Healthy, Cheap & Humane: Going Vegan on a Budget ⋆ Momma's Utopia

I have always been interested in eating naturally. I believe that the more natural my food is, the better it will fuel my body. But, I’ve always battled with myself on getting “good for me” food at a “good for my wallet” prices.

I’m an EMT by trade. That means, when I go to work, I’m there for 24 hours straight with my partner. We also rotate partners every month. So, this month It can be done for next to nothing but so can living off of roman noodles… no thanks. have a partner who happens to be a vegetarian, and his wife is a vegan. I am, by nature of my upbringing, a “live off the land and eat cheap” type of person. But, I’m also very inquisitive of anyone with a lifestyle different than mine.

Our first shift together proved to be very enlightening. I asked a million questions and he gave me a million and one answers. Our next shift, he taught me how to make a vegan breakfast with tofu in place of eggs, and lots of other good stuff. It tasted delicious, I had so much more energy all day, and I felt full for much longer. Maybe these “crazy vegans” were on to something!

I quickly started reading and researching everything I could about the vegan lifestyle. I checked out some great blogs that gave me a list of staple vegan food items. I knew there was more to it than beans and rice, but didnt know how much more there was. I, being very frugal minded, wanted to figure out if this lifestyle change would be as expensive as I always pictured it to be. I knew it could be done for next to nothing, but so can living off of roman noodles.

Here is that great list of Vegan Staples from Keepin It Kind.

Where to Buy Cheap Vegan Food

By far, the cheapest place I have found to shop for vegan food is Thrive Market. Its online and shipping is free if you spend over $49. This obviously wont work for perishables like tofu or veggies but its perfect for staples like couscous, quinoa, nutritional yeast, etc. If youre trying to save money on veggies, I suggest you learn to love gardening – like me!

Heres how Thrive works:

Register for a free account to check out the catalog and see the type of savings Thrive members are getting. You also receive an extra 25% off of your first order.
Start your free 30 day trial with your first purchase. You can cancel any time, but it will automatically charge you if you dont cancel in the 30 days.
Join Thrive for $59.95 per year, and continue to get 25-50% off of traditional retail price.