Cheap groceries: Vegans

For the vegans living in Statesboro, I honestly can't think of a cheap place to buy groceries other than Wal-mart. Fortunately, they do have a decent selection. And luckily for the less-health conscious vegans out there, Wal-mart sells a lot of their own brand of products which are very cheaply made - meaning no dairy in many products that would normally contain plenty of non-vegan ingredients. My rule of thumb when shopping at Walmart - check the cheapest products first before scanning every product in the isle. I've actually found a lot of things this way, including cookies, cereal, bread, spaghetti sauce and pasta.

For the junkfood vegans: the peanut butter and mint Oreos
at the Statesboro Wal-mart appear to be surprisingly vegan!

Some ingredients to watch out for, if you're new to veganism, include eggs, milk, honey and butter. These may all seem very obvious, but if you're a new vegan you'll probably be very surprised to discover how many products contain these very ingredients. Some less obvious ingredients to avoid include gelatin, casein, lactic acid and whey.

Wal-mart currently offers a couple different brands of veggie dogs.
You should still check over the ingredient label before you buy, though.
Some of these products still contain eggs and/or milk derivatives.

Thankfully, Walmart does have a tiny little vegan section hidden among the fresh veggies. There you'll find many varieties of tofu, vegan "hot dogs," a few different kinds of guacamole, spring roll wraps and a couple other options. Careful though, there are a few vegetarian - not vegan - products in the area, including some veggie burgers and some "veggie cheese" (which is technically not even vegetarian, let along vegan - I really don't know what that's all about).

Tofu is a vegan staple - if you've never had it before, definitely try it.
It took me 5 years to give in and try it, and I really wish I had much sooner.
Tofu beginners: buy the "extra firm" or "firm," cube it and fry it in a
pan with other vegetables and any sauce you like.
*(The Azumaya "extra firm" pictured above is available at our Wal-mart!)

For some other vegan options, head to the very back of the store for a very nice selection of soy milk (well, nice for Statesboro). In that same isle you'll also find almost-vegan margarine. I randomly came across "Smart Balance Light" one day - it doesn't fit the "cheaper is closer to vegan" rule at all, but it is dairy free. However, it does contain a very minimal amount of lactic acid, so if you're strict vegan you'll want to stick to the veggie oil for awhile until you can find a better butter substitute.

Wal-mart carries a pretty decent variety of Soymilk flavors.
If you've never tried it before, I suggest starting off with the vanilla or chocolate.
Also - don't make the same mistake I first did - make sure to get plain or
unsweetened if you're going to be using it in a recipe that isn't supposed to be sweet!

After nearly six years of trying to come up with the perfect formula for finding vegan food in non-vegan stores, the best advice I can give to other vegans is just to read read read the labels. I'm always finding new food I thought I couldn't eat, as well as discovering ingredients in the food I'd thought was vegan-safe. Walmart is getting new vegan-friendly products all the time - you just have to find them!

Check out some of these sites for help finding cheap vegetarian/vegan alternatives:
1. "I Can't Believe It's Vegan!" : PETA's "accidental vegan" list of vegan options that can be found at regular grocery stores
*(NOTE: If you're a strict vegan, double check the ingredients on this list - there are many "close-enough" ingredients on this list meant for those new to and transitioning to veganism)
2. Veggie Boards
3. Vegan Forums