You want to go fully plant based now?
You have done your research, surfed the internet of topics regarding the plant based diet and veganism. You’re very close to making your decision. You will be making a big lifestyle change for yourself.
The only thing holding you back is the tiny little voice in your head.
“What if I can’t stick to it, what if its too expensive, what if it’s not for me?”
Well, those are all common thought processes that take place when we incorporate change into our lives. Whether it’s a change in environment, lifestyle or diet, at least one of those thoughts may appear in your head. Which is fine, just be aware of it.
By you being aware of the thought, it tends to lose it’s power over you, and you’re able to make a decision from a place of responsiveness rather than one that is reactionary.
The fact of the matter is, you will never know whether or not going vegan is for you, if you don’t give it a shot.
You can “test drive” the vegan diet for about a 3-4 weeks and move forward from there. As much I enjoy it, like anything else it’s not for everyone.
But I have a feeling it may be for you.
If you truly believe in it, and you know your “why” for committing to this huge lifestyle change.. Make the change.
What is your why?
Once you know your why, and the inner decision scale is moving towards going plant based, another obstacle may pop up in your head.
The Most common obastacle that prevents inviduals from going fully plant based, is they believe the vegan diet in itself, will be very expensive to follow.
I don’t believe this to be the case at all. If you strongly believe in it, you will make it happen. Simple as that.
But at the same time, I do believe that you most certainly can incorporate a plant based diet, without breaking the bank.
I First went fully plant based in college, and have discovered a few effective strategies on how to keep my grocery list very cost effective, while having the freedom to make amazing plant based meals on a budget.
If you’re a fitness enthusiast like myself, you might want to incorporate macro friendly plant based meals to support your workouts. Which means plant based recipes consisting of high protein, high carb and optimal fat. High carb – high protein diet is important to support your workouts especially if you’re training with intensity and you’re a meat free athlete.
So once you have in mind, the amount you would like to invest in groceries on a weekly basis, here are some tips to going fully plant based on a budget:
Tip #1 Buy in Bulk
Some plant based food to include On your grocery list, that are budget friendly are dry rice, dry pasta, dry beans and dry oatmeal. Not only are these versital, being that you can prep these in various different ways and but they can be stored away for years with lasting shelf life.
Buying these various items in bulk can keep things budget friendly. Dry rice, dry pasta, are great staple carb sources if you wish to prep your vegan meals ahead of time. This is something I often reccomend to clients who have busy work schedules.
If you’re a breakfast eater, unlike myself.. You may enjoy having a slow digesting carbohydrate source such as oatmeal for breakfast. I myself practice intermittent fasting so I eat oatmeal as a snack in the evening with few slices of green apples, peanut butter, and cinnamon making it exceptionally delicous.
Buy in bulk. You won’t regret it.
Great items to by in bulk are:
- Dry Rice
- Dry Oatmeal
- Dry Beans
- Dry Pasta (Vegan)
- Green Lentils
- Garbonzo Beans
- Kidney Beans
- Mung Beans
- Russet Potatoes
Green Lentils, Mung beans, and garbanzo beans are all great sources of protein, that are very budget friendly. These items are cost effective at most grocery stores, and are by far my favorite source of protein on a plant based diet.
If you’re a meat free athlete or a fitness enthusiast, to you can read more about protein sources here, or listen to it here.
Tip #2 Focus on Staple Foods
What exactly are staple foods? To put it simply, a staple food is food that eaten routinely on a day to day to basis. The staple foods you include, in your diet is the dominant foods in your diet as a whole.
These include your vegeteables, fruits, grains, pasta, rice, bread and flour.
So what are the staples on plant based diet?
The Staples should be your veggies, fruits, grains, and legumes.
Examples include:
Veggies: Lettuce, corn, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, potatoes, kallards, green peas, spinach, kale, carrots, etc
Fruits: Apples, Bannanas, oranges, grapes, strawberries, blueberries etc
Grains: Bread, rice, quinoa, oats etc
Legumes: Lentils, beans, garbanzo black beans etc
Focus on the staple foods. By doing so, you will eliminate spending on pure junk and enviably stay within your weekly budget.
If you have newly gone plant based or plan to do so, I do not reccomend baking or cooking dishes that require too many ingredients.
Consume the staple foods on a daily basis. Then once fully adjusted to the plant based diet, and as your budget and time allows you to get more creative, you may then start incorporating different ingredients and food on top of the staple foods.
Tip #3 Vegan Meal Prep
Having your meals prepped ahead of time will not only enable you to stay on track with your nutrition but will also help you save you money and most importantly your time.
By having an idea of the meals you will be eating at what times, and by activily prepping your meals in the beginning of the week you will cut spending on snacking, and cravings. Ensuring you stay within your budget and in compliance with your fitness and nutrition.
By prepping your meals, you tend to develop an idea of how much you’re spending on a weekly basis. After knowing this this information, you can then adjust the foods and rotate them based on your budget.
For example, one of my clients for his vegan meal prep, he likes to have sweet potatoes, rice, spinach and green lentils.
If he finds that he is not within the lines of his weekly budget, I would advise him to swap any one of the foods in his prep, with something that is. For example switching from spinach to carrots, or lentils to garbanzo beans.
By planning your meals ahead of time, it will ensure you to stay within your weekly budget.
In your vegan meal prep, I reccomend including plenty of plant based protein sources to ensure you’re meeting your daily protein needs met.
Regardless of whether you’re an athlete or not, sufficient protein intake is important. This is something a lot of individuals who have recently have gone plant based struggle with.
I did initially as well. Being a fitness enthusiast I wanted filling, cost effective, and tasty sources of plant based protein to include in my diet.
Over the years I have found seven sources that I found to be the most effective in helping me reach my fitness goals.
I have been taking full advantage of these 7 foods for years now, so I decided im going to share with some of my readers as well, in my Vegan Protein Cheat Sheet.
If you recently gone plant based or are looking to add high quality protein sources to include in your plant based diet, this is for you.
The Vegan Protein Cheat Sheet includes:
- The 7 crucial plant – protein foods that help build muscle faster
- Breakdown of the amino acid profile of each of the 7 sources and its importance
- Info on: how much protein you need on a daily basis (hint: its not what you think!)
- And Much more!
Here on Veggie Power Daily, we have been getting tons of emails, questions and comments regarding the official release.
The wait is over and it’s available for a FREE quick and easy download below!
Cheers,
-Andi Dita
Get your copy of the Vegan protein cheat sheet below:
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