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ISBN: Print 978-1-64876-451-6
eBook 978-1-64876-452-3
R0
This book is dedicated to my husband, John. Eating a whole-food, plant-based diet on a budget has changed our lives for the better, health-wise and budget-wise.
Contents
Introduction
Welcome to the Budget-Friendly Plant-Based Diet Cookbook ! Eating healthy on a budget can be a challenge, especially when unhealthy food options are all around us. And when you are new to plant-based cooking, it can seem nearly impossible to make sense of expensive specialty ingredients and find the time to make everything from scratch. This book will give you easy, budget-friendly recipes that are sure to become your favoritesand all of them are completely whole food and plant based (WFPB).
Im Kathy, a plant-based recipe developer and the author of the 30-Minute Whole-Food, Plant-Based Cookbook and the Super Easy Plant-Based Cookbook. After years of following a plant-based and vegan way of eating, I have found strategies to save time and money in the kitchen making whole-food, plant-based meals. As a full-time RV traveler, I dont go to the same grocery store each week, and I dont always have access to fancy gourmet markets and ingredients. I quickly learned how to make flavorful foods with everyday ingredients, and in this book, I show you how.
Plant-based eating on a budget is not only doable, but also enjoyable. This book gives you more than 75 delicious, budget-friendly recipes, tips for frugal food shopping, and a three-week meal plan that shows you exactly how you can eat a whole-food, plant-based diet on just $50 per week.
Regardless of where you are on your plant-based journey, this book has something everyone can appreciate: money-saving tips! I hope it inspires you to eat more plants and feel good about your spending, too.
Frugal usually means simple, economical, and plain, but these recipes will be anything but plain. In this chapter, you will find ways to make your dollar go farther by stretching your ingredient purchases. Youll also learn about my definition of a whole-food, plant-based way of eating and how it fits into this book.
How Plants Can Save Your Healthand Your Money
There is a common misconception that eating plant-based is expensive, but it actually lends itself to budget-friendly eating. Whole-food, plant-based eating means avoiding expensive animal products and overprocessed foods. Using more fresh produce and preparing staples yourself, rather than paying more for packaged items, will help you stretch your dollar. Most important, when you eat a plant-based diet, you know exactly what is in your food.
In this book, budget-friendly means using smart strategies to save money and time while cooking tasty food. This includes saving on ingredients where you wont notice a difference in quality while investing in higher quality ingredients where you will definitely notice. For example, buying 100 percent pure maple syrup over imitation versions full of additives is well worth your money.
Throughout the book youll get tips to boost flavor and health benefits of plant-based dishes with common ingredients you already have in your pantry or can find easily at grocery stores. Youll learn strategies for shopping smart, storing food, and creating balanced meals with a variety of flavors and textures so that eating on a budget doesnt feel like a chore.
Eating plant-based will change the way you view food, and it will broaden your palate far beyond the standard American diet. Once you dig into this way of eating, youll be whipping up your own plant-based creations in no time, all while keeping your grocery bill in check.
All About the Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet
The mainstream popularity of whole-food, plant-based eating has exploded recently. Popular talk shows, magazines, and even news outlets have segments or articles touting the benefits of eating more plants to reverse countless diseases. Pioneering plant-based doctors like Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Michael Greger, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn are leading the pack with research-based and peer-reviewed studies that prove plant-based eating may be the optimum diet for health and wellness. Many studies have shown that eating a plant-based diet can prevent countless diseases and even lead to notable improvements in the fight against cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
