Weekly Spotlight: Budget-Friendly Pantry Eats to Enjoy!

As the year begins, life begins to settle back into its usual routine, and saving money might be on your mind. Wherever you are in your plant-based journey, these recipes are all budget-friendly recipes you can throw together without breaking the bank.

There is no one right way to save money, but buying pantry staples such as rice, beans, oats, and other shelf-stable items might help cut costs. Creating meals around these foods helps keep meals low-cost, while also providing a variety of nutrients when adding in-season produce, as well. Cooking at home can also be helpful, and although this may look different for everyone, even starting with making one meal at home is a great start. Buying in-season is also a way to stay within budget; in-season produce tends to be cheaper than out-of-season produce and also ensures you’re getting the best-tasting produce available.

However, be sure to do what you can. Making one meal at home or buying one new item you can start learning to cook and incorporate are still valuable steps. No matter how you start, every small step counts!

We also highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App  — with over 20,000 delicious recipes, it is the largest meatless, vegan, plant-based, and allergy-friendly recipe resource to help you get healthy! And don’t forget to check out our Weekly Meal Plan Archives!  

This week, we’re bringing delicious, fully vegan, and plant-based ways to enjoy budget-friendly plant-based meals!

Easy Entrees

Source: Teriyaki Tofu Steaks

These easy entrees include everything from quick breads to fresh salads, and pan-frying tofu to create a mouthwatering Teriyaki Tofu Steaks by Tara Weir. These Mexican Sheet Pancakes with Guacamole are perfect to make ahead for the week. You can cook them on a sheet pan for an easy, hands-off recipe. If you’ve got noodles on hand, these peanut noodles come together with simple ingredients for a quick meal in your day.

• Easy Potato Lentil ‘Meatballs’ by Maria Koutsogiannis
• Garlic Herb Kale Bread by Shanika Graham-White
• One Pot Tuscan Pasta by Ashley Madden
• Lentil Salad by Dominique Ebra
• Teriyaki Tofu Steaks by Tara Weir
• Mexican Sheet Pancakes with Guacamole by Luce Hosier
• Peanut Sauce Udon Noodles by Carol Clayton

For Mornings and On-the-Go

Source: Oatmeal Cookie Granola

Everyone has a busy schedule and it can feel difficult to fit in time to cook or start chopping things. These meals are wonderful to make ahead of time and simply grab and go when you need them. These recipes include granola that’s excellent to eat on its own for a snack or with some of your favorite plant-based milk, or even this chickpea salad sandwich that’s perfect to take for lunch.

• Oatmeal Cookie Granola by Elaine Skiadas
• Snickers Energy Balls by Allie Penner
• Peanut Butter Waffle Sandwich by Vicky Coates
• 3 Ingredient Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies by Hayley Canning
• Simple Five-Ingredient Banana Bread by Kayla Cappiello

Easy Thirty-Minute Meals

Source: No-Tuna Chickpea Salad Sandwich

These meals are for any time of the day when you need to throw something together without too much effort. All these meals take under thirty minutes to make and provide a quick and easy meal any time of the day.

• 15-Minute Lentil Tomato Pasta by Caroline Doucet
• No-Tuna Chickpea Salad Sandwich by Andrea Soranidis
• Crunchy Broccoli Salad with Roasted Sriracha Chickpeas by Annabelle Randles
• Sheet Pan Ratatouille by Toni Okamoto
• Garlic Noodles by Maria Koutsogiannis

Easy Ways to Help the Planet:

• Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based Recipe app on the App Store, to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
• Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take initiative by standing up against fast fashion Pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that raise awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade repeatedly.
• Support Independent Media: Being publicly funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!
• Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.
• Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and essential stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
• Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, Donate if you can, grow your food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!