Good Clean Foods That I Eat as a Vegan on a Budget

Getting asked what I eat on a vegan diet is pretty common. Many people believe vegan eating is really expensive, only possible with expensive ingredients like fake soy meats. Although many vegans do eat this way, it's totally doable to eat really healthy vegan food on a low budget.  So I decided to make a list of the foods I eat to give you some ideas of what vegans can eat to be healthy without emptying their wallets:

Black beans, Kidney beans, White Kidney beans, Fava beans, Navy beans, Soy beans, Chickpeas, Lentils - brown and red, Brown rice, Dried split peas, Cracked wheat, Barley, Quinoa, Popcorn - no butter, Kale, Carrots, Parsley, Cucumbers, Spinach, Lettuce (any kind but iceburg), Bell peppers, Hot peppers, Eggplants, Apples, Grapes, Raisins, Soymilk, almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, whole wheat pasta, tomatoes, basil, corn on the cob, frozen corn, frozen peas, radishes, sugar snap peas, snow peas, green beans, tofu (rarely), tahini, mustard, agave nectar, herbs and spices, mint, lemons, limes, breads (whole wheat, rye, multigrain), mushrooms, yellow onions, sweet onions, red onions, garlic, avocado, pears, oranges, grapefruits, sunflower seeds, brocolli, pineapple, peanuts, peanut butter, almond butter, nutritional yeast, artichokes, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, zuchini, summer squash, butternut squash, acorn squash, buttercup squash, white potatoes, red potatoes, flax seed (ground, its great for digestion), chipotle chilis with adobo sauce, celery, cabbage, olives, bananas, hummus, pita bread, chocolate, cilantro, parsley, basil, chives, collard greens, baby spinach, chia seeds, oats

This is not a complete list, but it's what I could think of off the top of my head. Just like any omnivor, theres a lot vegans can eat. And I didn't even include the processed stuff we can eat, like baked beans, crackers, and some junk foods.

Tips:
1. Make a bowl of rice, beans, and corn with various dressings - try my Ginger Lime Dressing, Tahini Lemon Dressing, or Honey Mustard Dressing
2. Cooking with dried beans is cheaper, but a can of beans shouldn't cost more than $1
3. When I mix beans and rice, I get three meals out of one can of beans
4. Don't throw a cabbage in a slow cooker
5. Canned tomatoes are really useful and you can get a can for $1
6. Grains are a good basis for everything. I throw them into salads
7. Frozen veggies and canned goods are great to keep in the house because they keep well and are great in a pinch. For example, sometimes I really want veggies, but I don't feel like cooking much. It's easy to thaw out some frozen corn for a snack or a quick side dish.
8. Eat leftovers. They're great to bring for lunch to work or school. It will save you time and money.
9. Buy whole carrots, wash, don't peel. They taste better that way. If you prefer your carrots smaller, like baby carrots, just chop up big ones.
10. It's cheaper and healthier to dip veggies in hummus than to dip pita chips.
11. If you like granola, don't buy it, make it! Most store bought granola's actually aren't vegan because they contain whey, which is a milk product. Fortunately though, it's really easy to make. Check out my granola recipe here.
12. If there are farm stands/markets around, try eating local seasonal foods. Stocking up on squash at the beginning of the fall is great!
13. To make shopping inexpensively easy for myself, I make a really simple list. And choose only a select number of foods to buy. Currently I eat mostly quinoa, rice, beans, carrots, spinach, corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, peanut butter, green beans, toast (I get the day olds from a bakery down the street), and homemade salad dressings. I drink, water, tea, and soy milk.
14. ONE OF MY MOST IMPORTANT TIPS, This is simple but it wasn't obvious to me at first because I'm used to cooking for a family and now I cook only for myself. Make up some plain rice or quinoa. Keep it in the fridge and for every meal take only a serving of the grain and add whatever you want to it. If you take a whole batch of rice and make only one thing with it, you'll get bored. Yesterday I had a batch of quinoa in the fridge. For lunch I added chickpeas olives and spinach with a honey mustard dressing; for dinner I added kidney beans, corn, and peas with a tahini lemon dressing.

Other thoughts:
1. Nuts are expensive, but their cheaper in bulk. They provide protein, fats, and lots of calories. They may cost more, but you don't need to eat a lot of them to be full and well fed.

2. Meat costs a ton of money. Even if you don't go veg, limiting the amount of meat will save you a lot of money.

3. You can get everything you need on a vegan diet (the only thing to be concerned about is vitamin B12 deficiency, but you can get that in fortified soy milk and some cereals)

4. If you're still worried about protein, despite eating beans and nuts, and you want to be vegetarian, but not vegan, try eliminating all animal products except eggs and yogurt. Eggs are really cheap, and there is something about yogurt that is gentler on the stomach than say milk or cheese. I find if i eat much dairy I feel sluggish but yogurt doesn't do that as much.

5. Check out the nutrition facts of quinoa

5. Drink lots of water.

Tahini Lemon Dressing

Tahini Lemon Dressing
3 Tbl tahini
2 cloves garlic, mashed
3 Tbl lemon juice (approximately 1-2 lemons)
3 Tbl olive oil
1 Tbl red wine vinegar
2 Tbl water
1/4 tsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste

If this sounds good, check out my Kale Salad with Tahini Lemon Dressing. A recipe for croutons can be found there as well. 

To make the dressing richer, replace water with more olive oil. I often do that, but this recipe has a butt load less calories. Tahini is basically sesame seed butter so it's already packed with tons of oil.

Tahini is also used in hummus. I'll post a hummus recipe soon.


Note about tahini: I"ve always used joyva brand because thats what my mom uses. There are other brands out there, but this one is definitely good. TIP: If you buy it, it doesn't need to be refrigerated until it is opened. If it's sitting in your cabinet for a while before you open it, turn it upside down so the stuff doesn't get so stuck to the bottom. When you do open it, mix well, blending the pasty stuff and the oily stuff because they do end up separating after a while.

Pumpkin Muffins

It's fall!

And honestly, I love all four months of the year pretty equally, but there's just something about fall that I absolutely melt for. There's something I can never get over about the season. I don't know if its the fresh picked apples, the hot mulled cider, snugging in massive piles of blankets, or walking through an ocean of crunchy brightly colored leaves while breathing in that crisp fall air. Maybe it's just that fall smell.

Whatever the reason, or reasons for that matter, fall just makes me all warm and cozy feeling. And, of course, that feeling makes me gravitate towards the kitchen. You get all these great flavors to work with, like apple, squash, pumpkin, corn, ginger, potatoes, cinnamon, nutmeg.

One of my favorites is apple. I live in New England, and apples are kind of a big deal here. ..Like a really big deal. We do everything apple: apple pie, apple sauce, apple cider, apple cobbler, apple crisp, caramel apples, apple cider donuts, apples with peanut butter, apple cinnamon oatmeal, just plain apples; and the list goes on.

But that's not what I'm going to talk about.

Today, I want to talk pumpkin. The thing about pumpkin and squash is that you can keep them forever.  And by forever, I don't mean a couple weeks. I mean a really really long time. And when you do decided to cut them open, they're packed with nutrients, flavor, aroma, and they're really filling. And to make it even better, there are a million things you can do with them. One of my favorites is squash soup. It's really yummy. You can find one version of my squash soup here.

But the recipe I really want to share with you today is vegan pumpkin muffins. I make them every fall. A few times every fall. And sometimes during other parts of the year. And you know what's crazy? I use canned pumpkin for them. I never use canned pumpkin. Growing up, my mom and my grandma told me to never use it. In my family we make our pumpkin pies from scratch and that's just how it is and how it always will be.

In my opinion, the canned stuff doesn't have the fresh taste that a squash you cook yourself does. It doesn't have as nice a texture or flavor or smell. But this recipe uses canned pumpkin, and despite my family's rejection of even the concept of squeezing a squash into a can, we really love them. Although I would not put it in a pie, I think that the canned pumpkin works well in this recipe because it's used in muffins. Muffins are so completely different then a pie. Rather than a custardy filling. It's baked in with flour. It's just different, and it works. So I won't argue.

And in fact, I've never tried this recipe with fresh pumpkin, because I'm so satisfied with the canned stuff. Plus it is a little less time consuming. And although I would like to try it with fresh pumpkin when I get around to it, I think I'll probably stick with the canned stuff for this recipe.

So here it is. I hope you like it. I hope they make you feel warm and cozy inside. They're really delicious paired with hot mulled cider. And if you've never experienced fall in New England, you should definitely visit.

Pumpkin Muffins
3.5 cups flour
3 cups sugar
2 Tbl baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground clove
1 can pumpkin puree (get the puree NOT the pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup soymilk (I prefer unsweetened)
1 cup canola oil
4 Tbl molasses

1. Preheat oven to 400 bake
2. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl
3. In a larger bowl mix all wet ingredients
4. Slowly mix dry into wet ingredients. Let sit for a few minutes
5. Meanwhile, grease and flour muffin tins, or use those little cupcake/muffin papers
6. Scoop batter into pans, filling each cup 2/3 of the way
7. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until a toothpick can be stuck in the middle and come out clean.
8. Remove from oven and let sit for 4 or 5 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool on a cooling rack. 

Roasted Green Beans, Onions, and Garlic with Balsamic Vinegar

This roasted green bean recipe is one of my family's all time favorites. It's wicked easy to toss together and tastes amazing. It's a great side dish; I love to pair it with roasted potatoes and a veggie burger. And it's also a great dish to bring to parties because you can really eat it with anything.

And what is really awesome about it, is you don't need your green beans to be absolutely perfectly fresh. Often when using green beans, whether steaming, blanching, eating fresh, or whatever else you might like to do with them, you probably want to use them within a day or two of buying them. Seriously, they really don't keep all that well. But, because with this recipe, because they get baked for half an hour, you can use green beans you've had sitting around for a few days (just remove any icky ends).

Hopefully I'll get a picture posted soon, because they come out real pretty (another reason to bring them to a potluck). I just need to find some time to get to the grocery store.

FYI: I serve them hot, but they're also awesome room temperature and cold. On the rare occasion that there are leftovers, I don't bother to heat them up.

Roasted Green Beans, Onions, and Garlic with Balsamic Vinegar
1 lb green beans - washed, trim off any icky or dry ends, and dry off excess water
1 onion - sliced into half rings
4 - 6 cloves garlic - pealed and sliced
3 T olive oil
1/4 tsp salt

1 - 2 T balsamic vinegar
generous grinding of black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 bake.
2. Clean the green beans, peal and slice the onions and garlic.
3. Put green beans, onions, garlic, salt, and oil on a baking tray, and mix them around, coating everything in the oil.
4. Bake for 20-30 minutes, mixing around occasionally. Taste to see if you like the balance of soft and crunchy
5. When you like what you've got, transfer them to a bowl and toss with vinegar and pepper.