Meatless Monday Ideas for the Budget-Crunched – One Green Planet

Going meatless more often this year, or meatless already? Great! Whether you’re new to this idea and on a low budget or you just want to save some money on your grocery bill, you’ll be glad to know that meatless is already an easy way to reduce your food costs. Per serving, meat is much higher in costs than vegetables or plant-based proteins like beans, legumes, some seeds, and grains. Meat is also inflammatory to the body, and has too many health risks associated with eating it to be putting on your plate so often. So to save your budget and your heart, we thought we’d show you some simple ways going meatless can be done on a budget.

Here’s proof that eating more fruits and vegetables doesn’t have to be costly and that’s it’s easy enough for anyone to do, no matter what the wallet size.

Top 3 Meatless Monday Budget Tips to Keep in Mind

1. Emphasize True Whole Foods

First, be sure you’re eating simple, whole foods. Packaged foods are often much more pricey per serving than fresh and are also not as filling. Think greens, beans, legumes, fruits, whole grains, veggies, and some nut and seed based products if you enjoy them and can afford them. Think oats and rice over bread, frozen and fresh fruit over canned (which usually has sugar added), and fresh veggies and beans versus processed options mixed with excess salt and sauces. They’re all naturally cheaper per serving in whole food form and are also healthier too.

2. Buy Organic on Sale

Organic produce truly is much better for you than non-organic produce, but if you can’t buy it all the time, just buy what’s on sale or the cheaper version out of each section. Most stores now have an organic generic brand of everything, so take advantage of this when you can. Also, rotate what you buy organic, which is a great way to get a variety of nutrients and try new things.

3. Always Shop Bulk

Bulk allows you to one, save money per serving, and two, don’t buy more than you need at one time. The best items to buy in bulk include servings of grains, raw nuts and seeds, along with items that might be higher priced on the shelves such as trail mix, beans and legumes. Measure out how much you need and simply only buy what you know you’ll eat. This also ensures you’re using what you have and not buying more food when you have plenty at home. Keep these items in the fridge since most of them go rancid the longer they sit out.

These three tips can be used by anyone, meatless or not, so let’s put them into practice with some recipe and meal suggestions. Though not your only options, here are two highly nutritious examples per meal to choose from:

Breakfast

 

Chia Pudding With Blueberries

Per serving all the ingredients are low-cost, and can be used in many other recipes so they’re also versatile. Chia seeds from the bulk section and frozen berries are the cheaper way to go here, but still incredibly nutrient-dense.

Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats

Oats and pumpkin are both two foods that are inexpensive per serving and will last awhile in your pantry. Canned pumpkin (choose BPA-free) is one of the only canned foods that is actually beneficial though tetra-packs are available if you’re against the canned. Pumpkin is cheap, filling, full of antioxidants, and soaked oats are extremely nutritious and naturally low in cost. Make this overnight and you’ve got a budget-friendly breakfast in no time!

We have more breakfast ideas if these ideas don’t suit your taste, so test them out and see which ones you enjoy.

Lunch

Mexican Black Bean Soup

Soup is an easy meal to eat on a budget, especially when it contains beans and legumes. These ingredients are low-cost and very filling so you’re not hungry an hour or two later. Always add some inexpensive veggies, such as root vegetables for extra nutrition and flavor. Mexican Black Bean Soup is perfect proof that neither soup or beans have to be boring!

The World’s Healthiest Veggie Burger (Gluten-Free, Soy-Free)

This is one of the cheapest, healthiest, and tastiest veggie burgers you’ll ever eat. It’s made from whole foods and utilizes inexpensive ingredients. Go with chia or flax as your egg replacer in the recipe and keep some very inexpensive chickpea flour or chickpeas on hand at all times. Chickpeas are a great source of protein and have an incredible flavor. Try more ways to use chickpea flour for other ideas.

Not into soups or burgers? See our other lunch recipes that are also available.

Dinner

Eggplant Garbanzo Stew With Polenta

This delicious stew is so filling and so dense in nutrition! It’s also made from affordable foods that should be staples in any meatless kitchen, but especially those on a budget. Best of all, you can keep this for a few days so it will serve as easy leftovers for lunch or dinner the next night. We have other stew recipes you might enjoy for other cozy ideas.

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

Full of fiber and protein, these bell peppers make a unique, budget-friendly meal no one might expect costs so little. Quinoa might be pricey in package form but in the bulk section it’s quite affordable. You only need 1/4 cup per serving since once cooked, this amount provides plenty of protein, fiber, and other nutrients to keep you satiated and nourished. Stuffing bell peppers with quinoa only adds to the nutrition of this dish and peppers can be easily afforded on any budget. Don’t like quinoa? (Because hey, some of us don’t.) You can easily use oats or rice, no worries!

For other dinner ideas, see our selection and remember to choose ones that are simple and whole food based if you’re watching the dollars extra close.

Learn How to Cook Plant-Based Meals at Home

Reducing your meat intake and eating more plant-based foods is known to help with chronic inflammation, heart health, mental well-being, fitness goals, nutritional needs, allergies, gut health, and more! Dairy consumption also has been linked to many health problems, including acne, hormonal imbalance, cancer, and prostate cancer, and has many side effects.

For those of you interested in eating more plant-based we highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App — with over 20,000 delicious recipes it is the largest plant-based recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals, and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet.

Here are some great resources to get you started:

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