For my pizzas, I make a cashew cheese sauce to drizzle over instead of buying vegan cheese- it's cheaper and a lot more nutritious. Just blend up one cup of raw cashews, one cup water, a couple of tablespoons of nutritional yeast, half a tsp each of salt, onion powder and mustard powder, a little white pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice, and an optional tablespoon or two of olive oil. Be sure to blend well until totally smooth, then drizzle over your pizza before baking. The leftover sauce is great in pasta- just dilute it with more water or soy milk as it thickens up a lot when cooked.
Raw cashews are typically more expensive than a bag of vegan cheese in our area (midwestern US)…and even more so now with inflation! 😕 Of course it’s probably cheaper if you buy them in bulk, but then you’re shelling out quite a bit of money all at once just for cashews…🙃 do you know of any reliable online sources with good prices?
Hi Rowena, I loved seeing what you cook each week, I cook a lot of similar dishes. It's so good to see someone showing how inexpensive healthy plant-based eating can be as so many on low incomes assume they have to buy cheap and junkie foods to save money. I'm in a large country town in NSW and I have to say prices are dearer here that where you live. We have a huge veggie garden to offset this cost. As for staples, I use a lot of the same things as you but did think of oats. We have hot oatmeal in winter, homemade granola in summer, and it also goes into vegan biscuits (with almond meal and flour) as well as crumbles etc...Sometimes if we have a a big lunch and are really tired we have oatmeal for dinner with stewed apples, nuts, seeds etc...
Hi Madeleine, I agree with you that people seem to think that it’s expensive to eat healthy when it really doesn’t have to be and that’s what I wanted to get across in this video. Yes oats is a good one! I do love porridge and I also make Anzac biscuits for a sweet treat. Hugs 🥰
Pureed, roasted pumpkin makes a fabulous pizza sauce. I like to spread a generous amount onto the pizza base then top with spinach, mushrooms and onion. If I'm feeling cheesey, I sprinkle with nutritional yeast when I taste the pizza from the oven but it really doesn't need it. I buy lots of pumpkin when it's cheap so I can freeze roasted chunks for future use. Roast pumpkin & /or sweet potato is delicious added to hummus. The puree also makes a great Mac & Cheese sauce either on its own or added to a bechamel sauce. My favourite winter meal is cottage pie made with a rich green or brown lentil stew base covered with lashings of fluffy mashed potato. It's soooo good 💟
Hi Simmone, great tips with pumpkin, thanks. We did get some pumpkins from our garden this year and they were so good. They had a lot of seeds in them so I scooped them out, washed and dried them, then sprinkled them with spices and cooked them in the air fryer as a snack…they were really good. Hugs 🥰
Hi Rowena! I've missed your channel! I wasn't getting notifications so I had to search for you. I've now clicked the notification bell and following your Apple Podcast. This video is really helpful, thank you. The viewer contributions in the comments are much appreciated too. Looks like you've been building a nice community here. Hope you and your family are doing well.
Hi Azurite, I haven’t made a video in awhile because I’ve had so much going on in my life lately I just either haven’t been up to it or had time. Its lovely to hear from you and now you will get notified when I make another video 😊🥰
Potatoes, carrots, and peas are also very easy crops to grow in the garden (well, they are for me in Vic anyway, but it might depend on your climate). I've barely needed to buy any potatoes the last year or two because I've had so many from the garden. I recommend having a go at growing them.
Your pizzas are a lovely Saturday night! So much tastier, nutritious and cheaper than eating pizza out, which to be honest leaves me feeling bloated and horrible lol. Thank you also for sharing with us your lunches. They look delicious and its great to see a Minimalist cover this aspect on TH-cam without it be just about using last night's leftovers. You've actually factored in lunches within your weekly budget. They look delicious! $45 bucks is really impressive and at no point during this video did it seem you were extreme or coming from a place of lack. Thank you also for sharing with us rather than 'telling' us what we 'should/should not be doing', or what we 'need' to be doing which can sometimes be the tone on social media these days. xxx
Hi Azurite, I find home made pizza so much tastier and much more filling than pizza out. I like to be able to load up with the toppings we love and you get so much more for your money making them yourself. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment . I hope you’re well 🥰
Hi from Tassie, I have just found yr channel tonight, its fab to see frugal and plant based in Australia. I moved to Tas about 18 months ago and I so miss spud shed vege prices, I dont miss the heat tho :) I think I hear a slight scandi accent there ? Over the next few days Ill check out more of yr videos, some of yr blog and dig deeper into Amazon prime, thank you !
Hi Liz, lovely to hear from a fellow Aussie 😊. Where did you move from, and how do you find the cost of living in Tasmania? No scandi accent here, British parents, so that might come through slightly 😂 hugs 🥰
@@RowenaMarie I moved from the heat of the Perth hills to the cool of NW Tassie. Where groceries are limited to Woolies or Coles and priced scarily high, which is always blamed on the bass strait even tho most veggies are grown here. But the clean air and the quality of life make it worth while. Thanks for the Australian content with no mention of Tesco or Walmart :)
Hello, have you shared any bulk cooking recipes? I find it hard to get flavours right when doubling recipes, but would LOVE to cook less often. Also, I am wondering if bread is more nutritious than pasta (as you limit the latter a lot more than the former)? Although I couldn't be as frugal as you (by a long way!), I do find the simplicity of your lifestyle inspiring! Also nice to watch someone talking about costs in the Australian context. Thank you!
Hi Tina, I do enjoy bread and we eat it most days, but always try to fill it with a lot of healthy foods. I don’t think bread is necessarily healthier than pasta, it’s just that I wouldn’t choose to have them both as my meals for the day. I do also have other things for my lunches like homemade sushi or baked potatoes for example, so it’s not bread every day 😂. I have done one video on bulk cooking…it’s called 26 Meals for $8.75 and the recipes are all in my website rowenamarie.com I do like to live a simple life and think trying to keep life as simple as possible increases wellbeing. Hugs from Perth 🥰
NZ follower here. Love your channel. 👍👍❤️❤️Prices are more here: potatoes $1-1.50 per kg when buying a 10 kg bag. 🙃🙄Onions $2 kg and carrots the same. Prices are crazy high in NZ at the moment. Still we spend $140 per week ( includes cleaning, toiletries etc) on hubby and I plus two teens age 16 and 19, our older four children are married and have left home now. I don’t ever shop from week to week but buy and stock up when items are on special. I have a large stock pile and generally buy most items on special only and as a result I keep our average weekly spend low. So my average is about the $140 mark per week for the four of us. I buy some fresh produce but like you have a garden and have produce frozen from our summer garden. I totally agree about tinned tomatoes!! 🙃😃
Hi Gea, 🙏. That’s impressive given how much teenagers eat 😊. I am fortunate to have a local growers mart nearby where potatoes are always $2.99 for 4kgs and carrots are .69c per kilo. I always buy my onions when they come in special at $1 a kilo and they do last in the pantry for some time. I also have a bit of a stockpile and replenish this as I’m running low or buy bulk in sales. It definitely helps to keep overall costs low. Hugs 🥰
Turkish bread is so good! Super fluffy and light. ☺️ Love all of your ideas, and I’m vegan so it’s a super added bonus that you are too! 🥳👏 Definitely going to check out your recipes on your website~ Thank you! ❤️
Last week I craved pizza so I took spaghetti sauce added mushrooms and put that on whole wheat toasted English muffins. Yummy! $5 instead of $20 for a take away pizza
Hi Rowena your meals look so very delicious❤. I use most of your ingredients also. Due to my health I try to stay away from gluten and night shades🍞🥔🍆🌶. I use them but very small amounts. Its very hard to cook without these ingredients 😫 I eat a small amount of chicken on weekends. I also love to add coconut milk/cream to my dishes. It really takes the dishes up a notch❤
Hi my must haves are mushrooms garlic at the moment I got some small individual boursin garlic I swirl with oasta oven baked tomatos and related cheese if I don't want to cook for long and so simple with pasta or cooked spaghetti .but like you I have onion I every thing I have cinomon in a lot of my hot drinks with lemon the other day I had grated ginger lemon spoon of honey cinomon but grated some nut Meg in it it realy felt like health in a cup so warming aromatic.and the ginger calms my arthritus great video x
As always a wonderful video Rowena, I will check out your website. I was interested in your kidney beans with peanut butter recipe sounds delightful. We are not plant based but eat a lot of meatless meals, Saturday night is also our pizza night.
Hi Michelle, I will put the recipe up on my website. It really is very tasty and filling. Nice to hear from you again. Did you enjoy your pizza last night 😊. Hugs 🥰
Hey Rowena, I found this really interesting, I'd like to go more plant based but struggle with ideas as I'm a bit of a fussy eater when it comes to vegetables, but I'm willing to be more flexible and will definitely take a look at your website - I'd like to try some sort of lentil/black bean burger if you have any recipes for those? All the best ❤️
For my pizzas, I make a cashew cheese sauce to drizzle over instead of buying vegan cheese- it's cheaper and a lot more nutritious. Just blend up one cup of raw cashews, one cup water, a couple of tablespoons of nutritional yeast, half a tsp each of salt, onion powder and mustard powder, a little white pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice, and an optional tablespoon or two of olive oil. Be sure to blend well until totally smooth, then drizzle over your pizza before baking. The leftover sauce is great in pasta- just dilute it with more water or soy milk as it thickens up a lot when cooked.
Hi AT, yes I make a cashew cheese sauce for my pasta bakes…it was in my recipe video 26 Meals for $8.65….however I haven’t tried it on pizza. Thanks 🥰
Raw cashews are typically more expensive than a bag of vegan cheese in our area (midwestern US)…and even more so now with inflation! 😕 Of course it’s probably cheaper if you buy them in bulk, but then you’re shelling out quite a bit of money all at once just for cashews…🙃 do you know of any reliable online sources with good prices?
You can also mash up boiled potatoes, mix in some nutritional yeast and use it as vegan cheese on your pizza. Very yummy!
Can also make delicious sauces with sunflower seeds. Generally also much cheaper option ❤
Hi Rowena, I loved seeing what you cook each week, I cook a lot of similar dishes. It's so good to see someone showing how inexpensive healthy plant-based eating can be as so many on low incomes assume they have to buy cheap and junkie foods to save money.
I'm in a large country town in NSW and I have to say prices are dearer here that where you live. We have a huge veggie garden to offset this cost. As for staples, I use a lot of the same things as you but did think of oats. We have hot oatmeal in winter, homemade granola in summer, and it also goes into vegan biscuits (with almond meal and flour) as well as crumbles etc...Sometimes if we have a a big lunch and are really tired we have oatmeal for dinner with stewed apples, nuts, seeds etc...
Hi Madeleine, I agree with you that people seem to think that it’s expensive to eat healthy when it really doesn’t have to be and that’s what I wanted to get across in this video.
Yes oats is a good one! I do love porridge and I also make Anzac biscuits for a sweet treat. Hugs 🥰
Pureed, roasted pumpkin makes a fabulous pizza sauce. I like to spread a generous amount onto the pizza base then top with spinach, mushrooms and onion. If I'm feeling cheesey, I sprinkle with nutritional yeast when I taste the pizza from the oven but it really doesn't need it.
I buy lots of pumpkin when it's cheap so I can freeze roasted chunks for future use.
Roast pumpkin & /or sweet potato is delicious added to hummus. The puree also makes a great Mac & Cheese sauce either on its own or added to a bechamel sauce.
My favourite winter meal is cottage pie made with a rich green or brown lentil stew base covered with lashings of fluffy mashed potato. It's soooo good 💟
Hi Simmone, great tips with pumpkin, thanks. We did get some pumpkins from our garden this year and they were so good. They had a lot of seeds in them so I scooped them out, washed and dried them, then sprinkled them with spices and cooked them in the air fryer as a snack…they were really good. Hugs 🥰
Hi Rowena! I've missed your channel! I wasn't getting notifications so I had to search for you. I've now clicked the notification bell and following your Apple Podcast. This video is really helpful, thank you. The viewer contributions in the comments are much appreciated too. Looks like you've been building a nice community here. Hope you and your family are doing well.
Hi Azurite, I haven’t made a video in awhile because I’ve had so much going on in my life lately I just either haven’t been up to it or had time. Its lovely to hear from you and now you will get notified when I make another video 😊🥰
Potatoes, carrots, and peas are also very easy crops to grow in the garden (well, they are for me in Vic anyway, but it might depend on your climate). I've barely needed to buy any potatoes the last year or two because I've had so many from the garden. I recommend having a go at growing them.
Hi AT, we have potatoes in atm and have also grown carrots, but haven’t tried peas yet. 🥰
Your pizzas are a lovely Saturday night! So much tastier, nutritious and cheaper than eating pizza out, which to be honest leaves me feeling bloated and horrible lol. Thank you also for sharing with us your lunches. They look delicious and its great to see a Minimalist cover this aspect on TH-cam without it be just about using last night's leftovers. You've actually factored in lunches within your weekly budget. They look delicious! $45 bucks is really impressive and at no point during this video did it seem you were extreme or coming from a place of lack. Thank you also for sharing with us rather than 'telling' us what we 'should/should not be doing', or what we 'need' to be doing which can sometimes be the tone on social media these days. xxx
Hi Azurite, I find home made pizza so much tastier and much more filling than pizza out. I like to be able to load up with the toppings we love and you get so much more for your money making them yourself. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment . I hope you’re well 🥰
Hi from Tassie, I have just found yr channel tonight, its fab to see frugal and plant based in Australia. I moved to Tas about 18 months ago and I so miss spud shed vege prices, I dont miss the heat tho :) I think I hear a slight scandi accent there ? Over the next few days Ill check out more of yr videos, some of yr blog and dig deeper into Amazon prime, thank you !
Hi Liz, lovely to hear from a fellow Aussie 😊. Where did you move from, and how do you find the cost of living in Tasmania? No scandi accent here, British parents, so that might come through slightly 😂 hugs 🥰
@@RowenaMarie I moved from the heat of the Perth hills to the cool of NW Tassie. Where groceries are limited to Woolies or Coles and priced scarily high, which is always blamed on the bass strait even tho most veggies are grown here. But the clean air and the quality of life make it worth while.
Thanks for the Australian content with no mention of Tesco or Walmart :)
These are awesome ideas for meals and I am wanting to eat mostly vegetarian or plant based
Your meals look soo delicious by the way! Thank you for sharing them all. Agree re spices. I buy in bulk also, saves so much money.
Hi Gea, yes those small containers in the supermarket are so expensive for a tiny amount. Buying in bulk makes them much much cheaper. Hugs 🥰
Hello, have you shared any bulk cooking recipes? I find it hard to get flavours right when doubling recipes, but would LOVE to cook less often. Also, I am wondering if bread is more nutritious than pasta (as you limit the latter a lot more than the former)? Although I couldn't be as frugal as you (by a long way!), I do find the simplicity of your lifestyle inspiring! Also nice to watch someone talking about costs in the Australian context. Thank you!
Hi Tina, I do enjoy bread and we eat it most days, but always try to fill it with a lot of healthy foods. I don’t think bread is necessarily healthier than pasta, it’s just that I wouldn’t choose to have them both as my meals for the day. I do also have other things for my lunches like homemade sushi or baked potatoes for example, so it’s not bread every day 😂. I have done one video on bulk cooking…it’s called 26 Meals for $8.75 and the recipes are all in my website rowenamarie.com
I do like to live a simple life and think trying to keep life as simple as possible increases wellbeing. Hugs from Perth 🥰
Your food looks delicious!!!! Really enjoyed your video.
Hi Bel thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🥰
Thanks Rowen Marie, you have inspired me again.
Hi Alison, I am really happy you found the video helpful. Hugs 🥰
NZ follower here. Love your channel. 👍👍❤️❤️Prices are more here: potatoes $1-1.50 per kg when buying a 10 kg bag. 🙃🙄Onions $2 kg and carrots the same. Prices are crazy high in NZ at the moment. Still we spend $140 per week ( includes cleaning, toiletries etc) on hubby and I plus two teens age 16 and 19, our older four children are married and have left home now.
I don’t ever shop from week to week but buy and stock up when items are on special. I have a large stock pile and generally buy most items on special only and as a result I keep our average weekly spend low. So my average is about the $140 mark per week for the four of us. I buy some fresh produce but like you have a garden and have produce frozen from our summer garden. I totally agree about tinned tomatoes!! 🙃😃
Hi Gea, 🙏. That’s impressive given how much teenagers eat 😊. I am fortunate to have a local growers mart nearby where potatoes are always $2.99 for 4kgs and carrots are .69c per kilo. I always buy my onions when they come in special at $1 a kilo and they do last in the pantry for some time. I also have a bit of a stockpile and replenish this as I’m running low or buy bulk in sales. It definitely helps to keep overall costs low. Hugs 🥰
Love this. I shared in our plant based group. ❤️
Hi Courtney, thank you I really appreciate that. Hugs 🥰
Turkish bread is so good! Super fluffy and light. ☺️ Love all of your ideas, and I’m vegan so it’s a super added bonus that you are too! 🥳👏 Definitely going to check out your recipes on your website~ Thank you! ❤️
Hi kat, Turkish bread is so good isn’t it 😊. Nice to have another vegan here. Hugs 🥰
Last week I craved pizza so I took spaghetti sauce added mushrooms and put that on whole wheat toasted English muffins. Yummy!
$5 instead of $20 for a take away pizza
Hi Philip, yum! I enjoy pizza muffins too. I used to pack them for my kids lunchboxes when they were in school. Hugs
Hi Rowena your meals look so very delicious❤. I use most of your ingredients also. Due to my health I try to stay away from gluten and night shades🍞🥔🍆🌶. I use them but very small amounts. Its very hard to cook without these ingredients 😫 I eat a small amount of chicken on weekends. I also love to add coconut milk/cream to my dishes. It really takes the dishes up a notch❤
Hi Angella, cooking without nightshades must be quite tricky. I agree that coconut cream is a great addition to a lot of sauces. Hugs 🥰
Hi my must haves are mushrooms garlic at the moment I got some small individual boursin garlic I swirl with oasta oven baked tomatos and related cheese if I don't want to cook for long and so simple with pasta or cooked spaghetti .but like you I have onion I every thing I have cinomon in a lot of my hot drinks with lemon the other day I had grated ginger lemon spoon of honey cinomon but grated some nut Meg in it it realy felt like health in a cup so warming aromatic.and the ginger calms my arthritus great video x
Marie, your pasta sounds delicious. I love simple quick meals too 🥰
As always a wonderful video Rowena, I will check out your website. I was interested in your kidney beans with peanut butter recipe sounds delightful. We are not plant based but eat a lot of meatless meals, Saturday night is also our pizza night.
Hi Michelle, I will put the recipe up on my website. It really is very tasty and filling. Nice to hear from you again. Did you enjoy your pizza last night 😊. Hugs 🥰
@@RowenaMarie thanks Rowena, yes I did enjoy our pizza, we had been away housesitting for two months, so was eager for a homemade pizza 🍕
Another great video Rowena, i really enjoyed it, can you share in another video what desserts and fruits you take, hugs☺
Hi Andy, my favourite desert at the moment are yoghurt and berries, so that’s what I’m having lately 🥰
I just stopped by. I'm in seattle. I enjoyed your video.
Hi Dolores thanks for stopping by 🥰
Great ideas, thank you!
Hi Leisa, glad you found them helpful. Hugs 🥰
I have recently purchased a bag of dried chick peas, 1kg bag.
Hi Ally, so many things you can make with chickpeas 🥰
@@RowenaMarie Could you do a video on these recipes?
Hey Rowena, I found this really interesting, I'd like to go more plant based but struggle with ideas as I'm a bit of a fussy eater when it comes to vegetables, but I'm willing to be more flexible and will definitely take a look at your website - I'd like to try some sort of lentil/black bean burger if you have any recipes for those? All the best ❤️
Hi Bex, no I don’t have a recipe for a lentil/bean burger but I might try making one 😊. Hugs to you 🥰
@@RowenaMarie Thanks Rowena hugs back 🤗
Chili on potatoes are yummy
Hi reba, yes it is 🥰
Can you really buy carrots for 69c? (In Sydney it’s approx $2.50 p/kg)
How long have you been plant based? Homemade 🍕 is delicious! Do you use spelt flour?
Hi Ally, I’ve been plant based for 9 years and no I just use plain all purpose flour. Hugs 🥰
@@RowenaMarie Cool!
@@RowenaMarie I'm vegan
I hope you can read this I've lost my glasses so I'm not sure I've pressed sll correct buttons .hope your well x
Hi Marie, yes I can read it 😂. Hugs 🥰
Can you buy frozen capsicum?
Hi Ally, yes you can but it isn’t really good to cook with. Hugs 🥰
@@RowenaMarie Oh, I have found it fine.
👍🌹
Hi Virginia 🙏🥰