Is anyone a vegetarian for frugal reasons as well as environmental ones?

[Daisygirl]

Ann ~ I'm sure that a vegan diet is far more costly, at least when doing it properly. Because I eat eggs and lowfat dairy, I'm able to cut costs on protein sources. I found a brand of organic yogurt that is very reasonable and my eggs are free because my daughter has chickens at her dad's house. What items are you buying that make prices expensive for you? Maybe we can all brainstorm and come up with some ideas.

KRB ~ I grew up in the South so eating beans is second nature for me. A couple of ideas if it's the texture that bothers you:

~ Puree white beans and stir them into a creamy soup for extra protein and nutrition - you won't even know they are there!

~ Mash pinto beans and season with a little tomato paste, cumin and chili powder for instant "refried" beans. Use this for taco or burrito filling, as a dip with tortilla or pita chips or mixed with rice.

Hope this helps!

[Judi Dial]

I started my frugal food choices following a plan called DOLDOL, that is double, one, leftover, double.... and it worked, so I've continued using it as a model. What I also have done as we aged is make every other day's food vegetarian, if i can manage it. So, we'll have chicken soup Monday night, a small broccoli cheese casserole or pasta & cheese, or stuffed baked potato or ....Tuesday, the soup thickened and put into a chicken pot pie on Weds., etc.

I can just as easily make vegetarian chili as I can add turkey to it and then stretch it for 2 meals.

The choice was deliberate, yes, it was partly for our health and partly for our budget. Sometimes we eat a lot of meat, sometimes we eat none at all for a week. It depends on what I have on hand, the weather, our finances, and what's on sale.

I haven't cut down on eating meat solely as an environmental issue. I'm not against raising/eating animals, just factory farms, the masses of plastic that is used in their processing and marketing, etc.

My

Judi