Tortilla Strata
Eating cheap sometimes means things like mac and cheese or ramen noodles, but now you can put a lot more excitement on your plate (and in your stomach) thanks to Vegan on the Cheap* by Robin Robertson. I'm happy to say that I was a tester for this book. I'm not always as cost-conscious as I could be when grocery shopping, but this book makes it easy. There's no sacrificing in flavor, either. Amazingly, all of the dishes in this book break down to less than $2/serving and most of them are a whole lot less.
Here's a sampling of what you can feast on while still keeping your budget in check. Up top, is the Tortilla Strata. I've tried a bunch of these layered Mexican casserole style dishes, and really think this one is one of the best. It's got lots of room for improvisation and is great comfort food.
Cajun Spiced Po'Boy
Made with wonderfully seasoned seitan, any fan of a po'boy will love this New Orleans sandwich.
Korean Cabbage Salad with Tofu
So fresh! And perfect for the nicer weather creeping across the country. The cabbage gives a perfect crunch that makes the tofu shine. The Asian flavors really deliver.
Corned Seitan
While it's perfect for St. Patrick's Day exactly as it's written in the book, I like this seitan so much that I've dropped the vegetable part and make the seitan all the time to keep in the freezer. That way, we can have reubens within minutes. This reuben is the closest rival to the famous reuben served at Chicago Diner that I've ever enjoyed.
Corned Seitan Reuben
This book has loads of cost-saving and time-trimming measures to make your trips to the grocery store less stressful and your time in the kitchen more fun. The grocery shopping tips are especially helpful, with suggestions such as postponing your grocery shopping trip, one of my favorite habits. The recipes are organized with Soups and Stews, Salads, Noodles (great for expanding your horizons with the always economical noodle), Skillets, Bakes and Casseroles, Pizza, Burgers and Sandwiches, Slow Cooker recipes, and of course desserts. There's no need to get in a food rut just because you're a little strapped for cash. And for those days when you're feeling more extravagant, many of the recipe have a "splurge a little" option. You know, like for when you can't resist those new packets of daiya cheese popping up everywhere, thankfully!
With this book, saving money doesn't mean sacrificing flavor. Would you like a chance to win a free copy of Vegan on the Cheap*? Thanks to Wiley Publishing, I've got a copy to giveaway. International entries are ok! All you have to do is post something about saving money in the kitchen in the comments section. It could be your favorite low cost dish, a super cheap brand of something you found and love, or whatever. For a second chance to win, tweet about the contest and post back here to let me know. I'll do the random.org drawing around May 26th. Be sure to check back to see if you won, especially if I can't contact you through blogger. (Note: in2insight, my email to you bounced back. Please contact me to claim your cookbook!)
Good luck!
*And as always, if you're shopping at Amazon, please do it through Vegan.com to make an even bigger difference with your dollars. Don't wait to get your hands on a copy, the book is on sale right now. And check out Robin's blog for some sample recipes.
87 comments:
My freezer is my best buddy in the kitchen for keeping down the cost of eating. I buy things that are on special (and usually in bulk) and then freeze it in separate little tubs. I freeze all the water left over from steaming veggies too as this always makes such good stock for numerous dishes. Need to use coconut milk in a recipe but only half a can? Freeze the rest. Oh I could go on and on. But yep - the freezer gets my thumbs up for keeping it as cheap as possible.
My favorite money-saver is buying spices in the bulk department. I can't go back. Even organic and fair trade spices are cheaper in bulk than their pre-packaged conventional peers. Buy as much or as little as you need and save BIG.
I am so bad at saving money! I have such a weakness and love for grocery shopping.
Sara's right though - buying bulk spices is the best if you can find a good store that sells them.
That looks like another wonderful book. My cookbook shelf will break eventually!
I'm saving money by having many bulk items like canned beans and grains on hand. And I also make huge portions and freeze the leftovers, which saves time as well.
I eat lots of beans but I never buy them canned. Instead I buy large bags of dried beans, which are much cheaper, and cook them myself.
I grow lettuces, tomatoes and herbs instead of buying them. That saves money, greatly expands my selection of varieties, and I can eat them, perfectly fresh, whenever I want to.
I'm a college student so eating vegan on the cheap is a daily routine. I love buying bulk grains and dried beans- so much cheaper than the canned/packaged varieties.
I really could use this book!
real ingredients - i make my own beans for soups, hummus, white or black bean spreads, marinara sauce from real tomatoes, soups from whatever veggies are in the refrigerator - there is no reason to buy anything prepared, just stick to the veggie, grain, and tofu sections in the grocery store (come to think of it - someday i might try making my own tofu...)
i clip coupons. :-)
(i'm so obsessive over it that i tweet/facebook about them to help spread the word and help other vegans.)
The CSA we get each week helps us save a lot on veggies.
I also like to use up all the vegetables we get - for broccoli, I peel the stalks and chop them up to use, or make them into pesto with some nuts and olive oil.
Cooking from scratch also saves a lot!
Cooking at home saves SO much money! Also, we get our produce at a farmers market.
Dried beans! Cook them in big batches and freeze in cup portions for whenever you need them! Not glamorous but will save the pennies!
My husband and I are in the process of buying our first home, so we could use all the help we can get by keeping it cheap in the kitchen!!
I go to my local asian supermarket - loads of naturally vegan products, and really cheap. I also buy the veggie grab bags at my market at the weekend, and cook lots of meals right away so the produce doesn't go bad, and I have meals for the whole week.
My favorite money saving kitchen habit is buying lentils in bulk and making crock pot stews.
To save money (and create some adventure) I don't always go with a set list of produce I need. I buy what's in season and on sale and work with it.
Sometimes I can find very ripe produce as "Manager's Special." Then, I just chop it and freeze it for later.
I try to keep an organized list on my phone of what I need to buy so that I don't overbuy. If I see something on sale that I use often (tofu, grains, etc) I go ahead and buy it for future use. Just being organized makes a big difference for me!
I love shopping at sprouts farmers market (its the equivalent of whole foods but significantly cheaper). They have a great bulk bin selection with heaps of dried beans, nuts and grains. They also have a bulk spices rack but I still have the conventional spice containers, which I will definitely save and reuse for filling with bulk spices in the future.
i just bought a soy milk maker to make my own soy creamer and tofu...i think it will save me money...and i will know all the ingredients...
susan
I stick to buying whatever is on sale, grow my own herbs in my window, and go to discount grocery stores and various ethnic markets. Buying in bulk also saves a lot of money.
Tami, thanks for the giveaway. I try to shop at the local farmers' market to get in season goods and in winter, I get frozen fruit instead of the high-priced stuff from out of the country. I also loooooove leftovers. And sending my parents to Trader Joes for a grocery list of items : )
I love buying everything in bulk and storing it. In the summer I buy and freeze all the fresh produce so that I can have peaches and berries cheaply all year long!
Yay, giveaway!
My most effective money-saving habit is my CSA membership!
I pretty much do all of the above! CSA's help big time. Also buying in bulk, making extra, and relying on the freezer. The most money-saving thing I do, though, is MEAL PLANNING. This has been essential for us, and has resulted in pretty much no wasted food, and yummy meals every night!
Just tweeted about your contest. Find me twitter.com/busyhappyvegan
I find that using my slowcooker is a great way to create low cost and delicious vegan meals, and there is ALWAYS enough left over to put some in the freezer for a rainy day too. Yum!
you are just full of awesome giveaways all the time. i love to shop in the bulk bin department - just recently i found raw cashews for $4.99 a pound!!!
Thanks for the giveaway! One of the ways I save money is by going to the farmers market 30-45 minutes before closing when prices are drastically reduced on many items. The farmers don't want to take their fruits and veggies home, so they reduce the prices when it gets close to closing time.
I lost my job last year and moved back in with my steak-skip-the-potatoes dad. So I have no money to cook for me and have to use whatever is around the house. I was initially horrified by my endless diet of beans and rice, with occasional soup, but since I still have my formidable spice collection, it's given me an opportunity to experiment. I probably manage to eat on pennies a day out of the pantry, without getting totally bored. Although I do ask the parents for fruit, for the prevention of scurvy!
Thanks for the giveaway! I'm really bad at saving money in the kitchen (I love to try new things and live in a very expensive place) but I do always try to make my own hummus and buy spices in bulk.
I like to cook up big batches of dried beans and then freeze them. Super cheap, super healthy, super delicious!
hiya, Tami! i saw Vegan on the Cheap the other day and thought about picking it up but didn't know how it was. i'm so happy you posted your review, and now i'm gonna have to grab a copy for myself! i'm not the best at budgeting at the grocery store, and i really need to be more often - saving money while still eating great rocks! thanks for another rock'n give-away, too! dan & i save money by making our own breads & such & also by buying in bulk whenever we can. w00t!
make your own seitan! you can save tons of money and make all kinds of variations... it's delicious and frugal! deadly combo! deadly in a good way!
This is a total cheapskate thing to do, but I save the brine from jars of olives and the like and use it for salad dressings or seasoning tofu and that kind of thing. I don't like to tip it down the drain!
Some brilliant tips here (and great competition - your review makes this book look awesome)!!
I love the entry about reusing the brine - that's a great idea!
My tip is to reuse glass bottles. Whenever you finish a jar of jam, a bottle of tamari, or a fancy bottle of balsamic, keep those bottles, give them a thorough clean through and keep them in a box. Then when you make your own salad dressings, dips, jam, spice mix, trail mix, laundry powder, etc, or even when you just want to store some types of food instead of using plastic, look in your box for some glassware to use. REMEMBER - you already paid for the container when you bought the product, so why just throw it away? Reuse!
I always buy dried beans - what a lifesaver they are.
I plan my meals over the weekend then cook them up, package them in serving sizes, and store in the refrigerator or freezer. I always have something healthy and homemade available so I don't end up eating out or buying frozen dinners. This save me a lot of money!
ooo tortilla strata, that looks great! We have been saving lots of cash by ordering beans, nuts, etc in bulk from our local coop. Also, wheat berries to grind our own flour in the Vitamix. This plus bulk cooking for freezer meals helps tremendously.
I've found that making a meal plan really helps us save money. When we know what we'll be eating, and what's in the fridge that needs to be eaten, it really helps curb impulse spending.
Buy your spices at an Indian grocery store! Super cheap for large quantities.
I never throw anything out! If I only need half a can of something, the other half gets frozen. Also, I make my own nutmilk using raw almond butter - it takes only minutes and saves beaucoup bucks!
The best way I've found to cut down my grocery bill is shopping at ethnic markets. A slab of tofu at the grocery is something like $3.19 regular price, but only $0.89 at the asian market!
Following the "slow food" movement has saved a lot of money. I like to use dried goods that I purchase in bulk. Making Polenta Rancheros (as found in Isa's Vegan Brunch book) is a great example of this. Two cups of polenta, two cans of black beans (or make your own), and one can of tomato sauce are the essential ingredients. All inexpensive. Two of those can be purchase in bulk bins.
Ooh, I'd love to win a copy of this book! Thanks for the giveaway!
My biggest money-saving tip is to eat mainly whole foods. It seems that processed foods are what cost most, so sticking to whole foods works for me. :) That way, when it is time to splurge, the splurge feels all the more special, too.
Exellent giveaway, Tami- thanks for hosting it!
My big thing is checking the sale ads at the local markets. If I see something for (REALLY) cheap that I don't normally buy, I'll plan my meals to include it. Things like asparagus, eggplant, berries, squash, etc.
Whenever bell peppers are under $1/lb I go crazy and get a whole bagful, then chop and freeze.
Oh, and the $1 jars of sundried tomatoes at the dollar store are my BEST friend!
I shop at different whole food stores, comparing prices and knowing where to buy every product at the lowest price. Making things from scratch also saves a lot of money.
I would love to make the cheap meals from the book (and getting this book for free of course!)!
On the days that I don't work I visit several whole food stores in my town (I live in the Netherlands) to compare prices. Also: making things from scratch saves a lot of money. I would love to be able to make those cheap dinners from the book!
Hi; Mike Hipp here from Soy Candles by Phebes.
I've been reading your blog since I found you on The Urban Housewife. An amazing site. I've salivating over all the great pictures. I think I've found a new read!
Hey, I'd love to work with you for a giveaway contest as I did with TUH. Give me a yell over at mike.hipp@gmail.com if you're interested! Your readers are, I promise :)
Dried beans! Also, I like making my own vegan mayo and soymilk.
Using dried beans is the best! That and buying bulk spices. Also I'll frequently split bigger purchases - I share a CSA share with a friend, and my mom and I frequently split CostCo purchases.
OMG, I so *NEED* this cookbook, lol! I am seriously the most frugal (okay, okay...cheap!) person I know--but with good reason. Public health nutrition isn't the field to go into to earn the big bucks, just fyi :-)
I take the time on the weekends to shop the sales. I literally go to 5-6 grocery stores based on their weekly sales ads to get the deals. AND I do it all on foot/bike because gas is so expensive, lol.
Courtney
I'd have to piggy back on to the freezer people - I always freeze any soup or curry to save for future lunches. Anything to save money and resources!
Thanks for the give-away!
Food is much more expensive here in New Zealand than when we lived in the US so I have learnt lots and lots of budget tricks since moving back, especially since returning to school full time.
We make just about everything from scratch - bread, cookies, hummus, falafel, tahini, crackers, mayo, mustard, relishes, jam, museli, seitan, burgers, etc, etc.
We have a big veggie garden and everything else we try to get our great farmers market so it is in season and hopefully cheaper.
We use the freezer a lot. If any veggies are getting a little tired and we aren't going to get to using them we prep them, blanch them and freeze them for future use.
We have no-buy weeks and just eat what we have in house.
When cook beans I freeze the extra so we don't have to buy canned for quick meals, just chuck the frozen ones in boiling water for a few minutes and you are away. I also save the bean broth (cook the beans with some bay leaves for extra flavour) and use it for stock, in bread, etc. Black bean broth is the nicest I think and can be made straight into a soup with a little flavouring and aromatics.
Great ideas everybody. We have a huge garden so we save $$ by eating in season and then eating all the food that I've canned or frozen. But here's a quick and cheap dish that we love.
Couscous and Black Beans
Put some cooked couscous on a plate.
Top with black beans, straight from the can, drained (not rinsed unless you want to) and heated.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and the secret ingredient, which is "Cajun Foreplay" spice rub by Dinosaur Marinade.
Enjoy! You can add other ingredients but it's great as is.
One money-saving thing I like to do (which I haven't done enough lately) is to pack my lunch in the laptop lunchbox. It helps me take smaller portions of leftovers and turn them into a full meal, or make lunch from odds and ends I've got hanging around instead of going out for lunch.
Baking your own goods. Saves so much money especially when everything is so overpriced these days.
~Midnite, harrypotter_rox(at)msn.com
I'm fortunate to live in an area with lots of large ethnic grocery stores. I save a lot on spices, seasonings and produce by shopping at them (only downside is lack of organic foods). Also, not shopping on an empty stomach helps me avoid the temptation to buy the expensive prepared foods, especially frozen ones. Gardening, especially tomatoes and basil, save a significant amount in the summer.
Hi, Tami! You've been chosen as the winner of the Creme Brulee Torch contest... Congratulations! I just need your mailing address.
Please email me at vegspinz@gmail.com
Baked Alaska! Yay! :)
Would love to have this book! Lots of people are saying to save money by buying what's on sale. That doesn't work for me because I end up with stuff that I'm not sure how to use together than most of it goes bad. For me I save money by going with a list for meals then I get what's on sale for snacks (usually whatever fruit is on sale that week).
Also frozen spinach is a great money saver. It takes a lot of fresh spinach to cook down to the same amount as one of those boxes of frozen spinach. I really only use fresh spinach for salads, otherwise frozen all the way! It's easier too! No cleaning and picking leaves and stuff.
i'm a freezer too. i cook up large batches of beans and brown rice and then freeze. add a little veg and it's a super quick meal.
also, that corned seitan has me intrigued.
I buy dry beans, lentils, grains, and nuts in bulk to save bucks. I'm also big on scoping sales and using coupons. Last but not least, I make my own almond milk at home - it costs less than 75 cents to make a quart of it!
How awesome, I won a contest! Thanks djspinz!
Great contest! My tips are to buy in bulk when items I know I'll use up go on sale -- I'm much less likely to run out of something that way and don't have to pay full price at the last minute. Also, bulk bins are your friends, as you can buy just a little bit of something instead of a whole package.
Love to shop for spices and such at ethnic markets. Asian & Indian are my favorites. Much more affordable and I always discover something new.
Like to use crock pot for soups and stews and also pressure cook dried beans and freeze them in serving size batches.
One way I save money is by belonging to a food co-op and order in bulk. I then keep the extra in a freezer if appropriate or store in a cool place. I also have a flour mill to grind grain into flour. I also buy my herbs in bulk and just keep small amounts in containers in my kitchen.
I try and buy stuff in bulk, which I then keep in the freezer.
i love your site. VOTC is awesome. The tortilla strata was so good, and cheap. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
I shop sales to keep my pantry and freezer stocked.
Meal planning and freezing are so important. Buying fresh seasonal produce when it is inexpensive and abundant and freezing it for a later date-
I have developed several strategies for spending less on food over the years. First, I cook my own when possible rather than using prepared items; dry beans are the perfect example. Second, I buy in bulk when it saves money; nutritional yeast is a great example. Third, I spent money on a freezer to better allow me to stock items bought at a bargain (frozen vegetables) and to freeze my own casserolesbeans, cooked grains and and baked goods so that I don't spend money on convenience items. I hope I win!
I agree with all the above comments and use most of them some of the time. I would love a book on it though, to see if there is any more corner I can cut. I think making your own vegan sandwich fillings is also a good one. I have a long list of suggestions and recipes for sandwiches on my blog if anyone is interested. Just click on sandwiches.
This book is going to be my new BFF! Since changing to vegan from vegetarian, we've seen our grocery bill go up. I live in the midwest, and eating in the summer is always cheaper because of our garden and the farmer's market. My big score today was "volunteer" strawberries growing underneath my compost bin. Sweet!
The one thing that has really saved us the most money in the kitchen is choosing a meal my husband likes and cooking a week's worth of it for his lunches to take to work. we often do this together since he likes to cook. We also make a side salad trying to use in-season and cheap ingredients from the farmer's market. I also plan out evening snacks for him such as veggie sticks and an interesting non-fat or low fat dip. I can tell you that this save us well over a hundred dollars a month or more than id we just left things to the last minute. it may seem boring but cooking it all up, portioning it out and having it all ready on monday morning make our week less stressful and leave us with more money for our savings.
I save money by making sure I utilize all the groceries I buy. I don't let food go to waste!
I love chickpeas, I can make so many things with them. Hummus, patties, chana marsala, "tuna" salad... Easy, cheap and sooo good :)
I would love to win this cookbook. One of my favorite and cheap meals as a student is beans and rice with lots of spices! yum!
grow your own produce and sprouts and shopping local and in season is a great moneysaver!
I always buy dried beans instead of canned. (Less waste, too!)
I buy nearly everything I can't get at the farmers market at our local international market. You can't beat avocados for 80 cents each or apples at 69 cents/lb. :)
Baking your own flavored tofu (Italian, Asian etc.) is much less expensive than buying tofu pre-baked and flavored. Many vegan and vegetarian cookbooks have recipes, or you can make up your own. Same thing goes for making your own seitan. I use vital wheat gluten and add appropriate liquid and other ingredients depending on what effect I'm looking for. Saves a bundle compared to the packaged seitan.
I would love to win this!
Thanks for hosting this giveaway! The book looks great and none of my local libraries carry it.
One of my favorite money-savers is Scrap Stock. I get a CSA box and try to use every bit of every veggie that comes in it. I save all my scraps - ends and tops, peels and skins - in a big ziploc bag in the freezer. When the bag fills up, I turn all those scraps into delicious veggie stock! This is a huge savings for me, plus homemade stock tastes *so* much better than the bitter stuff they sell in stores.
Here's my post on how to make scrap stock: http://inmybox.wordpress.com/2008/04/07/scrap-stock/
I buy things like quinoa, dried beans, and oatmeal in bulk. Thanks for the giveaway! I'm all for eating on the cheap.
Each weekend I make a list of exactly what we will have for meals. I buy only what we will need so that i don't ever waste anything. I also like to make double batches of soup and chilies, and make and freeze lots of pesto when my garden or the farmers market are overflowing with basil.
Saving money on food...I wish! By signing up for the e-savings and keeping an eye out for coupons at the grocery store I sometimes find great deals. Wish it was more often but every oppotunity utilized helps! Of course, farmers market and my CSA help now that summer is here :-)
I'll read through my cookbooks until I find a recipe that I have most of the ingredients for.
I freeze anything left over as soon as I can from almond milk to wine.
Lastly, it's fun to reproduce meals that I've had in restaurants at home.
My big favorite saving is stir frys. I eat them all the time. Just a mess of veggies, some tofu if I'm not lazy, water, corn starch, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, and I'm good to go! I also eat grits or couscous and steamed veggies with sauteed tomatoes. Or just a bunch of frozen veggies steamed with spaghetti sauce on them... my mouth is watering now! Those are my favorite cheap (and super easy) meals.
I buy dried beans in bulk and pressure cook them..saves time, money and energy. I also make many of my own condiments. Currently, I working on my whole-grain mustard recipe. And I have made my own sourdough starter and regularly bake bread.
I grow my own sprouts and some herbs and vegetables to save money and get great flavor.
Post a Comment