strawberryriddick Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 As we all know, veganism is cheaper than being an omnivore. However, if you've ever thought about trying some other items but either don't find them in your grocery store or do find them a bit expensive, then allow me to suggest visiting an Asian market. I realized it would be a good idea to make a thread about this when I had suggested to a bodybuilder who was trying to cut but still wanted pasta that he should try buckwheat pasta (filled with complete protein, less starchy, and Celiac-friendly). He complained that he did find it once, but it was over $4 per box (all my figures will be in USD). That's true. I saw it in a health food store for about that price, and a regular grocery store for almost $3. I told him that he didn't have to pay that, just go to [our local Asian store] and buy it there...4 bundles of vermicelli-style buckwheat noodles for about $1.50. Being a Guam native, I grew up in Asian markets. Pocky, rice candy, and Yanyan were almost more common for me to eat as a child than Skittles, gum, and M&M's. Other kids ate potatoes and chicken, we ate octopus and rice. It took me many years to realize that others didn't have this opportunity, and only until after I was vegan I realized how awesome Asian stores can really be. Here are some items to share with you: 1. Noodles. Whether you want to try vegetable, buckwheat, black wheat, tomato, or rice, they will be far cheaper at an Asian market than anywhere else. Enjoy frozen or fresh fat udon noodles (beware of udon soup, which has dashi, which is made from bonito, which is a fish), or tofu noodles called Shirataki. Shirataki are especially great for people who like noodles but don't want the calories: 4oz of shirataki has only 20 calories and 3g of carbs...2g of which are fiber and none of which are simple sugar. Shirataki is found in the refrigeration section. 2. Veggie Meats. Not all of them are soy-based, either. Every had veggie squid? Yeah, some markets sell it! While the prices are rather comparable that I've seen, the veggie squid is actuall $1.89 for a whole package. The taste? Just crunch, really. It has some good nutrition, is soy-free for those of you that care, and you can put it into anything. 3. Jellies. If you miss Jello or jelly beans, hit up the Asian market. While the jelly beans don't typically contain gelatin, the Jello-style treats are gelled with agar, a seaweed extract. The great thing is that these not only taste delicious, but almost always include a piece of fruit in it! 4. Marshmallows. Vegan marshmallows are expensive as all hell! Never fear, MOCHI is here! If you're a serious sweets fan, look for a chocolate-covered mochi. Otherwise, enjoy the mild sweetness of classics like green tea or red bean mochi (FYI, red bean mochi is sweeter than green tea mochi). My personal favorite is sesame mochi. Mochi is made from rice, and is a squishy delight like a marshmallow. Again, if you want S-W-E-E-T, look for something with chocolate around it. 5. Vegan Jerky. Ever seen this stuff online? It's usually 5-6 dollars. If you find vegan jerky in your Asian store, you'll be delighted to find that it's well under $2. Other notables: dried mushrooms, delicious beverages, and a variety of sauces (watch out for animal-derived ingredients, listed on the label), sesame snacks, seaweed snacks, various rices, miso paste, bubble drinks, ramune drinks, frozen vegan meals, spring roll wrappers, tapioca pearls, frozen vegan spring rolls and hom bao (aka "bun bao" or "siu pao" or "delicious steamed buns with yummy stuff inside"), a selection of otherwise hard-to-find vegetables and fruits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobsteriffic Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Thanks for the helpful post! The Asian market where I'm from isn't that well-stocked (there isn't a very large Asian population here) but I do go every now and then to stock up on some cheap noodles and tofu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallen_Horse Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Are you ignoring D3, sugar, mono/di-glycerides? Cause once you gut out all the foods with those, then costs go up quite a bit (esp for cereals and candies). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjs Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 Good point, Asian markets can have some really good vegan stuff, but you have to be able to stand the ing seafood sections most of them have. A lot of times there will be vegetarian sections particularly in the frozen foods, the veggie prawn are particularly tasty. Just be sure to read the labels just like anywhere else. A lot of these things may contain dairy, I've seen very similar looking vegeham rolls where one was ok and the other was not. We had picked up the nonvegan one by mistake but realized it before checking out. Tofu is incredibly cheap at those places as well, but keep in mind a lot of it may not be organic like the ones in the mainstream supermarkets. Obviously rice is also cheap as hell. Those little cans of seitan mock duck are awesome as well and pretty affordable. I'm assuming the decent veg selection is targeted to Buddhists, but it's great for us as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 I buy my tofu cheap at a small corner Asian grocery store for 35 cents a block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheThrowsDown Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Are you ignoring D3, sugar, mono/di-glycerides? Cause once you gut out all the foods with those, then costs go up quite a bit (esp for cereals and candies).Really? I don't find that to be the case at all. Then again the few foods I eat that contain trace ingredients I have called or written to find out the sources of them so I know they aren't animal sources. I don't rule sugar and mono-di-glycerides out completely...I just find out their sources. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strawberryriddick Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 Are you ignoring D3, sugar, mono/di-glycerides? Cause once you gut out all the foods with those, then costs go up quite a bit (esp for cereals and candies).To be perfectly honest, aside from some items that come with sugar, there actually aren't that many and the prices don't go up steeply, if at all. It's more of a Pepsi vs Coke thing in that a different brand for approximately the same price uses some variance of the same item. Granted, the bigger the Asian market, the better the selection...but the same is true with any store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganEssentials Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 My biggest complaint with Asian markets is the lack of consistency. Every time I find something good that I want to stock up on, it disappears and they can never explain what happened to it, or why they can't get it back. And, like FallenHorse said, many items have some pretty sketchy ingredients (rarely non-GMO), so I try to shop at my local Asian markets sparingly since I don't like to eat a lot of stuff that's loaded with MSG for flavoring and cheaply-sourced ingredients, even if they are vegan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallen_Horse Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Are you ignoring D3, sugar, mono/di-glycerides? Cause once you gut out all the foods with those, then costs go up quite a bit (esp for cereals and candies).To be perfectly honest, aside from some items that come with sugar, there actually aren't that many and the prices don't go up steeply, if at all. It's more of a Pepsi vs Coke thing in that a different brand for approximately the same price uses some variance of the same item. Granted, the bigger the Asian market, the better the selection...but the same is true with any store. Well in Denver the asian markets are perhaps 1/5th vegan friendly, if that. Sugar and milk is in almost every boxed or canned good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjs Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Well in Denver the asian markets are perhaps 1/5th vegan friendly, if that. Sugar and milk is in almost every boxed or canned good...Regardless, they still have some good, cheap, and obscure finds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endcruelty Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 man, i'm inspired haha ... there's this huge asian area not far from me which i've never even stopped at once, defiantly gonna hit it next time i'm in the area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odidnetne Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 Does anyone remember VV07 when we hit up that Asian Market and had so many mangoes and young coconuts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thendanisays Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 Does anyone remember VV07 when we hit up that Asian Market and had so many mangoes and young coconuts? Its Fubonn market and i LOVE THAT PLACE! i always find some weird thing that i want to get everytime i'm there-although last time i got these two packages of a kind of tofu jerky that tasted like flavored pencil eraser. hahah. but thats the exception inm my case-not the rule. giacomo and i have about 9 young thai coconuts in our fridge right now actually! hahah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Nearing Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Just went to a small Korean store for the second time, and realized their tofu is the same kind my local fruit market sells, but 1.25 cheaper! I love buying from small asian specialty stores rather than supermarkets. The people are usually super nice too and will help you find ANYTHING. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegan Joe Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 The only thing that bothers me is the lack of regulations on food made in foreign countries, were profit is the main goal. Especially water sources in the preperation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivalasvegans Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 The only thing that bothers me is the lack of regulations on food made in foreign countries, were profit is the main goal. Especially water sources in the preperation. Thank god, Colonel Sanders, and Sam Walton that profit isn't the main goal in the good ole U.S .of A, and that our water is as pure and clean as the hazardous waste that's dumped so close to our watersheds. Oh wait... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegan Joe Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 The only thing that bothers me is the lack of regulations on food made in foreign countries, were profit is the main goal. Especially water sources in the preperation. Thank god, Colonel Sanders, and Sam Walton that profit isn't the main goal in the good ole U.S .of A, and that our water is as pure and clean as the hazardous waste that's dumped so close to our watersheds. Oh wait...Even so, I still feel more comfortable with our standards, than those of some other countries.editNot to mention our dumping grounds are having tighter standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xveganjoshx Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 I don't find veganism to be cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 I don't find veganism to be cheap.Where do you buy your groceries? Does your diet mostly consist of fancy gourmet vegan food? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobsteriffic Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 My diet consists of mainly veggies, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and tofu, tempeh, etc. I find it quite expensive to buy the fresh produce. I do buy some things frozen, but a lot of stuff like greens and what-not I buy fresh. Maybe it's because I live in the middle of the Canadian prairies but I find the produce very, very expensive. When I was eating vegan but hardly eating any produce it was cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 My diet consists of mainly veggies, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and tofu, tempeh, etc. I find it quite expensive to buy the fresh produce. I do buy some things frozen, but a lot of stuff like greens and what-not I buy fresh. Maybe it's because I live in the middle of the Canadian prairies but I find the produce very, very expensive. When I was eating vegan but hardly eating any produce it was cheap.It sounds like you need to move. I buy my bananas and dark leafy greens (collards and kale) for $0.69/lb at a local grocery store. I think the 4 lbs bag of oranges I last bought cost $3.49 or $3.99. I'll know for sure in a couple of hours because I need to buy oranges tonight. Can you grow your own produce in the Canadian prairies or is it to cold? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobsteriffic Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Can you grow your own produce in the Canadian prairies or is it to cold? There's a SUPER short growing season. So for a couple of weeks you can find local stuff at the farmer's market, but it's certainly not cheap. Otherwise our stuff is coming from the U.S. I imagine prices in warmer places in Canada are better. And don't worry, I do plan on moving, as soon as I'm done school next year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAINRA Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 This is not a objection to anyone's choice but laying out a different perspective on the topic. I think if your really desperate for money buy whole food produce. I tried asian markets since one of my mangers is from China. He often would recommend sauces and all sorts of stuff at the asian markets. Problem I found was lot of these ingredients were filled with modified foods aka genetically altered foods, little to none of the stuff was organic which means ll covered in pestisides and full of msg as all sorts of hidden names. Not good. not recommended. Maybe if your not so keen on health then it is an open door to cheap food. I must say it is also a open door to cheap health. Stay with local food or co-op. What you save in money now you will spend later in medical cost, vegan or not vegan. sitedhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6288096.stmhttp://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55892 (food still gets by inspectors can inspect everything)http://www.justice.org/cps/rde/xchg/justice/hs.xsl/5027.htmhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18178378WHO (World Health Organization) declares MSG as unsafehttp://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_17608.cfmhttp://www.organicconsumers.org/Monsanto/spillbeans0605.cfmhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18384725 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasha Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 HANDS OFF ! ALL MINE !!! VV08 Lean and Green at Fubon http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v260/68/121/800195712/n800195712_3586767_3222.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 All of his clothes match from his socks and shoes to bandanna....what a match makes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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