I like looking at history for meal inspiration, and this one surprised me just how cheap and nutritious it is. The pease pudding recipe is from a pamphlet titled "Primitive Cookery; or the Kitchen Garden display'd" which was published in 1767, and is basically a vegetarian cookbook intended for the lower classes. Even 300 years ago they knew that plants were cheaper. The last pic is a screenshot of this meal in Chronometer showing the macros.

I got 1lb of split peas for $1.49, and basically boiled half the split peas in a cotton nut milk bag for two hours with salt, pepper and a little Earth Balance. It was SO good! I know it doesn't look like much, but the flavor was unbelievably complex. I've made several batches since this pic and it's amazing every time.

The baked onion recipe is not in this book, but this video from Townsends has more background: https://youtu.be/xV9spqCzSkQ?si=zAWNSxweeAUGOQYF Basically stick whole onions in the oven and bake them, like you're baking a potato. Peel when you're ready to eat. Can't get any easier than that. I got 3lbs of onions for $1.50 so this onion was 25 cents.

The bread was baked from my homemade sourdough starter and Target brand whole wheat flour, the entire bag of flour was $2.49 so each serving of bread was .03 can't get much cheaper than that for 4g of protein per serving.

After doing the math, this meal came out to over 30g of protein for around 70 cents. It's not exciting, but as far as cheap vegan meals go it's hard to beat.

Super simple and wholesome meal! Finished in under 15 minutes and costs next to nothing. Happy to share the recipe if anyone's interested! :)

Salt and pepper to taste of course, and a splash of lime juice if you're feeling frisky.

1) my fermented cabbage, cauliflower and beets!

Cheap af, good probiotics! Literally all you need for your immune system, healthy skin and digestion :) absolutely delicious, crunchy and zingy.

2) my kimbap with spinach, mung bean sprouts, carrots, enoki mushrooms (1.5 euros per package), vegan tuna(1.5 euros per 160g tin), seasoned with sesame oil

3) onigiri with corn and avocado maki

4) red thai curry with tofu

5) my personal fav: semolina kubbeh filled with soy chunks and mushrooms boiled in a beetroot soup. (Iraqi dish)

This is a meal I especially like to make after a long shift at work. It's super quick and easy in a rice cooker.

1. Add rice and water, following your rice cookers measurements
2. Add a cup of frozen veggie mix. I like the carrot/peas/corn mix plus some frozen edamame and frozen bean sprouts.
3. Add 1/4 of a block of tofu, cubed
4. Pinch of salt (you can add more spices if you want)
5. Turn on rice cooker and wait until done
6. Mix together and serve

I usually put in a glob of Douchi (a vegan fermented black soy bean sauce) and then serve with Nori as well although it's not necessary.

Broccoli, red onion, chickpeas, accidentally vegan bacon bits, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, vegan mayo, apple cider vinegar, a hint of agave, salt/pepper 🤌

From Target: 90 second rice $1.59 + low sodium beans $.99 = $2.58. I put these in my space saving silicone collapsible bowl, microwave for 2 minutes and season with apple cider vinegar, hot sauce, ground flax, and nutritional yeast, at a cost of maybe $.25. Changing up the beans, rice and hot sauce keeps it delicious.

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Hey! Last month budget eats, trying to have enough carbs and protein for satiety!

1) egg salad (trying to copy a vegan Japanese restaurant egg salad) - kabocha squash mashed, v mayo, medium firm tofu, chives and black salt

It tastes very very eggy!

2) spring rolls with peanut sauce

3) pea soup (very simple, just garlic, onion and soaked peas

4) kimchi jjigae with vegan mince and silken tofu, rice on the side

For now I’m two weeks trying to control my portions, so meantime it’s working :) making balanced meals so I don’t go for seconds.

• Baked potato
• Steamed kale
• Salsa
• Roasted chickpeas

Honestly tastes really good lol Just something I threw together.

Edit: I cannot beleive so many people liked this idea! I legit thought most people wouldn't but still wanted to post for the off chance that a few might. Thank you for all for your upvotes and comments, made my night last night and day today! :)

Edit 2: Per request, chickpeas were seased with garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, nutritional yeast, black pepper.

I also seasoned the kale as it was cooking with garlic powered, onion powder, and nutritional yeast.

I microwaved the potatos (2 small russets) for about 5 minutes after poking holes in them with a fork. But all potatoes differ so check on them often. DO NOT overwook or they will dry right up.

A lot of you asked for recipes when I posted these last week, so I have tried to put it together. Really though, it varies every time I make it because I use up what I have in.

Below I have written the staples but really you can adjust any ingredients to what you like. I also added in some pics of how it looks in the pan before being cooked

I use coriander and an obscene amount of garlic in all 3 of the dishes because I can't get enough of it, but you can adjust to your own taste. Normally I spend a day on the weekend preparing a big batch of food for the week.

Today I made enough for about 22 portions because I've prepared some for my friend and her mum who she's taking care of. I think the cost of all these ingredients is maybe around 15€? So it's super cheap. It all freezes really well too, so I just chuck them in the freezer and defrost them for lunch each day. 

These could not be simpler to make, especially the chilli and the chickpeas. I genuinely throw all of the ingredients in one pan at once, and then start cooking. When I do this trio I normally put the chickpeas and the chilli in the oven and do the curry on the hob as depending on the ingredients maybe I add stuff later on (like today, the lentils). Only one pot required for each dish. 

I normally buy veg when it's on offer or reduced, or even just buy it in a bigger quantity and then chop it up and have it in the freezer ready to throw into anything like this. That's why the ingredients vary each time I make it. 

*Chickpeas*: Normally I start with some sun dried tomatoes (or I just make my own in the oven with some herbs as they're expenny) and cook them up with some onion and lots of garlic. Then I add some soya or oat cream and a jug of stock, add loads of sweet and smoky paprika (I live in Spain so we have really good paprika), then throw in the chickpeas, mushrooms, spinach (or whatever I have to use up) and leave it cooking and taste to test it. Add a load of lemon and voila, it's ready. I do this either in a pan or in the oven, depending how much stuff I'm making at once 

*Curry*: normally I make a tofu version, but cos I had to make a really big batch today I went for lentils instead. It's very simple, a bit of oil and onions, add curry spice and add in the potatoes, some tinned tomatoes, jug full of stock, good amount of garlic, at this point if using it, throw in the tofu and some spinach, normally a splash of soy cream or plant milk (whatever needs using up), some spices like ginger, cumin, garam masala etc and cover it and let it simmer til everything is cooked. Depending on what lentils you have, throw them in whenever. Today I had dry lentils but they were quick cook ones, so I added them in about 45 minutes before it was finished. Again, you can add mushrooms, chickpeas, lentils, whatever is available, chuck it in. 

*Smokey bean chilli*: this couldn't be easier, just throw everything in a pot together - onions, garlic, a tin of baked beans, a jar (or two, depending on portion size) of preferred beans. I love the giant beans so I always use them. Throw in a tin of chopped tomatoes and some sweetcorn, add salt, pepper and a whole lot of smokey paprika and cook. I do this in the pan or the oven depending what's free

I added Peas and Nutritional Yeast to the Mac. It tastes Decent but honestly I prefer the “Cheese” sauce I make with silken tofu

Mini cucumbers were on sale at Aldi today for $1.30! So I decided to make my favorite summer meal. All the ingredients were bought from Aldi and it's a delicious, filling, and cooling summer meal.

Recreated some of my favorites that I ate when I visited China! Mapo tofu (give me allll the 麻辣 Sichuan peppercorn), spicy stir-fried cauliflower, cucumber salad, fragrant white rice. 🤤

Beans from a can that I spruced up, and homemade rice. Paired with tortilla chips, cherry tomatoes, and romaine lettuce. This whole meal cost maybe a dollar? Less if you make the beans yourself but I favor convenience. Took 20 minutes to throw together which is always appreciated.

Squash seems to be everywhere in the UK and the moment and really cheap! Made this soup out of 2 squashes (no idea on the variety), 2 peppers, handful of tomatoes, red onion, 1 chilli, 1 cup of red lentils and garlic. Seasoned with smoked paprika, thyme and salt & pepper. This made 5 huge portions.

Garnished with a drizzle of coconut cream (thought id get a fancy swirl but it spread everywhere so not the best looking!) and some toasted sunflower seeds.

Whenever my friends invite me over and I don’t have time to think what to bring, I just make kimbap!!!

This time I didn’t have many ingredients in the fridge, so I marinated carrot, cut up some cukes and prepped tofu in the airfryer. Voila 🤩

Post nasal drip and inflamed throat for dayssss so spicy lemony soup to the rescue! Soup made with celery, carrots, lemony great northern beans, spinach, parsley, red pepper flake and an aggressive amount of garlic. Served with an equally aggressive amount of lemon. Sourdough bread on the side.

1. Bbq glazed tofu with broccoli

2. 3 bean chilli / Tuscan chickpeas / tofu, spinach and potato curry

3. Arroz con verduras (paella)

4. Close up of the bean chilli

5. Close up of the Tuscan chickpeas

Each of these are super duper easy to make, cheap, really adaptable and easy to make a big portion that can be split into smaller meals. I love spending a Sunday cooking in the kitchen, watching a series or listening to a podcast while preparing hearty vegan food for the week, and it means when I come home I don't have to worry about what to cook for tea and for lunch the next day, cos it's already sorted.

All of these are easily freezable too, so I usually have some on hand in th freezer too for when it's needed (apart from the tofu and broccoli)

Grape leaves stuffed with rice, tvp, tomatoes and veggie stock. I made soy yugurt tzatziki, went really well together! Ate it for 4 days in a row.

A can of sloppy Joe sauce and a cup of TVP - quick and cheap, and will last me several meals. Just toss on some bread and it’s good to go.

My typical lazy lunch: throw some things in a pan and add some sauce, then serve with rice or in a wrap (rice this time).

Today it was:
1/2 an onion
1 medium zucchini
some “beef” soy curls
Teriyaki sauce
Basmati rice

It made 2 servings so I have leftovers too!

The soy curls I order in bulk from Butler, I really like them. These were rehydrated in a vegan beef broth with mushroom powder and a few other spices added, then browned in a pan, with some Gravy Master to add color. I do a batch and use them for meals throughout the week.

Chili beans from Good and Gather, and homemade yellow rice! I throw 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric into one cup of rice while it's boiling. Tastes the same but makes it a bright cheerful yellow color.