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.

It's Friday again – fish and chip night here in Spixworth

I love fish and chip Friday. I know fish can be expensive but I'm now opting for the cheap supermarket fish fillets in batter.  As some of you will know, I'm a keen environmentalist/animal welfare campaigner and I haven't eaten cod for years due to its having been over-fished in the past, but I can get four battered fish portions which I can cook in the oven for the sum of 85p.  I always look at the ingredients on the back of the packet and I was pleased to see that the fish is Pollock of which there's a relatively robust stock in nearby waters.  The only thing in the ingredients I'm not too happy about is palm oil but as there's a minuscule amount in the batter it seemed the lesser of two evils.

It seems, however, that I may not need to worry quite so much about eating cod in the foreseeable future as I read in today's Guardian newspaper that, following drastic cutbacks on cod fishing around our shores, these fish are now making an excellent comeback.  It appears we've learned our lesson here in the UK and the majority of fishermen I believe will think twice before they trawl our seas, killing not only fish stocks but all the other wildlife that gets caught up in their nets.  It's not our god given right to kill everything in sight including humans.  It's important that we live alongside our animal/fishy friends as, in the end, it will only benefit future generations.

I digress.  As the fish portions are slightly smaller than the usual ones that cost £3.00 for a pack of four Adam tends to have a fish cake or fish fingers with his (again, cheap and cheerful but very tasty).  Of course, fish and chip Friday wouldn't be the same without chips and peas and again, cheap and cheerful oven chips and peas make the meal complete.

I reckon our tasty tea costs us no more than £1.50 for the two of us.  It's a quick, easy and tasty treat to set us up for the weekend.  And maybe while we're eating we'll watch a FREE movie that we've recorded during the week from the TV.  Last night we watched Johnny English (again!).  It never ceases to amuse me.

Other bargains I got this week were a tenderheart cabbage at 50p, and four small frozen cheese and tomato pizzas. - £2  I have one for a meal piled up with jalapeno peppers, sweet peppers, onion, olives and sweetcorn and then I just have it with a salad accompaniment.  Dessert wasn't a problem – I grow rhubarb in my garden and had a tub of it in my fridge.  Add a couple of spoonfuls of bargain basement soft scoop vaiilla ice cream and I'm satisfied.  As far as my salad goes, I don't always have to pay out for lettuce as I grow nasturtiums out in a large pot in the garden.  They're so easy to grow and it's incredibly cheap for a packet of seeds.  They're happy spreading across relatively barren ground, hanging in pots or even growing up a trellis.  Both leaves and flowers are edible.  They basically taste like a slightly more peppery water cress.  Once the seed pods have formed on the plant these can be pickled and are a perfect accompaniment to pizza.

I thought a couple of weeks ago that I'd gone over the top when a bought a tin of Heinz spicy lentil and vegetable soup for £1 but I had it last night with some toast and it was delicious.  I'm pretty certain I could eat this zooped up a bit with some more curry paste and have it accompanied by naan bread or onion bhajis/vegetable samosas.  It only took about 5 minutes to heat up and serve so great as a quick meal.

On the survey front, this week I've cashed in £30 from GlobalTestMarket, £2.50 from Opinion Outpost and received a £15 Amazon voucher from one of my newer survey sites and this morning I netted another £5 Amazon voucher from Swagbucks.  The £15 couldn't have come at a better time.  Adam's just about finished reading the last of my David Baldacci books that I won in a prize draw.

We've been watching a programme on the History Channel about the search for treasure on Oak Island  The treasure is thought to have connections to the Knights Templar.  Both Adam and I have always been interested in the tales of the Holy Grail etc etc so, with party of my £15 I bought him three books.  One of them was by an English author, Alan Roberts, who the American explorers met when they made a trip up to Scotland to visit Rosslyn Chapel and hear more about its history and was basically a history of the templars themselves.  The second was a book about Rosslyn Chapel and was written by Lord Rosslyn.  The third was a bit of deviation from the Knights Templars but went a little bit further back in history to the Bronze Age and the so called 'computer discs' that had been discovered.  Right up Adam's alley.

I do just have one bit of bad news for all you animal lovers out there.  Our 17 year old cat, Kizzie, has gone blind so we're having to be very gentle with her.  She loves spending time outside and refuses to be shut in the house so we're just hoping that she stays in the back garden.  At the moment she seems to like spending her days either under my sage bush or under the rhubarb.  However, we did have a cat that went blind at the grand old age of 20 and we managed to cope with him.  As long as our cats are eating, purring and aren't in distress or pain when we pick them up we see no reason why they shouldn't live out their lives in relative peace and comfort.  So, there's another reason to grow your own herbs and rhubarb … they provide an excellent shelter for your pets or other animals.

I think now my work here is done and I hope, wherever you are in the world, you can find something to think about if you're trying to save money or make money.  I'm also hoping that it'll encourage more people to look at the ethics of where our food comes from and how the animals we farm are treated.  I no longer eat meat but more and more I'm finding cheap vegetarian products out there in the supermarket so have a look in the freezer cabinets or chillers when you next go shopping.

Before signing off, I've just read that Justin Bieber has been banned from visiting China on account of previous bad behaviour.  Well done China!  I went off the fresh faced young pop star when I read about him moving properties and abandoned his dog in his old house.  Whatever sort of an influence is he going to be on the younger generation?  Sorry all Baby Bieber fans but his inhumanity just makes me want to lock him in a  house with no food or water for a few days and see how he likes it!