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Buy Frozen Food A great way to buy meals on a budget is to choose frozen vegetables and fruits. The nutritional value is almost identical to fresh products and it also made easier. An important factor is the timesaving convenience of frozen vegetables and fruits, because all trimming, washing, and chopping is already done for you. Also there is practically no waste.
* Stock your freezer up with unsweetened berries and other fruits, to use in breakfast oatmeal and to bake into beautiful muffins. * Packages of frozen single or mixed vegetable combinations, like broccoli, corn, peas, and carrots are often around $2 each. Keep a nice assortment handy to quickly transform some brown rice or an oven-baked potato into an easy meal. * Keep a good supply of greens in the freezer, such as spinach, kale, collards, or chard. They can very well be used in soups, curries and stews.
Prepare Meals at Home Prepair your meals at home as much as possible. Take your lunches to work with leftovers from the night before and take plenty of snacks with you so that you can control what you eat during the day. If you gather at restaurants with friends, this may be a big change, but it's an imporant one. Restaurants are a big load on your budget and the worst to control the quality of the food on your plate.
An other option is to invite your friends to your kitchen, instead of meeting at restaurants. Try to impress them by making something scrumptious to share, while exposing your friends to the virtues of healthy eating.
However, when you must patronize a restaurant, ask your waiter plenty of appropriate questions and order sensible. Be certain that what you order
is something that satisfy your whole food, plant-based requirements. Don't allow anyone (including your family and friends) to take you from your resolve, sacrifice your waistline, your budget or compromise your health.
YOUR PLANT-BASED KITCHEN EQUIPMENT MUST HAVES GREAT ADDITIONS FABULOUS LUXURIES
Cutting board(s) Slow cooker(s) High-speed blender
Chef's knife Rice cooker Electric pressure cooker
Paring knife Blender/food processor Ice cream maker
Baking sheet(s) Immersion blender
Large heavy skillet Muffin pans
Soup pot (dutch oven)
Cook in Batches Even if you're not an expert in meal planning, it can be very helpful to prepair a few ingredients ahead. This is one of the secrets of a happy plant-based eater, when you can control the quality of each meal and accomplishing both affordably The difference between struggle and success is having the right food on hand. For most people it's a matter of setting aside some time to spend in the kitchen when possible (for many this will be on the weekend), to make sure that you will be ready for the coming week.
Allow a few hours on a Saturday or Sunday. You can cook many meals simultaneously and without much being present. Try to cook enough for an extra meal or two, whenever possible. When you have prepared a few ingredients or recipes, you'll be ready to mix and match for quick, healthy meals for the whole week. You can find healthy recipes here!
