feed a family of 4, almost vegan, on a rather small budget! Old Style!

Anne_Marie_2

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I've been quite surprised to find just how many variants there are on pesto. Right now - I've got one in my fridge that I made using sorrel (instead of basil) and pumpkin seeds (instead of pine nuts). I didnt replace the parmesan cheese though - as I'm not vegan.

I have seen a recipe for pesto substituting nutritional yeast for Parmesan though - not sure what I'd make of that (as nooch is something I only like in small quantities).

Re variants on pesto, indeed there are loads of different recipes, just saw another one using sunflower seeds, which I must try out. Not used pumpkin seeds yet, but another good idea, thank you. Love sorrel and have used that before. Watercress is another good one, but I have never seen that here, or at least don't know the name for it! (Must find out).

I'm not keen on nutritional yeast at all, find it very overpowering, even in the tiniest of quantities. It's maybe just my imagination, but it seems to get stronger the longer you leave it. I have tried to make pate several times with it, and it tasted ok on the day, but was too overpowering the next, so got binned, even though I'd used far less than the recipe suggested after the first time.

Anne_Marie_2

Missymoo, BBC have some info on what to do with fresh pumpkin seeds.
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/how-use-pumpkin-seeds

Also, just remembered that you like hummus...you don't have to use chick peas, you can use all sorts of beans. I even made some with some frozen garden peas, as a friend gave me 4 large bags at one point, and I was getting fed up of them clogging up the freezer! Very nice it was too, although very green.

missymoo81

Thanks Anne Marie, OK pea hummus and pumpkin seed pesto for me to try!

missymoo81

Been looking at my budget for the month and it's pretty tight, so challenged myself to try and feed us all healthily on £15 for the week.... Now I think I've managed it but when I've put the macros etc in Myfitnesspal, I'm I'm not even getting a quarter of the protein I need! Nor is everyone else I imagine, especially OH.....hugely lacking in iron, potassium, calcium and vitamin C!!! How to up it on a budget, may have to up it to £20, a massive hike I know, but to be so far down on those things is worrying, I'm not sure how else to get it in.....

phizzimum

What were the meals you planned Missymoo? Maybe people can offer some tweaks to boost the nutrition?

WantToBeSE

missymoo, are you eating plenty of beans? What about tofu?

If you dont like beans, maybe you could mix them with herbs/spices and some veggies to make bean burgers, or maybe falafel.

Peas are also quite high in protein, so you could buy a bag of frozen and add them to lots of meals, or even make pea pesto http://allrecipes.com/recipe/199126/green-pea-pesto/

Porridge is a great source of protein, with 3x more protein than brown rice, plus lots of fibre and is really cheap. I just buy the Morrisons Value one (it's about £1 for a kilo i think).

For Iron and Protein, your best bet is Spinach (and most greens).

I hope that helps a little.

missymoo81

Thanks guys, yes I will make a list so you can see where I'm going wrong. The trouble is I'm aiming for 135g of protein, which is recommended for my lifestyle at 135lb. Struggling to do it without tofu as its expensive, have porridge for breakfast, soup for lunch and bean chilli or fajitas for dinner but just not even nearly meeting iron levels either despite 2 cups of spinach..... Although these things are high in protein, I'd have to eat a masses to make up my protein. Very tricky

missymoo81

Hmmm ok it would appear my fitness pal isn't quite telling me the truth with some things and all nutrients and vitamins in some food aren't listed, like iron in flour etc. More research is needed!!!!!

shandyclover

Do you have any Chinese shops near you? We can buy blocks of fresh tofu from ours for 45p a block, though it has a much shorter shelf life than the supermarket one.
I also buy soya flour from our local Asian shop and add a few tablespoons to baking to boost the protein content.
You can also buy chickpea flour, gram flour or 'besan' from ethnic stores and even Tesco now. With besan you can make yummy pakoras, bhaijas, savoury pancakes and even a kind of omlette (do a google search - chickpea flour omlette), besan flour is very high in protein content.
The price of nuts varies but I tend to buy sunflower and pumpkin seeds from poundland, toast them a bit and add a few tablespoons to salads etc. A cheap packet of cashews from Aldi gets added to stir frys etc.
Peanut butter can be added to a lot of things to boost protein content and is relatively cheap, when my DD did her DoE challenge I made her peanut butter balls to carry as her diet was pretty restricted to vegan pot noodles for 5 days.:rotfl:
Don't forget that everything has some protein content in it, you would be surprised how much a slice of bread contains depending on the brand. We try and buy the granary stuff, or the seedy ones when they are reduced and freeze them.
We buy frozen spinach and add it to soups, stews, pasta, dhal - everything, I am lucky my kids like spinach.
Aldi now does a frozen version of soya mince that is cheap and very versatile.
Aldi's super 6 offer on fruit and veg tends to be the basis of our menu.
You can make your own soya yogurt and even versions of cheese very cheaply.
All my girls are teens and menstruating so I do splash out and buy the multivitamins designed for vegans in H&B, they also take iron. We are also on a very, very tight budget, so basically my mantra became if it doesn't build health I am not buying it!
Beans, lentils and grains really are the key to a cheap, nutritionally sound vegan diet. There is a lot of very expensive 'trendy' vegan food out there (believe me, I just came back from vegfest 2016 :eek:) but if you want to do it cheaply focus on the basics. Combine legumes and grains (you only have to have both somewhere within an 8 hour period) and eat as much fresh, seasonal veg and fruit as you can afford and you won't suffer.
Indian, Mexican, Middle Eastern recipes tend to be the best for combining legumes and grains. I have done a huge amount of experimenting and found the recipes my family love and are the cheapest to produce and pretty much stick to those now, let me know if you want the link to my pinterest board where I've collected all the recipes.
I also buy multi vits and iron for my girls but that's just as a safeguard. My hubby is an athlete in his hobby time, and so far manages to outperform all his carnivore friends. My DD's also all do sport as a hobby and all donate blood so I think we must be doing ok. I must admit when we first all starting cooking vegan 6 years ago I was convinced we'd never be able to afford it, and we would all get sick. We've actually cut down the amount we spend on food, and we are all healthier.

missymoo81

wow ShandyClover, you give me hope! You are an inspiration, can i ask what sort of things you cook for evening meals? and how much you spend roughly a week. I know it will get easier, it doesn't help that both OH and young Roo seem to have hollow legs, and will only eat spinach under duress, OH does not like porridge... not sure why, he doesn't like rice pudding type things either, maybe its texture, might make him some and see if he'll actually eat it, so much better and cheaper than his sugary cereal.

Shandy clover would love a link to your pinterest board, please. Oh and do you use protein powders? I use them at the moment because i try and weight train/do cardio once a day, but unsure how good for you they are.....

M budget is creeping up and up and I know it shouldn't, i shouldn't be so worried about changing our eating habits, OH doesn't need his cereal, or crisps or a chocolate biscuit.... he can eat healthier things, and the children don't need 3-4 pieces of fruit a day and all the veggies, there's just no need........ hmmm need to get my thinking cap on.

Might pop to my chinese supermarket this afternoon and see what they have.... meant to be tidying, as house is a tip as currently writing an assignment which takes all my time but tidying can wait I'm sure....