by Caterina Lindman
Published in June 2018
No, in fact you may find that your grocery bill goes down as you eat more whole, plant-based foods.
One reason your grocery bill may go down is that you will be buying much fewer processed foods. Processed foods are generally more expensive than whole foods. For example, a box of cheerios, with the main ingredient being whole oat flour, costs about 26 cents per one-cup serving, which weighs one ounce. The cost for a one ounce of rolled oats is about 8 cents. Even organic oats can be obtained for about 18 cents per ounce, which is also less expensive than cheerios. Another example is coffee, which is less expensive when brewed at home, compared to buying it already made in a coffee shop.
Another reason your grocery bill may go down is that you will not be buying whole categories of foods – you will skip the pop and chips aisle entirely, as well as the entire meat, eggs and dairy section of the grocery store. As you transition to a whole-foods, plant based diet, you may want to purchase imitation meats and cheeses, which can be as costly as meats and cheeses. But as you get more comfortable with cooking whole plant foods, you may find yourself replacing imitation meats and cheeses with, homemade cashew spreads and bean burgers.
If you are getting by on a reduced or minimal income it is possible to eat well on a whole-foods plant-based diet for as little as $200 a month. The savings that come from not purchasing processed foods would go to purchasing whole foods that have substantial health benefits. The main items that you would try to purchase would be bulk whole grains (oats, brown rice, quinoa), tubers (potatoes and sweet potatoes), dried beans, seeds, and fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables.
Dr. John McDougall has spent 40 years teaching the benefits of a starch-based diet that focuses on potatoes, grains and legumes which can all be purchased in bulk, are inexpensive and can provide all the calories, nutrition and fibre you need. When you reduce the high calories from oil and meats these items are a perfect, healthy replacement. His website is loaded with nutritional information: https://www.drmcdougall.com/ Beans and legumes are much less expensive than buying meats or cheese. For example, one cup of cooked chickpeas can be made from 37 cents worth of dried chickpeas, or, if buying organic, for 66 cents.
It is also important to include some perishable fruits and vegetables. These items are more expensive than starches and only need to be incorporated in small amounts. There are always good deals for purchasing fruits and vegetables at the local farmer’s market.
When transitioning from the Standard American Diet (SAD) to a whole-foods, plant-based diet, one can expect that the food may taste bland at first, until your taste buds adapt. It may take a couple of weeks for your taste buds to start tasting all the flavours contained in foods that are not covered in sugar, salt and fat. You will want to make use of herbs, spices, citrus zest, vinegars, and ground nuts and seeds to flavor your food. Nuts and seeds are a way to make your food more filling, and they are important to have with salad greens and green leafy vegetables because many of the nutrients are fat-soluble. The nuts and seeds are nutritious themselves, plus they help your body take in the nutrients found in greens. Fruit is a good way to satisfy your desire for something sweet. Refined sugar is not good for your body, as it causes a spike in blood sugar, and it makes your pancreas secrete more insulin to handle the extra sugar in the blood. This can then lead to a drop in blood sugar, which can make one feel lethargic. Fruit does not cause a spike in blood sugar, due to the fibre that is in the fruit, so it is energizing without a spike and subsequent crash in blood sugar levels.
Eating a whole-foods, plant based diet is an interesting adventure, with many benefits. It requires an open mind. It can be super-affordable, plus maintaining and regaining your health and energy is priceless!
