Reddit reviews Vegan on the Cheap

People are recommending Veganomicon, which is a great book and you should pick it up (along with everything else by Isa Chandra Moskowitz), but since you mentioned finances, allow me to recommend Vegan on the Cheap. Every recipe is ≤ $2 per serving.

I occasionally make my own vegan substitutes and generally use recipes from vegweb.com that have good reviews.

Vegan on the Cheap is another good source for these things. It even tells you how much each recipe costs to make.

I make a baked pasta dish that is appealing to just about everyone, even (especially?) omnivores.

I use 50% whole wheat pasta, cooked, and pour on some marinara sauce. In a baking dish or lasagna pan, I pour half of the saucy pasta. On top of that, I add a layer of vegan ricotta cheese, which is just mashed tofu with lemon, a little nutritional yeast, salt, and oregano. Sometimes I mix some sliced fresh basil in with the ricotta, or a package of cooked frozen spinach. On top of the cheese goes the rest of the pasta. I usually top the whole thing with Daiya mozzarella, some red pepper flakes, dried oregano and basil. Cover with foil, bake at around 400 degrees until it starts to bubble, then uncover and let the Daiya melt. Serve with a salad and vegan garlic bread. Everyone loves it! It's based on a recipe from Vegan on the Cheap.

Well, you could get this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Cheap-Robin-Robertson/dp/0470472243/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404636748&sr=8-1&keywords=inexpensive+vegan

I've only browsed it at my girlfriend's place, but it looks pretty good. But I'm the same as you. I cook a lot, but I almost always just wing it. A little bit of this, a little bit of that.

My apologies if I came off as a dick-- I didn't realize you were honestly asking the question. I thought it was rhetorical (but I answered anyway, heh).

As for the protein powder, GNC probably sells way more whey protein than soy. If you're really interested in protein powder, though, here's 2lbs of soy protein powder that's way cheaper than either of the GNC links: http://www.amazon.com/Jarrow-Formulas-Iso-Rich-Soy-32/dp/B0013OQG64/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371059605&sr=8-1&keywords=soy+protein+powder

A few other things:

1. Low-income America is rife with processed foods. Our food system and government subsidies make it so that foods like Froot Loops and Cheetos are artificially cheap and thus makes "real food" like bananas and lettuce appear more expensive. Nevertheless, canned and frozen fruits and vegetables are still affordable even on a super low budget. Vegan on a budget is not especially difficult or unheard of, for example: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0470472243 or http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Vegan-4-00-Day-Conscious/dp/1570672571
   
   
2. There is no need to combine foods at the same meal to get all the essential amino acids in one go. This is an old myth that started in the 1980s but is not backed up by science.
   
   
3. There is way more than 2.1g of protein in a serving of beans. Heck, even English green peas have more protein than that per serving. If you look on any can of beans (e.g., garbanzos, black beans, pintos, etc.) one serving usually has between 7-10g protein. Each can is usually ~3.5 servings (so at least 24.5g protein per can), and you can buy a 15.5oz can of cooked beans all day long for 70-80 cents.
   
   Further, one pound of dry beans is about 12 servings. So one pound of beans has 12 servings x 8g protein = 96g protein for one pound of beans. Finally, the price you quoted is far more expensive than most canned beans, which are more expensive than bagged (dry) beans (see http://money.msn.com/saving-money-tips/post.aspx?post=0d2d3ebc-1ee5-4734-a34a-53ad26b5e3e7).
   
   See this info sheet for nutrition facts on pinto beans: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/facts/hhpfacts/New_HHPFacts/Beans/HHFS_BEANS_PINTO_DRY_A914_Final.pdf
   

If they have this book at the library, check it out and copy down some of the recipes. It's got a lot of really good advice in there, and if you are doing veggie burgers, there are plenty of recipes out there to make your own that are substantially cheaper than the frozen ones. Basically just black beans, bread crumbs, and spices, with a little hummus to get them to stick together.

Drop weight watchers and buy/eat more whole vegetables for a healthier and cheaper grocery list. Farmers markets are a great and affordable choice.

Here's a book on eating plant based for as low as 50cents a serving.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0470472243/ref=pd_aw_sbs_14_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=6AENTBNR03GCJNS74BJX&dpPl=1&dpID=51KC-3Lr62L

My wife and I really like this book: Vegan on the Cheap

Of my veggie cookbooks, this one has by far the most wear on it.

I live with my girlfriend, so rent is half $732. That is the apartment total.

I have a phone, which is $33.60 a month after tax. Internet is $30 a month (each of us pay half), no cable. I use bus tickets, and spend about $40 or less a month (I walk to work, since I live/work downtown).

Groceries are $230, max 250 a month for two of us combined.

We eat quite well - we just use frugal recipes e.g.

http://budgetbytes.blogspot.ca/

http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Cheap-Robin-Robertson/dp/0470472243

As you can see, my base expenses are quite low - less than $600 a month. Then there is entertainment (I have a PS3, 3DS, etc.), but I buy games frugally (Playstation Plus, wait for deals, buy/sell used on Craigslist etc.) and miscellaneous expenses (haircuts etc) but those are at most $400 a month, usually less.

For some base recipes and staples, you can rent this from the library (if available): https://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Cheap-Robin-Robertson/dp/0470472243

It's pretty helpful.

http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Cheap-Recipes-Simple-Strategies/dp/0470472243
best book i've found

Here is PETA's Vegan College Cookbook. It's an alright cookbook but I personally think Vegan on the Cheap is way better. I'm sure there are plenty of other good cookbooks too. I also recommend the Vegan Stoner blog, like rockmeahmadinejad said. It's a great site even if you don't smoke!

Vegan on the cheap