Perhaps you are considering going vegetarian or perhaps you have recently made the switch. You’ve been looking at vegetarian recipes and they all seem to contain a hundred different ingredients that you need to get from an expensive health food store. Fear not, here is how to be vegetarian on a budget!

Whole foods are your friend

You may be tempted by all of the meat replacement products. There are so many of them out there these days – sausages, burgers and even nuggets! But they can come with a big price tag.

Try choosing whole foods instead. Not only will this save you some money, but it can also help you to add extra nutrients and fibre into your diet.

Choose beans and lentils

Beans and lentils are an incredibly cheap source of protein. They are also high in fibre. You can buy them either canned or dried and add them to your rice bowls, salads and soups.

Here are two of my favourite recipes that incorporate beans and lentils:

Tofu is another cheap source of protein

Tofu is a plant-based source of protein that is incredibly budget friendly. I recently bought a block of tofu for $1.88!

I know that tofu gets some hate for being bland. But the great thing about it is that it soaks up all the flavour that you add to it. I like to shred extra firm tofu with a cheese grater and add it to stir fries. The smaller pieces soak up more sauce and crisp up nicely in the pan.

I also like to dice my tofu and air fry it to make it extra crispy. I use crispy tofu in my Spicy Peanut Salad. The spicy peanut sauce makes it anything but boring!

Batch cook soups and stews and freeze them for later

One thing I like to do at the end of each week is to see what vegetables I have left over and make them into a soup or stew. This not only reduces food waste and saves me money, but also allows me to stock my freezer with nutritious meals that I can grab on busy days.

Here are a couple of my favourites:

As you can see, it is possible to be vegetarian on a budget!

If you would like some nutrition advice tailored specifically to you and your needs, I would love to work with you! You can book a free discovery call here or email me at hello@hannahbristownutrition.com