Vegan in College and Spending the Mula!!

In the vegan movement, I often hear the complaint that it is very difficult to be vegan in college. I actually think it is a lot easier and a lot cheaper to eat this way. I remember when I was on the SAD it would cost me a lot of money to eat at home and eat out. One thing that helps (most people might say it sucks) is that you don't eat out often. Also, meat is super expensive and not that satisfying. Unlike natural plant products, they tend to go bad fast and you can’t store them for long period of times or bulk up when they are on sale.

The reason why people think that it is so expensive to be vegan is because

·    They fall into the trap of using “super foods” such as: chia, maca, goji berries, cocoa nibs, spirulina, hemp hearts, acai powered, etc.

·    Most importantly they buy any package alternative such as: soy cheese, soy yogurt, soy meats, non-dairy ice cream, “Vegan energy bars”, etc.

·    Also, something that I find very common is that people tend to associate “vegan food” with “organic food”. Why? I am not so sure about this one. I feel that people tend to think that vegans eat healthier food and associate organic food as healthy food thus they conclude that vegans eat 100% organic.

There is nothing wrong with eating all the foods listed above, however if you base your diet primarily off of these foods then you will run into financial trouble. The point here is to vary your diet. To be vegan is to eat food that was not animal-based or derived. It means to eat what the earth naturally provides for us. You need to find what works for you in this lifestyle, whether you base your diet on processed, super foods, organic, or even conventional natural produce. The price range will vary.

For example if you eat nothing but beans and rice and have a few pounds of lettuce, potatoes, and apples a month you are going to have a pretty frugal budget compared to someone who eats cocoa nibs, quinoa, raw okra, and exotic fruit such as durian, star fruit, and goji berries every day. However, both these individuals are still vegan. Their principles are the same yet the price range and the amount they spend on food are completely different.

I have actually saved money eating a vegan diet.

I remember, my friends and I would go out to eat at least once a week, eat food trip would be at least $7-10 on average a week. Let’s not forget the tip and dessert. This would either be ice cream or some frozen yogurt and would add another $5. In addition to my weekly food trips during school, I would also get the munchies in-between classes and head to the convenience store on campus (which sets the prices sky-high) and spend about $5-10 extra for snacks a week. All this was money that was additional to my weekly market trips and would actually be completely unnecessary as I wasn't hungry, just bored and wanted to munch on something. That is about $25 EXTRA that I was wasting on products that are generally placed in certain locations around campus for marketing purposes. These items that I was eating, are things that I wouldn't even consider food now a days.

So now what am I eating and how much am I spending?

This is where I might receive a lot of hate mail or bad remarks about my diet. I DO NOT consume a 100% organic diet. I don't even consume near 50% organic. For starters, it is expensive to buy a full organic diet as a starving student. Secondly, I am a Health Science student and recently we had a symposium discussing the importance of a fruit and veg filled diet. Soon we were discussing the importance of organic, it was stated that there wasn't very intensive research done discussing the importance of organic. However, they said that we should concentrate on eating more raw fruits and vegetables and less processed foods. They said that nutritionally, the values were not so different from conventional and organic. The main difference was the taste. Even conventional frozen or canned fruits and vegetables can be better than fresh (at times) because they are stored at their peak ripeness which means they are filled with their full potential nutritional value.  

So in my kitchen I tend to keep in stock:

·    Beans (small red beans, fava beans, chick peas, lentils, great northern beans, black beans, pinto, and Peruvian beans)

·    Rice (brown-may experiment with jasmine or wild rice in the future)

·    Nuts (pistachios, almonds, peanuts, cashews, and sometimes walnuts)

·    Seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, and sesame)

·    Dry fruit (prunes, apricots, apples, pineapple, DATES, papaya, cranberries and raisins)

·    Grains (qinuoa, cous cous, barley, wheat berries)

·    “super foods” (chia seeds, flax seeds, cocoa powder—I recently changed to carob powder)

·    Other: wheat bran, wheat germ, whole wheat flower, cinnamon, basil, pepper, salt, oregano, rosemary, oats, banana chips, pumpkin spice, canned veggies, canned pumpkin and almond milk.

So the ingredients listed above are always in stock and they can get pretty pricey. However, if you buy one item a week, it won’t be so bad. Also items such as beans and oats are dirt cheap and last a long time and are quiet filling.

So when I do go to the supermarket I tend to buy fresh produce. In a week I tend to consume:

·    1-2 heads of lettuce/green leafy vegetables (romaine, ice berg, spinach, cabbage, green lettuce,  

     red leaf lettuce, and sometimes butter lettuce)

·    Potatoes (like 1-3 potatoes a week sweet potatoes are the best)

·    Apples (love my apples about 4 a week)

·    Pears (also about 4, varies from red pear, bosc, barlet)

·    Bananas (my family eats about 15-20 lbs of bananas a week)

·    Other fruits (depends on what is on sale I tend to buy grapes, peaches, nectarines, strawberries)

·    Celery (about 1-2 heads a week)

·    Tomatoes (I eat them like apples, I tend to go through 7-8 a week)

·    Cucumbers (too many to count)

·    Jicama

·    Lemon

·    Cilantro

·    Papaya (at least 1-2 a week)

·    Pineapple (when they don’t burn my mouth I eat about 1 a week)

·    Oranges

·    Orange juice (perhaps 1 quart if not fresh squeezed)

·    Grapefruit (about 1-2 a week)

·    Coconut water

·    Green onions

·    onions

Today I went grocery shopping, I spent a total of $90 this week. But keep in mind that I purchased items that I was running out of such as prunes, peanuts, flax seeds, and whole wheat flour. In addition to these items, I also tried these new “seaweed snacks” (they were OK). I also bought my sister cookies, honey, trail mix, and my mom (family isn't vegan nor vegetarian) some ground turkey, taco shells, salsa, and tortilla chips. So if I wouldn't have purchased these items I probably would have only spent $45. I also share my “supplies” with my family. Therefore, my expense is actually pretty cheap.

So imagine, if I wasn't vegan, I would have also bought lunch meat, cheese, yogurt, etc and spent probably 20-40 dollars more.

Yes, I am quite frugal, aren't I?