After people quit asking where vegans get their protein, their next question is often, “How can you afford it?” Their assumption is that eating a plant-based diet is too expensive for the average cat to get into. Firstly, what price can you put on ethics, environment and personal health? Secondly, it’s not expensive.
Breakfast Breakdown
Bacon and eggs. The classic of classics. A pack of bacon costs $6.11 and a dozen eggs are $1.73. A vegan alternative of oatmeal ($3.00/42 oz) with blueberries ($1.99/pint in season) and bananas ($0.49/lb) costs less than $1.00 per serving vs. a B ‘n E costing $1.95 per serving.
Lunch Breakdown
Assuming that we’re going out for lunch at a place like Thaijindesu, Beef in Oyster Sauce costs $14.00. If you’re keeping it vegan, the Vegetarian Green Curry won’t break a $10 bill.
Dinner Breakdown
The titans of fast food will sell you a burger, fries and cola for $6-8. What can you buy with that? A head of kale costs about $1.50 in Virginia (Tangy Kale Recipe), a large can of beans costs $1.79, and a 1 lb bag of rice is $3.00—totaling $6.29.
Using the above numbers and assuming that we all eat similar meals each week, we can say that a meat-based diet costs about $160.65/week while a plant-based diet costs $114.03/week.
Walk through any Whole Foods and you’ll see $8.00 packs of vegan sausages and 10 bottles of cold-pressed juice. For the average family, those foods can’t be staples of their diet. But that doesn’t mean that eating a plant-based diet is unaffordable. Don’t let a grocery store tell you what to put in your cart. Buy things deliberately and don’t get tricked by dieting fads or processed vegan junkfood.
Tips for Optimizing your Plant-Based Spending
- Prioritize your spending. Are you buying sodas? How many packaged snacks are you buying? When’s the last time you bought a pair of shoes? Understand what you’re spending your money on and choose what’s important instead of letting stores, ads and television tell you what to spend your money on.
- Buy Fresh. Buy Seasonal. Strawberries are cheap in June and pricey in January. Follow the seasons.
- Buy Bulk. Big bags of rice cost more up front, but you save per serving.
Veg VA Resources:
Weekly Shopping List—These staples will make sure you can whip up something that’s quick and nutritious.
Our Recipes—All of our recipes focus on simple, inexpensive ingredients found at most grocery stores.
Other Resources (unaffiliated with Veg VA):
NutritionFacts.org –This quick video demonstrates how animal products are artificially priced due to government subsidies and how refocusing on healthy food subsidies could lower national healthcare costs.
Crono-Meter—If you’re curious what nutrition you’re getting from your food, put it in their calculator and see for yourself what’s best for you.
Vegan on The Cheap—Good recipes, on the cheap.
Email us at sneakyveggies@vegetarianvirginia.com if you have any questions. Light up the comment section with any tips you have for keeping a plant-based diet inexpensive.
As always, get the meat out and scarf down some veggies.
Be Well,
Veg VA
Vegetarian Virginia 
