It can be, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are some tips:
- I follow a helpful Facebook page Plant-Based on a Budget.
- Spices are your friends and provides diversity for your taste buds. Pull out what spices you have in your cabinets and build your collection from there. I found that I had many spice bottles I didn’t even realize I had. Some spices can be expensive, but it will last you a long time.
- The best advice I can to anyone is to create a menu for the week. This guides you to buy only what you need for the week. I have found that when I do not have meal plan, I overbuy produce and it almost always lead to waste. You are just throwing your money away. The meal plan doesn't have to be for every meal, but be as inclusive as possible.
- When cooking with produce, you will find you will have lots of veggie scraps. Connect with a local animal rescue group who would be more than happy to receive your scraps to feed their rescues. Often these groups operate ony by donations and have a very tight budget. Food for the critters is always welcomed and appreciated by all.
- Get small containers tubs from your dollar store. This helps with portion control and results in saving money.
- Oatmeal - I cook one cup of oatmeal according to the directions. Once cooked, after adding blueberries and nuts, the quantity of one cup fills up 3 small containers. For breakfast, it is easy to heat in the microwave. I pack one in my lunch box and eat it when I get to work.
- Pasta - cook a whole package, take half of it and cook it any way you wish. Once cooked, you can put it in individual containers and store in the refrigerator. Put one in your lunch box for work or easy to grab for a quick dinner. Store the other half as plain pasta in the refrigerator. In this way, you can pull it out in the middle of week and cook it up a different recipe for diversity.
This page is not complete. More will be added. Thank you for your kind patience.