Vegetarians: what are some cheap items I can buy to cook?

For all of you vegetarians who know how to budget:



I have been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for a few months now, and I started out with buying lots of fresh ingredients to make meals (such as dinner bruschetta with eggplant ragu) I got out of Fitness, Self, and Shape magazines. That started getting expensive quickly, and ingredients (such as fresh parsley and rosemary) started going bad before I could use them.



The past few weeks I've taken to buying Odwalla Protein Monsters and protein bars, and Gardein and Morningstar Farms frozen products. I buy vegetarian waffles and healthy snacks from Whole Foods Market, and that, too, gets pricey. I don't want to live on pre-made stuff. I have lost weight, but I am concerned about the repercussions of not having enough "fresh" fruits and vegetables. For example, yesterday I had two waffles with syrup and milk, and then ordered a vegetarian pizza from a pizza place. Today I had an Odwalla Chocolate Protein Monster for breakfast, and had some leftover vegetarian pizza for lunch, and homemade cheese enchilladas for dinner. See, no fruits or vegetables.



What are some items that last longer than a week, are wholesome, and cheap?Vegetarians: what are some cheap items I can buy to cook?
Steer clear of those inside aisles (even at Whole Foods), unless it's for legumes (dried peas, lentils, beans, etc.) and whole grains like barley and oatmeal. The more you shop from the produce aisle (and not the frozen food or packaged food aisles), the better. Those bars are BOGUS, refashioned junk-food, and unless you're a serious athlete who needs a carb/protein boost before your pentathlon, I'd skip them altogether. Some of them are LOADED with things that are worse for you than meat. Same thing goes for all those pseudo-green "Pirate Booty"-type of snacks. Pure crap, I don't care what "quality" of ingredients they use or if they're vegan/vegetarian. You might as well just go get a bag of potato chips. They're vegan! Get yourself off the designer-hippie processed food and the junk food that doesn't happen to have any meat in it--but is still junk food. It's a trap and it's ok once in a while (like any junk food), but you shouldn't think of it as a meal. Stock your house with real food (bananas, apples, clementines, grapes, plain yogurt, nuts, hard-boiled eggs, and Wasa/Ryvita all have a long shelf-life) and don't give yourself the option of eating junk or processed/frozen stuff in the morning; eat oatmeal and/or fruit or even beans on toast instead. For dinner, make pots of soup/stew with barley and lots of vegetables, and include plenty of leafy greens; it's ok to buy smaller bags of salad that will last a few days, instead of having a head of lettuce going bad in your fridge. Have things like peanut butter and hummus around to snack on. Watch out for all the cheese. Sure, you're getting protein, but you're also getting a lot of saturated fat, which is not good, especially if you're not getting any fiber. Make sure you combine carbs for protein (corn and beans, wheat and dried peas, etc.), and don't fall into the traps that Whole Food$ has lying in wait for you. They're there to make money, not to make you healthy.
Dried legumes are as cheap as it gets! Go to allrecipes.com and search for their Brazilian Black Bean soup recipe. It's insanely cheap, delicious, filling, and nutritious. When buying produce, go by what's on sale, and plan your meals around that, instead of planning meals, and having to buy out of season produce. Right now squash is dirt cheap in my area, so we're eating a good amount of that.Vegetarians: what are some cheap items I can buy to cook?
legumes in bulk dry form. Always the cheapest food on earth. Freeze herbs in ice cubes to retain the nutrients. Cook potato and leek soup and freeze, then add the herbs when heating them up.

Leeks, spinach, kale, cabbage- make soup and stews, and freeze.

Oranges, potatoes, apples are cheap right now.
Frozen vegetables my dear! They last long and they can be pretty tasty if cooked right. Of course canned beans, rice and pasta are cheap and quick to mix with things..Vegetarians: what are some cheap items I can buy to cook?
I would invest in a couple of items first to take the stress out of cooking at home %26amp; make it easy %26amp; less labor intense. The 2 things are a a 4-5 cup rice cooker, %26amp; a crock pot, (the one 3-1/2 qt ). With the crock pot make sure it has a power knob that has a hi, lo %26amp; off setting, %26amp; most important, has a removable pot (makes it very easy to clean). Then invest in some staples, like rice, pasta, dry beans (have a variety of them). Oh yes, an electric pressure cooker is another great investment, but it is kind of expensive. (I got mine for $60 10 yrs ago.) But look up on the internet, there are some very good ones out there. The crock pot I got for $10 at KMart (what can I say), %26amp; the crock pot costs a penny an hour to work. Also get some dried herbs %26amp; spices. Then You can use any combination of the beans, pasta, rice %26amp; spices along with the fresh green veggies (the frozen ones work just fine) %26amp; set up your soup or stew in the crock pot, %26amp; set it %26amp;forget it. It'll cook slowly %26amp; evenly %26amp; You will have a load of time free to do whatever you want to do. Also I use a lot of bottled pasta sauce, the lo sodium variety, I buy it when it is 89 c for a big bottle, %26amp; then I add my own herbs %26amp; veggies of choice to it.

I swear by the Maggi noodles (the quick cooking noodles) I can't stand the whole wheat kind, so I stick with the regular kind. Here is what I do to make it healthy. I cook 1 packet of noodles (1 serving) I cook it in 1/3 cup of water with only half of the seasoning from the packet that is in it. Then I heat 1-2 tablespoon of oil %26amp; season it with 1 whole dry red chili., %26amp; add a clove of garlic (crush it first). Then I add a 10 oz. pack of frozen vegetables (I thaw them by putting them in tap water %26amp; then draining it well.) Saute every thing till hot %26amp; almost cooked. Many times I also add to it some fresh greens like spinach, bak choy, mustard greens, %26amp; sometimes tofu too. When all this is hot %26amp; cooked, I add 1 couple of teaspoons of low sodium soy sauce, some chili sauce %26amp; a splash of rice wine vinegar. Mix it well. Then toss in the cooked noodles %26amp; toss them to mix them well %26amp; get them hot. This makes enough to make 3 servings. Many times I use it for all the 3 meals of the day. You can also add to it shredded omlette if you eat eggs. It is awesome. Even my family %26amp; friends keeps asking me if I've made that, they then invite themselves over. Trust me, it is simple %26amp; delicious, %26amp; well balanced too.

You can also add to this some of the canned stuff like water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, baby corn, %26amp; canned or fresh mushrooms. Just remember to drain %26amp; rinse the canned stuff first.

The smoothies %26amp; the bars you are talking about are not the solution. They can be kept as a stand by for strictly emergency situations, but not as a daily routine. This will leave you money for fruits %26amp; salads too. %26amp; weight loss happens when you eat less %26amp; work more, not because you are a vegetarian. Good luck.
i dont know about lasting longer than a week but i buy a 3 pack of romaine hearts and a small bag of baby spinach about once a week and have a salad once or twice a day. i genuinely enjoy making a salad bar worthy salad , chick peas,olives, shredded carrots, croutons, bac-os(which are vegetarian) and i use maries yogurt blue cheese or ranch , both taste nothing like yogurt. vegetarinism should not break the bank. a grilled cheese or slice of cheese pizza plus a salad is a perfectly fine dinner. likewise a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or cheese and crackers with an apple or a bunch of grapes, is much more cost effective lunch than take-out. and because you are lacto ovo you can add deviled eggs!