No, you don’t have to go vegan or vegetarian, but there’s a lot of talk how “expensive” being veg is.
That’s a myth. Listen, it’s expensive to eat HEALTHY!!! Not veg in general. Think about some of the things you eat that aren’t meat or dairy.
-beans (dry is cheaper)
- rice and other grains (again, long cook is usually cheaper)
- frozen & canned veggies/fruit
- sauces
- spices (ANY cooks best friend. PS I was told my meat burgers are actually better since I went veg because I use more spices and such)
- bread (flour will take you further)
- margarine (it’s cheaper than butter, though not best for all things)
And all these can be stretched. Do a different spice/sauce mixture and you can have bean burgers one day and a totally different tasting bean loaf the next.
Not to mention, if you like/can eat tofu, (try it, please, if you aren’t limited medically).
Freeze it, defrost it, press it, MARINATE it in your favorite sauce. It absorbs it just as well or better than most meats AND it’s about half the price of ground meat where I am. It’s like a huge sponge.
And, if you’re not gluten intolerant, there are recipes to make your own seitan from wheat flour rather than viral wheat gluten.
Also, textured vegetable protein, with the help of your spices and sauces, is a great stand in for ground beef or turkey.
I’m writing this to help people who want to meat reduce, go vegetarian or vegan, and don’t because they are afraid to because they think they can’t afford it or it’s bland.
I promise, it can make you become a better cook. The only downside is, it can take more time, but with rice cookers, crock pots, and insta pots, it has gotten easier.
I’ve done prep days where I get everything ready.
Move tofu to fridge to defrost for later in the week, soak all my beans in one night, things like that.
Also, FYI, this is the cheapest and healthy way I know of to be veg/reduce meat, not the only way.
If you have questions, feel free to message me!
