Whole-Food, Plant-Based on $5 a Day—Day 2

Posted in Past Blogs

Ever wondered if it’s possible to eat a whole-food, plant-based diet on a low budget?

Me too! Which is why I decided to challenge myself to 10 days of living on $5 a day. Today is day 2. (See more about the challenge and Day–1 here)

Here’s what I think so far…

  • Living on a $5 budget may not be easy, but it’s not as difficult as you might imagine either. Especially if you’re creative and plan ahead of time.
  • It’s important to take care of the basics, like the grains and starches. They’re calorie dense and will keep you feeling satisfied. No one wants to feel hungry!

Day 2 of eating a whole-food, plant-based diet on $5 a day

Today was easier than yesterday because I had plenty of leftover rice, beans, potato salad and celery from yesterday.

I also had half of the uncooked rice I bought yesterday but didn’t use, plus 2 servings of cooked beans, which I have frozen.

So with a bit more up my sleeve, it was time to add some spices, greens, fruits and fresh vegetables to my day to ensure a well balanced, nutrient rich diet.

For today’s shop I went to a local Indian grocery store. I had intended to buy some spices, but in the end came away with:

4 bananas
1 small opo squash,
1 red onion
1 serrano pepper

And from the local health food store, which sells a variety of  dry goods in their bulk section,  I bought:

Sea salt
Organic butter lettuce

Day 2

My total spend for the 2nd day was $ 4.57. Yes, I saved 43¢!!!

My menu for Day 2:

Burger Wraps with Celery Chutney

Vegan Bean and Rice Burger Wraps

Leftover brown rice

Bananas

Opo Squash Soup with brown rice, celery chutney

Black Bean Stew (Leftover)

Black Bean Stew

Day 2 wrap up …

I have to say, it was another successful day!

I had plenty to eat, and the fruit was a welcome addition. Isn’t it always!

The burger wraps were delicious. Do check them out.

They’re made from cooked rice, left over Black Bean Stew and Potato Salad. Wrapping them in lettuce added a nice freshness, and with the celery chutney, which is also easy to make, you really wouldn’t know this was a meal on a budget!

See you tomorrow!

Darshana
XX

PS: Here’s the link to Day 3 , and in case you missed it, here’s Day 1.

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1 Comment

  1. KA
    September 15, 2018

    On day 4 you mentioned that at your local supermarket you picked up a bean and lentil medley but there was no picture of it and no indication of what was contained in it. Several recipes mention this medley but for those of us with minimal cooking experience it would be helpful if you might mention what was in this medley (ie types of lentils and beans and ratio of each or possibly a brand of bean and lentil medley that we might be able to purchase). Not having this information and trying to proceed was quite frustrating.

    Reply

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