Easy and Cheap Vegetable Stew

People often say to me that they won't become vegetarian as it's too expensive.  I can tell you now that it's considerably cheaper to be a vegetarian than it is an omnivore.

Last night for dinner I had a delicious vegan meal which cost me next to nothing.

It contained:

1 carrot, sliced
1 parsnip, sliced
1 leak, sliced
Small portion of swede, diced
8 Brussels sprouts
Portion of chopped cabbage
Bisto gravy granules
Horseradish sauce

I placed the carrot, parsnip, swede and leak into a pan of boiling water.  I placed the Brussels sprouts and cabbage into another pan of boiling water.

I left them simmering on the hob for around 15-20 minutes.

I then drained some of the water from each of the pans into a jug, added some Bisto gravy granules (which are vegan) and half a teaspoon of horseradish sauce.

I put all the veg onto my plate poured over the gravy and enjoyed a delicious vegan meal for next to nothing.

I added the horseradish sauce to the gravy so that it gave me the feeling I had a roast beef dinner.  Sometimes I add mint sauce or a little bit of stewed apple to the gravy to give me a 'hint' of lamb or pork.

All of the vegetables are in season now in the UK so are cheap to buy.

I've cut down my carbon footprint as all the veg were grown in the UK, I had no meat - one of the major environmental factors in the world - and I was fed very cheaply

It was nutritious too.  I got loads of vitamins from the veg as well as iron from my greens.

I didn't add any protein to my meal last night but if you want to add something then try adding some beans or peas.  I sometimes add butter beans to mine.

Vegetarianism Saves Money,Saves the Planet!

Strictly, I'm not a true vegetarian as I eat fish but, as I do the shopping each week (I do it online and get it delivered), I have noticed that my part of the grocery list costs considerably less than my meat eating partner Adam's portion.

These days we tend to each cook our own food but use a common theme so we at least have some of the same ingredients.

The other night Adam decided he fancied a bolognese so he got out his minced beef to which he added chopped onions, tinned tomatoes, garlic, oregano and basil. His meal in total cost around 75p to £1. My bolognese used some of the chopped onions, the tinned tomatoes, garlic, oregano and basil but I added some celery, some frozen green beans and frozen sweet peppers. I've learnt that if you don't have meat you should have some form of beans, peas or pulses to ensure you have all the necessary nutrients to remain healthy. My meal cost less than 50p.

For many years I was a bit dubious about the nutritional value of frozen and tinned vegetables and fruit but I've now seen so many programmes that produce compelling evidence to that I'm now a great fan of tinned and frozen. Another thing I love about these products is that they're cheaper than buying fresh, plus you don't have rotting fresh veg hanging around for days which only have to be thrown out. This, in turn, means that although your fresh vegetables might be in season and relatively cheap, they're not so cheap if you have to throw half of them out.

Since 1986 when Adam and I moved in together I'd been used to doing the cooking for both him and me and I'm now finding it difficult to judge one portion so, needless to say, my bolognese sauce lasted for two meals. The next day Adam had a corned beef hash so he basically used half a can of corned beef which isn't cheap but me, being frugal, just added a few kidney beans and half a fresh chilli. Again, I didn't need a whole tin of kidney beans so they were put in the fridge to use another day. I had six fresh chillies in a bag costing 50p and as I only needed half a pepper my meal cost me next to nothing.

I wouldn't want Adam to give up meat but I think he is now coming round to my arguments and he isn't averse to having the odd vegetarian meal.

Going back to the frozen vegetables, I've recently discovered frozen cabbage. My supermarket introduced it a few months ago and as it was £1 for a big bag I gave it a whirl and was very pleasantly surprised and, again, I didn't have a smelly old cabbage mouldering away in my veg rack so money well spent. Having started my Asda order online today I've now noticed that they're doing frozen kale. Some of you may know that this is the latest superfood so, although two ½ lb bags of fresh works out the same as a 1 lb bag of frozen, I'm mindful that I may end up wasting some of the fresh so it's bound to work out cheaper.

When it comes to tinned vegetables I always have a good stock of sweet corn, peas, kidney beans, green beans and carrots … oh, and of course baked beans! The carrots are not as good as fresh but they're fine for sticking in a casserole.

So, don't dismiss the frozen veg aisles of your supermarket. You could be pleasantly surprised by just how cheap and versatile they are.