I’ve spent my career (and the past ten years of my life) figuring out the best ways to save your pennies while eating healthy. If there’s one thing I’ve learned along the way, it’s that everyone loves saving money. With this book, I’m going to tackle the top concerns people have when it comes to food: cost, convenience, nutrition, and taste. My goal? Teaching you how to whip up a delicious and nutritious meal in under thirty minutes that even your junk-food-loving friends will love, using only ingredients that you can find at your nearest (conventional) grocery store. I know that sounds like mission impossible, but it’s actually very, very possible if you follow my lead.
Whether you’re budgeting because of a limited income or you’re looking to put your pennies elsewhere (travel, home, your Amazon wish list), I want to help you lower your food expenses. Not only that, but I want to show you how fast cooking can be so you can get back to walking your dog, having coffee with friends, or reading books to your kids. These recipes will show you how to maximize your efficiency in the kitchen so you can get back to simply living your life.
So thank you for welcoming me into your kitchen. If you’re just starting out, don’t be intimidated. I didn’t start out as an expert either. Like many, I arrived at affordable plant-based eating through a journey.
My vegan journey really started back in high school. I ran track (look at how cute I looked in my uniform!), and I lived off a typical standard American diet. There was a Taco Bell located directly across from my school, and every day I’d go there for lunch and buy my standard order: two beef tacos and a bean burrito. Then I’d go to track practice and run as fast as my body could handle—and get sick to my stomach every single time. My coach suggested that I stop eating Taco Bell before track practice. He knew fast food didn’t exactly equal optimal health and fitness. But he went a step further and suggested that I stop eating red meat to enhance my performance. So my journey to plant-based eating started solely for health purposes. If you’d told me back then that I’d become a professional expert and advocate of the vegan diet, I would have laughed. Loudly.
Becoming full-on vegetarian was a slow road for me that hit several bottlenecks and traffic jams thanks to various living circumstances. After high school, I moved out of my family’s house into a room I shared with two other people. I worked two jobs, one at the mall and one as a nanny, and tried to squirrel every cent away and make it count. Food wasn’t a priority. I ate whatever free food anyone served me. But when I did go shopping, I only bought vegetarian food.
In my early twenties, I took some community college classes and joined the vegetarian club there. That’s when my interest in plant-based eating really ramped up. That club became my support system, and the members really educated and inspired me. Together, we hosted bake sales, cooked potlucks, and visited farmed animal sanctuaries. Having that community made all the difference in my embrace of a plant-based, vegan lifestyle. Now I was a vegan not just for my health but for the larger causes of animal welfare and the environment. (The photo below, taken in 2008, shows me beaming as a newly minted vegan.)
My life changed pretty quickly after that. I had a new passion and purpose. I started working full-time doing social media and outreach for a farmed animal rescue. A couple of years after that, I started working for a vegan advocacy group. Those organizations helped me gain the experience and understanding of vegan advocacy work, and now I can’t imagine doing anything else in my life.
That’s my journey to veganism, but the path to being a food-budgeting expert also came from a lifetime of experience. Between low-paying jobs, car troubles, student loans, vet bills, and trying to pay down credit card debt, I’ve spent most of my adult life living paycheck to paycheck. For years, I’d look at my list of expenses and see the food grocery money fund being pushed to the bottom, because I knew that eating instant ramen everyday was better than being evicted.
I learned that type of survivalist mind-set from my parents. My dad was only nineteen when I was born, and for as far back as I can remember, he’s made every financial decision to provide me with a comfortable life. He enlisted in the Navy to earn money that put food in my belly. I lived with my grandparents until I was eleven, when my dad used his VA loan to purchase a home in a safe neighborhood with a good school district. That year, I remember sitting on lawn chairs in our living room watching football with my family on Thanksgiving. We couldn’t afford the traditional holiday-meal fixings, but my dad served us whatever food we had, knowing that his children had better opportunities in life because of his hard work.
It’s fair to say that my family didn’t spend a lot of money on food while I was growing up, so when I became a vegan in my early twenties, they were concerned that I’d be wasting every penny on my newfound vegan lifestyle. They thought I’d be shopping for weird and overpriced products at fancy-schmancy grocery stores where I had to pay to be a member (aka co-ops), quenching my thirst at organic juice bars, and using whatever was left in my wallet to do hippie-dippie things like getting my chakras aligned.
I quickly realized that a lot of people in my social circles and in my community felt the same way as my parents. I spent my childhood in a primarily Mexican American neighborhood, with many first- or second-generation families that were still establishing themselves in this country. My neighbors didn’t have a lot of money to spend on food. Yet, in communities like mine, there was a plague of diet-related health problems like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Even my own family was suffering the side effects of unhealthy eating: my forty-year-old uncle had a heart attack, my aunt died after suffering through type 2 diabetes and multiple amputations, and my grandfather died from complications during a triple bypass surgery.
My goal was simple. I simply wanted to help my family stay alive. By this point, I’d been thriving on a vegan diet for years and wanted to share the positive effects with them. I knew I had to present the information in a way that was familiar and flavorful, and that addressed their biggest concern: cost.
Thus, Plant-Based on a Budget was officially born. Through my website and this book, I want to show you that you don’t have to shop at expensive stores when you’re vegan—you can shop at the most affordable grocery stores and still enjoy crazy-delicious plant-based cuisine.
HOW TO BE PLANT-BASED ON A BUDGET
When I first began my plant-based journey, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t have cooking skills or money to shop for specialty ingredients, so I started checking out library books with basic recipes. One thing I noticed was that most budget-conscious cookbooks offer the tip that “eating less meat” will cut your grocery bill. I took that a step further and threw out eggs and dairy, too. I knew it was a step toward a healthy body and a healthy bank account.
To bring down the cost of groceries even more, I’d host potluck-style dinners where I’d invite friends, each with an assigned ingredient to bring, and then we’d all share in the cooking. It was during that time that I began experimenting with food, swapping out ingredients in recipes for items I had in my pantry, often to save on a more expensive item. Recipes are general guides—don’t be afraid to experiment, swap out veggies or spices, use rice instead of quinoa, or use frozen instead of fresh. That’s how I’m setting up this book. I’ll give you the base of a good recipe, but I want you to play with it. The “Testers’ Tips” throughout this book will give you some tweaks you can try, and the blank sections, “My Tips,” will give you a space to add your own.
Kitchen Equipment
Starting out as a novice cook, I had a big pot and a little pot (neither of which had lids), a serving spoon, some mismatched dishes, a knife I’d purchased used from a thrift store, an IKEA cutting board, some old hummus containers I used for food storage, and some other odds and ends that my parents gave me when I moved out. Over time, I’ve improved my cookware with thrift-store finds, and much as I’d like an All-Clad set of pots and pans, I’ve found that my upgraded-but-still-used collection works just fine.
There’s no need to invest in loads of fancy cookware when you’re just getting started. You might have to skip a few recipes in my book if you don’t have a food processor or a pot with a lid, but there will be plenty of other recipes you can try. If you’re starting with an empty kitchen, do what I did: take a trip to IKEA or your local thrift store and buy yourself a cutting board, a vegetable peeler, a can opener, and a few pots and pans of different sizes with lids—I recommend a big soup pot and a small to medium pot. Go on Amazon, where you can pick up a decently rated kitchen knife for about six dollars. Go to Dollar Tree and buy some plastic storage containers. And if you have any cash after those purchases, buy a colander, basic kitchen utensils, and some different-sized bowls.
If you have all of the above and you’re looking to level up your kitchen gear, I recommend an Instant Pot to help you quickly pressure-cook all your staples, a Vitamix to help you do things like make your own peanut butter, and a food processor to cut your vegetables and save you time. You can see some of the things I keep stocked in my kitchen at PlantBasedonaBudget.com/shop.
How to Save Money on Food
Thanks to working on Plant-Based on a Budget full-time, I’ve gotten money-saving tips down to a science. My best tip: give yourself permission to be cost-conscious with your food. I’ll take the time to bust out the calculator app on my phone while going through my clipped coupons in the grocery store. And I’m not ashamed to hand an item back to the cashier at the register because I realized it’s out of my budget. I learned this shamelessness as a child. I vividly remember on several occasions my dad holding up the line at the grocery store to ensure he got the sale price. When I’d tell him that people behind us were getting annoyed, he’d always say, “I don’t care; they don’t pay my bills.” And that’s how I feel now. If you’re having trouble giving yourself permission to be cost conscious, or if you’re feeling some embarrassment, just channel your inner George Okamoto.
Here are some of my best suggestions for stretching your dollar:
1. Bring Measuring Cups for Bulk Purchases: It may look a little silly, but this has saved me so much money. When you create your meal plan and grocery list for the week, note exactly how many cups or tablespoons of an ingredient your recipe needs. When you get to the grocery store, take a plastic produce bag and wrap a measuring cup so it’s sanitary. Then head to the bulk bins and measure out exactly what you need. This prevents unnecessary spending and also saves space in your cupboard.
2. Scrape Your Bowls: Leave no leftovers behind! Have a little bit of tomato sauce left over in the can? Freeze it and throw it in a soup. Do you have some leftover pasta on your plate? Add it to your lunch tomorrow. Every bean or lentil or piece of rice adds up. I try to avoid throwing any food away, because it feels like I’m tossing money directly into the trash can.
3. Go to Farmers Markets: Produce prices at farmers markets can vary (and truthfully, in some areas they can be expensive), but these are places where you can do some haggling. It’s best to negotiate prices right before the market ends. The selection may not be as good, but the farmers aren’t interested in lugging back what’s left, so you’re usually able to score a deal.
4. Scout Out Imperfect Produce: There are online companies selling produce for up to 50 percent cheaper than grocery stores because it doesn’t meet their cosmetic standards. Do a quick Google search to see what’s available in your area.
5. Bring a Shopping List: This tip is well-known for a reason. Shopping with intention helps cut back on impulse purchases and keeps you within your budget. I like to tally all the items I already have on hand, then make a list of whatever else I need and take that to the store.
6. Check Out Bulk Foods and Spices: When exploring your area for the best grocery store, consider the options that have bulk bins. These bins allow you to purchase as much or as little as you need, and they’re especially cost saving when shopping for spices.
7. Cook from Scratch: At the grocery store, I walk right pass the frozen vegan pizzas and remember that I can make five pizzas from scratch for the same cost. Cooking from scratch often gives you double or triple the amount of food for the same price. Plus, it allows you more flexibility to tailor your food to suit your preferences.
8. Keep Food Prepared: Any time I get really busy, Chipotle and Subway become even more enticing as quick solutions to my hunger. To avoid the crutch of fast food, I try to keep to-go snacks with me at all times. I keep peanuts in my glove compartment or some Five-Ingredient Peanut Butter Bites (see page 26) in my purse.
9. Check Price per Ounce: At first glance, two cans of tomato sauce may have the same price, but on closer inspection, you spot that one can is larger. When doing a price comparison, make sure you’re looking at the price per ounce instead of the unit price, which is often displayed on the price tag in the supermarket.
10. Look at the Whole Aisle: Like any other store, grocery stores are pushing their products to make a profit. They spotlight “sale” items on the endcaps of the aisle, offering up a deal. But when you go to the section where those products belong, you’ll often find that there are cheaper options. Also, they place more expensive options at eye level, since many people don’t take the time to look up or down to see what’s cheaper.
11. Buy Store Brands: Often the store’s own brand is the cheapest option, and these products are just as good as the major-label product. Sometimes, it actually is the same major-label product with the grocery store’s private label slapped on it.
12. Freeze Your Produce Before It Expires: Are your bananas getting spotty? Peel them, chop them, throw them in a freezer bag, and toss them in the freezer. I do the same with mangoes, peaches, berries, and so on. If you’re trying to reduce your use of plastic while saving a few pennies, reuse those freezer bags by washing them with soap and water and letting them air-dry. You can also buy reusable silicone bags on Amazon, which I love because they’re dishwasher friendly.
13. Scope Out Several Stores: The closest grocery store may not be the cheapest. Always, always shop around to scout out a few options. Visit your local international markets, check out the big-box warehouse grocery stores, and even see what’s for sale at the dollar stores. You’ll be surprised how cheap some of your favorite products may be.
14. Clip Coupons: When I was younger, my mom had an accordion folder with written tabs that organized her coupons. These days, all you need to do is download the app from your favorite stores to digitally clip their coupons. When you’re at the register, have the clerk scan your app barcode. It’s so easy and much more discreet than it used to be. You can score big at stores like Target, Sprouts, and even Whole Foods. Also, be sure to sign up for email from your favorite grocery stores to get the scoop on their sales and mobile coupons. If your inbox is overloaded, start an email account called something like “toniscoupons@gmail.com” so grocery email doesn’t spam your regular account, and check it when you go on a grocery run.
15. Cook with Friends: As mentioned earlier, this was a cost-saving tip I used when I first started cooking, and it’s a win-win for everyone, because both the labor and expense of making a meal are shared. I still do this. For example, at Thanksgiving, we have a potluck so one person doesn’t get stuck cooking everything. We choose a recipe, divide the ingredients, and make big batches for people to take home. I love this because it not only saves you money but also provides an opportunity to bond and break bread together.
16. Double Up on Sales: If you have the pantry/fridge space and you see your favorite products on sale, stock up. Do double-check check the expiration dates to make sure you have time to finish the items before they go bad.
17. Stock Up on Frozen Veggies: “Eat more vegetables” is a common dietary resolution. We’ll stock up on greens and then our schedules will get in the way, leaving everything to wilt in the fridge. Buying frozen produce fixes that. Or, if you see produce that is on a super sale, buy it and freeze it yourself.
18. Eat Leftovers: Once you’ve gotten those food storage containers from the thrift store or IKEA, put them to use. When I’m meal planning, I cook four big meals to last the entire week. Bonus: not only does this save me cash, but it also saves me time in the kitchen.
19. Splurge on Something Small: Yes, I can and do splurge, and I consider it part of my plan. I want to set myself up for long-term success in healthy, plant-based eating, and I’m more likely to stick to it if I don’t feel 100 percent deprived. Personally, I make sure to get myself a sweet or salty treat when I go shopping. It may be an item like a small bag of potato chips or a snack pack of Nutter Butters to munch on over the next week.
20. Repurpose Food: I’m forever trying to figure out ways to reuse food. Dislike bread heels? Turn them into bread crumbs or croutons (see page 233). Or have some cooked quinoa you’re not getting to fast enough? Freeze it and throw it in your next soup or chili.
21. Store Your Herbs Properly: Cooking with fresh herbs takes your dishes to the next level, but often herbs go bad in the refrigerator before you have a chance to use them. To lengthen their lifespan, trim the stems, stick them in a cup of water, and cover the cup and herbs with the plastic bag they came in. Just like cut flowers, herbs last longer in water.
22. Be Mindful of Expiration Dates: Every time you throw away expired food, picture yourself throwing dollar bills in the trash can. Because that is what you’re doing. To avoid that awful reality, be conscious of what you have and what date it needs to be used by. When you plan your meals, use up what will expire first. Sometimes it’s helpful to literally write dates on sticky notes and stick them on the food in your fridge.
23. Bake Bread: Did you know that you can bake bread using only four ingredients? It’s really cheap—much cheaper than buying it at the grocery store—and seriously delicious. If you’re new to bread baking, check out the great recipe someone posted on PlantBasedonaBudget.com called “Free Formed Bread.”
24. Ask for Cheaper Deals: Sometimes grocery stores will give discounts on bruised or imperfect produce. I’ve gotten bananas for twenty-five cents per pound just by asking, and the only thing wrong with them was a few brown spots. Find a store employee in the produce section and ask if there is any discounted ripened produce available. It’s always worth a try.
25. Check the Clearance Section: Next time you’re at Target or Walmart, swing by the clearance section. I’ve found spices for under a dollar and olive oil for two dollars.
26. Buy Only What You Need: Some people love the feeling of abundance they get from having a fully stocked refrigerator. But buying food just to fill out your fridge can also create food waste when you don’t use it up. Don’t feel pressured to keep every shelf and crisper drawer stocked. Instead, create a meal plan before you shop and buy only what you plan on using.
27. Freeze Sauces When Produce Is in Season: Apart from freezing whole fruits and veggies, a great time and money saver is to freeze sauces. Add the sauces to an ice cube tray, freeze them, and place those cubes in a freezer bag for use throughout the year. That summer-garden pesto? The marinara from your farmers market tomatoes? You’ll be able to enjoy them weeks after their season ends.
28. Watch the Screen While They’re Ringing You Up: It’s good to pay attention when your items are being scanned or keyed in, especially when you’re buying bulk items. I’ve accidentally written the wrong number and caught the cashier charging me extra. Thanks to keeping an eye on the register, I was able to get the price corrected before it went on my credit card.
29. Stock Up After Holidays: For the budget-conscious, the postholiday season is like Christmas all over again. That’s when the prices for themed items drop by 70 percent. It’s a great time to stock up. I like to buy cupcake liners for my breakfast muffins and ziplock bags for storage. I don’t mind that they feature snowmen and Santa as long as they’re saving me money.
30. Grow Your Own: If you have a backyard and can afford to plant a fruit tree, definitely do it. A healthy tree can provide you with fruit for decades. You can plant a backyard garden in planter boxes or grow a container garden on your porch. Don’t have either? Grow some fresh herbs in your kitchen. My mom, who had no gardening experience, began a small backyard garden a few years ago from seeds. She told me she saves hundreds of dollars in produce every year.
How to Save Time
A common misconception about me is that cooking is my number-one passion. The honest truth is I love eating, and cooking is a means to a (delicious) end. I’d much rather be spending time with loved ones, building my career, enjoying the outdoors, or having a million other enriching experiences. I strongly believe that time is the most valuable asset in our lives. Because of this, I want to share the time-budgeting tips I’ve discovered over the years.
1. Plan Your Meals: Use your Sunday to plan your meals for the week. That way, when your brain is exhausted after work, you don’t spend half an hour opening and closing the fridge and cupboard doors, trying to figure out what you can piece together.
2. Buy Jarred Minced Garlic: I’d walked by jarred garlic a million times at the grocery store without thinking twice. It wasn’t until I was writing my last book, in which all the prep time for recipes was done in under fifteen minutes, that I realized its supreme convenience. To me, it tastes the same, plus you don’t have to fuss around with peeling and mincing.
3. Get a Garlic Press: Skeptical about jarred garlic? If you really love fresh garlic and don’t want to risk compromising any flavor, you can still save time by using a garlic press instead of mincing by hand. Yet again, IKEA came through for me with an inexpensive and good-quality press that I’ve had for a decade.
4. Stock Up on Frozen Veggies: Not only do frozen veggies have a longer expiration date, but they’re also already precut. I always keep my freezer stocked with broccoli, peas, cauliflower, and whatever other frozen veggies are on sale.
5. Get Your Family Involved: If you live with your family or have roommates, get them to join in on the fun of cooking. Put the kids in charge of washing the veggies, have your partner chop produce, and you can make the magic on the stovetop. You can also have the arrangement that I have in my home: I cook and the eaters do the dishes.
6. Invest in a Slow Cooker: If you’re on a tight budget, I recommend visiting a thrift store and finding a slow cooker. I picked up my 1970s floral burnt orange slow cooker at Goodwill for four dollars. I love that I can cook my beans in it while I sleep; throw in some veggies, canned tomatoes, and spices before work; and have a meal waiting for me at the end of the day. Minimal effort and maximum flavor.
7. Consider a Pressure Cooker: If you have some spending money, purchasing a pressure cooker will change your life. I purchased my Instant Pot used on Amazon. It came with a huge dent on the side that didn’t disturb its functionality, and I got thirty dollars off. Now, I have quinoa in five minutes, beans in one hour, and my favorite, soup, in five minutes.
8. Learn to Love Leftovers: Batch cooking is my jam! I only want to cook full meals two or three times a week, so when I am already in the kitchen, I make it count. I will double or triple my batches so that I can have leftovers for lunch. Very rarely do I have to think about what I am going to eat for lunch because I often have leftovers.
9. Double Up on Your Prep: When you’re chopping for a recipe, chop some other vegetables while you have your knife and cutting board out. If you’re cutting an onion, chop two of them and throw one in a container to use later in the week.
10. Buy Canned Beans: I love a good batch of homemade beans, but unfortunately my schedule doesn’t always allow me to make them as often as I want to eat them. That’s why I try to make sure my pantry is stocked with a variety of canned beans. (I like pinto beans, black beans, and chickpeas.) On days when I am ultra-busy, I can take a can of beans, some store-bought salsa, and a chopped avocado and wrap them up in a burrito to have a quick and easy meal.
11. Clean as You Go: Cleaning up is the least fun part of cooking, but I find it’s much more manageable to do as you go along. Rather than waiting until the next morning, when the food is all dried and stuck to the plates, rinse it off and wash the dishes immediately after use. That will definitely save you scrubbing time.
12. Plan Your Shopping Route: When writing your grocery shopping list, try to remember to organize it by grocery store section. When I do mine, I organize it under headings such as “produce,” “bulk,” “frozen,” and “other.” This stops me from taking multiple unnecessary trips back and forth across the grocery store and makes my shopping experience much more efficient.
13. No More Peeling: Stop peeling your carrots, cucumbers, potatoes, zucchini, and so on. Not only will you be saving time by doing this, but you’ll also be saving all the nutrients that are stored in the peels.
14. Meal Swap with Friends: Have a friend at work who likes to cook? Work out a deal where once a week each of you will double-batch a meal and bring the extra to work the next morning for a trade. Maybe you can even gift your friend this cookbook to ensure that what you’re getting is healthy and plant-based. ;-)
15. Keep Bouillon Handy: If you don’t want to make your own vegetable broth (see page 242), keep a couple of packages of vegetarian bouillon in your pantry. You can also keep a jar of Better Than Bouillon.
16. Prep Breakfast Beforehand: Mornings are a hectic time. Make life easier by preparing in advance. You can either prepare something like Overnight Oats (see page 36) or put your smoothie fixings in a storage container so that in the morning all you have to do is dump them in the blender with some plant-based milk.
17. Invest in a Good Knife: For years, I used a hand-me-down set of Walmart knives and ones that I got from thrift stores. They were all serrated but dull knives, and it’d take me minutes to cut a carrot. I didn’t even know there was another way because those were the knives that I grew up with in my home. Recently, I finally invested in a set of six Cuisinart knives on Amazon for twenty dollars, and now I whiz through those vegetables.
18. Get to Know Your Kitchen: The more time you spend in your kitchen, the less time you’ll spend opening up random drawers trying to remember where you keep your vegetable peeler. In my kitchen, every item has a home so I waste no time looking around for where it is.
19. Make Dry Mixes: If you have time on the weekend, prep some muffin or pancake mixes to easily whip together on your busier days. Attach a sticky note saying what you still need to add. For example, if you make pancake mix, write, “still need to add 1 cup plant-based milk.”
20. Use a Compost Bowl: Keep a bowl for food scraps near your knife and cutting board. Don’t waste time or energy walking back and forth to the trash can. If you’re cutting veggies, you can save the scraps for a veggie broth (see page 242), or you can throw the unusable food waste straight into a yard waste bin so it doesn’t make your trash can stink.
Cooking Basics and Notes About This Book
Here’s a little extra information and clarification to make the recipes ahead even easier.
1. Freezing Bananas: The first time I ever froze bananas, I didn’t know I was supposed to peel them first. When I went to use them, the peelings were impossible to remove. Learn from my mistake: when your bananas are ripe (the browner, the better), peel them, thinly slice them, and put them in a freezer bag or storage container in the freezer.
2. Pressing Tofu: This is far simpler than it sounds. Here’s how to press it like a pro: slice open the package of tofu with a knife, pour out the water, slice the tofu, and wrap each slice in a clean kitchen towel while pressing the excess water out, which is absorbed by the kitchen towel. That’s all. Just get the excess water out. People also use paper towels to do it, but it’s wasteful and costs more money, so I stick to clean kitchen towels. You can also wrap the tofu in a towel and put something heavy on it like a book to press it for a few minutes while you prep other things.
3. Making Vegetable Broth: I exclusively use richly flavored bouillon cubes when I cook, and I mostly do a 2:1 ratio of cups of water to bouillon cubes. You’re welcome to use low-sodium broth, but remember that it won’t be as flavorful, and you may want to add some other spices to make up for it. You can also use the broth on page 242.
4. Using Water Versus Oil: There’s a huge spectrum of cooking preferences and my audience includes all of them. To cater to everyone, I have added both oil options and no-oil options to recipes in which ingredients are sautéed. If you don’t use oil, in every recipe that calls for oil for sautéing, you can swap each tablespoon of oil for 3 tablespoons of water.
5. Rinsing Beans and Grains Well: One time I was doing a “What I Eat in a Day” video on my YouTube channel and bit into a pebble that had made its way into my split pea soup. I even showed the offending pebble in my video. That’s to say, it’s important to rinse your staples like beans, lentils, quinoa, and split peas before you use them.
6. Steaming Veggies: When I started cooking, I only knew how to boil veggies, so I want to make sure I give you some instruction on how to steam. If you can afford it, I recommend picking up a steamer basket to put in your pot with a lid. Then you’ll fill your steamer basket with your choice of veggies, make sure there’s water in your pot, cover it, and steam for 3 to 5 minutes or until your veggies are tender. If you don’t have a steamer basket but you have a pot with a lid, you can “steep” your veggies in a little bit of water. That means add your veggies and enough water to cover the bottom of the pot, cover with a lid, and cook on low for 5 minutes or until the veggies are tender.
7. Using Salt and Pepper, to Taste: As I mentioned, my audience drastically varies in taste preference, so I’m leaving the sodium up to you. What “to taste” means in my recipes is add salt until it tastes good to you. That said, if you’re a big salt lover, I recommend reducing the amount of salt you use, and I promise your palate will change to accommodate this. And your body will thank you.
8. “Testers’ Tips”: It was important to me to have a diverse group of people testing my recipes. They were spread out all over the country and varied in age by about fifty years. Some were expert chefs and some never cooked. And most were not vegan—or even vegetarian. I’m thrilled with the wonderful, detailed feedback they offered, and I tried to share as many of their insights as I could.
9. “My Tips”: If you flipped through my cookbook collection, you’d find that I scribbled all over them. I wrote which days I made certain recipes, how they were modified based on ingredients I had handy, and whether or not I’d make them again. I’ve had some of my cookbooks for over a decade, and I still refer to the notes I made back then. That’s why I included “My Tips”—to encourage you to do the same. I really want this book to be something that has food splattered all over it and is all marked up, because that’s an indication you’ve really put this book to use. Make my recipes your own.
My Vegan Cooking Staples
My goal with this book is to help you spend the least amount of time and energy in the kitchen, while still serving delicious and nutritious meals. To help you cut some corners on time, I’ve given you time-saving tips for cooking and stocking your kitchen. Now I’m taking that a step further and giving you a quick grocery list you can take to the store to stock up on all the basics.
Note that if you prefer using homemade beans and fresh produce, that is totally fine. The recipes I provide are designed to keep prep time to a minimum, but all of them are flexible and easily modified—just make sure to budget extra time for cooking and prep if you’re using different ingredients. And note that one can of beans is about 1½ cups.
Affordable Dry Staples
Barley
Beans (black beans, pinto beans, and chickpeas)
Brown rice
Bulgur wheat
Corn tortillas
Flour (whole wheat and all-purpose)
Oats
Pasta
Raisins
Raw sunflower seeds
Red or green lentils
Vegetable bouillon
Canned or Bottled Goods
Chopped tomatoes
Coconut milk
Hot sauce
Oil (olive and canola or vegetable)
Peanut butter
Plant-based milk
Soy sauce
Tomato paste
Tomato sauce
Fruits and Veggies
Bananas
Bell peppers (green)
Butternut squash
Cabbage (green and red)
Fresh greens (lettuce, spinach, or kale)
Frozen broccoli
Frozen or fresh berries
Frozen peas
Frozen spinach
Jarred minced garlic
Onions (red, white, and yellow)
Potatoes (russet and sweet potatoes)
Spices
Cinnamon
Chili powder
Cumin
Curry powder
Oregano
Pepper
Red chili flakes
Salt
Staples for When You Splurge
Dried fruit (cranberries, coconut shreds, apricots, blueberries, etc.)
Nutritional yeast
Nuts and pumpkin seeds
Quinoa