Veggie Cheap

We’ve been trying to eat healthier. It’s been quite a challenge, especially since our fridge broke. Fresh fruits and vegetables are out of reach for now, so we’re limited to shelf-stable foods. We were gifted a cube fridge—like a dorm fridge—but you can’t put much in there besides milk (once opened, the rice milk or almond milk has to be refrigerated) and a few popsicles. Our nearest grocery store has a decent scratch-and-dent section, though it hasn’t been stocked with closeout items in a while. We did find some organic soups broths that we can mix with canned no-salt mixed veggies and noodles, undented lite pears (I still won’t buy dented cans), and even 13 Bean Soup Mix at great prices.

Since we are not fully vegetarian yet, we do eat animal products on occasion. I went to the food pantry a couple of weeks ago, spoke to someone about what programs they had to help me in my situation. After chatting for a bit, I happened to blurt out about the fridge or lack thereof and was signed up for a furniture list (apparently they consider fridges furniture), anyway, I’m on a waitlist for that. So then they asked me if I wanted to get us on a holiday help program. I asked what it was about. They said to help with gifts for my daughter at Christmas, and a holiday menu. I asked what was on that. A frozen turkey, dressing, canned veggies, etc. I couldn’t help but look at the worker funny, and then she realized what she said. We have no fridge. A frozen turkey will be pointless.

I’ll share more thoughts on dining on a shoestring later. In the meantime, check out the link below. I found it today but haven’t had time to have a good look yet.

Vegetarian on the Cheap A Beginners Guide how to stay hip, healthy and on a budget.