budget/healthy vegan grocery list & meal planning
so I do shopping for a house of 4, and one of the people I live with has type 2 diabetes. So I thought I’d share the types of things I get that are both healthy and cost effective.
Breakfast
Instant oatmeal (we buy sugar free brown sugar flavor, but you can also just buy a big tin of instant oatmeal and add stevia or sugar free maple syrup and cinnamon+allspice)
Bananas (good to add in oatmeal)
Cereal and a milk alternative (most cereals besides kellogs are vegan, try to find a cereal and milk that’s fortified with b12)
French toast (mash a banana with either 3/4c milk alternative or the juice from a can of chickpeas, then add a tsp vanilla, 1-2tsp cinnamon, and ¼ tsp allspice. dip bread in mixture on both sides and then fry in a pan with 1 tbsp butter/coconut oil/nonstick spray on high heat and fry till desired on both sides. makes about 6 slices and is super good topped with syrup!)
Tofu scramble with toast (to make tofu scramble add onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast and break up the tofu in a skillet with a fork and heat it up) goes great with a side of baked beans too
Lunch
sweet potato and beans (microwave sweet potato 6-9 minutes depending on size, rinse beans and microwave for 1-2 minutes and then season both the beans and sweet potato however you like!)
chickpea salad sandwich (microwave 1/2c chickpeas for about 25 seconds, then mash them with a fork and add 1 tbsp hummus, garlic powder, onion powder, dill weed, parsley all to taste and 1-2tsp spicy brown mustard) tomato slices are a good addition
Veggie hummus wrap (buy cauliflower and broccoli by the head, it’s cheaper. Spread hummus on a tortilla. Chop up cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots(or veggies of choice) and assemble the wrap)
Dinner
Burritos (microwave instant brown rice to instructions, then add hummus and salsa. microwave beans and season as desired. assemble burrito with rice, lettuce, beans, and guacamole(optional). It’s even better if you turn a skillet on high and grill the tortilla first and assemble the burrito in the skillet, then slide it onto a plate once it’s nice and browned on the outside and wrap it up! Takes maybe 2 minutes extra to do this but it’s so worth it)
Curried veggies with rice (I just microwave frozen veggies and then add them to whatever curry I’m making. Walmart carries a “golden curry” that comes in a shiny box and dissolves in water to make a thick curry sauce. But there are tons of other options for curry sauce out there!)
Soups like progresso (their tomato basil soup, garden vegetable, lentil soup are vegan just double check the labels!) Campbell’s condensed tomato soup is also vegan. It’s also really good to add some cooked rice to tomato soup!
Snacks
Cauliflower/fresh veggies or rice cakes with hummus
Popcorn (tons of “buttery” microwave popcorns are vegan. But you can also buy a jar of popcorn kernels, paper bags, and add 1c of kernels with a tiny bit of olive oil to it and fold the top of the bag so it doesn’t open and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until kernels have mostly stopped popping, then add salt and/or nutritional yeast!)
Canned fruit or fresh fruit that’s in season/on sale
Apples or oranges (buy them by the bag)
I’m sure there’s things I’m missing and I know this list isn’t super extensive but this is what we’ve been keeping in the house recently for dietary reasons while also being concious of our low budget. I’ll add more if I think of anything but feel free to ask questions or add to this list!