Being a vegan/vegetarian seems to be expensive, are there any cheaper ways to be a vegan/vegetarian?

Im thinking of becoming a vegetarian. But its been difficult b/c veggies are becoming more expensive.

Buy grains and legumes in bulk. Or as much as you can safely store. Buy fruits and veggies in season as they tend to be more plentiful therefore cheaper and at their peak of flavor. And when you buy cheap in season, you may want to take the time and effort to bottle or preserve veggies/fruits for later use.

Avoid mock meats which though vegetarian are still processed and may not be all that healthy. Make your own dressings instead of buying bottled. Organic will always be more expensive so you may want to avoid those when on a tight budget although again when in season, they tend to be cheaper.

Last but not least, you can start your very own garden. Depending on where you live, you can grow a whole patch on your own land or just some potted herbs in an apartment which you can use. Gardening is also a great stress reliever aside from being a source of your own food.

Thank you exfst and everyone else for answering my questions. Some of you even provided links! You guys are awesome. I am slowly getting adjusted to the new diet. I even get repulsed by meat now. I would vote for all of you if I could! Unfortunately Im only a level one. Report Abuse

You don't have to start eating nothing but veggies. You should be eating about as much veggies to stay healthy as a meat-eater as you would have to eat if you were a vegetarian.

Some very healthy vegetarian sources of protein are SO much cheaper than meat. Dried or canned beans and lentils are VERY cheap and very healthy. (You don't have to buy expensive meat substitutes. Meat substitutes are in no way necessary to becoming a vegetarian; it's just that some people like them if they're missing the taste of meat.) And I know it sounds boring to think of eating just beans with every meal, but you don't just have to eat beans. There are many recipes that make beans delicious and different at every meal. Also, whole grains are a very underrated source of protein (just because they're in the "starch" part of the food pyramid instead of the meat/beans part doesn't mean they don't have protein). One brand of whole-wheat bagels I found has 9 grams of protein per bagel.

Having a vegetarian diet can be even cheaper than having a meat-eating diet.

You don't suddenly have to be living on salads if you're a vegetarian. You would eat the same amount of fresh veggies as always, but for fat and protein, you'd be getting vegetable oils and proteins.

Legume and whole grain combinations (eg brown rice and beans, or hummus on whole wheat bread) are good for you and usually pretty cheap. You can also eat nuts. Tofu isn't too pricey. And if you don't go vegan, you still have all the milk products (though much of the yogurt has gelatin in it) and eggs to eat.

For vegetables, try the frozen vegetable aisle for things you plan to cook anyway. Unlike canned veggies, they retain most of their vitamins and they are less expensive than fresh ones.

A lot of things are getting expensive now so I know it seems hard. Cheese is defiantly getting expensive but there are plenty of well priced vegetables out there. Since my husband has became a vegetarian too we spend MUCH less money on our weekly shop.

Not only frozen and tinned but the basic ranges in shops are cheap too. If you have the room and the time you could even grow vegetables! I am a long time vegetarian and am only now getting into things like curry鈥檚 which (once you have some basic spices in your cupboard) are dirt cheap and tasty. Rice and pasta have gone up in price but are still totally affordable. Baked bean are normally suitable and about the cheapest thing about and jacket potatoes are filling and tastes good with a lot of things. As for the foods made and aimed at vegetarians some shops have cheaper own brand versions.

A good things to do is google something like 鈥渃heep vegetarian recipes鈥?and see what it comes up with. As with any diet for it to be healthy you have to get a wide range of things so if your new to vegetarianism then looking on line about the basics.

Good luck.

Learn to like rice and beans an awful lot. Although, even rice is getting expensive these days...

Farmers Markets aren't always the place to get cheap produce. We have a great one where I live in Kansas, but it is definitely not cheap.
But, all the produce is local (the market is strictly producer-only. No 3rd party vendors are allowed.) and a lot of it is organic, and a lot of what isn't organic is only "not organic" because they are from small farms that don't go through the (expensive) certification process.
Personally, I think supporting small family farms (that travel about 20 miles from field to market) is more sustainable than organic food from some factory-farm 1000+ miles away (like cascadian farms.)

EVERYTHING that requires transportation will be more expensive not just Veggies.
Buy your veggies LOCAL. Find the local farmers markets & farmers saling direct in your area.
http://www.localharvest.org/

Cut out all junk food, the cost is outrageous compared to good quality & more satisfying "real food".

Yes veggies are becoming more expensive -- especially the Organic Non-GMO ones and frankly, vegetarian or not, you still need to be eating them -- 5 a Day in a wide variety of colors and types because your health depends on it.
Rice is going to continue to go up in price as is corn because of the foolish move to turn them into fuel for our Hummers and SUV's and to heat our palaces on postage stamps other wise known as the replacements for the tear downs. Ye gods! Humans! And there are millions of children starving all over the world! That is just criminal.
Anyway, Organic Tofu is cheaper at Trader Joe's than anywhere else. Only ethnic oriental grocery stores have it cheaper but, it isn't organic there. And yes, it does matter.
Whole Grains like Quinoa, Barley, Sorghum, Wheat, etc are still available at reasonable cost as are dried beans and legumes. It can be done. It can be done well. and it doesn't need to break the bank. But I will say this, eating this way is less expensive in the long view because by taking care of your body by eating well, and not feeding it flesh foods and all the attendant chemicals, steroids, pesticides, antibiotics and growth hormones, you will definitely spend less money on doctors and pharmaceuticals than those who don't.
When you are ready for wonderful vegetarian recipes check out http://www.your-vegetarian-kitchen.com/h...

That's great you're interested in going veg. It is true that mock meats and non-dairy products like soy cheese are on the pricey side, so you could just use them to splurge. They're not necessary to have a healthy vegetarian diet. Veg foods like corn, rice, dried beans, lentils, sunflower seeds, and tofu are inexpensive.

Buying in bulk helps. Also, locally grown fruits and vegetables are sometimes cheaper than those imported from far away.

Check out this site for more ideas and tips:

Vegan Eating on a Budget
http://www.tryveg.com/cfi/toc/?v=07budge...

Hope this helps!

Well, isn't everything expensive these days? The only thing that is cheap is McDonalds' or KFC and those are really unhealthy. Maybe farmers' markets would be cheaper. You could try to bargain with them.