Buying In Season: Helpful Tips for a Budget-Friendly Vegan and How Understanding the Human Body Can Benefit Vegans

Eating vegan can seem like a very costly thing to do. And while that may be true at times, especially if you are eating all organic fruits and vegetables and indulging in pre-made vegan products that can cost a fortune, there are actually quite a few ways that you can take buying vegan to the next level and still manage to save some money when you do so.

If you are lucky enough to live near a farm, there are sometimes options to become shareholders in that farm. Some places will offer to give you the pick of the litter with their crops and provide bags of fresh fruit and vegetables every week or two for a simple investment in the farm. That can save a lot of money in buying fresh organic produce and provide you a great variety of foods you may never have even tried before.

Another thing you can do is learn what foods are in season and buy them in bulk when the opportunity presents itself. A lot of foods can be frozen or canned and stored for later use. There are a lot of ways you can save money by learning the different tricks to preparing foods for future use. For example, you could dehydrate vegetables and set them aside in airtight containers in a cool, dark space so you can have access to them later on.

Going vegan doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. It can be very useful not to indulge in foods that you know are expensive and instead looking for things you can buy in bulk. Some places, like apple orchards or grape orchards, will allow you to give them a small fee so that you can go out and pick your own produce to bring home. That can amount to quite a lot of food! Think in advance rather than feeling limited to what you find in your grocery store. Look into local food co-ops and other places where you might be able to get a discount on produce that is in season. Farms, orchards, and even some grocery stores may offer bulk rates for large quantities of in-season produce.

You still may want to be wary and ask if these foods are grown with commercial pesticides or if they are grown organically. Just because food may come from a local farm, it doesn’t mean that they are growing it with organic methods. Always look into your sources and ensure they are credible before buying.

Buying foods that are in season is a real game changer for any vegan on a budget. Living a healthy lifestyle can often times feel very costly, but if you weigh the pros and cons, what you spend on healthy foods that prevent diseases may end up saving you much more when it comes to your health later on down the line.

Human Body Can Benefit Vegans

Some people go into veganism with a very basic understanding of our bodies and the importance of nutrition. This can lead them to believe that simply eating more vegan foods will somehow magically ensure that they are living a healthy lifestyle.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case. A vegan lifestyle may appear healthy on the surface, but you really have to get into the nitty gritty of nutrition to understand how to live vegan properly. If you do it incorrectly, you can risk causing serious damage to your heart or other organs that need specific vitamins and minerals to thrive.

In fact, it is thought that vegan and vegetarian women have a higher rate of developing anemia than those who practice a more conventional meat-eating diet. And that is to be expected if they are not taking the care to nourish their bodies and think about the foods they are eating.

B12 is a vitamin that comes exclusively from animal sources. If you have taken animal sources out of your diet, then the only other option is to get foods that are fortified with it if you want to combat iron-deficiency. Without enough B12, it can make it difficult for your body to absorb and utilize iron. Not only that, but foods that vegans eat are often low in iron, while animal products are high. That is just the fact of the matter. Fortunately, there are several other ways you can get iron, such as in eating leafy green vegetables, tofu, and broccoli, or ingesting vitamins or supplements.

Make sure you do everything in your power to get your vitamins from food sources, as those are the easiest for your body to absorb. And if you are going to eat foods you know are rich in iron, eat foods alongside them that are rich in vitamin C to aid in absorption. That way you know for sure exactly what your body is getting.

Unfortunately, it is not enough to buy all the self-proclaimed vegan foods and call it a day. Having a very thorough understanding of your body and the way it works will help you to make sure you are not going to be deficient in anything that your body needs to thrive. Cognitive functioning can be affected if you are not getting enough omega-3 fatty acids; another nutrient most often found in meat products. There are several supplements out there made for vegans and anyone else who may need them, so be sure that you are giving your body all the tools that it needs to avoid deficiency.

If you fear you may already have a deficiency, explain your diet to your doctor and tell them your concerns. They may be able to do blood tests and provide supplements that will help to get your levels back to normal before it causes serious damage, or prevent worse from happening.

If you are new to veganism, you have an advantage. You now know just how important a knowledge of your body’s needs happens to be, so you will have the preparation you need to thrive!