Happy New Year one and all!  January is New Year’s resolution time, and since the economy continues to struggle along to recovery, many are resolving to redouble their efforts to save money. Vegetarians of Washington is here to help with a review of the latest tool in the battle of the budget:  Eat Vegan on $4 a Day by Ellen Jaffe Jones.

This book needed to be written. This is a book for our times. This book dispels a myth held by far too many that you can’t eat healthfully while still eating affordably, and it’s the most practical tool we’ve seen in a long time to help with eating on a budget.

In these difficult economic times, more and more people are looking to save money in their weekly food budget. Many people are also under the misimpression that it costs a lot of money to follow a healthy diet in general, and a vegan diet in particular.  This eminently practical book goes through the basics of thrifty shopping and follows up with daily and weekly menus for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks of delicious vegan meals along with recipes for each dish. I especially liked that each meal is completely priced out at average grocery store prices.

Practical to its core, the recipes mostly use commonly obtainable ingredients found in most ordinary supermarkets. However, if you have access to a natural food store so much the better! You’ll find valuable tips on how to save money on your long time favorite “health foods” and organics.

Going far beyond bulk bin basics, I can just see many retailers and manufacturers cringing as the author reveals any number of industry “secrets” so as to enable you to save even more money and find bargains in a wide variety of circumstances. I liked the fact that recipes were thrifty but fun. There’s no sense of sacrifice or austerity, so even the most well-heeled reader will find the recipes attractive.

This book accomplishes its goal so well that after reading it you’ll never think it’s too expensive or difficult to follow a veg-diet again.  We won’t hide our enthusiasm for this book! In fact we liked it so much, we’ve invited the author so much we invited her to our upcoming Vegfest. Check back for speaking and book signing times closer to the event.