5 Vegan Breakfasts You Can Make for Under $5
In today’s post I’m going to be sharing with you all my top five vegan breakfasts that you can make for under $5.
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In addition to your monthly expenses like rent, phone bills, car insurance, health insurance, etc., the cost of food can be pretty steep. When I was a kid, I would come home from school with a plethora of food in the fridge without thinking much of it.
As I’ve gotten older, I focused more on budgeting and saving money on things like food. Although food is a necessity and you can’t get out of this expense, there are easy ways to save money on food and not be so frivolous with your spending. These five simple breakfast ideas are great for college students, recent college graduates, or anyone looking for easy ways to save some money on food.
SOME OF MY FAVORITE PRODUCTS!
2. Orgain Organic Plant-Based Protein Powder Creamy Chocolate Fudge
1. Oatmeal
I’m a sucker for oatmeal. It’s been my go-to breakfast as of lately because it’s not only super inexpensive, but it’s packed full of nutrients. I also really like oatmeal because you can switch up the flavors and mix and match different toppings so you never get tired of it. If you’ve been keeping up with my blog, then you probably saw I have recipes for pumpkin pie oatmeal and cake batter oatmeal. While you can make all sorts of flavors for oatmeal, let’s break down the cost of what traditional oatmeal would cost.
Cost Breakdown:
- Rolled Oats ($0.14 per 1/2 cup)
- Banana ($0.30 per 1/2 banana)
- Peanut Butter ($0.18 per 2 tablespoons)
Total Cost: $0.62
A typical bowl of oatmeal with peanut butter and banana costs $0.62 on average. This may vary based on the brand of peanut butter and rolled oats you buy, but you can make a bowl of traditional oatmeal for less than $1. You seriously can’t beat that, especially considering it would cost between $10-15 if you went out for breakfast.
2. Smoothie Bowls
Another recent favorite breakfast of mine has been smoothie bowls. It’s finally starting to get warmer where I live, which means I’ve been making smoothie bowls like crazy. Smoothie bowls are refreshing and will surely satisfy your sweet tooth.
Cost Breakdown:
- Banana ($0.58 per banana)
- Blueberries ($0.73 per 1/2 cup)
- Almond Milk ($0.25 per 1/2 cup)
Total Cost: $1.56
For a simple smoothie made with banana, blueberries, and almond milk, it would cost you around $1.56. Adding toppings might make the price go up a bit, but less than $2 for breakfast is still ridiculously cheap.
3. Pancakes
This next breakfast idea is one of my favorites: pancakes. Adding protein powder is a great way to get additional protein in your diet, especially if you’re vegan like myself. I often make protein pancakes using my favorite Orgain protein powder, however, you can also omit the protein powder and just make simple banana pancakes with 3 ingredients.
Cost Breakdown:
- Banana ($0.58 per banana)
- Rolled Oats ($0.14 per 1/2 cup)
- Almond Milk ($0.25 per 1/2 cup)
Total Cost: $0.97
For traditional 3-ingredient banana pancakes, it would cost you roughly $0.97 to make breakfast. This excludes toppings, but even with peanut butter and additional fruit on top, it would still be less than $2.
4. Toast: PB Banana/Avocado
Toast is a classic breakfast, and takes less than 5 minutes to make. If I’m really short on time and have to grab something as I’m heading out the door, I’ll usually make some peanut butter banana toast or avocado toast. It depends if I’m in the mood for a savory or sweet breakfast.
Cost Breakdown:
- Whole Wheat Bread ($0.30 for two slices)
- Avocado ($0.23 per serving)
Total Cost: $0.53
To make avocado toast, it won’t even cost you $1. This is a really simple breakfast to make that’s also highly nutritious. I’ll often add pumpkin seeds and nutritional yeast on top of my avocado toast, but it’s incredibly tasty with avocado alone.
5. Tofu Scramble
Since I’ve mentioned mostly sweet breakfasts, I wanted to include at least one savory one. Tofu scramble is one of my favorite savory breakfasts, but if you don’t really like tofu, this might not be something you’re interested in. One of the main reasons I like tofu is because it’s a great source of protein and iron for vegans. And although tofu is pretty bland on its own, once you’ve added all the spices, it tastes super delicious.
Cost Breakdown:
- Silken Tofu ($0.45 per serving)
- Cherry Tomatoes ($0.75 per serving)
- Spinach ($0.63 per serving)
Total Cost: $1.83
The cost of tofu scramble is dependent on the cost of the vegetables you buy, but a rough estimate is $1-2. Tofu scramble is super tasty, packed full of nutrients, and great on toast or as is.
Final Thoughts
I hope you found this post helpful and showed you how you can make incredibly healthy and nutritious breakfasts for under $5. Eating healthy doesn’t have to be expensive, which I think is often a misconception that people have. Buying staple ingredients like rolled oats, whole wheat bread, tofu, peanut butter, and fruit are all inexpensive food items that you can use to make your breakfast in the mornings.
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