Vegan on a budget, recipe ideas?

natlie

Hi

You don' t need to spend much to be a vegan unless you want your replacement meat or cheese products. Dishes like: Ratatouille, Caponata, black bean burgers, are simple to make vegan soups and stews, lots of slow cooker recipes, I make lots of vegan cakes and treats as my daughter is allergic to eggs and you don't need expensive ingredients to make them.

I think people like Deliciously Ella have made vegan desserts sound terrifying but dishes like Tembleque are brilliant and simple http://thenoshery.com/tembleque-coconut-pudding/

I find sandwich fillings the hardest so I go with homemade vegan pates, hummus and falafels, vegan pesto (homemade) with tomatoes or I make a nut roast and use thin slices of it in sandwiches

Hope this helps

Nat

jackyann

Pulses of all kinds are your friends.
Some pulses are more fashionable than others and therefore dearer. So compare prices and try recipes - I have taken to making a lovely dip with butterbeans instead of more expensive chick peas. I also use old-fashioned mushy peas.

Depending on your set-up, dried pulses will probably be cheaper than tinned. Red lentils and yellow split peas will cook quickly so they are very good.

Other pulses need soaking and often long cooking. some people find that more expensive than using tinned. I usually soak, bring to the boil, boil for 15 mins, then slow cook.

Some pulses (red kidney beans are the main culprits) need boiling for a certain time to make them safe (they have an enzyme that causes problems if not destroyed by boiling). You can look up the exact times for each pulse if you like, but I just give them all 15 mins!

You can cook up a batch, then freeze and use as you like. I often cook up split peas with some stock veges, blend, then make soup, pease pudding or dhal as i like

Doom_and_Gloom

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=22191345&postcount=862
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1451243

Some of my cheapest meals:
Vegetable stir fry
Vegetable curry
Vegetable stew
Buddha bowl
Fajitas (use tofu and/or beans)
Shepherdless pie
Vegan pizza

I've been vegan a long time and I still eat these meals at least once a month each.

To keep things cheap bulk cook and freeze the extra, buy reduced fruit and vegetables.

My OH isn't vegan and usually doesn't eat the same as me or even simular so I can't help you there. Hopefully your OH likes the same foods.

Frudd

Veggie Haggis - the only non-vegan ingredient in the recipe I use is the butter which is easily replaced

caronc

This page is great for inspiration https://www.facebook.com/groups/194567900666819/

VfM4meplse

natlie wrote: »

I make lots of vegan cakes and treats as my daughter is allergic to eggs

That eluded me when I was a vegan: cakes were in no way as good as non-vegan. The only treats that came out well for me were flapjacks and gajrela, using oil instead of dairy.

Not such a problem for me these days as cakes are a rare treat, and now never as good as I think they will taste.