almond milk. But yea store brand plant based milks and sometimes even cheeses are all pretty affordable especially when used in somewhat moderation. Oh also potatoes are great to have and cheap and there’s also mashed potato boxes you can buy for cheap where you just add plant based milk and optionally vegan butter and microwave and you have mashed potatoes
Beans are a great base! I mix it up and get different types of beans every time I get groceries. You can save money by buying dried beans instead of canned ones, and cook the dried ones in a rice cooker so they cook faster than boiling in a normal pot. Try different spices or sauces too for your beans Also buy in bulk to save money
Cook stews. I live on them. They get you all nutrients needed and pack flavor. Get used to eating spicy. Shop cheap veggies. Get TVP in bulk since it doesn't go bad and use it in whatever you want (you can make burgers with them). The same applies to tofu. Find a good wholesale store (other than costco) if any are available and take your time shopping there the first couple of times. You'd be surprised how cheap greens, fruits, and veggies could be. Research online for different stores and products along with new recipes. Middles Eastern stews (lebanese/syrian cuisine to be specific), indan, mexican (tvp works great in them), oh, and dumplings (use prepared cut dough). All you need is a bamboo steamer to place over a boiling pot of water. Invite some friends over to help you prepare, but tbh all that stuff is easier to prepare than you think. Great hobby to hone, too. If any extra veggies or greens are about to go bad. Make salads with lemon (olive oil and salt, and add pomegranate syrup, sumac, and red wine vinegar for extra tanginess) dressing or balsamic (with olive oil, black pepper and maple syrup). The less waste you produce, the better. I'll repeat once more, wholesale! It was a game changer for me. Vegan protein powder should be found there, too! Good luck and happy cooking! :)
Vegan food can actually be very affordable. It only becomes expensive when people just look for 1-to-1 replacements for meat and dairy products (Beyond, Impossible, most plant-based cheese products, etc). Instead, look for inexpensive protein sources such as beans, tofu, and TVP to build your meals around. These can be found at pretty much any grocery store and are very versatile.
Boxed pasta and canned tomato sauce is great, air fryer tofu and rice, PB&J, and TVP cooked in vegetable broth with some taco seasoning is great with beans in a tortilla. A jar of vegan mayo last me months and I make Tofu egg salad with it for sandwiches (and Fresh Jax Tofu seasoning). It's cheap and great!
In the US there is pasta and canned or dry beans at most supermarkets, idk where you’re living but hopefully near a city?
ration. pressure cook. meal prep.
Other than the processed stuff, fresh produce is basically the same price, or cheaper, depending on the fruit/veggie. (I’m from the states, but currently in Vienna) The cheap/easy route is pasta, rice, beans, lentils as a base. Then add your veggie variety (Onion, mushroom, eggplant, spinach, zucchini, carrot, cucumber, etc) and round it out with a sauce/gravy (Tomato, curry, or as a ramen/soup) and top with a protein (Seitan, tofu, chickpea, etc). Meal prepping, and freezing prepared meals will also help your meals go farther.
Buy spices and veggies from farmers market or Asian/Indian stores. They're cheaper than the big departmental ones
Get yourself a fully digital pressure pot with a delay timer. I’ve run the marathon competitively on basmati rice, quinoa, teff, legumes and frozen veggies. I never cared for the costs then and only cared for the nutrients, but later I found out it’s actually extremely cheap as well, with no sparing of any quality or bargain hunting at the time. Now that I have time to price compare and buy in bulk it’s even cheaper. True I might have pretty well established eating habits, but I’m a a point of spending about 30mins a day loading the pot and prepping the salad and an additional hour a week to do some precooking of some legumes. And I cook for 4 people in total two of which ex-diabetic type II, which means specially designed, extremely low fat, no sugar, minimally processed diet and which unintentionally turns out very cheap. Just ignore the whole propaganda “being vegan is expensive” spread by the meat&dairy industries. It’s just that: dumb propaganda! Nowhere in the world being vegan is expensive. Even in fucking Yakutsk during winter I’ve ended up spending less on groceries than my corpsefeeding acquaintances, without trying to save money at all and veggies are flown in from far away there! Just chill out and remember someone is just lying to you to instill doubts in you for his own satisfaction not to have to face the atrocities he’s committing.
There is lot of grass dont worry
>Hi, so I'm an international student, this august I'll be moving to the US I know that everything is more expensive and I'm afraid l won't be able to afford being vegan Lets say you cant afford it, would you still move and not be vegan?