Raw & vegan grocery budget tips

Fall seasonal fruits

1. Buy in season. Fruit is outrageously expensive in the winter time, except for those fruits that are harvested during this time. For example, persimmons, pears, apples, oranges, and citrus are harvested in the fall and winter months, so they will be more available and cheaper for the consumer. Buy berries, tropical fruit, and tomatoes during the summer, and buy root vegetables and greens throughout the spring and then fall/winter months, as this will be when these foods are harvested. Of course you can buy berries frozen during the winter, and you'll know they were picked in season.


2. Buy from the reduced price wrack. Grocery stores strategically place reduced price wracks towards the end of the produce section. They usually wrap the produce in red mesh bags and reduce the price because they are older. But usually if they're older fruits and vegetables, that means they are then perfectly ripe and ready to eat. Most fruit in the stores are not ripe let alone fit to eat, so always check the reduced price wrack. As you can see in the photo below, I purchased star fruits and an eggplant, squash, and potatoes on the reduced price wrack.

3. Buy fresh first, and next best is frozen. Always buy fresh produce seasonally, but if you see that frozen berries are on sale, you'll know they were at least picked and packaged frozen when they were at their ripest (when they were in season). Frozen fruits and veggies are healthier and cheaper alternatives to buying canned foods. I will say, though, I have never had luck ripening fresh peaches, and so I never buy them at the grocery store. I absolutely will not buy fresh peaches anymore because they'll stay hard for weeks and then turn brown to mold. I'll buy peaches canned or frozen, but there isn't anything better than a peach picked perfectly ripe off of the tree in your own backyard...
4. Buy sale items in bulk. When pears are on sale in the fall and winter, buy the pears in bulk. Ask the produce guy or girl if they will give you a box of pears. If persimmons are on sale, buy in bulk.  It's healthier to eat several pears or one fruit at a time anyway, because this is easy on the stomach to digest and assimilate nutrients. Also, it's better to buy more fruit than any other grocery item. When you have lots of fruit around you, you'll go to the fruit rather than the junk food snacks. If you find that the bulk fruit items you purchased are ripening too quickly, store in the refrigerator or freeze them in plastic bags/containers. I have more information on storing, ripening, and how to avoid fruits from ripening here: How to store, ripen, & keep from over ripening bananas (VIDEO)
5. Avoid expensive specialty and processed items. I have found that all of these special "vegan" or "raw" snacks to be expensive for the quantity of the product. Vegan burgers, patties, a bag of Daiya brand vegan cheez, and nutritional yeast all cost nearly $4 dollars each to make a meal. For me, the least expensive items are those that are fresh produce that is seasonal.
6. And most importantly, grow a fruit and nut tree, and garden. The best time to plant a fruit tree was 20 years ago, and the second best time is NOW! This year I probably produced thousands of dollars worth of food that I grew and ate for free!

garden harvest 2014

If you live off of government assistance, chances are it isn't enough money to survive on, but there are other means such foraging seasonal fruit and nuts, and dumpster dive for produce. Big corporations compact waste, so absolutely perfectly ripe produce gets thrown out. It's awful that our society produces so much food that it could feed everyone, yet the people that run corporations are so greedy, they won't donate the food! It angers me to my core that because of capitalism we have so much, but most of it's disposable or thrown out, and no food is given to those in need. I posted a video of John Oliver talking about Food waste, see post here: John Oliver explains America's food waste problem.

New Years Resolutions: Exercising, Dieting, & What you should avoid

We're about two weeks into the NEW YEAR, and I'm sure there are plenty of people committing to their New Year's Resolutions. I have written about exercise programs (P90X, INSANITY, Julian Michaels, and Zumba) in the past, as well as weight loss products; but I wanted to write about this topic once again because it is the perfect time of year to do so...

P90X, INSANITY, JULIAN MICHAELS, ZUMBA, and other exercise programs have three aspects in common: (1) they're pointless, (2) they are marketing off of your unhappiness/vulnerability; and (3) they're stressing your body quickly in a shorter amount of time in order for you to achieve faster results. These "quick" miracles, with the promise you will be gorgeous in 90 days, defeats the body faster -- then you inherently give up exercising because your body aches, and as you become lazier you find solace in unhealthy foods.

These programs can afford to run their commercials every single day, which makes it easier for them to convince the most vulnerable people. Whether or not people are actually benefiting from the programs is not the point I am trying to make. Instead, I am suggesting that YOU can exercise and eat healthy to lose weight, without relying on a "fitness guru" robbing you of $200-300. You can get the body you want, without the cost of a commercial product. And, don't you feel like a ROBOT when you're exercising to these work-out programs...following along to their every move...?

Real exercise is minimal and long, like biking, hiking, running, dancing and yoga. Kenpo is also very fun, and one of my favorite exercises (I show off some of my Kenpo moves in this post "Exercises for Vegans".)
Now, I'm not undermining these work-out programs, because they have definitely helped many people, but for the majority of consumers who have bought into these products, may feel resentment towards the same programs. But lets at least exercise programs some credit; because weight loss food and supplement products are WAY worse. I'm talking about SENSA, Hydroxycut, Atkins Diet, Weight Watchers, alli, QuikTrim that tell you to ingest unhealthy drugs to lose weight. 

All of the weight control programs/products I have mentioned, are deliberately promoting an anorexic diet. Sensa encourages people to suppress their hunger, by sprinkling a concoction onto your food, so you will eat smaller portions.

Don't you feel like a science experiment when dousing Sensa on your food, or taking pills to get rid of fat??

Weight Watchers is similar in that it uses a number system so you can control the amount of food you are eating. The Atkins diet aims for you to eat all of the low carb foods like meat, without fruit, rice, and potatoes.

Every weight loss product and program is going to tell you to eat smaller portions, because they know you're going to keep eating animal products, which have the highest fat and lowest nutritional value. Fruits and vegetables, on the other hand, have zero fat and have the highest source of vitamins.

Furthermore, you don't need to pay someone to tell you how you should eat. You already know how you should eat. You know you should be eating 2500-3000 calories from grains (gluten-free pasta, rice), fruit, vegetables, and greens; while limiting or eliminating animal products (milk, eggs, dark & white meat, and processed foods.) 

If you eliminate animal foods, and FILL yourself up on fruits and vegetables, you'll be losing weight so fast you will rarely need to exercise. Not to mention, animal products and pre-packaged foods are more expensive than fruits and vegetables. I have a post here "Veganism is the CHEAPEST DIET??" that talks about Veganism being inexpensive compared to eating a animal-based diet. 

Weight Watchers, Atkins diet, and other weight loss programs have the money to advertise their product DAILY. These products are marketing off of your unhappiness and vulnerability. It's easier to brainwash people into thinking they need that product when they see the commercial everyday, while they sit bloated and lazy on their couch. 

I cannot stress this point enough: stop relying on products and "gurus" that are selling products, because these are the type of people that are JUST trying to make a living (they are not selling health information.)

It's not just meat eaters that are fooled into buying products. Vegans often buy superfoods and supplements that are being marketed by "health gurus", when they are totally being fooled into buying them. As long as you stuff yourself with fruits, vegetables, and greens -- you don't need powdered superfoods or supplements. I have post on this subject here "Don't Be Fooled By the Supplements & Superfoods!". NO MORE POWDERED PROTEIN, PEOPLE!!! You don't see a VEGAN elephant or cow buying protein powders, and look how gigantic they are!

My advice to you is: eat fruit and vegetables till you are stuffed; and exercise for one hour, three times a week:

1. Low fat vegan (high CARB) diet: eat lots of potatoes, bananas, juicy fruit, greens, rice, and soy milk/cereal. Limit salt and oil, especially fat. Add avocadoes and nuts in your diet in the winter, but be careful on your fat intake as avocados and nuts can "weigh" you down. Fruits and vegetables supply you with more vitamins and zero fat. Plus, fruits and vegetables are inexpensive.

Meat is murder; milk is torture; and cheese is an addiction.

2. Light Exercise: Yoga is great because it feels less like a chore, and more relaxing. Look on the internet (youtube) for yoga positions for beginners. Check out my Yoga Tips and where you can go to find good Youtube Yoga vids, in this blog post "TOP 5 YOGA TIPS FOR BEGINNERS"

hiking or biking, and even dancing are more practical and natural ways of working the body. These exercises are minimal and long, which train the body for survival situations. I have post that talks about the exercises that work best for me here "Exercises for Vegans (keeping it minimal"

The key is to put less stress on your body after so many years of doing so!!!
Another useful tool I like to use to make sure I'm getting adequate nutrition and keeping my fat intake low, is CRONOMETER.COM
Go to Cronometer.com to log your training and what you're eating!

Veganism does NOT promote an Anorexic diet. Please check out my post "The Feminist's Diet & the Media still promotes unhealthy eating standards"

"Obesity: Is Smaller Portions REALLY the answer? (No!)"

"Losing weight fast vs keeping the weight off"

And for VEGAN recipes, please check out my recipes on the left hand side of the blog.

The best sources of vitamins & how to avoid fat on a vegan diet

When people make the decision to diet, they try to avoid large amounts of calories or carbs, but never think about avoiding fats (meat, dairy, eggs, and oil.) In fact, I hear more often to avoid carbohydrates and eat more fats. Most people want to keep eating meat and dairy (fat), so they try to starve themselves of all other foods so they can continue to lose weight. Of course you can lose weight very fast by reducing your calorie intake, which is why people turn to that technique, especially men because they want meat. However it isn't realistic to believe you will maintain your ideal weight by reducing your calories and carbs. You'll binge out if you reduce calories and carbs for a long period of time.

Veganism makes more sense because you can eat large quantities of calories and carbohydrates from veggies, fruit, grains, and beans which will make you feel full consistently, while giving you large amounts of vitamins that animal products lack. Why don't you eat a LOT of calories and carbohydrates from fruit and vegetable sources so you can lose weight faster and get the most nutrition?

If you're concerned about vitamins on a vegan diet, I assure you that you can get the recommended amount of protein, calcium, vitamin D, and b12 from your calories through these plant-based sources:

Protein: Fruits (bananas), vegetables, Beans, nuts, seeds, oats, quinoa, soy products

Calcium: leafy greens, broccoli, cabbage, figs, dates, oranges, fortified soy products (soy milk has 50% more calcium than cow's milk)

Vitamin D: Mushrooms, sunshine, and fortified soy milk

B12: mushrooms, greens, and fortified soy or almond milk (or other Silk products)

Below I have listed the most common ways to replace the unhealthiest of fats:

Meat (for protein and in baking): Beans, Quinoa, Nuts, Rice, and Oats

Dairy (for drinking and in baking): Water, soy(bean) milk, rice milk, coconut milk, almond milk. Store bought soymilk is fortified with 50% more calcium than cow's milk. It is also fortified with essential daily vitamins.

Eggs (in baking): Pumpkin (puree), applesauce, mashed potatoes (for hearty meals), mashed bananas, non-dairy yogurt, and flax meal + water. You can also purchase Ener-G Egg replacer (which contains potato starch and tapioca starch to bind baked goods).

Oil (in baking): Applesauce, non-dairy yogurt

Oil (for frying): Slowly add water or vegetable broth/stock to a heated pan with veggies you're frying.

Sugar: mashed bananas, maple syrup (pure), molasses, or dates (pureed)

Hope this was helpful~

Obesity: Is Smaller Portions REALLY the answer? (No!)

Over-eating is not an issue, it is what you're over-eating on that's the issue. You are what you eat, and the fat that you eat is the fat that you wear.
You can eat as much as you want and more by going vegan! Veganism is a low fat, low sodium, no cholesterol diet. Fats such as meat, dairy, eggs, chicken, and seafood cause acidity in the blood and clog our arteries.

Meat-eaters often limit the amount of calories they intake because their diet is consists of fat. Africans, Asians and Indians are known to be low body fat groups. These cultures eat an abundance of fruit, boiled veggies, rice, and beans. Meat is usually too expensive for the low income families. In America it is cheaper to eat unhealthy.

People with obesity can easily transition into a healthier lifestyle by eating a low-fat vegan diet. The diet consists of energy low fat foods like fruit, veggies, rice (or other gluten-free grain), or beans which can be eaten in large quantities.
These foods help you feel full, balanced, energized without feeling lethargic. You cannot expect someone with obesity to lose weight by refraining their calorie or carbohydrate in-take or lowering their portion size.

Because companies/gurus/"health" programs encourages you to STILL eat the foods you "love" but by portioning these sizes to anorexic standards. I propose to eat large quantities of healthy food. You know what foods are healthy; and you know what foods are bad.

Do you find yourself hungry after breakfast? It's because you didn't eat enough for breakfast! Do you find yourself craving dessert after lunch or dinner? It's because you didn't eat enough for lunch or dinner! Stop limiting the amount of calories you're eating at meals. If it takes you 12 bananas to feel full for breakfast, so be it! Fruit is the best way to lose weight and gain optimum nutrition because it has loads of vitamins without the fat.
The second best food to eat is vegetables. If you have to eat 5 large potatoes to feel full, that's great!

Be committed to eating large amounts of fruits, vegetables, rice, and beans while limiting or eliminating meat, dairy, eggs, and poultry. You may not be used to eating large amounts of food, but what makes more sense: eat large amounts of healthy food or small portions of greasy, salty, fried foods?

Furthermore, we need to eat foods that are high in calories and carbohydrates and sugars while low fat and low sodium (like bananas, dates, raisins, prunes, all fruit). Below I have listed my older posts on how to forever stick to veganism (NO EXCUSES!):

"Vegan is the cheapest diet?!"

http://veganslivingofftheland.blogspot.com/2012/06/why-do-people-think-veganism-is-so.html

"How to Take the Guess Work Out of Eating Vegetarian, Vegan, or Raw Food"

http://veganslivingofftheland.blogspot.com/2012/03/how-to-take-guess-work-of-eating.html

"The Feminist's Diet & the Media still promotes unhealthy eating standards"

http://veganslivingofftheland.blogspot.com/2012/06/feminists-diet-media-still-promotes.html

"5 Quick Cheap Low Fat Vegan Meals/Snacks for everyday"

http://veganslivingofftheland.blogspot.com/2012/05/5-quick-cheap-low-fat-vegan-mealssnacks.html

"Losing Weight Fast vs Keeping the Weight off"

http://veganslivingofftheland.blogspot.com/2012/05/losing-weight-fast-vs-keeping-weight.html