Okay, so I'm in college, living off campus, and I have a very tight budget. Maybe around $120 a month for food and things like TP, Shampoo, Dish soap, etc. I try to manage my budget as much as I can and shop at wholesale stores like Costco. But sometimes I just can't afford to go shopping towards the end of the month. What can I do?
The veganism is the most important thing to me (b/c animals and stuff), and there's just about no chance that I'd return to a vegetarian or omnivorous lifestyle, but I want to do the vegan right with the rawtill4. I also really enjoy the cooked option, and my body feels good and energized while and after eating a large amount of steamed potatoes, so fully raw isn't really a viable option for me at this point.
Worst case scenario, I'm basically out of fresh fruit and can't buy more until my next paycheck, is it okay if I just eat rice, potatoes, and lettuce for a day or so? What other suuuuupppper cheap options can I find? I try to buy mostly fruit, but by the end of the month it's eaten up and I'm out of cash and mostly left with things like rice and potatoes. Maybe it would be more reasonable to do one large fruit meal a day and then lunch and dinner as cheaper cooked carb options? That might allow me to have enough money at the end of the month to be eating a decent amount of ripe fruit each day.
Also which is the best cooked carb if, God forbid, I do have to have a day of cooked food? I like potatoes best, but they take so much more time and effort to prepare than throwing rice or pasta in some water for 20 minutes, and as a student going to school full time and working, I don't really have the time everyday to peel, chop, and steam potatoes. Any advice there?
Sorry for so many questions. Thanks for taking the time to read and respond! You're awesome:]
Replies
As for the best cooked opptions, i'd say sweet potatos. Corn pasta, potatos, and squash are good too. If you go for grains, aim for gluten free and whole grains. By the way, potatos don't need to be pealed. the peal is where most of the nutrients is. i actually prefer them with the peal.
I'm also a college student on a limited budget. My main tips:
1. Slow cooker/ crockpot: I am raw til 4 and find that it helps me to get in enough carbs, and helps budget wise. I always keep potatoes and frozen organic vegetables and organic low sodium crushed tomatoes on hand. If you are tight on money- throw those things in the crock pot- and I've eaten off it for dinner four nights in a row for less than $6 USD for the entire dish. You can throw the things in the crockpot in the morning before class, put it on low, and come back to a yummy warm meal.
2. Rice cooker: At Costco a 15lb bag of white rice is around $14USD. I throw this in my crockpot with organic frozen vegetables. It can cook for 20 minutes while I do homework, etc, and cooks perfectly every time.
3. Always have frozen fruit on hand. I never let my produce go bad. If my bananas ripen too fast- I freeze them. I always have my freezer stacked with reduced sale "overripe" bananas I bought and froze. That way towards the end of the month I can still have my banana smoothies while being short on cash.
4. Talk to your local supermarket produce manager. I talked to a few to find one that would work with me. Eventually, I spoke to a very friendly produce manager and explained how I would consistently come back for entire 40lb boxes of organic bananas, and was wondering if he would sell them to me in bulk at a reduced price. He saw the opportunity for both of us to benefit, and agreed. I get the boxes for around $20 now, whereas they retail full price closer to $30.
It's worth a try! Good luck in school and hope this helped!
I love Costco the fact that their normal Kirkland shampoo/conditioner is pretty cheap AND vegan is amazing. As for cheap food, I'm on a pretty tight budget as well and all I can say is Bananas, Bananas, Bananas. There are like 4 bananas in a lb and I get organic ones for $1.50 a lb. Still if you do out the math and say you are eating 30 bananas/day for 30 days you are at $338/month... which isn't in your budget. I stick to pretty much fully raw with the exception of a meal or two a month when I just gotta have something. I love potatoes... a lot. I especially love them with a some thin shredded carrots and a little bit of low sodium tomato sauce mixed in. As for pasta, stick to corn pasta. It won't make you as bloated, but for me it hurts my tummy to eat enough calories of it so I stay away. If you do have to cut down to one fruit meal a day I would do like a giant banana smoothie or something like that for breakfast. You need the sugar in the morning and the cooked carbs will slow you down if you have them too early in the day. I hope that answers some questions! Good luck!