food budget challenge

I've certainly done it in the very-broke past (distant past, thank goodness).
A lot of very thick soups were a mainstay - seasonal-only veg, plus lentils, pearl barley, pasta, etc. added. Might add that I still make such soups often in winter - dh loves them!

We weren't veggie or vegan, though, so the cheapest cheese added some first class protein.

If veggie/vegan nowadays I'd look at all the lovely veggie curries/dahl, etc. that can be made quite cheaply - as long as you stick to seasonal veg.

We still rarely waste anything - any waste of food really grieves me - so I am fairly inventive with leftovers, and do usually plan meals 2 or 3 days ahead, so that I know what I need to buy. Not that I'm saying I always stick to my list, especially if there are special offers on anything I know I'm going to use.

the freezer always seems to be full to the brim with things
I'd be really interested to know what kinds of food a vegan keeps in the freezer so that it is full to the brim.
Apart from vegetables, bread, of course.

I did throw out some rather manky veg on Friday which I should have made into soup earlier in the week, but we were out a lot. The veg went on to the compost heap so it was not entirely wasted.

You could probably save a fortune, only buying fresh things like milk
Almond, rice, soya or oat milk of course, GrandmainOz!

Where does the OP say she is vegan or has triplet grandchildren? Or is that on another thread? I think we spend more than that for 2 of us tbh but lI’m sure we could cut down . Cutting from £90 to £20 does sound drastic however.

Sorry I see Op does say she is vegan, I didn’t read the heading!

Start by not throwing things away. Look at what you have that needs to be used up and make a meal from it instead of deciding what you are going to eat before looking in the fridge.

When in the supermarket switch to their basic/economy range and see if you like it, if not try the next level up. Waitrose tinned chopped tomatoes are better than some of the branded ones. Other supermarket ones are not as good. Sainsurys do a nice basic muesli which is not sweetened and you can add your own choice of fruit, nuts and seeds. Don't be afraid to experiment with cheaper foods, you might like them.

Not a criticism in anyway just being nosey.
What do two vegans eat that costs £90 per week ? You mention almond milk but in my ignorance the only other thing I think of is veg and that would be an awful lot of veg for two.

Callistemon,

I tend to buy vegan sausages, vegan burgers, hash browns, they go in the freezer. Sometimes bread goes in there too as cant always finish a loaf. bananas that I didn't finish go in the freezer too. a variety of vegan ice creams, fruit, and portions of food I haven't finished, any vegetables that I think were about to go off in the fridge go right into the freezer. There's also some nice vegan ham and I spend allot on yogurt and chocolate and vegan pizzas. If you go to the tesco website you'll notice there's allot of vegan options. I go on a walk most days of the week and always drive straight to the shop to buy a vegan icecream, a few trek bars, a piece of fruit, a read-made salad and a nice smoothie. That ends up costing a few pounds. I do eat it all up but it ends up being a waste of money as I end up being hungry an hour or so later. Not to mention takeaways twice a week. So really I'm wasting allot of food even if I know there's stuff in the freezer, just because I know I can, and I know that needs to stop, as it's a huge waste of food and a big financial loss, so I'm asking advice if anyone knows how to stretch shopping on £20 a week or so. I don't mind stretching it up to £30 or even £40 if anyone knows how to work with that sort of budget.

I would start by eating what is in your freezer, that way your outlay would only be for "fresh essentials".

Well, you could get rid of the takeaways for a start, that should save you quite a lot of money!

Well, I'd cut out the ready-made salads and smoothies for a start.
If you'd like the wherewithal for a salad from ingredients that aren't going to go limp/slimy very quickly, try a coleslaw type made from shredded white or red cabbage, finely chopped/sliced onion, carrot, apple and celery - moistened with a little vegan mayonnaise - if such a thing exists.
All those (relatively cheap) ingredients keep very well, and make a very nice salad that's considerably more filling than the green-leaf type.

I do love a budget challenge, please let us know how you get on.

Never understood vegan sausages, burgers etc. If you eat vegetables why dress it up as meat?
To cut down on waste shop more often then you will have a better variety of food in smaller portions.
We always have a pot of soup either in the slow cooker or in the fridge which helps us use up bits and pieces. Larger purchases like a whole celery get cooked as soon as they start to go limp and frozen in portions to add to stews etc. We dry things like mushrooms when we get a special deal at the market and use them to enrich dishes weeks after?

Witzend, there is indeed a vegan mayonnaise
The best known brand ( beginning with H) does one and you would not be able to tell that it was artificial from taste. It is however very expensive.

I'm just rereading the OP's posts.
What on earth is a vegan ham?

I go on a walk most days of the week and always drive straight to the shop to buy a vegan icecream, a few trek bars, a piece of fruit, a read-made salad and a nice smoothie.

And how much do those things alone cost you, if you don't mind my asking? Actually, you don't need to tell me - just tell yourself, and see how big a saving you would make by cutting them out.
In fact, though I haven't a clue how much such things cost, I wouldn't be be at all surprised if those alone are costing you well over £20 a week.

I doubt very much that you will be able to reduce your food spend to anywhere near £20 a week unless you stop using pre-prepared foods, and start cooking simple meals from cheap, raw ingredients. In other words, a big lifestyle change.
Are you up for that?

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Might I make a suggestion?
Keep a detailed log of everything you eat for the coming week and what it has cost (Or would, if it has come out of the freezer/store cupboard)
Then look at how the same or similar meals could have been made more cheaply - fresh instead of frozen, using leftovers, Aldi/Lidl instead of Sainsbury’s, or local market, cutting out waste, etc
That should give you an idea of what sort of figure you are currently working with.
Then may I recommend Jocasta Innes’s book “The Paupers Cookbook” , “Delia’s Frugal Food “ and even Bernadine Lawrence “How to Feed Your Family for £5 a Day” for some brilliant recipes and inspiration.
I think £20 is ambitious for two people, frankly but there are dodges such as shopping at the market in the afternoon when veggies and fruit are going cheap, buying only the amount of meat you need (from a butcher) instead of the inevitable 500g from the supermarket, freezing sliced bread and defrosting only what you need each time and above all resisting all BOGOF offers in supermarkets - they are simply designed to part you from your money.
Let us know how you get on, please.

The trouble is, I tend to see a bargain, don't waste it but freeze it so the food bill is never in fact less. But we could manage on £20 for a couple or three weeks (or longer) quite easily if I ate all that we had in the cupboards, the freezer!

OP it seems you don't do much actual cooking only buying supermarket vegan products e.g. sausages, pizza, ice cream, ready made salads, smoothies, etc., plus takeaways.

That's where the money goes - it would be cheaper to make your own meals using proper ingredients not highly-processed vegan burgers, etc.

How long have you been a vegan?

I'm far from vegan but do cook vegan/vegetarian meals as part of a varied diet - they take time and effort to be filling and tasty.

From what you buy, no wonder you say you're hungry after an hour!

Bean burgers are easy to make at home and very tasty too.

I go on a walk most days of the week and always drive straight to the shop to buy a vegan icecream, a few trek bars, a piece of fruit, a read-made salad and a nice smoothie
When I go on a walk I take a home-made sandwich, a banana, a flask of coffee and a piece of home-made cake.

It seems to me OP that if you were a bit more organised and bothered to actually cook for yourself instead of buying processed food all the time you would save hundreds if not thousands of pounds a year, and be healthier too.

What would make more sense rather than a set budget, would be to check what you have in sock in your cupboards and freezer and then plan what you need to buy and stick to that. What's the point of a £20 budget if you don't know what you actually need. The best way to cut down is to not buy things you don't need. Start eating whatever you have in the freezer otherwise you're just wasting electricity keeping it frozen.

I've been vegan for about three years now. The first few months I did cook and use raw ingredients but it took allot of time and energy so I prompted myself to buy processed vegan foods, just because I could/can and it was/is easier on me.

I suppose I'll need to stop doing that to cut down on the weekly cost. As some have mentioned cutting out the takeaways seems like a good idea too as it is quite unhealthy admittedly as that alone costs me upwards of £30 a week for two of us.

I will not however cut out the ice cream or the pizza. The ones I buy are actually healthy not to mention delicious even though they're expensive (pizza = wicked brand from tesco £4 and the icecream is breyers delights dairy free chocolate with hazlenuts £5).

Luckily I already have pizza and ice cream in the freezer so I can use that up as a snack later in the week. I will do a shop in a few days and see how I get on and how much I spend and let you all know.

But you said that you buy a vegan ice cream almost every day, *DINNNO.
Is that in addition to the ice cream you keep in your freezer, or have I misunderstood.