Cheap Vegan Budget Detox

Catmaspudding

I live in London and have not been budgeting at all. I can spend anywhere between £10-£30 a day on food as I mostly eat out and always get dragged out for drinks. I am vegan due to allergies as well as ethical reasons.

I live in a shared house, but sharing food isnt really an option, and I have been avoiding cooking because of the awkward kitchen (also 0 freezer space). I am in nearly £8k worth of debt due to my previous circumstances and currently earn £20k, however this will increase to £26k in October. I pay £800 a month on rent.

I am trying to work out a 'cheap' menu for the week, however I have no cooking skills. I have no freezer space where I am currently living, and dont feel like I have a lot of time. Can anyone link me to an example meal plan to get me going? Something that makes use of all the ingredients for the week and is as cheap as possible.

I basically want to live cheaply as possible for the next few months so I can get a better grip on my finances.

GwylimT

You could buy a counter top freezer and store it in your bedroom.

What allergies do you have, we can't help unless we know what things require your epi-pen.

Catmaspudding

Thanks. As long as it is vegan it will be fine. I cant have dairy as I very quickly get migraines, however traces are ok. I am probably moving in October so dont want to buy too much, however a counter top freezers sounds like a good idea. Will need to save for another deposit of course.

I should also add that I leave the house at 8am and can get home anywhere between 8pm-10pm. Quick meals would be appreciated Obviously I can cook at the weekend.

redfox

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welshbookworm

When vegan friends are staying for dinner I use the recipes from here which are cheapish
https://www.vegansociety.com/whats-new/blog/8-cheapest-vegan-meals

ariarnia

My sister is a vegan and when she babysits she always asks me to have a decent sized potato in as a baked spud is versatile, quick, and tasty.

She tends to have tex-mex beans, vegan mayo with 'fake' cheese, or a fried mushroom onion and pepper combo with vegan yeast.

FairyPrincessk

I don't regularly eat a vegan diet, but this is probably what I would plan for the week:

Breakfasts: Porridge (I make it with water, but substitute your preferred milk alternative if you wish), frozen fruit, spoonful of peanut butter. I measure out the porridge, put in a serving of fruit, top up with water and then microwave. I stir in the peanut butter when cooked. You can do this at home or at work if you can either grab a bag of fruit on your way out the door or keep frozen at work.

Lunches/dinners--I'd plan to eat the same thing for lunch as I had the previous night for dinner. This is what I do anyway.

1. This soup: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/333614/red-lentil-chickpea-and-chilli-soup (add the whole tin of chickpeas and eat with bread or serve over rice to add more calories)
2. Baked Sweet Potatoes (cook in microwave to save time) with hummus and a green salad
3. Aubergine pasta (chop up an aubergine into cubes--say 1/2 inch roughly, drizzle with oil and bake at 200 for 20 or so minutes. Meanwhile cook pasta as usual and heat up a sauce or make one from tinned tomatoes and herbs as is your preference. Add a pinch of chili flakes and then stir in the aubergines when cooked. Top with your preferred vegan cheese if you like).
4. Tofu stir fry with veg of your choice. Serve over rice, or rice noodles if you prefer. If you have a sauce you like that is fine, otherwise you can stir in a small spoon of peanut butter, add some soya sauce and some vinegar, garlic and ginger in any form you choose.
5. Black bean burrito bowls (layer rice, cooked black beans--buy a tin, add a bit of garlic and chili flakes to them if you wish and microwave, whatever greens are left from your salad, salsa, 1/2 avocado per serving, and vegan cheese if you choose)
6. Try this recipe at the weekend for carrot and kidney bean burgers: https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2015/01/31/carrot-cumin-kidney-bean-burger-9p/
7. Have a look at the other vegan recipes on cooking on a boot strap and see what you'd like to try!

OneLeggedPig

A starch-based diet is the cheapest and healthiest. See Dr McDougall's program.

https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/education/free-mcdougall-program/steps-to-recovery/starch-staples/

Dustyblinds

Fairy princess that recipe for the carrot and bean burger recipe looks so simple yet delicious. Thanks for sharing. I had been wanting to start making my own veggie burgers for a while, me and dd used to make them years ago when she went through a vegetarian phase. We do eat quite a few vegetarian meals but we buy veggie burgers and I always cringe at the price when I see what's actually in them. I'm going to have a good look around cooking on a bootstrap, it's looks great, thank you for sharing.

[Deleted User]

Jack Monroe went vegan this year, and posts lots of vegan recipes that are cheap. https://cookingonabootstrap.com/category/recipes-food/

shandyclover

This is a very helpful website for cheap, easy vegan food. Particularly look up the 3 'one-pot' pasta recipes, easy to throw together in 15 mins after a long day at work. I do however second what others have said - a freezer of some sort would be very useful for storing frozen ready veg.

http://www.thevegancorner.com/