Okay, show of hands: How many of you love to eat out? Come on, I know you're out there! Yep, I like eating out, too. Here's the thing though, eating out can really add up!
Let's say that you go out with you husband or wife or girlfriend, boyfriend, partner or on a date with the cutie who lives next door to you. You figure, hey this'll be fun! Eating out with someone I like (and eating out can be a social experience, after all.)
So, you get to a restaurant that you both like that also happens to serve great vegetarian and vegan food. You think, "Hey, an appetizer would be nice." So you spend, let's say, $7 on your appetizer. Your order a bottle of wine because you think it'll go well with supper. The bottle cost $16. Then you order your supper. Let's say that you order an entree that costs $12.99 and your date orders an entree that costs $11.99. Let's add that up:
Appetizer: $7.00
Wine: $16.00
Entree 1: $12.99
Entree 2: $11.99
Total: $47.99
Adding in tax, you've just eaten a meal that costs roughly $50. Now, you add a tip, because the waitress did a good job and you're feeling generous. So, you give her $10. That means you just spent $60 on a meal out. That's a lot of money, right?
Now, let's assume that the average single person living alone is like me: You spend about 40 to 60 a week on groceries. If you have two people at home, I think that it's safe to assume that jumps to roughly 80 to 100 a week on food. If you have kids, you probably spend 150 to 200 a week on food depending on how many kids you have and how much they eat (because, really some kids seem to have a hollow leg don't they?)
So, unless your Bill Gates, you probably don't have tons and tons of money to spend on eating out a lot. It also takes money out of what you could be spending on food to cook at home!
So, save yourself a dime, go to the grocery store and cook at home! It'll taste great, and you'll save some money.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Saturday, July 27, 2013
The {Not So Secret} Garden
Gardens, really, are a great way to save money as a vegetarian or vegan. You can grow your own produce and save yourself a ton of money, because we all know produce at the market doesn't come cheap!
Some gardening ideas:
*If you have a house, take up a plot in your yard. You can determine the size based on how much space you have. Grow whatever plants you feel like growing over the summer.
*If you live in an apartment with a balcony, consider doing some container balcony gardening. It doesn't take a lot of space, and you can still get some awesome, great tasting veggies when you're done! Here are some cool photos of container balcony gardens:
*If you just don't have the space, ask a friend if they'd be willing to share some yard space with you. Afterwards, you can share some of your produce with them!
After your fruits and veggies start to grow, you may find that you have too much for just one person. You don't want the fruits of your labor to spoil! SO, get some freezer bags (or those vacuum bag things) and store the leftovers in your freezer. You can take them out and use them as you need them.
And there you have it: a great way to save money and still have great tasting fruits and veggies!
Some gardening ideas:
*If you have a house, take up a plot in your yard. You can determine the size based on how much space you have. Grow whatever plants you feel like growing over the summer.
*If you live in an apartment with a balcony, consider doing some container balcony gardening. It doesn't take a lot of space, and you can still get some awesome, great tasting veggies when you're done! Here are some cool photos of container balcony gardens:
*If you just don't have the space, ask a friend if they'd be willing to share some yard space with you. Afterwards, you can share some of your produce with them!
After your fruits and veggies start to grow, you may find that you have too much for just one person. You don't want the fruits of your labor to spoil! SO, get some freezer bags (or those vacuum bag things) and store the leftovers in your freezer. You can take them out and use them as you need them.
And there you have it: a great way to save money and still have great tasting fruits and veggies!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Ok, your probably wondering what high fructose corn syrup has to do with saving money on a veggie diet. But trust me, the two are related. Let's start by looking at some of the items that contain high fructose corn syrup. There's:
1. Soda
2. Granola Bars
3. Flavored Yogurt
4. Cereal
5. Salad Dressings
6. Some canned fruits and vegetables
7. Fast and Processed foods
Now, you may be thinking that some of these items are not bad for you. And while I will always encourage eating as many fruits and vegetables as possible, fresh is always best. Also, anyone who knows anything about soda wouldn't drink it anyway.
Now, how do you suppose you could save money and be veggie while avoiding high fructose corn syrup? Well, for starters, avoid processed foods and sodas. These items tend to be "empty calories" and give a full feeling after eating them, but don't really fill us up. This leads people to spend more money on food items that are similar to the ones that didn't fill them up in the first place.
You can also make your own granola or cereal with healthy items that will leave you feeling fuller longer and won't negatively impact your health like sugars or hfcs.
As for how to get fruits and veggies without hfcs in them: buy fresh! I know that it seems more convenient and inexpensive to go the prepackaged route even on fruits and vegetables, but when you buy your produce fresh, it hasn't been put through any sort of radiation process or flash freezing or anything else before it gets to you. So it's got more nutrients and therefore provides more for your body, leaving you fuller longer and, surprise, saving you money!
1. Soda
2. Granola Bars
3. Flavored Yogurt
4. Cereal
5. Salad Dressings
6. Some canned fruits and vegetables
7. Fast and Processed foods
Now, you may be thinking that some of these items are not bad for you. And while I will always encourage eating as many fruits and vegetables as possible, fresh is always best. Also, anyone who knows anything about soda wouldn't drink it anyway.
Now, how do you suppose you could save money and be veggie while avoiding high fructose corn syrup? Well, for starters, avoid processed foods and sodas. These items tend to be "empty calories" and give a full feeling after eating them, but don't really fill us up. This leads people to spend more money on food items that are similar to the ones that didn't fill them up in the first place.
You can also make your own granola or cereal with healthy items that will leave you feeling fuller longer and won't negatively impact your health like sugars or hfcs.
As for how to get fruits and veggies without hfcs in them: buy fresh! I know that it seems more convenient and inexpensive to go the prepackaged route even on fruits and vegetables, but when you buy your produce fresh, it hasn't been put through any sort of radiation process or flash freezing or anything else before it gets to you. So it's got more nutrients and therefore provides more for your body, leaving you fuller longer and, surprise, saving you money!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The Fake Meat Dillemma
Ok, now maybe I am a little biased because I personally don't really like a lot of the fake meat products that are out there. I have found a few I'll buy occassionally that I don't mind, but for the most part, I stay away.
Bias aside, faux meat can be expensive. Take, for example, the lovely four pack of faux chicken patties that I buy on occassion. They are amazing. I mean, seriously the best fake meat I've ever eaten. They taste just like real chicken, but they're vegan. BUT, that neat little four pack, at least here in the Fargo-Moorhead area, costs me over 4 dollars. That's about $1 per patty. Yeah it seems cheap when you say only $1 a patty.
But what else could I get with that $1? Well this week I could have used that dollar on any of the following that I actually bought:
*Bananas (will last me at least until thursday, maybe Friday)
*a couple peaches
*a small amount of pineapple for smoothies
*bread
So, relatively speaking, those chicken patties can add up. You're better off eating things straight from the garden or the whole grains and saving things like fake meat for a special treat.
Bias aside, faux meat can be expensive. Take, for example, the lovely four pack of faux chicken patties that I buy on occassion. They are amazing. I mean, seriously the best fake meat I've ever eaten. They taste just like real chicken, but they're vegan. BUT, that neat little four pack, at least here in the Fargo-Moorhead area, costs me over 4 dollars. That's about $1 per patty. Yeah it seems cheap when you say only $1 a patty.
But what else could I get with that $1? Well this week I could have used that dollar on any of the following that I actually bought:
*Bananas (will last me at least until thursday, maybe Friday)
*a couple peaches
*a small amount of pineapple for smoothies
*bread
So, relatively speaking, those chicken patties can add up. You're better off eating things straight from the garden or the whole grains and saving things like fake meat for a special treat.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Welcome to Thrifty Veggies
I've had so many discussions with people who think that it is super expensive to be vegan or vegetarian. They seem to think that eating meat is just cheaper.
So, as someone who eats on a budget, as I am sure many people do, I wanted to start a blog about how to be veggie on the smaller end of things. I think it is nice to share foods that are inexpensive, restaurants that are inexpensive, etc.
So, keep your eyes posted for some good ideas.
So, as someone who eats on a budget, as I am sure many people do, I wanted to start a blog about how to be veggie on the smaller end of things. I think it is nice to share foods that are inexpensive, restaurants that are inexpensive, etc.
So, keep your eyes posted for some good ideas.
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