I normally hate doing these posts because I always think that as a reader, I’d never want to read it.
This is my reaction to cheaper and “healthier” frugal eating: Ugh, people give me advice like eat oatmeal or go vegetarian but if you are a omnivore foodie, it is TORTURE.
I HATE eating oatmeal when I don’t feel like it, I don’t like super frugal cooking and sometimes a girl just wants a big ol’ slice of bacon.
So here I am.
An omnivore foodie who only has 3-4 tricks up her sleeve to show you some vegetarian/vegan recipes that even an omnivore like myself absolutely loves.
1. Eat LESS meat
Note I didn’t say don’t eat meat at all, or give up meat. I’m asking you to try to eat less of it.
I used to eat a big chicken leg for almost every meal (no kidding!), but ever since I split that chicken leg into 2 meals, it’s actually been better for my wallet and my waistline.
2. Pad your meals with rice, pasta or more veggies
I -love- white rice.
I think if I was told to eat wild or brown rice forever, and to never look at a single rice grain again, I would go to a corner and cry.
That said, rice is one of those major staples in my diet.
If I have a meal of a small half-palm sized piece of meat and a full palm of veggies, I’m going to need rice with that, or else I will be hungry in another hour.
Rice also soaks up the flavour of any meat or veggie dish, and makes the meal doubly filling. Imagine having to just eat steak and veggies — I’d need a whole 16 ounce steak to be full!
However, if I eat it with white rice, I could make that 16 ounce steak turn into 4 full meals.
3. Shop in ethnic shops
They usually have not-so-pretty produce for cheaper.
Sometimes they have new veggies you have never even heard of, so why not buy some and experiment?
I find a lot of stuff is cheaper in “low end” grocery stores, or your local bodega.
I am not against using canned vegetables either, but I don’t find them as fresh or as tasty as the real thing.
4. Come up with your hodge podge of what sounds delicious
Here are some vegan/vegetarian ones I’ve just recently experimented with and I actually enjoy eating.
You will notice a trend, and that trend is I love miso paste and chickpeas. 🙂
NOT-HUMMUS
The only thing my not-hummus has in common with hummus is that it uses chickpeas.
This is an almost completely raw vegan dish.
1. Soak dried chickpeas overnight
2. The next day, cook chickpeas with a teaspoon of baking soda and some raw garlic.
Bring the water to a boil, add in the baking soda and the raw garlic.
Throw in the chickpeas and then turn it down to a low simmer.
Let it go for about 30 minutes to an hour. I usually manage to cook all of mine in 30 minutes without having it go into a creamy hummus-texture
3. After the chickpeas are cooked, drain and throw them into a food processor or masher along with the boiled garlic.
I don’t like wasting anything, so I don’t “peel” the chickpeas nor do I throw away the garlic.
4. Add sliced raw zucchini, raw garlic, raw onion, half a lemon’s juice, a teaspoon of miso paste, salt to taste, pepper and a some olive oil if you really want.
You can omit anything you want. I like the bite of raw onions and garlic, but you might not.
It isn’t as creamy as hummus, but with the amount of oil in hummus and the tahini (sesame paste) my face breaks out like mad. I just can’t handle that amount of oil and fat, so I just don’t use it.
Then cut up some baguettes, spread on some non-hummus, top it with a slice of raw tomato and maybe a coriander sprig and you have a delicious, filling meal.
CHICKPEAS AND EGGS
1. Soak dried chickpeas overnight
2. The next day, cook chickpeas with a teaspoon of baking soda and some raw garlic.
Bring the water to a boil, add in the baking soda and the raw garlic.
Throw in the chickpeas and then turn it down to a low simmer.
Let it go for about 30 minutes to an hour. I usually manage to cook all of mine in 30 minutes without having it go into a creamy hummus-texture
3. After the chickpeas are cooked, drain and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs
4. Boil a couple of eggs
Bring the water up to a full rolling boil, drop in the eggs gently with a spoon, turn it down to high, but not super high, and boil for 3 minutes.
Then turn off the stove completely and let the eggs continue to cook for 2 more minutes.
Hard white outside, but a perfect, half cooked runny yolk inside every time.
It’s a bit like having a poached egg without the mess that comes with making poached eggs.
5. Grab a teaspoon of miso paste (keep it cold) and eat with the above meal.
I ate the above for breakfast at 8am and I wasn’t hungry until 4pm.
Oh, the power of chickpeas.. 🙂
I know it sounds weird but damn it was good.
I just thought: Hey what would chickpeas and a nice runny hardboiled egg taste like?
I don’t know. It sounds good in my head, let’s try it.
And that’s how the magic happens. 🙂
MISO NOODLE SOUP WITH MUSHROOMS AND ONIONS
1. Prep sliced mushrooms and green onions and whatever veggies you want
Sometimes I slice in green beans, like above.
2. Bring some water to a boil, add in a good tablespoon of miso paste (depending on how strong you like it, taste as you go along).
3. Throw in the sliced mushrooms and half the green onions.
If you want to make this even heartier, cook some noodles in the broth with the mushrooms.
Or to turn it vegetarian from vegan, crack in an egg or two.
Just before the mushrooms are cooked, add the rest of the green onions.
Stop when you think everything is at the texture you want and eat.
And for a “dessert”, my favourite thing to do is pretty easy.
BANANA “SMOOTHIE” / ICE CREAM
No ice cream involved. Just a bit of milk, soy milk or vanilla yoghurt a tablespoon of honey (if you want, I usually leave it out), and some bananas.
It’s sweet, filling, and great as a quick snack, treat or even a dessert.
You could also put it in the freezer, and pull it out after it’s frozen to have an “ice cream”. 🙂
MAKE SUSHI!
If you are really adventourous, why not make your own sushi at home?
I’m talking about avocado or cucumber sushi.
I eat sushi at home on occasion (BF makes it, mostly), but my favourite dish is simply fresh and raw salmon sashimi on top of white rice with some soy sauce or miso paste, which is not vegan or vegetarian at all, but it takes no time to make.
That’s it.
I know these recipes don’t sound amazing…
But they are cheap, they are filling and they’re most importantly, tasty for anyone who can’t seem to really get into vegan/vegetarian meals and stay there.
These are just some of the tried and true recipes I’ve liked over the past year or so, and will continue to keep making as part of my cuisine.
The keys are to:
- Find filling items you like to eat — white rice, chickpeas, pasta
- Find ways to use fillers in your meals more — eat them as sides, put them in meals
- Eat less meat — or at least consider how much you are eating
- Experiment without a recipe
You will also notice that a lot of my recipes in general don’t have a lot of oil, fat, mayonnaise or cheese in them, mostly because it makes my face break out a lot, but also because you don’t really need cheese to cover vegetables or dishes to make it taste good.
It will taste bland at first, but you’ll get used to the natural taste of food, without a cover up and you might even prefer it 🙂
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.
I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year.
Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about 
Learning to eat cheap can be VERY hard and I get suckered in the grocery store to spend too much all the time. I am a vegan, but also try and eat very healthy. This CAN be hard to eat cheaply but if you plan out your weeks it can be done very cheap. I find that it is best to pick 3 recipes that have similar ingredients….. example KALE. Then you go tot he store buy only what you need for those recipes and you will have food for the entire week. You also won’t waste any vegetables because you are picking recipes that share the same ingredients. Also, for a cheap breakfast I always grub on oatmeal, fruit, coconut milk yogurt and granola. All cheap and will last awhile. Peanut Butter toast with agave nectar is also delicious and filling! Sorry I am rambling. I love food and I love spending money.
I like to eat so I usually spend money either eating out or cooking at home or a mix of both during the week. I can’t stand bad food. If I cook at home it tends to be stuff like pot roast, burgers, pasta, french toast, artichoke, steamed veggies, fajitas, etc. Stuff that you’d get if you went out to eat except cooking at home is healthier. We use less fat, butter, oils, etc. We spend about $70-100/week on food whether its eating out or cooking or a mix. Food is the one part of my life where I don’t want to compromise, lol. 🙂
You may actually be doing yourself a disservice but stuffing yourself on empty calories. Foods with more nutrients will actually feed your body better, since you’re getting the proper nutrition. When you get what your body needs, you actually eat less. Therefore a small bowl of brown rice will stuff you better than a giant bowl of white rice.
Think of the long-term financial implications! Health costs = financial cost
A healthier body is cheaper in the long run.
I know, I know. I’m Chinese and I love my white rice more. My brain understands the aforementioned, but I eat white rice every day too.
I’m already getting my nutrition. I’m just talking about eating quick and easy meals when you think you don’t have the time and would rather go to McDonald’s.
The real comparison is between eating out in a restaurant or fast food, rather than staying at home and cooking.
These were by no means, meant to be substitutes for everyday meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner!) Just supplements for when you feel lazy. 🙂
I find the biggest wallet help is cooking from scratch at home (like you’re doing here) rather than eating out.
I normally boil my chickpeas just in water, what does the baking soda do?
I’m considering trying the non-hummus soon.
Definitely! Cooking from scratch really makes a difference. I don’t use processed stuff when I can, mostly because I never remember to buy it and I want the best flavour possible.
Try boiling chickpeas in regular water and another with a teaspoon of baking soda. I find that with baking soda, it becomes a LOT creamier and tastier than with just water. Water tends to leave little hard bits left behind, and I taste the grittiness that I don’t taste when I use baking soda.
Adding to your first point- Eat less. I spend money on snacking when I'm not hungry.
My recent post Step 4- Tracking Expenses
I just discovered Savi Seeds. BAD BAD mistake. *laugh* Now I’m snacking on them like mad. At least they’re good for me.
I really wish people would realize how much cutting down on meat will cut down on their spending and wallet. I'm not completely vegetarian but it is so much healthier to eat without it. It's delicious (especially with lots of rice!) and still easy to fill up on much healthier food choices. It drives me nuts when people say they couldn't make a good meal if it didn't have any meat because there are SO many options that are inexpensive and loaded with flavor. Between sauces (bottles of sauces last a long time) and lots of fresh veggies, it's easy to get creative and make some cheap, delicious meals.
You are so right!
I think some of the tastiest meals I’ve ever had are vegetarian. They mostly had fungus, moss and mushrooms but they’re still yummy 🙂
RICE SOY SAUCE AND EGGS! haha 🙂 Great post!
OH I eat that too. My dad makes the best eggs with soy sauce. I still can’t replicate it without a wok.
Interesting post FB. As much as the food above looks yummy, a lot of it's personal choice on where you choose to spend your money. Food is the area I choose not to cut back, we only live once, enjoy the best of the food at least is my motto. With that being said, I do have a weekly food budget, but I pick and choose what to buy. I don't shop at stores like Longo's (expensive extreme) or Ethnic Food Shops (very bad selection/not clean). I run through grocery flyers relegiously, print cupons from online and looks for the best deal. I don't mind buying certain "no-name" brands either, because the "no-name" stuff gets packaged at the same plant, from the same batch, in just a different "no-name" box.
Either way, we all pick and choose our battles on way's to cut back. There is no right or wrong, but I simply don't cut back on the enjoyment of my food, yet do it on a effective/smart shopping budget.
My recent post In the Hunt
I definitely don’t cut back on food. We eat a lot every month, about $250/each person or $200 at our lowest which is $400 for 2 people in a month.
I’m only offering alternatives to people who say “I can only go out and eat McDonald’s because I HAVE NOTHING to eat that is easy, fast and cheap to make at home”
I think it’s a misconception that ethnic food shops have bad or not clean food. It all comes from the same delivery, if you’ve ever worked in food warehousing, you will see that it all comes from the same area or the same farm, it’s just that you don’t pay the premium for the “pretty” vegetables.
But they taste just the same, perhaps even better sometimes.
Omgoodness, I love love white rice too. I think that's how my waistline expanded last year.
I am totally going to try that banana smoothie recipe.
My recent post The Hunt for Gold Open Toe Flats
I know people tell me white rice is bad for me…. but I lost weight, my blood pressure is down and I haven’t done a lot except eat white rice, veggies, more stuff from scratch or not as processed and had less stress.
Perhaps it’s just my physiology but I’ve eaten it all my life…
That smoothie is really good. I’m going to buy some bananas today and mix it with the yoghurt.