Newbie vegan on a budget, newbie cook on a budget, advice?

[Cere]

Hi all! I'd been umm-ing and ahh-ing over veganism for a while, less as a lifestyle and more as a dietary choice and an attempt to "minimise" the harm my choices cause than anything, and like many of us I am on a budget.

TL;DR because this ended up quite rambly. I am a new vegan and have rarely cooked. I have very little freezer space and so cannot bulk-cook or buy many frozen ingredients. I don't want to just be living on pasta, but I don't know where to even start with buying things to cook and eat. Do I need to invest in a food scale? What easily-storable and long-lasting ingredients are there that are versatile and used in a lot of recipes? What's a good "first week or two of vegan shopping list"?

I have very little experience cooking (which I just discovered when I opened up my browser to do some ezpz online shopping and... found myself stumped as to what to buy) and very, very limited freezer space so the advice my mum always gave me ("Just cook in bulk and freeze everything leftover for later!") just won't work for me here. I'm also quite new to this whole vegan thing, although I was vegetarian in my youth so I'm vaguely familiar with checking labels and some of the surprise-meat-products that can be found in unexpected places.

What I'm lost with is cooking. Up until now I've done very little cooking for myself, living mostly on ready meals and the odd takeout pizza stretched over a couple of days.
If I buy fresh ingredients, I don't know for sure that I'll be able to use them all before they start to turn bad, but I also do really love vegetables. Broccoli is my one true love.
I know a good amount of pasta dishes can be easily vegan-ised by simply omitting the meat and still taste great, but living on pasta alone is hardly nutritious!

So I'm wondering, do any of you have any advice, or even a simple "week one shopping list" type thing that I can use as a reference point? Any must-have ingredients that are versatile and used in a lot of recipes? I live alone, so it's not like there's even anyone else around who'd eat what I don't. Do I need a food scale for cooking or is it safe enough to just eyeball it? Man, I'm so lost :')

This has all gotten very long, I'll throw a TL;DR in the top of the post I guess for those that didn't want to read. I'm sorry that this is so long, I have a knack for being needlessly wordy.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and hopefully some of you will have some 10/10 protips I can use to make this whole start-up thing easier.

 

[ThomasTheVegan]

Don't let cooking discourage you!!! With youtube at our fingertips, a quick search could lead you in the right direction when finding a quick and easy vegan meal. Trust me on this one, theres TONS of easy beginner recipes. For me, cooking has become something that I enjoy doing a lot more now, not only because its fun but because I know that it helps support my animal-free, cruelty-free lifestyle.

I enjoy cooking lentils and potatoes. They're a match made in vegan heaven ;D . with just these TWO ingredients you can make many meals. Ive made lentils and a baked potato on the side, Ive made lentils and mashed potatoes and even a great lentil and potato soup. Beans and rice is another great meal. you can wrap beans and rice in a corn tortilla and make a tasty vegan taco (ide add a few more ingredients in this one to spice it up a little but you get the point.) . You can also make a soup out of beans and rice as well. Just get creative with it, and find what is tasty to you. Also, going to vegan restaurants helps you get an idea of what you can make.

All of these things are SUPER easy to make. and if you need help theres lots of websites that can walk you through.


I hope this helps .

 

[sofresh_and_soclean]

Hi all! I'd been umm-ing and ahh-ing over veganism for a while, less as a lifestyle and more as a dietary choice and an attempt to "minimise" the harm my choices cause than anything, and like many of us I am on a budget.

TL;DR because this ended up quite rambly. I am a new vegan and have rarely cooked. I have very little freezer space and so cannot bulk-cook or buy many frozen ingredients. I don't want to just be living on pasta, but I don't know where to even start with buying things to cook and eat. Do I need to invest in a food scale? What easily-storable and long-lasting ingredients are there that are versatile and used in a lot of recipes? What's a good "first week or two of vegan shopping list"?

I have very little experience cooking (which I just discovered when I opened up my browser to do some ezpz online shopping and... found myself stumped as to what to buy) and very, very limited freezer space so the advice my mum always gave me ("Just cook in bulk and freeze everything leftover for later!") just won't work for me here. I'm also quite new to this whole vegan thing, although I was vegetarian in my youth so I'm vaguely familiar with checking labels and some of the surprise-meat-products that can be found in unexpected places.

What I'm lost with is cooking. Up until now I've done very little cooking for myself, living mostly on ready meals and the odd takeout pizza stretched over a couple of days.
If I buy fresh ingredients, I don't know for sure that I'll be able to use them all before they start to turn bad, but I also do really love vegetables. Broccoli is my one true love.
I know a good amount of pasta dishes can be easily vegan-ised by simply omitting the meat and still taste great, but living on pasta alone is hardly nutritious!

So I'm wondering, do any of you have any advice, or even a simple "week one shopping list" type thing that I can use as a reference point? Any must-have ingredients that are versatile and used in a lot of recipes? I live alone, so it's not like there's even anyone else around who'd eat what I don't. Do I need a food scale for cooking or is it safe enough to just eyeball it? Man, I'm so lost :')

This has all gotten very long, I'll throw a TL;DR in the top of the post I guess for those that didn't want to read. I'm sorry that this is so long, I have a knack for being needlessly wordy.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and hopefully some of you will have some 10/10 protips I can use to make this whole start-up thing easier.

Where do you do most of your shopping? Trader Joes makes it really easy to transition.

 

[Paula Nicole]

tofu is something easy you can prep just cut it into small blocks and cook it in some teriyaki you can save that in the fridge and put it on rice noodles or rice with some veggies. oatmeal is a good one for breakfast with some almond milk and sliced fruit, i do banana or strawberries if they're cheap at the time, i also add in a little almond butter and sometimes some flax seeds. pasta is one of my staples cause it's so good and so easy and quick to make. you can buy cans of beans and throw them on top of rice with some cooked fajita veggies and some guacamole and salsa for an at home burrito bowl. also potatos, baked or as french fries. and you don't need to keep prepped stuff in the freezer unless you don't plan on eating for over 3 days. hope i helped some