A lot of people think that being vegan costs a ton of money. That might be true if you eat a ton of expensive meat substitutes, but we do not. Besides, one thing that I have always done is plan a menu. I did this even before I was vegan. The best part is that this maybe takes ten minutes to do, not including shopping. Considering it saves me up to 100 dollars a month, I think that is worth it.
I recently found out how much more I would be spending by not menu planning. When we first went vegan, I stopped menu planning and just bought whatever looked good out of excitement. I didn't over buy my food necessarily, but I didn't stick to a list. My grocery costs rose to about 60 dollars a week, which is expensive for us. Quickly, I realized that I needed to plan again, and the costs shot back down to 30 or 40 dollars a week. Much better. We don't eat out hardly ever, so that comes out to 42 meals a week (3 meals a day, 7 days a week, 2 people) at about .95 cents per meal. I think that's an acceptable cost! If you spend more, don't worry, I bet that's your meat cost, or regional differences, which will vary for everyone.
Here's how I do it!
I shop at Winco, which is a great grocery store. Unfortunately, they don't send out a weekly circular add, since sales are different from store to store. So I can't use the ads to help me there. But, I do also supplement with organic produce from New Seasons, Costco, and Trader Joe's, as well as specialty items from the big Asian grocery store Uwajimaya.
All of those places have ads, so I start there with my planning. Usually the ads are online.
When I am looking through the ads, I search for common ingredients in dishes that our family likes. I then put it on my list. For example, if I see broccoli on sale at New Seasons, I stick it on the list. We really like broccoli. Then I can add broccoli soba noodles to my menu. I continue until I have found seven meals to fill my board.
The board is not necessary, but I think Husband likes knowing what's going on... and I don't like him always asking me what's for dinner. Plus, if you were to split meal prep (like we will again once I am working), it's easy to know who is cooking that night.
I recently found out how much more I would be spending by not menu planning. When we first went vegan, I stopped menu planning and just bought whatever looked good out of excitement. I didn't over buy my food necessarily, but I didn't stick to a list. My grocery costs rose to about 60 dollars a week, which is expensive for us. Quickly, I realized that I needed to plan again, and the costs shot back down to 30 or 40 dollars a week. Much better. We don't eat out hardly ever, so that comes out to 42 meals a week (3 meals a day, 7 days a week, 2 people) at about .95 cents per meal. I think that's an acceptable cost! If you spend more, don't worry, I bet that's your meat cost, or regional differences, which will vary for everyone.
Here's how I do it!
I shop at Winco, which is a great grocery store. Unfortunately, they don't send out a weekly circular add, since sales are different from store to store. So I can't use the ads to help me there. But, I do also supplement with organic produce from New Seasons, Costco, and Trader Joe's, as well as specialty items from the big Asian grocery store Uwajimaya.
All of those places have ads, so I start there with my planning. Usually the ads are online.
When I am looking through the ads, I search for common ingredients in dishes that our family likes. I then put it on my list. For example, if I see broccoli on sale at New Seasons, I stick it on the list. We really like broccoli. Then I can add broccoli soba noodles to my menu. I continue until I have found seven meals to fill my board.
The board is not necessary, but I think Husband likes knowing what's going on... and I don't like him always asking me what's for dinner. Plus, if you were to split meal prep (like we will again once I am working), it's easy to know who is cooking that night.
This week was different, as I really wanted to try a restaurant in Portland (that's what you see on Saturday), and Sunday was St. Patrick's Day and people were coming over. So I planned and bought for 5 meals. But you get the idea. I do have meals that are standards, like the udon noodles and burritos/tacos. Other times I mix it up.
Now, it seems like I am planning for just dinner, and not lunch. Well, in our family we usually have cereal, toast, or oatmeal for breakfast. I just check the supplies for these things while making my list, and add it if needed. I also always check for on sale berries to add to oatmeal and cereal. Husband takes dinner leftovers to work for lunch, and I usually have a salad or leftovers for my lunch. I make sure to have salad greens around, so I stick them on the list.
Once you have planned all meals, go back and see what you need to flesh the meals out. For example, I would need garlic to go in my broccoli soba noodles, and sesame seeds. If I was out, I would make sure to add them to the list. Repeat for all days.
Let's review the steps, without all the wordiness.
1. Check ads for often used ingredients.
2. Add the dish that uses that ingredient to menu.
3. Add that ingredient to your list.
4. Repeat finding ingredients/adding meals until you have enough meals.
5. Check that you have ingredients to make the full meal, flesh out list as needed.
6. Check for auxiliary meals, like breakfast and lunch, modify list as needed.
7. Shop!
I really like having my meals set for the week, as it's tons less stressful for me. If you are working late, imagine coming home and not having to worry about WHAT you are making, and just make it really fast. Much easier in my opinion, and you are not tempted to grab fast food, because you know you have the groceries already accounted for that meal.
I hope you try it for yourself! I know you will save money and have less stress about meals.
Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland.
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