#broke vegans

[necessaryveganism]

I’ve recently moved to the city for my last year of university and managed to find a suitable place for me and Jeff, my adopted bun. Moira the giant will be joining us soon. She was found in a dumpster in a really, really bad condition, but she’s getting better. She will probably be ready for adoption by the end of the month. 

I had to leave my job and am currently living off savings. I had to get two large bunny pens (last pic) and I will need another one so I can take them outside for fresh grass/sun. I will also need a new transporter. My current one is barely large enough for Jeff, but Moira won’t even fit inside. The costs are gonna more than double when Moira arrives (for hay, pellets, litter, fresh veg...). And I can only hope Moira’s ear infection doesn’t come back.

So those are the reasons I’m asking for help. If a couple of you were willing to donate an € or two, that already covers the costs for a large bag of hay, maybe even the transporter. And in return I can send you daily videos of Jeff eating carrot tops and apple slices which will be the best thing you see all day, guaranteed. I even taught him to beg for this occasion, see photo 5. (jk he’s washing his face)

Edit: also just noticed Jeff’s infection is back (sneezing and white liquid coming from his nose, if anyone’s dealt with this before please msg me), so that’s another trip to the vet soon. 

If you can spare a €/$, here’s my paypal: paypal.me/potatocar

[choosehopefortheanimals]

[crumbys-crumbs]

a recent ask has me reaching back to my early vegan days, and how i lived (and still live, sometimes) when i was super broke.

Ramen: Top Ramen has a soy sauce flavor that is vegan, and Gefen has a vegan imitation chicken flavor as well as a veggie flavor. get yourself a bag of assorted frozen veggies and use them in your ramen to add nutrition. when you start using a ton of fresh veggies in your cooking though, you can save the trimmings to make broth, and then your ramen really elevates.

Tacos: pinto or black beans, potatoes, onion, bell pepper, tomato, avocado, greens, jackfruit... there are so many options for making vegan tacos. make sure your tortillas and canned refried beans are vegan! watch out for lard. i like making my own refried beans by heating up canned black or pinto beans in a pan with some oil and smashing them with a fork (:

Pancakes: not just the traditional breakfast kind! but those are good too. by adding some flour, salt and other spices to refried black or pinto beans, you can make amazing savory pancakes. i recently made amazing kale pancakes for breakfast! there are some serious possibilities in this category.

Rice: fried rice, curries, buddha bowls, even veggie sushi if your family happens to gift you a little sushi roller for Christmas. rice is a beautifully versatile carb.

Soup: potatoes are my base of choice for soups, and it can really be as simple as potatoes, alt milk and/or veggie broth, and salt and pepper to make a tasty filling soup. i love pairing soup with rice, and adding assorted vegetables, like other roots, onions, and greens to the soup and/or the rice.

creativity and the internet are your besties in hard times. doing dishes sucks but taking care of yourself is worth it <3

i also think it's important to note: if you are poor and vegan, it's totally okay to eat free non-vegan food that would otherwise be wasted! i was working in food service when i was poor, and we were throwing away perfectly good food at the end of the night, so i would instead take it home and eat it myself. if you're not giving any money or press or whatever to the animal products industry, it's all good (:

[animallovingvegan]

Cost Benefits of Veganism

The chart below depicts a sample day of organic grocery store food, and even here you see that the vegan is saving $3.50 a day to the meat eater.

The source suggests that eating vegan could save one up to $1,280/year. Of course, this is without processed foods, which are slightly more expensive. However, dried beans and lentils cost about $1/lb and tofu $2/lb, while a cheap cut of beef is around $3-4/lb on average, and fish cost up to $6/lb, and shrimp range from $1-2 per 6oz can. 

Another study suggests that being vegetarian can save one up to $750 a year. The USDA’s plant based meal plan tops around $38, while the My Plate (nonvegan) meal plan costs approximately $53 a week. Don’t think it’s for lack of food though, the plant based meal plan has a significantly larger amount of servings of several different food groups. The healthiest super foods are plant based, and many cost less than a dollar a serving. 

Here are some more cost effective vegan meal plans to get you started one two three four 

Considering going vegan, but don’t know where to start? Check out Vegan Kit

[vegetation-vibrations]

Yummy, cheap taco night <3

Hi friends!  I’m starting college in a week. I’ve cut down on my work hours to focus on my studies, and over the summer my boyfriend was out of work for 3 weeks because he was on tour with his band. We simultaneously got hit with a lot of random, unforeseen expenses. So we’ve been suuuuuper careful about our budget. We’re spending about $250 per month or less to feed two people with enormous appetites, and it’s going to have to stay that way until I’m done with school in 4-6 years basically unless my love gets an amazing job or we win the lottery (lol).

But it’s ok! We’re almost done catching up (except my school books gah!), While this was a hard and scary time for us, it’s really helped me see just how much I was spending on stuff that I could either A, completely eliminate, or B, learn to make myself for way cheaper and probably healthier. I’ve been having a lot of fun trying new things and making it a competition to outdo myself on how cheaply I can make a meal. I’m trying to adjust my perspective on the money struggles and take it as a learning experience.

I digress. Tonight I made the BEST TACOS EVER, with a homemade cheeze (no specialty ingredients) sauce and “sour cream”. It’d be even cheaper if some of the ingredients weren’t organic.

PRICE BREAKDOWN

4 Old El Paso Stand n’ Stuff Shells (~0.77) 1/2 packet organic taco seasoning (0.85) Can of store brand organic pinto beans (1.29) 1/2 can of store brand organic corn (0.65) 1/2 cup of bulk white organic basmati rice (~0.60) 1 cup organic no chicken broth (0.82) 4tbsp. homemade cheeze sauce (0.26) 4tbsp. homemade sour cream (0.54) TOTAL $2.89/serving 

And this is pretty extravagant in comparison to the other stuff I’ve been making. It’s not like INSANELY cheap but this is good for me! It was also super filling. The recipe I used for the cheeze sauce is from Robin Robertson’s Vegan on the Cheap. The sour cream recipe you can find here. Like I said, it’d be cheaper if some of the ingredients weren’t organic, and I could’ve shopped around. But a lot of the stuff was acquired during brighter financial days.

Probably going to make some mac & cheeze tomorrow with the leftover sauce :) 

Happy eating my fellow broke veggies! Your morals can align with your pocketbook. I love you <3