Koteen K. - Frugal Vegan: Affordable, Easy & Delicious Vegan Cooking

Thank you for buying thisPage Street Publishing Co. ebook. To receive special offers, bonus content, and info on new releases and other great reads, sign up for our newsletters. Or visit us online at us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way. Copyright infringement is against the law. DEDICATION To Amelia who eats everything and Taj who eats nothing. DEDICATION To Amelia who eats everything and Taj who eats nothing.

Katie For my closest friends and family and their growing enthusiasm for green vegetables. Kate

Convinced going vegan is the fastest way to burn through your grocery budget? Think again. We have some super savvy tips and tricks for saving money and eating healthy. And, lucky for you, were willing to share. From batch cooking to freezing to buying in bulk to knowing where to shop and when, well show you just how easy it is to follow a plant-based diet without breaking the bank. MAKE A SHOPPING LIST Youve heard it a million times, but its absolutely the foundation of smart shoppingmake a list, make a list, make a list! Writing out a shopping list before you leave for the grocery store or farmers market will save you both time and money.

When you have specific recipes in mind, youll only buy what you need and will be able to avoid making impulse purchases. Stick to the list. BUY FROM THE BULK BINS Americans throw away an unbelievable amount of uneaten food simply because it spoiled before we were able to eat it. When you buy in bulk, you can purchase as much or as little as you need. Items you can buy in bulk include rice, grains, flours, pasta, soup mixes, beans, cereals, trail mixes, nut butters, sweeteners, dried fruits, nuts and seeds, spices, salts and peppercorns. Buying spices in bulk is our absolute favorite.

Theyre guaranteed to be fresh and you can avoid investing too much money in something youll use way too little of. BUY GROCERIES ONLINE When it comes to food, were impulse shoppers. We go into the store for tofu and walk out with a giant salad, a bottle of organic wine and some fancy crackers we dont need. A great way to avoid this superfluous shopping is by using a service like Thrive Marketimagine an online version of Costco meets Whole Foods. All your pantry items at a discount, delivered right to your door for free. No more impulse purchases! And if that isnt enough, buying most of your pantry items online makes weekly shopping trips a breeze.

Just a quick stop for fresh produce and a few odds and ends from the aisles. VISIT ETHNIC MARKETS When we want legit fresh tofu, we know just where to go. Our local Asian Market has the absolute freshest and best-priced tofuits all about supply and demand. If you havent had (really) fresh tofu, its a treat worth seeking out. Some of the freshest produce and spices are tucked away in your local ethnic markets for far less than you would pay at the bigger stores. Think chilis, curries, mushrooms and spices.

Its a treasure trove of interesting and affordable items, just waiting to be discovered. BIG BOX STORES You might think that being vegan closes the door on big box discounts, like good old Costco. But think again! While you might not be able to hit up the snack bartheyve yet to offer a vegan optionyou can totally make that membership count. In addition to loads of budget-friendly, organic produce, you can get great deals on pricey items like hemp seeds, cooking oils and nut butters. WATCH THE SALES DAYS AND FLIERS Almost every store has an online sales flier, and many include coupons. Before you make your list for the week, check ahead for whats on sale and take advantage! For example, every Friday our local market has a different item from a different department on sale at an exceptionally low price.

Even if you dont make Friday your full-blown grocery-shopping day, you can still check the online sales flyer to see if you can score any goodies at a bargain. Just a few extra clicks before you head out can keep you on budget and eating well. FOLLOW YOUR LOCAL STORES ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND SUBSCRIBE TO THEIR EMAIL LISTS If youre like us, you need another email subscription about as much as you need a pet ferret. The only difference is that subscribing to your local supermarkets email newsletter could actually help you be your most frugal self. That was probably an Oprah-esque overstatement, but staying in the loop definitely has its advantages. If you spend more time on social media than email, opt to keep up with store specials via Facebook or Twitter.

If theres a bargain to be had, youll be there! BUY PRODUCE IN PEAK SEASON Buying in-season produce is not only deliciousits also easy on your wallet. Fresh and ripe usually means theres a discount to keep that produce moving. Plan your meals with the season in mind and youll find youre really making the most of peak freshness and excellent pricing. Fresh summer fruits freeze well for smoothies all year long. TOFU PRESSING If youre new to tofu pressing, get cozy for a little read. Nothing complex, but the first go around takes a bit of explanation.

The idea behind the press is to get as much water as possible out of the tofu so it will soak up other flavors. Youll want to get a jumpstart on the pressing and soaking, because it can take a bit of time. But that time is almost entirely hands off, and you will be rewarded with extra tasty tofu. So heres an overview of the tofu press stack: towel, tofu, towel, cutting board, heavy stuff. Drain the tofu. Grab more than a few paper towels or a few clean dish towels.

Place the towels on the counter: four layers of paper towel or fold the dish towel a few times to layer it up. Then place the tofu on the towels, followed by more towels and a cutting board. We like to use canned items to weight the board. Then just leave it to sit for about 30 to 60 minutes. BATCH COOKING AND FREEZING How much time do you spend in the kitchen every day? Between cooking dinner at night, making breakfast for yourself in the morning and packing a lunch to take to school or work, the answer is probably: way too much time. Most of us are on the go nonstop from the moment we wake up until our heads hit the pillow at night.

Any time that can be salvaged should be used for fun stuff. Like catching up on your favorite TV show, enjoying a glass of wine and reading a book or playing outside. Not slicing and dicing vegetables and getting lost in a sea of dirty dishes. Batch cooking is a not-so-secret phenomenon that makes maintaining a plant-based diet a breeze. You can eat healthy, delicious, inexpensive meals every day of the week while drastically reducing your time in the kitchen. Never again will a wilted bunch of broccoli (ahem, money) be tossed in the compost heap, because its getting chopped and going right into the freezer.