I think one of the biggest misconceptions of veganism is that it is an expensive lifestyle. For that reason, a lot of students are put off the idea. In this blog post I want to squash these ideas and hopefully encourage someone to take make a few changes for the sake of many! I recently did a full food shop that will last me between a week and 2 weeks, it cost 20 pounds. Admittedly I had a lot of my meat “substitutes” (Linda Mcartney, Quorn, Soya meat pieces) already at home so this was generally a vegetable and carbs shop!
I highly recommend exploring the many meat free ranges in supermarkets, you’ll always find something on offer, but if you’re really strapped for cash, then maybe go onto money supermarket. You can type in any product and it will tell you where to go to find it cheapest! I personally use vegan groups, all I do is ask where something is on offer e.g Linda Mcartney sausages (to die for I’ll tell you that for free!) and then everyone comments and tells me where they’ve seen them on offer, I’ll then go and usually stock up!
Something I’ve recently realised is that a lot of the QUORN vegan range is a lot more expensive than the normal QUORN range, but generally the big name supermarkets like TESCO, MORRISONS etc will have their own meat substitute range. Instead of doing a vegan and just vegetarian substitute, they automatically make it vegan, probably so that they can sell to a wider audience, but anyway, this is normally a lot cheaper than even QUORNS vegetarian range, so consider swapping to supermarket instead!
I generally do my food shop at ALDI, I love going there, I love the middle isle’s where they’ll sell random tat week on week, I live for that kind of stuff, and mat lives for the cheap cereal that they sell, so for us, it’s a no brainer! Other good places to get cheaper fresh produce are ASDA and MORRISONS. MORRISONS often do a ‘wonky’ range of vegetables, which literally just means they’re the vegetables that don’t look completely how they should, maybe it’s a bent carrot or square baking potato, but either way, they sell them for A LOT cheaper than the other veg, so look out for that!
Whilst I will on occasion have a typical uni meal of QUORN nuggets and chips, I like to cook. I like to make the most of all the veg that I have and bring it all together to make something that’s super easy, healthy and tasty, especially when I get the nod of appreciation from Mat. I really believe that you are what you eat, when I eat good, I feel good. I really don’t cook anything that takes longer than about half an hour to make, which doesn’t limit me at all! I scribble down different dinner ideas in my diary so that I’m not stuck on what to eat day after day. Making brief dinner plans allows me to look at my ALDI receipt, and what else I have in my cupboard, and tick off what I’ve planned to use, making sure I’m using all the fresh veg that I have, I hate waste!
It might sound boring to some who are not interested in veganism, but I’d have assumed that you probably won’t have clicked on this blog post to read if you didn’t have just an ounce of curiosity. So I’m going to put up a complete list of my ALDI shopping receipt, whilst it might sound mundane to some, I hope that for some who are fearful about transitioning into veganism, this might be really worthwhile and helpful. I do go into other supermarkets here and there so I probably spend about 30 pounds on food for 2 weeks, not including snacks in the evening (ooops).
I’m obviously not going to talk about every single item I’ve bought or explain why I’ve bought it, but if you’d like me to explain something then just drop me a message! I’m also going to be making a recipe idea blog post where I shall no doubt be using most of what’s on here, soon so stay tuned for that! I’ve had a fair few messages about veganism and have answered lots of questions because of my blog posts and I absolutely love that I can help/encourage some of you. Please never fear to send me a message, I’d literally love to help.
- Beansprouts – £0.55
- Baby potatoes – £0.59
- Broccoli -£0.39
- Grapes – £1.25
- Lentil crisps – £1.19
- Curry sauce – £0.65
- Rice noodles – £0.45
- Soy sauce – £0.49
- Family pack of peppers – £1.29
- Cucumber – £0.44
- Cherry tomatoes – £0.71
- Spring onions – £0.45
- Banana’s – 2 x £0.13
- Hummus – £0.65
- Long grain rice – £0.42
- Raw cacao brownie bars – £1.49
- Malt loaf – £0.49
- Seeded bread – £0.59
- Tortilla wraps – £0.75
- Quinoa and rice sachet – £0.65
- Apples – £0.99
- Soya milk x 2 – £0.59
- Pita bread, – £0.42
- Cajun seasoning – £0.55
- Sunflower speed – £0.89
- Dark chocolate reindeer – £0.49
- Jasmine green tea – £0.59
- Satsuma’s – £0.69
- Chickpeas x 2 – £0.33
- Chopped tomatoes x 2 – £0.29
- Fruit and fibre cereal – £1.25
- White onions – £0.59
- Brown onions – £0.59
- Green beans – £0.99
The total was 22.85, obviously this will change week on week with some things being added and some things being taken away but I hope that I have shown that being vegan doesn’t have to break the bank!
Until next time
Megan
x x
Tailored By Megan Taylor 