"Vegan" is more a sociological term, designating people who don't eat (or use) animal products, and that could be for environmental, ethical, animal welfare or health reasons. But, "no meat"is not nutrition. Potato chips and coke might be vegan, it is not nutritious. The Whole Foods Plant-Based diet, without added Sugar, Oil or Salt (SOS), is the nutritionally sound basis for a healthy vegan lifestyle. The focus is on #WFPB without SOS, based on the work of T. Colin Campbell in The China Study.
To me, this is as important as anything. The truth is there are too many recipes that are overly fancy, and before you know it, you end up thinking you really need all that to live plant-based, but you don't. You can start very simple.
I will discuss some sites here and leave you with some suggestions based on conditions in our own neighborhood.
Here is one great site:
https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/food/groceries/eating-vegan-on-a-budget/
But, there are plenty of ideas. It starts with buying in bulk wherever suitable.
I always like to point out that on our street in the Bangladeshi stores, there is an absolute feast of staples available...
10 lbs brown basmati rice $12-15
10 lbs onions $1.99 - $5.99, depending on the grade of onions and with seasonal variations
4 lbs red lentils $3 or 2x4 lbs for $5.
And here is a wonderful suggestion from Costco:
"People say they can’t afford to eat healthy, and it makes my eyes roll. At Costco, a 25-pound bag of pinto beans costs $8.97. I can eat for year off that bag.” (Dan Buettner, National Geographic) #Parentingtips#HealthyEatingpic.twitter.com/8CkXmnKkCB
Once you have those kinds of things in stock, and some condiments, the sky is the limit and for your other veggies you buy whats on sale/in season, and of course various fruits in between.
You start your days with steel cut oats, 30 Oz is still $3.29 at Shoprite, and I make it with a constantly varying set of fruits, usually starting with a Granny Smith Apple, and some Blueberries, some raisins and goji berry, and whatever else comes along - I usually add a banana as well.
I usually decorate it with balsamic vinegar (4% acidity) and hemp seeds.
You can also work wonders with frozen vegetables of various kinds. Or, when I find some great vegetable on sale, I might cook ahead.
Recently, Premium Halal had Okra at $1.49. Their selection of veggies is always great. In general Okra goes anywhere from $0.99/lb to $2,49 lb, depending on the shipment. It pays to watch... Okra is extremely healthy! Low on the glycemic index and high in nutrition.
Rice, one of our staples
White rice is a nutritional disaster.
White Rice is very high on the glycemic index, and basically it is stripped of the nutrition and fiber of brown rice. Yes! Magazine had a beautiful story recently about The Story of White Rice. Notice this passage:
After farmers harvest their rice, it typically goes to a mill. There, it is cleaned and the husks are taken off the grains of rice. At this point, it is referred to as “brown rice” or “unpolished” rice. Once the husk has been taken off the rice, there remain several very thin layers of wholesome bran. At this stage, the rice is full of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and protein—and very healthy to eat.
But polishing rice from so-called “dirty rice” into the sparkling white form that most people prefer has caused—yes,caused—a number of major, adverse impacts on health.
First, polishing removes most of the vitamins and minerals vital to one’s health. One example: the rice bran contains vitamin B and thiamine, both key to preventing beriberi. Indeed, in the largest World War II prison camp in the Philippines (where John’s grandfather was interned), American prisoners suffered from beriberi until they convinced the Japanese prison guards to let them cook the bran shavings that came off the polished rice; then the beriberi went away.
White rice also increases the risk of diabetes, rates of which are rising quickly in the Philippines, the United States and many other countries. The rice layers removed during polishing contain nutrients that guard against diabetes. Polished rice further contributes to diabetes risk because it causes blood-sugar levels to rise more rapidly than brown rice does. According to theNew York Times, a2010 Harvard studyshowed that people who consume white rice at least five times a week “are almost 20 percent more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than those who eat it less than once a month.” In our travels in the Philippines and the United States, we meet people who are shifting to brown rice on their doctors’ orders precisely because of concerns about diabetes.
And polishing rice also reduces the protein content of the rice, which can mean the difference between being well-nourished or malnourished. The bottom line on all of these health fronts is the same: the more polished the rice, the less healthy.
from: The Story of White Rice
Brown rice is healthy, black and red rice even better...
Here's for the selection of Basmati Brown Rice at Al Aqsa:
Basmati Brown Rice in 4lb, 8 lb and 10lb packs. The Shimla Road Brown Basmati is $6.99 for 4 lbs and $14.99 for 10 lbs, Deer Organic Brown Basmati is $14.99 for an 8 lbs bag. Neerob Bazaar, by the Bx22 bus stop carries Swad Brown Basmati for $12 per 10 lbs. Take your pick. Brown Rice from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan is the healthiest you can get because of lower arsenic levels. In the US, I would trust Lundberg rice the best.
Brown versus white
The bottom line? Brown rice versus white reduces the diabetes risk by 16%, and a significant reduction in the risk of colorectal cancer and, for that matter, red, purrple and black rice may be even better, so you might explore some variety:
Different varieties at Chang Li Supermarket:
Rice blend
Black Rice
Onions, another daily staple
Canadian Onions on the left, US Onions on the right.
The US onions go for $2.99 for a 10 Lb bag, and the Canadian onions, such as Onio and Vegco, go for $4.99 for 10 lb. It all varies a bit with the seasons. I've seen the Canadians for as little as $3.99 and sometimes more than $4.99 too. The US onions I've seen as low as $ 1.99 at times.
In short, with $15 to $20, you can have 10 lbs of high quality rice and 10 lbs of quality onions, then you can add various lentils, chick peas and beans, and that is most of what you need for staples for the month and you only need to add fresh fruit and vegetables.
