In this episode, we carry on our conversation from the first episode of this season. Where in the first episode, we discussed why eating vegan doesn’t automatically make you healthy, this episode focuses on why a healthy, wholefood plant-based diet doesn’t have to be expensive. We tell how on a budget (200 euros a month in the Netherlands), we can enjoy a healthy diet comprising loads of fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, lentils, beans, and other superfoods.
Our conversation is based on the following guiding questions/topics:
Debunking the myth- Healthy vegan food is expensive
What do we eat in a week?
Why cooking from scratch (wholefood ingredients) is always better for your health and pocket? (Examples- chickpeas in can/ hard ones that you need to soak overnight, chutneys instead of sauces, lemon water instead of coffee/ fruit juices/cola)
What does our weekly grocery shopping list look like?
A brief breakdown of our grocery list
Listen to the episode:
Listen through Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1iZS4s3D6IpAz8Xo7nr0I1
Listen through Apple podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hey-groentje-podcast/id1622818753
Information we talked about in the episode:
Type | What | Cost pp per day |
Breakfast | Smoothie (spinach/kale/endive, mango, nuts, chia, flaxseeds, banana, soya milk) or Oatmeal | 0.50 euro |
Lunch | Type of Indian flat bread (Roti/parantha/naan/kulcha, one vegetable curry, lentils/beans curry, salad | 1 euro |
Snack | Nuts, 1-2 pieces of fruit (banana/blueberries/mandarins/orange/apple) | 1 euro |
Dinner | Brown rice, lentil curry/chole (leftover from lunch many times), one type of vegetable curry, salad | 1 euro |
TOTAL | | 3.50 euro |
Side note - In the podcast, we calculated the ingredients for a vegetable curry/lentil curry separately. Onions, tomato, ginger, garlic, and coriander are basic ingredients at home which we always have enough of at all times. Calculating on per-person basis, we came out at around 1 euro max. per meal per person (both for lunch and dinner)
Also, we mentioned that we sometimes even save money after getting 200 euros cash for the whole month. It is possible because we have a small garden, and especially in summer we can grow quite some things there (cucumbers, pumpkin, courgettes, radish, beetroot, green chillies, coriander, mint, green beans, aubergine, etc.) Also, we always have some basic ingredients at home (different kinds of seeds for smoothies/nuts/potatoes/spices/oil etc. If you have to buy these, then the cost will go up per month (around 20 euros approx)