Why a Plant-Based Diet is Cheaper than You Think

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

DC Veg Fest 2014

The South isn’t known for its celebration of vegetarianism. But in DC, thousands of vegetarians gathered last weekend to taste all the new things that the veg world has to offer.

Some of the highlights: Vegan tacos (Stefwiches)—Sausages(Tofurky)—Fresh juices (South Block Juice CO), Kombucha—Six foot tall carrots—Book Signings (AfroVegan, Robin Quivers)—Vegan ice cream(SoDelicious)

If you’re not yet riding the vegan wagon, put this event in your calender. Sit in on a cooking demonstration and learn how to cook gourmet vegan food. Famous vegans give keynotes and discuss their path. If you think vegans eat stale tofu and kale all day, stop by one of the sample tents and try some delicious sausage or grab a slice of vegan pizza. While you wait for next year’s festival, check out our recipes.

If you’re already vegan, go to the DC Veg Fest to be with your people. Vegetarianism is growing in Virginia, so come out and absorb the culture. DC Veg Fest attracts healthy, vibrant people with unique perspectives on the same goal—eat more plants and cut out the flesh. If you feel lonely in your choice, being in a community of like-minded people can be a powerful experience.

Here are some pictures we snapped at the fest this year, as well as a shot we grabbed with the great Rich Roll last year. Check out his podcast. He didn’t make it to the fest this year, but we want to give him a quick shoutout for his appearance last year and everything he’s doing to push forward a message of compassion via his podcast.

Go to festivals, eat plants.
Be well,
Veg VA

Eat carrots, even if they smile.

Don’t eat pigs.

Even if they dance.

Tacos from StefWiches.

Killer Nachos.

The great Rich Roll (2013).

Protect the nut.

Coleslaw

It’s super easy. It’s a side, a condiment and salad. Eat slaw. Eat it because you’re a winner. And winners eat slaw.

You don’t need awesome knife skills to make great slaw. It helps, but if you have a food processor, a chopped slaw is sometimes better than a shredded one.

Get this

1. 1 head of cabbage (purple is prettier)
2. 2 big carrots
3. 1 Cup of Vegenaise (mayo if you’re not plant-based)
4. 1 Teaspoon of apple cider vinegar

Do this

1. Break the carrots into thumb sized pieces.
2. Pulse the carrots in your food processor until they look like rice.
3. Cut the core out of the cabbage. See pictures.
4. Add the cabbage and pulse until everything is about the same size.
5. Add the Vegenaise, vinegar and S&P to taste.
6. Pulse until mixed.
   

Don’t Do This

• Process the cabbage before the carrots—You’ll end up with pureed cabbage and chunky carrots.
• Use a blender—Use a food processor or a knife. Blenders won’t give you the texture you want.

Put it on

Veggie dogs—veggie burgers—tempeh tacos—fried potatoes—beans and rice

Coleslaw impresses people. Nobody knows why, but it does. It only gets better in the fridge, so make a bunch on Sunday and enjoy it through the week. It’s an easy way to get people to eat more plants. So make it and show off your new kitchen skills.

Eat more plants. Eat less flesh.

Be well,
Veg VA

How To Cook Tofu

Sometimes tofu is gross. It’s not the fu’s fault. The blame lies with the cook. Here are 3 steps to guarantee that you don’t end up with mush.

Dry your tofu.
Remove it from the package, drain the water and then wrap it in a clean towel. Put a dinner plate on top to gently force water out of the fu faster. Do this at least 30 minutes before you start cooking.

Tip: Cut the tofu into bread-like slices, and wrap each piece in its own towel. This will cut drying time in half.

Cut tofu into cubes.
The cubes give you more surface area to brown. Follow the pictures.

Here’s your fu.

Slice it like bread.

Make carrot sticks

Turn.

Chop into cubes.

Books

Use a HOT pan.
If you have a normal stove top, crank it to 7-8. If your burners run hot, go for 5-6. The key is to cook the tofu at a high temperature to avoid mushy fu. An iron skillet will get super hot and give you a nice crispiness.

Do This:

Use a few tablespoons of oil.
Season with salt & pepper while cooking.
Stir occasionally.

Don’t Do This:

Use a stainless steel pan.
Skip the drying process.

It may take a few times before you get it right, but keep working. Tofu is a finicky mistress. Treat her well, and she’ll take care of you.

Eat more plants. Eat more tofu.
Be well,
Veg VA

 

 

Tips for the Healthy Vegetarian

The unhealthy vegetarian myth must die. Eating plants gives health, vitality and longevity. But in a world of soy ice cream and vegan chilidogs, it has never been easier to eat poorly on a vegetarian diet. There are two big points we’ll make in this article, and if you follow the simple steps, you should be good nutritionally as a vegetarian.

Don’t eat processed junk.

The world has conspired to make the most delicious vegan food ever. But hear this: gluten-free, non-dairy mac ’n cheese is not good for you. Don’t fool yourself. Removing animals from your diet gets you half way there, but eating vegan junk food isn’t the second part of that equation. A lot of the tricks used to make these plants into sausages aren’t the best thing for your health. They add a lot of oil and flavorings to get the same textures and tastes as animal products.

Do this:
Eat whole foods. Cut, chop, cook and preserve your own meals from whole foods. The less processing, the better. Raw veggies, dried beans, rice, frozen veggies, nuts.

Eat enough calories.

If you remove animal protein from your diet, you’ll be losing hundreds of calories. A cheeseburger clocks in at 350+ calories. A cup of broccoli has 31. One of the biggest mistakes that new vegetarians make is that they don’t eat enough. So fill your bellies with good, whole foods.

If you’re concerned about losing weight, fret not. Eat the right calories, and focus on wellness. Healthy food makes a healthy body. A whole food, plant-based diet won’t let you put on weight. Eat all the kale you want. Cut a watermelon in half, and eat the entire thing. The best part about being a vegetarian, you can gorge guilt free—as long as you’re eating the right foods.

There are small tweaks here and there, but these are the biggies. Master these tips, and then focus on leveling up. But most importantly, get the meat out and eat more plants!

Be well,
Veg VA

Bananaberry | Post-Run Smoothie

After a hard run or workout, your body needs carbohydrates. The carbs replenish glycogen you burned as fuel during your run. This is a favorite of ours because it’s antioxidant rich, anti-inflammatory and delicious. Super simple. Here we go.

Blend This:

2 frozen bananas
1 handful blueberries
1 handful strawberries
1 spoonful of ground flaxseeds
1 cup almond milk

Do this:

1) Blend everything.
2) Drink everything.

We hope you enjoy.

Be well,
Veg VA

 

Tangy Raw Kale

This is shockingly easy, so I’ll keep this post short.

Get This:

-1 bunch of Kale
-2 TBSP tahini
-2 TBSP Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
-2 TBSP lemon juice
-2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
-4 TBSP nutritional yeast
-2 cloves chopped garlic

Do This:

1) Mix everything together.
2) Eat.

food

Gillie’s | Blacksburg

It’s hip. Really hip. So hip that you want to work there. If you’re willing to wait for a table, Gillie’s will serve you the freshest, most original plant-based food in SW VA.

On the weekends, a solo jazz guitarist or a three piece bluegrass band will play in the corner while you down a few tall PBRs with your buddies. If you don’t drink, order the kombucha. Or have them fire up the juicer for a glass of frothy beet and carrot juice.

Art from local artists hang from the walls while the open kitchen sizzles and servers deliver heavy white plates filled with some of Virginia’s finest vegetarian food. If you like burgers, get the Gillie’s Burger. The chickpea bun is baked next door at Gillie’s sister store Bollo’s, and the chipotle mayo is mixed in house. Each burger comes with a lightly dressed, red cabbage slaw instead of fries.

Order This:
Paco’s Nachos
Gillie’s Burger
Gillie’s Special (Breakfast)

Here’s the website. Check out their live music here.

Awabi | Winchester

If you go to Awabi and are not greeted personally by the owner, I’ll buy your dinner. Email me. You’ll know it’s her because she’s bouncing from each table to spread her smile around the restaurant.

The menu is full of options that are veg friendly, and the servers are good about answering your questions. Fish sauce is everywhere at Asian restaurants, so be sure talk to your server.

Located on Winchester’s walking mall, this small Japanese style sushi house has bento boxes filled with huge pieces of fresh tempura fried veggies. The miso soup is animal free, and the sake is served warm or cold.

Order This:
Avocado Roll
Veggie Fried Rice
Bento Box

Their website doesn’t seem to exist.