Veganuary is a great way to jump start the new year in a healthy way, but going vegan can feel really daunting. It can be even more daunting when you’re trying to keep costs down. So I’m going to show you how to do Veganuary on a budget.
How to do Veganuary on a budget
You may feel like you’ll have to change an awful lot but that isn’t necessarily the case. With more easy to read labels in most stores and more vegan options on the menu. Going vegan, especially these days is a whole lot simpler than you may have thought. Cupboard staples such as pasta, rice, bread, baked beans, tinned tomatoes etc are almost always vegan so won’t need switching at all.
Many people assume that going vegan is going to cost them more money but it’s usually the other way around. When you consider the cost of meat compared to a tin of chickpeas it’s easy to see how. You might even be able to save some money by going vegan for a month.
Get organised to do Veganuary on a budget
The best way to keep food costs down whether you’re vegan or not is to create a meal plan. While you’re creating your meal plan it’s a good idea to go through your kitchen to see what you already have in that’s vegan. If you need to, you could write an inventory of food items so you don’t double buy.
By getting your meal plan set for the week ahead you can then write a shopping list with the things you’ll need to buy. My shopping trolley usually contains chickpeas, beans, dairy free yogurt, plant milk, tinned tomatoes and a lots of fresh and frozen fruit and veggies. I tend to choose items that are the cheapest or on special offer and very rarely spend over £50 on a weeks worth of food for 4 people.
Always check out the yellow stickered fruit and veg as well as bread and wraps. This is a great way to save money on food that you’d likely be buying anyway. Apps such as Shopmium and Green Jinn also very often have vegan offers available.
Budget vegan recipes
Cooking vegan food is really fun, I’ve found that it’s actually increased my creativity in the kitchen. Simple swaps such as using bananas in place of eggs in these delicious banana pancakes is an example.
Here are a few other delicious cheap vegan recipes that you could try –
Other resources
If you struggle with understanding vegan labels then this article is really helpful – Lists of vegan items in UK supermarkets.
I recently picked up some free almond milk through Shopmium, you can download the app here – Save money with Shopmium.
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