If you are thinking of becoming a vegan, no matter what your reasons are, you will be happy to know that in addition to the potential health benefits you will get, you may also save some money. The cost of vegan diet will vary significantly depending on the types of foods you choose and if you buy more processed pre made food or you prefer to buy the raw food and cook your own meals from scratch.
There are a ton of meat substitutes you can incorporate into you daily diet. They have substitutes that taste like hamburger, hotdogs and breakfast sausage to name just a few. There are several brands available on the market today all you have to do is look around.
You can go to a smaller all organic store for your foods, which I can almost guarantee you will increase the cost of vegan diet, or you can go to some larger chain super markets and find a fairly large variety of organic and vegan options that may be a little lower priced than at the local organic store.
Again, it's up to you. If you choose to prepare most of your foods from scratch, you will probably save money when you become a vegan. When I go to the grocery store, I always find that the two groups of products that always seem to cost the most are cleaning supplies and meat. You will still need to get the cleaning supplies but by not buying meat you can significantly cut your grocery bill in a lot of cases (though if you are cutting out meat but adding the soy imitation meat products you may not see a cost savings, you may actually spend a little bit more).
You also need to be aware of some of the nutritional needs that may not being met with a vegan diet. Protein, zinc and vitamin B12 are some of the most common vitamins and minerals that you may not be getting enough of. This can easily be overcome by adding a quality full spectrum multi vitamin to your diet on a daily basis.
You can also eat more beans (pretty much any type you want but black beans are particularly high in protein) or nuts such as almonds, cashews, pistachios and pecans. Just a small handful of nuts for a snack every day may be all you need to do.
Of course, you will also want to check all the labels of the pre made food you buy. There you will get an idea of how much, if any, protein and other vitamins and minerals it contains. At first, this might be a little time consuming but as you get used to your new diet, you won't have to think twice, it will all come naturally.
The cost of vegan diet can vary quite a bit depending on where you get your food and how much processed food you buy in relation to raw food, but becoming a vegan might pay off in so many
other ways it may still be worth it even if it does cost a little more.
