One of the main worries people have when converting to veganism is that it will be expensive. You shouldn’t feel bad about thinking this way either. It’s been brainwashed into us by large corporations and fast food chains. It’s kind of hard to deny the power of the $1 cheeseburger, but in reality, there are tons of cheap, tasty foods that beat out that $1 cheeseburger, or even the $45 porterhouse, in terms of short and long term costs.
What exactly is veganism? With so many fad diets and insider terms, its easy to get confused on what it exactly is and why its beneficial:
Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.
We’ll get into the non-eating aspects of veganism in future posts, such as in clothing and even entertainment, but for now let’s focus on foods.
The Food!
I’ll never forget the words of my mother, always telling me “make sure to eat some chicken today to get your protein,” and I’m sure you’ve heard something similar using an animal product in place of “chicken,” but there are so many other, cheap options for your protein, as well as all other essential vitamins like calcium iron, omega 3 fatty acids, and the fuel that keeps our motors running strong, protein.
Protein:
Daily average protein needs for ages 19-70
Men: 56g
Women: 46g
For more information on all ages, visit (http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/protein.html)
Buy this shirt from our store today! Proceeds go to help against animal cruelty.
Lentils
Cooked. 1 cup: 18g
Tofu
Firm, 4 oz: 11g
Soy Yogurt
Plain. 6oz: 6g
Bread
Whole wheat. 2 slices: 5g
Potato
1 med: 4g
Bagel
1 med: 9g
Spaghetti
Cooked. 1 cup: 8g
Peanut Buter
2 Tbsp: 8g
Soy Milk
Plain. 1 cup. 7g
Black Beans
Cooked. 1 cup: 15g
Veggie Burger
1 patty: 13g
Now, I know what you must be thinking – there’s no way any of these foods could make up for a nice hearty steak. Not quite:
If you think this is shocking, wait until you see the rest of the infographic later on in this article.
Courtesy: http://www.peta.org/features/vegan-diet-infographic/
Calcium:
How will you ever live without milk, though? Won’t your bones turn into dust and mush? Luckily the world of vitamins isn’t so rigid as to only put calcium in milk. In fact, “milk isn’t the only, or even best, source.” (http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/calcium-and-milk/)
Other sources of Calcium (Mostly under $3/lb)
Broccoli
Collard Greens
Almonds
Mustard Greens
Sesame Tahini
Soybeans
Kale
Fortified Drinks
Average price per gallon of Milk (2014): $3.85 (http://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/data/AverageRetailFoodAndEnergyPrices_USandMidwest_Table.htm)
Average price of 1lb of broccoli (2014): $1.80 (http://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/data/AverageRetailFoodAndEnergyPrices_USandMidwest_Table.htm
Iron:
Daily average iron needs for ages 19-70
Men: 8-11mg
Women: 8-18mg
For more information on all ages, visit (http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional/)
Buy this dress today! $2 of every garment sales goes towards organizations that help end animal cruelty.
Lentils (There they are again!)
1 cup. 6.6mg
Kidney Beans
1 cup. Cooked. 5.2mg
Chickpeas
1 cup. Cooked. 4.7mg
Lima Beans
1 cup. Cooked. 4.5mg
Swiss Chard
1 cup. Cooked. 4mg
Soybeans
1 cup. Cooked. 1 cup. 8.8mg
Blackstrap Molasses
2 tbsp. 7mg
Omega 3 Fatty Acids:
For a healthy heart, brain, skin, and joints.
A small amount of Omega 3 fatty acid is all you need to stay healthy, especially if you take the pill form, such as the Vegan Omega-3 DHA listed below. Compare that to the cost and time assoicated with eating fish at least twice a week and its a no brainer.
As you can see, these foods are not expensive. You can find any of these foods at your local grocery store, or at vegan specialty stores such as Viva La Vegan if you’re also interested in specialty products to give your vegan cooking and lifestyle an extra kick. You may even already have plenty of these foods in your pantry waiting to be used in delicious meals.
But eating cheaply isn’t the only benefit of living a vegan lifestyle. The long term benefits don’t only affect us, they affect the world:
Back to that earlier infographic courtesy of Peta.org
Being considerate of your long term health should be about more than money, of course, but the price tags on medical bills alone should be enough to convince you that in the long run, veganism is not the most expensive route.
Overall:
This infographic from FlexyVegan.com breaks it down:
Is Veganism Expensive? How to Eat Cheap with Veganism AND Get Full Nutrition w/ Recipes!
Is Veganism Expensive?
One of the main worries people have when converting to veganism is that it will be expensive. You shouldn’t feel bad about thinking this way either. It’s been brainwashed into us by large corporations and fast food chains. It’s kind of hard to deny the power of the $1 cheeseburger, but in reality, there are tons of cheap, tasty foods that beat out that $1 cheeseburger, or even the $45 porterhouse, in terms of short and long term costs.
What exactly is veganism? With so many fad diets and insider terms, its easy to get confused on what it exactly is and why its beneficial:
Definition of Veganism
Courtesy of https://www.vegansociety.com/try-vegan/definition-veganism
We’ll get into the non-eating aspects of veganism in future posts, such as in clothing and even entertainment, but for now let’s focus on foods.
The Food!
I’ll never forget the words of my mother, always telling me “make sure to eat some chicken today to get your protein,” and I’m sure you’ve heard something similar using an animal product in place of “chicken,” but there are so many other, cheap options for your protein, as well as all other essential vitamins like calcium iron, omega 3 fatty acids, and the fuel that keeps our motors running strong, protein.
Protein:
Daily average protein needs for ages 19-70
Men: 56g
Women: 46g
For more information on all ages, visit (http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/protein.html)
Buy this shirt from our store today! Proceeds go to help against animal cruelty.
Lentils
Cooked. 1 cup: 18g
Firm, 4 oz: 11g
Plain. 6oz: 6g
Whole wheat. 2 slices: 5g
1 med: 4g
1 med: 9g
Cooked. 1 cup: 8g
2 Tbsp: 8g
Plain. 1 cup. 7g
Cooked. 1 cup: 15g
1 patty: 13g
Now, I know what you must be thinking – there’s no way any of these foods could make up for a nice hearty steak. Not quite:
If you think this is shocking, wait until you see the rest of the infographic later on in this article.
Courtesy: http://www.peta.org/features/vegan-diet-infographic/
Calcium:
How will you ever live without milk, though? Won’t your bones turn into dust and mush? Luckily the world of vitamins isn’t so rigid as to only put calcium in milk. In fact, “milk isn’t the only, or even best, source.” (http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/calcium-and-milk/)
Other sources of Calcium (Mostly under $3/lb)
Average price per gallon of Milk (2014): $3.85 (http://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/data/AverageRetailFoodAndEnergyPrices_USandMidwest_Table.htm)
Average price of 1lb of broccoli (2014): $1.80 (http://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/data/AverageRetailFoodAndEnergyPrices_USandMidwest_Table.htm
Iron:
Daily average iron needs for ages 19-70
Men: 8-11mg
Women: 8-18mg
For more information on all ages, visit (http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional/)
Buy this dress today! $2 of every garment sales goes towards organizations that help end animal cruelty.
Lentils (There they are again!)
1 cup. 6.6mg
1 cup. Cooked. 5.2mg
1 cup. Cooked. 4.7mg
1 cup. Cooked. 4.5mg
1 cup. Cooked. 4mg
1 cup. Cooked. 1 cup. 8.8mg
2 tbsp. 7mg
Omega 3 Fatty Acids:
For a healthy heart, brain, skin, and joints.
A small amount of Omega 3 fatty acid is all you need to stay healthy, especially if you take the pill form, such as the Vegan Omega-3 DHA listed below. Compare that to the cost and time assoicated with eating fish at least twice a week and its a no brainer.
Associated Costs:
As you can see, these foods are not expensive. You can find any of these foods at your local grocery store, or at vegan specialty stores such as Viva La Vegan if you’re also interested in specialty products to give your vegan cooking and lifestyle an extra kick. You may even already have plenty of these foods in your pantry waiting to be used in delicious meals.
But eating cheaply isn’t the only benefit of living a vegan lifestyle. The long term benefits don’t only affect us, they affect the world:
Efficiency:
Courtesy: CulinarySchools.org
Your Health:
Back to that earlier infographic courtesy of Peta.org
Being considerate of your long term health should be about more than money, of course, but the price tags on medical bills alone should be enough to convince you that in the long run, veganism is not the most expensive route.
Overall:
This infographic from FlexyVegan.com breaks it down:
Recipes:
Simple:
Avocado Tofu Toast
Go-Go Tacos
Complex:
Roasted Veggie and ‘Chicken’ Tacos
Roasted Vegetable Pasta
Peta has an amazing page on some daily recipes, and food substitutes as well: http://features.peta.org/how-to-go-vegan/
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