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

chirpycheap

It might be worth trying out Cronometer another website that tracks all of your nutritional needs. It is recommended by Youtuber Emily of Bite Sized Vegan.
I buy the vitamins from the vegan society. They sell a chewable multivitamin designed specifically for vegans,

'This supplement provides EU recommended Nutrient Reference Intake (NRV) of:

• Vitamin B2 (1.6mg - 114%)
• Vitamin B6 (2mg - 143%)
• Vitamin B12 (25µg - 1,000%)
• Vitamin D3 (20µg - 400%)
• Folic Acid (200µg - 100%)
• Iodine (150µg - 100%)
• Selenium (60µg - 109%)

A three month supply of 90 tablets costs £6.48 and as they are chewable they are also good for children. Children have a half tablet so 90 tablets would be a six month supply.

missymoo81

Thank you chirpy cheap!! That's great! Perfect! I'm going to try and get as much as I can from food but will definitely get some as like a secondary insurance policy to make sure we're all getting enough of everything! And I've looked at chronometer, but wondered if it was more for American brands etc???

FrugalinShropshire

In the process of going vegan here too. OH and I were vegetarians for many years (30 for me) yet somehow meat sneaked back in until it became a staple (i played around with paleo/whole30 type diets for a while) I am uncomfortable with meat and can not tolerate much dairy so am leaning towards veganism. After watching Vegan Family TV on You Tube and Cheap Lazy Vegan, I am certain this is the way forward for me, but in true Old Style style I can not just chuck out food. So we are in the process of using up what we have and replacing with vegan foods as we go along.

shandyclover

If you look on my pinterest board (which I will message you the link to)you will see what we mostly cook for dinner - look on the 'tried and proven' one - these are recipes my family approves of! LOL

Our budget is a bit more than yours, probably 200-225 a month though I am usually feeding 5-6 adults and 2 cats.Youngest is 20 now and we often have boyfriends over for dinner!

A lot of people do not like the texture of porridge. One of my DD's included. We bought the Aldi version of 'ready brek' for her, but you can also just throw your own oats in the food processor and you will come out with something very similar though the ready brek is fortified, so I prefer it. In warmer months my hubby would make a smoothie with oats, soy milk, banana, and peanut butter - maybe your hubby would prefer that?

I have bought protein powders, but honestly not found one everyone likes or does not consider a chore using. One reason I went to Vegfest to find something along this line palatable and affordable - the search continues. In the meantime snacking on roasted chickpeas, almonds etc. is what I do before/after training.

I am lucky in that my hubby is probably even more health conscious than me and totally supports my efforts to pack in as much nutrition on a limited budget. We very occasionally buy posh crisps for a movie night, but no one in the house really likes 'bought' biscuits, preferring HM ones and most of us only have time to bake in the holidays. Cereal we stopped buying the high sugar ones a few years ago including the 'healthy' granola muesli stuff (look at the sugar content - scarey!) Now no one really likes it anymore - amazing your tastes do change. We buy shreddies and shredded wheat, and everyone loves those and while it is not totally sugar free its has vitamin fortifications also.

With little kids you do have to be careful they are not just eating fruit, and getting their energy from that, but also eating proper food. When my kids were younger they got their fruit after their meal otherwise I noticed they could just grab fruit from the fruit bowl and buzz about on the sugar hits and not be properly hungry at mealtimes.

My mum is a bio-chemist and explained when you switch to a animal free diet you don't have the same fat content you would get from dairy and meat. Fat satiates, much more than carbs. So you may find you are hungrier more often, especially in the beginning. This may be why hubby and young Roo have 'hollow legs'. It's especially important to combine legumes and grains to get complete proteins which satiate, and make sure there is some healthy fat in the diet. The crisps, biscuits, and fruit may be making everyone more hungry? We've tried to switch up the treats to dark chocolate for hubby, or fruit, veg, nuts and dried fruit we would not ordinarily buy cause they are expensive.

I am also supposed to be home working on my OU assignment - LOL!

missymoo81

Oooh thanks shandyclover, so helpful! I seem to be struggling with the healthy fats too. Going through my menu as we speak instead of doing my Shakespeare assignment!!! Whoops!

I've noticed that instant oats are fortified, much more expensive but have all the vitamins etc. Wondering if I can make oat milk from it..... As that would be fortified too.... Hmmmm.....

I have been having a smoothie for breakfast, frozen spinach, peanut butter, oats, linseed and banana, and total blend vegan protein powder, which I quite like, it's super expensive though, so have bought some pea protein, hoping it's ok and not too bad tasting as I got it 40% off. OH likes shreddies, (Tesco version) but not sure he'd like oat milk on it. 'Sigh' he's so fussy!!!! He is not overly happy about my vegan quest.... He is accepting of vegan dinners as long as they taste good, but coffee has to have proper milk as does cereal. Need a nice tasting replacement!!! That's cheap!!! Might try a sweetened soya milk...

Good luck frugal in Shropshire. Vegan is definitely the way to go.

missymoo81

Ok, am wondering, would I be better giving the littlies a multi vitamin, as mentioned earlier, rather than giving them fortified porridge, would they get more out of the porridge, than the multivitamin? I'm thinking it's all much of a muchness ingredients wise. It's just whether it's added to cereal or made into a multivitamin? Am I right? I have to say I don't really know. But I'm assuming so... Any thoughts?

FrugalinShropshire

Personally I would go with the vitamin tablet. The Vegan Society's ones are reasonable I believe. Have you seen Vegan Family TV on You Tube? They have an 11 and 5 year old and nutrition is a top priority

missymoo81

Yes frugal it used to be called veganfitnesstv. I have followed them for a long time and love their recipes but they seem to eat a lot of the same things. Thank you though.

Forgot to say, think I've managed my budget it's up to £180 which is far more than I wanted to spend but it's doable hopefully without any complaints or too much hard work on my part, I'm trying to be realistic in what I can do, studying and working and looking after children etc.

Although I did work out a budget version of around £15 per week but I don't think it's realistic or as nutritious as I'd like, and would take time making bread etc. I think I might try it though, see how it pans out....

I'll post it later for anyone looking for a cheap week. Have work today and assignment tonight, so prob not til Friday.

Thanks again for all of your posting and comments, I find your help and encouragement invaluable.

WantToBeSE

Hi Missy, in regards to the oats, can i ask what you are looking for when you say it's fortified?
What is it fortified with- B12, Omega 3's?
Also, if making the porridge with non-dairy milk, you can buy those fortified.

I watch Vegan Family TV too, and love their channel so much, but i agree that they do eat a lot of the same things. Plus, my fussy kids would never eat as healthy as their kids do

I love being vegan, and am not looking to change that, but the longer i am vegan for the more i realise that it's not as cheap as i once thought.
I used to say it was dirt cheap (beans, rice veg and fruit, how is that not cheap?) but actually, you need a LOT of these to get enough nutrients, or supplement (and supplements arent cheap either!).

Sorry, was just going off on a tangent then!

FrugalinShropshire

When I was vegan many years ago, the 'cheese' was disgusting! Some of them are really yummy these days but so expensive. I agree, beans, pulses fruit and veg should be the cheapest. I am enjoying refinding my veggie/vegan routes and things have changed so much, the choice is overwhelming at times. So many 'milks' too! I am allergic to almonds and have to be very carful where they get sneaked in. Years ago I used to make my own tofu and milk, must do that again.