Emily Winsauer decided to try vegetarianism after watching a Discovery Channel special featuring blue fin tuna, which she found surprisingly beautiful.
“It just kind of hit me,” says Winsauer, founder of the vegan website Knox Vegan in Knoxville, Tennessee. “I just didn’t want to eat it so badly that I’d want to kill it.”
Eight years later, Winsauer now follows a stricter vegan diet. And she’s found that her lifestyle hasn’t just been easy on her conscience — it’s been lighter on her wallet, too. “It’s a lot more affordable than people think,” she says.
[See: 12 Ways to Be a More Mindful Spender.]
Forgoing meat doesn’t mean that Winsauer is always shelling out big bucks for upscale organic greens and hard-to-find meat substitutes. Instead, her grocery list also contains affordable items like rolled oats, almond milk, rice, potatoes, kale, chickpeas and seasoning. I eat “extremely affordable meals that are a lot fresher,” she says. Plus, nixing meat encourages her to skip restaurant meals in favor of cooking at home, another cost-saver.
Winsauer is not alone in finding that going meatless saves money. In fact, a study published in the Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition in 2015 found that a vegetarian diet is cheaper than its meat-inclusive alternative.
The researchers compared the costs of a plant-based meal plan that included olive oil and an economical diet that included meat. They found that the vegetarian meal plan cost about $750 less per year. “Meat is what kills the budget,” says Mary Flynn, co-author of the study and a research dietitian at The Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island.
If you’re interested in starting a vegetarian diet — or simply want to cut down on meat — for the environmental, health and financial benefits, here’s how to get started.
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Start slowly. You’ll see cost savings by simply scaling back on meat, even if you don’t ban it altogether. For example, you can opt to only eat meat when dining out or on the weekends. “You don’t have to give it all up,” Flynn says. “If you really like beef, save it for a restaurant.”
Scaling back can still have big financial benefits over the long term. Winsauer gives the example of replacing steak with a can of beans once per week. “[If] you were going to get steak for $6 or $8 to go with this meal, and instead you pay a dollar for a can of beans as an alternative … over the course of the year [that adds up], Winsauer says. “You can take that and go on a trip.”
Buy in season. “When things are in season, they are more available, and it brings the price down,” says Cara Mangini, author of “The Vegetable Butcher” and chef and owner of Little Eater, a produce-inspired restaurant and grocery in Columbus, Ohio.
Mangini recommends establishing a friendship with vendors at the local farmers market. They may give you a deal on surplus stock or imperfect-looking fruits and veggies.
And don’t throw produce away once it’s wilted, Mangini says. If vegetables are past their prime, savvy cooks can still use them by incorporating them into stir fries, sauces or soup broth.
… or go frozen. To stick to a cost-efficient vegetarian diet, supplement fresh produce with frozen fruits and vegetables. “You don’t need to eat fresh,” Flynn says, who recommends that cost-conscious vegetarians also scan the canned food aisles for long-lasting fruits and veggies.
Frozen peas, broccoli, kale, artichokes and green beans keep for months and can be whipped up into a stir fry in 15 minutes after a busy day, Flynn says.
[See: How to Live on $13,000 a Year.]
Add flavor. Vegetarian food doesn’t have to be boring. And it doesn’t cost much to jazz it up. “The thing is seasoning,” Winsauer says. “I think people worry that it’s going to be so bland.” Plus, vegetarians can explore the culinary worlds of India, Ethiopia and other cultures with more robust vegetarian offerings.
Flynn says that people who steer clear of vegetables often haven’t tried cooking them in olive oil, which transforms the taste and adds essential nutritional elements. “When you cook [vegetables] in olive oil, it’s a brand-new food,” she says.
These upgrades cost little and can make a world of difference in flavor and taste. “When you’re vegetarian, your meals are much more interesting because you’re not relying on chicken or seafood,” Flynn says.
For Winsauer, the change has helped her health, conscience and her budget. “It ended up being real savings for both the ingredients, which are a lot cheaper usually,” says Winsauer, “and cooking for myself, which is usually a lot cheaper than eating out and eating prepared food.”
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How to Save Money By Going Vegetarian originally appeared on usnews.com
