Cook for Good Community Forum > Vegan challenge
Thanks so much, Mamacheese! You're so right that batch cooking works beautiful for one or two people. I love being able to enjoy my own frozen "fast food" on busy days.
I've been working on the Fresh Start Challenge menus this morning. We're going to have a tasty time! So glad you will be taking part!
... Linda
Linda Watson
Hi Linda!
I've been "flexitarian" as you described (lol, ribs or rude!) for a few years now. My new years resolution was to go all out vegan. I'm sad to report, I couldn't do it because of finances. (It's not all food finances- I mean, for many reasons Im brokedy broke broke broke!) As in so broke I report in to a financial counselor twice a month broke. Who scolds me on my food and dog expenses.
I dusted your book off my shelf, and tried to make a plan to get into the winter menus. Im willing to work/ cook to make this happen. (It's alot better than eating bread and soy powder for days on end when money runs out.) And if it came down to eating cheese and dairy again, I was ready to do it, despite my doctor telling me I ABSOLUTELY needed to get my cholesterol down, praying that my guardian angels could maybe guide me through the risky streets of cheap food and poor health.
Out of curiousity, I checked out your website (Thank God, yes I still have the internet- no tv, no cable, no bed but...) I was THRILLED to see you had vegan menus. I was ready and rare'n to go. But I added up all your two week shopping list and it's around $170! There's no way that's $5 a day. What about week 3 or week 4, or heck, the alleged "favorites" Im supposed to supplement week one with? (My favorite right now is a hot cooked meal in general, you know what I mean?)
Ma'am, I love your writing, I think you're the worlds most brilliant cook and your way of mapping things out is practical and real-life oriented. But- what am I missing? There is no way on God's green that my counselor is going to be cool with $170 for two weeks. Help?
kkidd
Okay, Im still thinking about it. Are the shopping lists for two or four people? Your expiriments in the book were for two people...I mean, as a single person this could potentially be enough food for 2 months?
kkidd
Dear Kkidd -- Thanks so much for writing and with such great questions and kind words.
(((HUG))) I was thinking of one of my relatives who is in a similar position to yours when I was righting the book. How could I help her and help you? Your budget counselor and your doctor will love where this cooking style takes you! Brew a cup of tea (7 cents organic!) and read below for some answers. If you have more questions or comments, please post again.
Yes, the shopping lists are for four people.
I was surprised and delighted to find that vegan turns out to be a little less expensive than my classic menus that use dairy and eggs. You don't need go back to high-cholesterol foods to save money!
And the meals do come out to $5.22 a day per person counting only the ingredients used in those meals. When you use 2 teaspoons of olive oil to make tomato sauce, count the cost for those two teaspoons (12 cents), not the whole bottle ($11.99). The price of a bottle of oil is spread out over a month's worth of meals.
Because the shopping lists focus on core ingredients that can be used in lots of recipes, you wind up using all the ingredients in something eventually, with no waste. I do a lot of juggling to leave as little as possible on the shelves at the end of each month, but some things you only need to buy twice a year, like baking soda.
My shopping lists include everything, even salt. You probably already have lots of the ingredients at home. But I wanted to show what it would cost someone who was starting with nothing. Some of the SNAP Challenges say you don't have to count the cost of condiments. But what's a condiment? I've seen people make tomato soup out of ketchup and lemonade out of lemon wedges and sugar packs at restaurants.
Try getting out the book and looking at the cost per meal in the seasonal menus.
In the next few days, I'll post the full menu for the second week of the challenge. Since you've got Wildly Affordable Organic, though, you could just start right in with the winter menu in the book. If you are cooking for one, then it will be easy to just buy and cook half of what's on the shopping lists and in the cooking plans and cook half as much too. For example, make up a half batch of Good Whisk Bread, bake one loaf one week, keep the extra dough in the fridge, and bake it the next week.
Give it a try and let me know how you are doing!
... Linda
Linda Watson
YOU are so kind! Well, this is just exciting.
I've taken some deep breaths, some big girl pills, and a complete inventory of the kitchen. I've got my shopping list (and coupons with attack plan) ready to go tomorrow!
kkidd
I am SO proud of you! Hope everything goes really well & you find sales to go with your coupons!
... Linda
Linda Watson
I have found that the Black And Decker Rice Cooker will let you eat inexpensively delicious meals. It seems to help me save a lot of money. Maybe you should have a look at it. It may just help you out too.
lovingcooking
I have been using your your book and the plans since this past summer. I took the summer challenge unoffically and loved it. I did not follow it through the holidays but am looking forward to the getting back on track with the new challenge and going vegan this time. Thank you for making the adaptions and I am eager to try them! I am in the process of going through my book and making notes on your suggested swaps for ingredients.
I am single and for the first three weeks cooked according to the plans and then froze the leftovers. Then for the next several weeks I had very little to cook-just warmed things up out of the freezer. Wonderful!!