Raw Vegan

[Sian]

I am changing my eat habits to mostly raw vegan. I find that it's easier for digestion and it doesn't leave me lethargic. I've also noticed that for others a side effect is weight loss which for me is a big deal since I'm in the military.

My question is are there any raw vegans out there that are struggling financially and what have they done to reduce the cost of foods? Or is it actually a lesser cost of foods that you have experienced if you've changed over to raw vegan after you started getting your finances together?

This is the only eating plan where I don't experience a lot of adverse effects versus the regular meat eating plans that I have done in the past. I'm slowly phasing foods out of my diet and the worst is a particular chinese restaurant that I happen to love going to in which the foods would last me several days.

My main issue with food is that I tend to overeat and I find that with the raw vegan lifestyle, I can "overeat" as much as I want and the caloric intake won't be tramatic (weight gain).

This is something recent that I'm doing (past months of playing with vegetarian/vegan and the last few days of playing with raw vegan ideas).

Also a question: do you have any tips for me or more websites that can be recommended.

Thanks!

[GrimJack]

The only tip I can offer is from a friend of mine who followed the same diet - she would cook her rice so long and slow that it could still be sprouted when she was done. Her version was a little different as she was only ate 'live' food like fruit, raw nuts.

[gogirlanime]

I'm not a raw vegan but I am vegan. At first the adjustment is a little pricey but as you go along it is actually cheaper. Just purchase your produce and other food goods at the most inexpensive place you can find. Shop when stuff is on sale, and if you can, use coupons. Stick to it and a raw vegan diet is either less expensive or the same cost as a "regular" diet.

[TheKayla]

I'm a vegetarian that follows a vegan diet most of the time. I've been trying to get more raw foods in my diet as well. It will probably be more expensive than a typical vegan diet, but I've always found overall that eating vegetarian, and especially vegan foods, is a lot cheaper than the SAD anyway. Obviously produce is cheaper for the equivalent amount of nutrition and volume than any processed food or animal product.

A few things I can suggest based on my somewhat limited experience is:

- Eat lots of leafy greens -- you'll probably know by now that health-wise thats important in a raw vegan diet because of all the iron, protein, etc. For those, check for differences in prices. I can usually find spinach or herb blends in bulk for a lot cheaper than kale for example. If you look up the nutritional facts, you'll see that they're incredibly similar anyway so you can go with the cheaper options.

- Aim for more veggies than fruit proportionally -- veggies are cheaper.

- Do research on what food sources have what nutrition so you can make informed decisions to a balanced diet while at the same time price comparing.

- At least where I live, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and local coops have the cheapest produce for the most part, despite them having typically higher prices in many other processed and specialty foods they carry.

- If needed, adjust your budget in other areas. While I do pay attention to my food budget, I will always allow it to be more flexible than other areas. I'd rather have healthy food, organic food in foods where it counts, and fresh food than even cable. I'd rather have cheaper housing, and cheaper vacations in return for a healthy body. It's important to me, and a healthy diet is a daily choice so it has greater priority in my budget. Obviously you'll be eating out less and not getting as many expensive processed foods anyway through the transition and that will save you some, but you may just need to readjust your budget to accommodate for buying fresher foods.

- Don't get caught up in all the raw hype with special vitamins and powders. It can be just as gimmicky as any other diet trend in the past. It's a diet that I feel is really healthy when done correctly, but of course, you're going to get food brands putting that 'raw' or 'living' label on everything and rack up price. Watch out for that -- just each lots of things straight from the produce section and not much more!

- Are you in a location where you could grow a garden? What about growing a few things even indoors? I've tried a few times gardening and always fail, but it's definitely something I've always wanted to learn. My dad grows a big garden every summer, and every time I get back home I come back to my place a few days later with TONS of free food. Every gardener I know seems to have an excess of food that they need to just end up giving away each summer. I bet if you learned the gardening skill you'd get through most of it yourself and all for basically free, minus some seeds and gardening supplies. I've even dabbled in re-growing food from kitchen scraps. You can do it will the bulb of celery, garlic, potatoes, obviously you can sprout seeds yourself, etc. Just do a quick Youtube stuff, almost seems like a fun hobby to take up. Farmers market's and the like are also good places to find stuff on the cheap as well!

- Yes nuts and sees will be more expensive, and you'll definitely need them in your diet for important fats, b vitamins, and different types of protein (with different amino acids). However, just remember you're not spending money on dairy, eggs, and meat anymore. Nuts and seeds are replacing those macros (with added nutrition! ), and there's hardly a cost difference there, in fact I'd say nuts and seeds are significantly cheaper since you don't have to eat as many at a time to reap the benefits.

[Sian]

Thanks for the info. I figured that the chances of groceries costing less overall would be a definite.

Just wanted to address a few things:

Eating my greens (thanks Mom LOL)

I juice so I can blend my foods with lots of veggies fortunately.

Always researching. I love to look things up.

There isn't a Trader Joe's her but there is a sorta farmers market that I go to but Wal-Mart is sometimes cheaper or going to Sam's Club (my Dad has a membership so I go under his account)

Food is the most important to me and I'm trying to learn to make a few things here and there or at least blend a couple of things together so that it lasts longer. It's a learning experience...

I don't have cable although I have internet. I make do with Netflix and Hulu. Plus I have a roommate that pays half the rent so it's doing well.

I have regular vitamins and B-12 and Magnesium. Other than that I don't do anything else right now.

Unable to grow a garden (live in an apartment and the weather isn't conducive for that right now if I tried to do it on the patio. But my SIL has a GORGEOUS garden which I'm thinking about "tactically acquiring" some of her produce LOL. I do have a way with plants but I'm to garden the way that I would prefer to.

I'm thinking that in the long run that I'll have to get to know some farmers and get produce directly from them. Or possibly find a community garden where I can grow food more abundantly.

[Sean_DeSilva]

If you/re really trying to save money, you can save a lot by not buying organic. Obviously avoiding pesticide residues is best if possible, but Dr. Joel Fuhrman mentions in his book that almost all the studies that extol the benefits of various fruits and vegetables were done on produce grown using conventional farming techniques.