A couple of weeks ago I did a vegan lifestyle haul, and received a few questions about how much a week’s worth of vegan groceries costs. Contrary to popular belief, buying vegan groceries doesn’t have to cost a fortune. In fact, it’s often cheaper than buying a “regular” week of groceries! In this post I hope to show you how I plan my shopping, how I budget, and what an average week of vegan groceries looks like. So without further ado, let’s get into it!
Meal Planning:
One of the most important parts of shopping is meal planning. One of the ways I reduce my cost is to have all of my ingredients planned out and accounted for. I usually look for vegan recipes on Pinterest, and bookmark ones I want to try. This was my meal plan for this week:
Breakfast
- Vegan waffles with fresh fruit and brown sugar
- Coffee with almond milk creamer
- Wake-Up French Toast
- Avocado Toast
- Smoothie Bowl
- Carrot Cake Oatmeal
- Rice cakes with peanut butter and banana
Lunch
- Vegan teriyaki strips with brown rice
- Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
- Pasta with marinara sauce
- Dinner leftovers
- Brown rice with baked beans
Dinner
- Pulled BBQ Carrots
- Lasagna Soup
- Quinoa Crusted Tofu Nuggets
- Vegetable stir fry with brown rice
- Leftover night
- Pasta with marinara sauce and veggies
Dessert
- Fresh fruit
- Oreo cookies
Budget Shopping
I shop at my local King Soopers, which is a grocery chain similar to Hy-Vee, Price Chopper, and others. I have a Soopers Card, which is a free card that gives me discounts on my purchases. I always look in the newspaper ad to see what sales are going on during the week, and plan out my purchases with both my meal plan and the ad.
What I Bought This Week (and What it Cost)
- Simple Life Vanilla Almond Milk ($2.79 – $.30 = $2.49)
- Fresh Blueberries x2 ($3.49 – $2.24 = $1.25 each)
- Rosemary and Garlic Triscuits x2 ($2.89 – $.89 = $2.00 each)
- Kroger Just Fruit Strawberry Jam ($2.99 – $1.20 = $1.79)
- Nutmeg and Cinnamon (10/$10, $2 total)
- Silk Almond Creamer x3 in Caramel [2] and Hazelnut [1] ($2.00 – $1.00 = $1.00 each, buy 3 save $3 sale)
- Kroger Simple Peanut Butter x2 ($2.29 – $.50 = $1.79 each)
- Bananas (bunch of 4) ($.85)
- Oat and Grain Bread [vegan] ($2.49 – $.50 = $1.99)
- Jamba Juice Smoothie mix (2/$5, $2.50 total)
- Nature’s Path Flax Waffles ($3.79 – $1.29 = $2.50)
- Gardein Chik’n Strips [vegan teriyaki chicken strips] ($4.89 – $1.00 = $3.89)
- 4 Navel Oranges ($2.36)
- Kroger Olive Oil [34 fl oz] ($9.99 – $4.00 = $5.99)
- Distilled White Vinegar ($.79)
- Barilla Farfalle Pasta 16oz ($1.49)
- Kroger Panko [vegan] ($1.49)
TOTAL: $45.15 (with $.30 bag fee and $1.67 tax)
What I’ve Learned
There are a few items that I keep on hand all of the time, and buy in bulk when they are on sale. In the past few weeks, these items were: brown rice, tofu, vegan cheese, vegetable broth, vegetable spread, frozen vegetables, oats, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and Oreo cookies.
I also go to a grocery store that offers fuel point rewards, and every month I get at least one $.10 off per gallon reward. I highly recommend these programs to anyone who commutes often!
I used to spend more money on my groceries when I bought “regular” items. Dairy is quite expensive, and I used to be an avid yogurt and cheese fan. Once I realized that going vegan was better for my health personally (I eliminated meat long before dairy), I also found that my paychecks were going further in terms of food. I felt better about what I was putting into my body, and how I was purchasing my food.
I hope this post was helpful! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask! 🙂
© The Wise Willow and Alyssa DeBella. All rights reserved.
