So, I’m not saying I’m the greatest genius in vegan history, but I feel like I need a little recognition. About a year ago when I had first moved and had a place to cook but was low on money, I set out to save on groceries. Protein is generally more expensive than other nutrients, so I focused on that. I’m aware that vitamin C is also mandatory if you’re a primate but that’s cheap. If you’re not interested in further tangential thoughts, just skip down to the final header.
Now, my North American mother of German descent who unrelatedly had several massive personality disorders that probably stemmed from her subconscious awareness of having a learning disability, told me when I was young that the three parts of a meal were carbs, protein, and fiber. Now, thanks to my library book, The Cheese Trap, I have learned better, and in fact have access to the real nutritional suggestions (not like that myplate.gov lobbyist propaganda… kidding not kidding) and in fact I will take the liberty of sharing the lowdown with you now:
Now, if Dr. Neal Barnard the vegan superstar gets mad that I put this here and requires me to take it down, I will probably be so stoked that he read my blog that I would just take it down right away, so for those reading now, you should be glad you saw my post in time.
ANYWAY…
…so it turns out that you’re not just supposed to have “protein;” you actually should be eating complete proteins, which are a little more complicated. Dr Barnard gives us this diagram but some things (ie sunflower seeds) don’t exactly fit into a category. I was not super concerned about that when I was basically starving to death, so instead, I just calculated the cost of a slew of different kinds of protein, per 100 grams of protein. Note that this isn’t per 100 grams of food. (I tried sharing this on Reddit and somebody said their canned beans only had 1/3 as much protein as my dried beans and I was like🤦🏻♀️.)
This was my system:
- Find the cost of the item
- Find the cost per ounce (which sometimes meant converting from grams, and made me fully embrace the metric system because it can be a whole extra step to figure out if they actually mean fluid ounces and that is a system that needs to die).
- Cost ÷ # of ounces = cost per ounce
- Find the number of servings per container
- Find the amount of protein per serving
- Protein per serving × #number of servings per container = protein per container
- Grams of protein per container ÷ total ounces of food per container = grams of protein per ounce of food
- Cost per ounce of food ÷ grams of protein per ounce of food = cost per gram of protein (because the ounces cancel out)
- Multiply by 100 grams because otherwise the cost is too low to be useful
Now, I wish I could take full credit for the math here, but my little brother actually was the one who figured out how to cancel out the number of ounces in a hypothetical piece of food and look only at grams of protein. And oh my god did he have to do some higher math to figure that out:
Now, in my defense, we were homeschooled in a cult and Mom didn’t figure out how to teach math until she got to the younger kids, which she did mostly by outsourcing the teaching of math. But all that to say, I have the answer.
*Skip to this header if you just want the answer*
This is the google doc with the cost for a zillion types of protein:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11QhoOM5ZjiAahOeWmVsvU3ofuA-Qub3Gt8eXyde_LHQ/edit?usp=sharing
I recommend opening the Google Sheet but if you’re finding this on a Google image search or just don’t open links, this photo is the most updated that I have as of June 2024, and I updated all the prices last month. If you would like any other protein sources added, you can either make a copy of the spreadsheet and do it yourself or (preferably) ask me and I will add it in and the spreadsheet will be even more comprehensive. I actually did this when I posted it on Reddit and so the items in purple are the new ones added thanks to Reddit. (To the person who gets all their protein from fresh greens, either you are spending a lot of money on greens or you might want to check your protein intake.) Also definitely let me know if you know of a cheaper way to buy these things other than in the links provided. I just chose a grocery store chain with a website and used their prices if they were cheaper locally, and used the online price if that was cheaper. As I type this, I’m thinking I should go back in and add yuba, which I only know how to buy on my new favorite source of specialty food, which is Weee! (not a sponsor, but can you imagine if I had a sponsor?? 🤑)
Okay world, you’re welcome.
