College Vegan on a Budget: A New Low

One college vegan’s mission to save money while still maintaining her clean eating standards.

I’ve really been needing to reign in my spending habits lately. Between a $40 iHerb purchase last week (mostly necessary, but some were impulse buys to get the free shipping), picking up a few personal care items at Target the other day that set me back $30 (including some heavier free weights–woohoo, I’m progressing!) and going out to eat a few times with friends (not a bad things, since I need to get more comfortable with this), the last thing I needed was a giant grocery bill this weekend. And luckily, I was smart with my spending and walked away spending just over $80 for the week. This has become my new weekly goal, so let’s see if I can hit it more often than not!

Sprouts buys under $30.

*=organic

Sprouts

What I Got: dried apple rings, Medjool dates, hazelnuts (for vegan healthy Nutella–stay tuned!), Kevita strawberry acai coconut probiotic drink*, raw cacao powder* (this brand was much cheaper than my fave Navitas Naturals), poppy seeds, cilantro, jalapeno peppers, Wholly Guacamole avocado verde salsa (one of the best salsas I’ve ever had!)

What I Spent: $26.86

Verdict: Again, Sprouts can be a big money saver. The salsa was literally $1–and it’s the best $1 I’ve ever spent! They have the cheapest nothing-added dried fruit and nut selection and their produce is dirt cheap, but is just as good as anywhere else. 

Whole Foods haul under $55.

Whole Foods

What I Got: Kale Krunch cheezy chipotle kale chips*, 365 brand light coconut milk x2*, cashew butter, liquid smoke (for eggplant “bacon”), WFM brand almond oil, Hail Merry vanilla maple almonds, Hail Merry raw chocolate macaroons and chocolate tart, raspberry balsamic vinegar, Thai curry cashew mix, raw cashew pieces (on sale!), raw vegan brownie, pineapple chunks (also on sale), eggplant*

What I Spent: $53.47

Verdict: One of my cheapest Whole Foods trips for weekly staples ever! I even bought a few splurge-y items (ahem, raw desserts!) but still stayed under $60 and got a lot of things that will last awhile and stuff I needed for recipes I want to try out. 

What’s the best salsa you’ve ever had? What new recipes have you been trying out? 

Recipe Redux: (Raw) Vegan Jalapeno Poppers

So I’m bringing back an old old favorite of mine, just in time for Superbowl Sunday. To be honest, I don’t really care that much about the game, especially since the Broncos aren’t in it (they were so close…) but I’ll probably be rooting for the 49ers since I’ve actually been to San Fran and am definitely considering moving to the area at some point. Anyways, the Superbowl is all about the snacks anyway for us foodies–but what if you want healthier options than the typical chips and dip or buffalo wings? Being vegan also takes many of those traditional snacks out of the equation, but that doesn’t mean you can’t remake them to enjoy a healthy, plant-based option.

I used to love jalapeno poppers as a kid. I’ve been a huge fan of spicy foods for most of my life and the combo of a jalapeno and (fake) cheese was perfect for my picky tastebuds. I haven’t had them in years for obvious reasons but I still have a love for fresh jalapenos and have been wanting to remake them into a vegan version. I’m definitely not the first to think of this as there are plenty of other vegan poppers out there but I really wanted a whole foods-based option so I made my own…and they just so happen to be raw!

‘Nuff said!

Vegan Jalapeno Poppers (vegan, gluten free, grain free, can be raw)

4-5 large jalapeno peppers

1/3 cup raw cashews, soaked for 4-6 hours

raw apple cider vinegar, to taste (adds tangy, cream cheese-like flavor)

sea salt, to taste

1-2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1-2 tbsp almond meal or flour

Rinse off jalapenos and slice in half. You can reserve some of the seeds if you want the poppers to be hotter; if not, just discard the seeds. Remove the ribs from the peppers. In a food processor, blend cashews, ACV, salt and nutritional yeast. Add more nooch and ACV to taste, and add enough water to blend (but make sure it’s thick, like cream cheese). Spoon cashew cheese mixture into each jalapeno half, and top with enough almond flour to cover. 

Raw Version: place jalapeno halves right side up in a dehydrator and dehydrate for 1-2 hours or until warm. 

Baked Version: heat oven to lowest setting, place jalapeno halves on foil-lined baking sheet and cook until warmed and browned (keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn).

What’s your favorite game day snack? Do you like things spicy? 

Recipe submitted to Healthy Vegan Friday #29.