Veganism With Less Green—(money, that is):

I wrote an article a few weeks ago about consumerism and veganism, where I argued that perhaps veganism can be done in a less expensive manner. In the article, I promised to write up a companion article where I would mention some resources that would help guide you in the direction of being vegan without spending so much money. Are you ready? Let’s do this thing!

Books:

Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson is one of my favorite vegan books of all time because it encourages readers to use all resources available in the household. For the most part, Robertson does not use ingredients you cannot find at your local grocery store; and I mean this genuinely because I hate how authors say “everything listed here you can find at your local grocery store.” And you are like, “Where do you shop?” The other neat thing is that Robertson is a huge proponent of freezing and storing food, which saves a ton.

This leads me to the blessing of all books The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman.  Steen and Newman are ninjas who I will adore forever for writing this book, because the book is a two-in-one deal. First, they break the book down by ingredient. If you are looking for egg-substitutes, they give you substitutes for that. Please note that they give you substitutes not just one substitute. Most of the substitutes are really stuff you already have in your pantry.

Blogs:

It is surprisingly difficult to find vegan blogs out there that promote vegan cooking on a budget. I expected more people were pro-eating on the cheap. I found tons of recipe and “I can cook cooler food than you, omnivores” type of vegan blogs, but, again, they used ingredients I have never heard of. The “cheap eating” vegan blogs tended to be outdated or irregularly updated, which is not cool.

I wanted to include this reference here: PETA’s Vegan College Cookbook. You’re probably like, “Dina, this should go with the rest of the books.” No, it really does not. I don’t have the book. PETA has some recipes online right HERE.

The superstar blog that I have found is Cheap Vegan, an online community that is run by the readers—(Hooray! By the people, for the people!) HERE is a link to that community.

There is also a Tumblr page right HERE where you get to see some recipes, ideas and the occasional Lisa Simpson graphic to make you smile.

All right, it is your turn. What are your favorite tips, tricks, resources to save money to maintain your lifestyle? Share your ideas in the comments!