A myth I often hear is that it’s too expensive to go plant based.

But it actually isn’t – at least it shouldn’t be. 

It all depends on how you’re doing it…

If you’re crowding out meat and dairy, both of which are high price ticket items, then realistically your grocery bill should go down. However, what you’re adding in might be costing you more.

4 ways to keep costs down:

CHOOSE WHOLE, NATURAL FOODS OVER PACKAGED AND PREPARED FOODS.

Packaged foods, faux meats and premade meals are more expensive than fresh, whole fruits and vegetables, grains, beans, seeds and nuts. If you’re basing your plant based eating on these items, your food bill will definitely go up. 

FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR FREEZER.

Frozen veggies and fruit are just as nutritious as fresh and won’t spoil if you don’t use them all. Batch cook meals like soups, stews, burgers and snacks like energy bites and freeze them in individual size servings so you have them ready to go for busy days and don’t need to buy packaged (more costly) ones.

PLAN. PLAN. PLAN.

This doesn’t mean spending all hours of your weekend batch cooking, but taking 15 – 20 minutes a week to plan out your meals, noting the days you will and won’t have time to cook, and making a clear grocery list will keep you from buying unnecessary items or wasting food.

TRY NEW THINGS ONE AT A TIME.

When you first start eating plant based, you might be tempted to buy everything that looks good and is labelled “plant based” or “vegan”. I did it too. It’s easy to get caught up, especially with new plant based foods popping up everyday, however a lot of it usually ends up as waste. I recommend trying one or two new things at a time to see what you like.

There you go my friend, myth busted — plant based eating doesn’t’ have to be expensive.

Keep these 4 tips in mind and more money in your pocket – ideally for a great trip somewhere you’ve been dreaming of.

Ps. If you’re new to eating plant based and feeling overwhelmed, get my 8 simple swaps to start eating plant based for easy, healthy ways to get started.