A lot of my friends have avoided the idea of being vegan altogether because everyone thinks that being vegan is not viable. They all complain that the options for vegans are much more expensive and cost 5 times the price. So, they don't even try to do it.
Let me tell you - Veganism does not have to be costly. It does not have to hurt your pocket or mess up with your finances.
This is a total MYTH!!!!
I have been vegan for over 3 months now, and trust me it has only saved me more money in the long run. As you start to see all the available options in front of you, you will totally trust in what I am saying! I was under this false pretence too, till I became vegan and explored numerous options which actually might even reduce my food budget.
This blog will remove any misunderstandings you had about veganism and help you attain veganism faster.
1. Soy Milk:
Soy milk is basically milk that is extracted from the soya bean plant. That is why it is completely vegan. The texture of the milk is just like cow/buffalo milk. Although the taste might differ just a little.
Soy milk is the best alternative to cow milk. Look out for fortified Soy Milk which contains Zinc , Calcium and Vitamin B12. These are important nutrients for vegans as they tend to fall short of it. I realized that in India, the best soy milk available is by SoFit - it is produced by Hersheys.
The soy milk available has many different variants and various flavours and sizes. So you can actually buy the small 250ml tetra packs and drink it on-the-go while travelling to office, or you can drink it during your breaks instead of grabbing a coffee. Also, if you are a coffee addict then you can go for the Coffee Flavoured Soy Milk as well.
If there are many members in your family, or if you drink it only at home, then the 1litre bottle will cost you lesser. My favourite is the chocolate flavoured one, as it tastes better than the plain one, and also I can use it for baking chocolate cakes, pancakes etc. The Chocolate flavour one tastes just like normal flavoured milk and is quite heavy, so I can't finish more than a glass a day. This in turn helps in controlling my budget. Since, soy milk is quite heavy you tend to drink lesser, and this overall controls the amount you spend on milk.
Although the price is much higher than usual cow milk for 1 litre, it lasts longer because it is quite filling.
Please note -
There is no need to buy almond milk or pistachio mik as its unnecessarily expensive.
Soy milk is the best option and most advisable.
2. Tofu:
Tofu is also completely plant based and it is made from soya bean , just like soy milk is.
Those accustomed to eating cottage cheese can replace it with tofu. Tofu and cottage cheese/paneer cost the same. In fact Tofu is also readily available as Herbs and Peppers flavour, Chilly flavour , Masala Flavour. So depending on your dish , you can buy different varities.
Most brands of Tofu are even cheaper than the same amount of paneer. This was actually quite surprising for me as well. Mostly tofu tastes good in chinese dishes, or as a salad. I personally love using tofu in my subway sandwich burger which is made at home. I will upload the recipe for that pretty soon too.
3. Grains:
Who said that vegans can't eat flour or maida or noodles?
I completely love eating noodles and cannot imagine giving that up like ever. Can you imagine quitting Maggi ! That is going to be super hard.
Vegans can eat the same grains that they did earlier. You can eat rice, flour, noodles, bread and pasta. All these are completely permitted so these costs remain unchanged.
4. No meat:
Meat is in itself quite expensive. Be it home cooked or at a restaurant. Dishes with meat in them are always more costly than the ones which are completely vegetarian. So, you are saving a couple of bucks every week when you aren't eating meat. You could rather use it to buy more fruits and drink juice. Meat costs almost double of what normal vegetables cost. You can mostly either eat dishes made of potato, or you can eat dishes using tofu. Both are good substitutes for meat.
There are a lot of websites and videos talking about making home made vegan pepperoni. There are vegan sausages, and meat. So, you can learn and improve your cooking, save your precious money and at the same time be VEGAN!
5. No chocolates, Chips , biscuits or cake:
Since , vegans cannot eat the above, or even ice cream for that matter they save up on a lot of unhealthy food and on lots of money.
Giving up on these luxuries will not only save your pocket but also your body. We may not realize but we do spend a lot on snacking. Go for healthier snacks, like you can replace this with a light fruit salad, bananas , Chia seed pudding, popcorn, boiled sweet corn, soup , vegetable roll or veg dim-sums (momos) .
These are all totally healthy and quite cheap. If they are not available at your local cafeteria then you can cook them at home and carry it to school or for work. The easy ones will not even take more than 5 minutes to prepare. My favorite is fruit salad, and boiled corn.
That sums it up. Veganism being expensive is a total myth.
Thank me for all the money you actually end up saving , hehe!
You can totally go ahead and try being vegan for about a month and see if you find it hard to budget. Incase they are any questions on how to manage any finances, you can reach out to me in the comments section below.
Also, do read my other post on why not eating meat is important for the body:
https://bringbackgreen.blogspot.com/2020/07/animal-products-and-truth-behind-them.html
This should give you a clear picture of how veganism could be adopted by everyone. And hey, it may even make you rich !
Let me tell you - Veganism does not have to be costly. It does not have to hurt your pocket or mess up with your finances.
This is a total MYTH!!!!
I have been vegan for over 3 months now, and trust me it has only saved me more money in the long run. As you start to see all the available options in front of you, you will totally trust in what I am saying! I was under this false pretence too, till I became vegan and explored numerous options which actually might even reduce my food budget.
This blog will remove any misunderstandings you had about veganism and help you attain veganism faster.
1. Soy Milk:
Soy milk is the best alternative to cow milk. Look out for fortified Soy Milk which contains Zinc , Calcium and Vitamin B12. These are important nutrients for vegans as they tend to fall short of it. I realized that in India, the best soy milk available is by SoFit - it is produced by Hersheys.
The soy milk available has many different variants and various flavours and sizes. So you can actually buy the small 250ml tetra packs and drink it on-the-go while travelling to office, or you can drink it during your breaks instead of grabbing a coffee. Also, if you are a coffee addict then you can go for the Coffee Flavoured Soy Milk as well.
If there are many members in your family, or if you drink it only at home, then the 1litre bottle will cost you lesser. My favourite is the chocolate flavoured one, as it tastes better than the plain one, and also I can use it for baking chocolate cakes, pancakes etc. The Chocolate flavour one tastes just like normal flavoured milk and is quite heavy, so I can't finish more than a glass a day. This in turn helps in controlling my budget. Since, soy milk is quite heavy you tend to drink lesser, and this overall controls the amount you spend on milk.
Although the price is much higher than usual cow milk for 1 litre, it lasts longer because it is quite filling.
Please note -
There is no need to buy almond milk or pistachio mik as its unnecessarily expensive.
Soy milk is the best option and most advisable.
2. Tofu:
Tofu is also completely plant based and it is made from soya bean , just like soy milk is.
Those accustomed to eating cottage cheese can replace it with tofu. Tofu and cottage cheese/paneer cost the same. In fact Tofu is also readily available as Herbs and Peppers flavour, Chilly flavour , Masala Flavour. So depending on your dish , you can buy different varities.
Most brands of Tofu are even cheaper than the same amount of paneer. This was actually quite surprising for me as well. Mostly tofu tastes good in chinese dishes, or as a salad. I personally love using tofu in my subway sandwich burger which is made at home. I will upload the recipe for that pretty soon too.
3. Grains:
Who said that vegans can't eat flour or maida or noodles?
I completely love eating noodles and cannot imagine giving that up like ever. Can you imagine quitting Maggi ! That is going to be super hard.
Vegans can eat the same grains that they did earlier. You can eat rice, flour, noodles, bread and pasta. All these are completely permitted so these costs remain unchanged.
4. No meat:
Meat is in itself quite expensive. Be it home cooked or at a restaurant. Dishes with meat in them are always more costly than the ones which are completely vegetarian. So, you are saving a couple of bucks every week when you aren't eating meat. You could rather use it to buy more fruits and drink juice. Meat costs almost double of what normal vegetables cost. You can mostly either eat dishes made of potato, or you can eat dishes using tofu. Both are good substitutes for meat.
There are a lot of websites and videos talking about making home made vegan pepperoni. There are vegan sausages, and meat. So, you can learn and improve your cooking, save your precious money and at the same time be VEGAN!
5. No chocolates, Chips , biscuits or cake:
Since , vegans cannot eat the above, or even ice cream for that matter they save up on a lot of unhealthy food and on lots of money.
Giving up on these luxuries will not only save your pocket but also your body. We may not realize but we do spend a lot on snacking. Go for healthier snacks, like you can replace this with a light fruit salad, bananas , Chia seed pudding, popcorn, boiled sweet corn, soup , vegetable roll or veg dim-sums (momos) .
These are all totally healthy and quite cheap. If they are not available at your local cafeteria then you can cook them at home and carry it to school or for work. The easy ones will not even take more than 5 minutes to prepare. My favorite is fruit salad, and boiled corn.
That sums it up. Veganism being expensive is a total myth.
Thank me for all the money you actually end up saving , hehe!
You can totally go ahead and try being vegan for about a month and see if you find it hard to budget. Incase they are any questions on how to manage any finances, you can reach out to me in the comments section below.
Also, do read my other post on why not eating meat is important for the body:
https://bringbackgreen.blogspot.com/2020/07/animal-products-and-truth-behind-them.html
This should give you a clear picture of how veganism could be adopted by everyone. And hey, it may even make you rich !
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