Cost of Living: I cut meat from my diet to save money and this is how much I saved in one week
We swap tofu for chicken on Sunday night
We all know going plant-based is better for the planet, but could it be better for your wallet?
With the cost of just about everything going up, I decided to cut meat from my diet for a week to see if it would help me save a few euros, and I was pleasantly surprised by the result.
While I generally consume a mix of meat and meat-free dinners and lunches during a typical week, for the purposes of this experiment I have compared what it would cost me to eat all-meat lunches and dinners throughout the week, versus their vegetarian alternatives.
I haven’t included the price of breakfast, as I rarely consume meat for breakfast. My local supermarket is Tesco, and my corner shop is Mace so most of the prices are from these shops — the cost to you could be higher or lower depending on where you shop, discounts and other variables. With those disclaimers out of the way, here’s how much cutting meat from my diet for a week saved me.
I love making a chilli con carne and enjoying it with some sour cream, guacamole and tortilla chips for a tasty lunch. For the meat-based version of this dish, I'd use a pack of 488g steak mince which would cost about €3.50 in Tesco. For the veggie-version, I replaced this with a tin of red kidney beans which cost 68c.
For dinner, my lazy meal of choice is The Spice Tailor Original Tikka Masala kit, which comes with the sauce and dried spices required. This costs €3.45 with my Tesco Clubcard, and usually an additional €3.19 for a pack of diced chicken breast fillets. Instead, I threw in a can of chickpeas tonight, which I picked up for just 35c, and served it with some rice and naan bread. The chickpea-swap passed the boyfriend taste test.
- Overall, today's meat-free swaps saved me €2.83 per serving.
Whenever our local Mace has meatballs on offer, I pick them up and make spaghetti and meatballs. Usually priced at €4, I only ever buy them when they’re on offer at €2. This week, I pick up Sons of Butchers Cheatballs instead, a soy alternative to meatballs, for our lunch. These are priced at €3 in my local Tesco. I make both dishes the same way, with Ballymaloe’s Hidden Vegetable Pasta Sauce and spaghetti pasta, and the meat version works out at €2.98 per serving, while my meat-free versions costs €3.48.
For dinner, last week I had one of Iceland’s Luxury 100% British Extra Tasty Quarter Pounders which come in a pack of 4 for €4. Today, I swap this for Quorn’s hot and spicy vegan burgers, which taste like a dupe for southern chicken. These also come in a pack of 4 for €4.
- Overall, today's meat-free swaps actually cost me an extra 50c.
Halfway through the week, I am usually starting to feel the mid-week slump and might ‘treat’ myself to something from the deli, usually a chicken fillet roll. In my local corner shop, this sets me back about €4. Today I decide I'll make my own using one of the Quorn hot and spicy burgers from last night. The burger costs me €1, the roll costs me 75c. I throw in some cheese and lettuce, a dollop of mayo, lets throw another 50c on there to cover that — so my veggie version of a chicken roll costs me about €2.25.
My laziness today extends to dinner this evening. Instead of cooking up something fresh, I pick up Carroll’s Vegetarian lasagne instead, and throw it in the oven with some garlic bread. The veggie version is more expensive than their regular meat one (€4.69 versus €3.99), though it is 50g larger... but you wouldn't notice this. I don't miss the meat with this one, the veggie one is tasty out!
- Today, I save €1.05 with my veggie swaps.
Quick and easy is the name of the game today. For lunch, myself and the boyfriend would typically whip up a rice dish with the Old El Paso Chilli & Garlic Rice Kit which we get for just €3 with the Tesco Clubcard. When making this we like to add chicken, peppers, red onion and chorizo. This brings the cost of the meal up to approx €6 for two, or €3 per person. Instead, today I make a pasta dish with a tin of tomatoes, some halloumi and spinach. This works out at 94c per person.
For dinner, chicken and veg curry with rice is swapped out for sweet potato and veg curry with rice. For two, I usually use a 350g pack of diced chicken for my curry, which is priced at €3.19 in Tesco. Tonight, I use three sweet potatoes instead, which costs €1.47. The per serving cost of my sweet potato curry works out at €1.82, while the chicken version is €2.68 per person.
- In total, I save €2.92 per serving today.
I head out to lunch with a colleague today. We go to Pacino’s on Suffolk Street, Dublin, where the veggie-friendly pizzas range from €10 - €15. I opt for the Margherita, which sets me back €12. On a typical day, I’d go for a pizza with some parma ham and rocket or pepperoni, both of which are €14 on this menu, so I am counting that as a €2 saving.
A typical Friday night dinner for me would be baked salmon with some homemade sweet potato wedges and tenderstem broccoli. The salmon I buy costs about €3 per serving, with the tenderstem broccoli and wedges bringing that up to about €3.90 per serving. I wasn’t keen on replacing salmon with a fake-fish product and instead made a cheap and cheerful red lentil dahl for dinner tonight. I make Derval O’Rourke’s version, and throw in some frozen peas. This dish works out at about €1.13 per serving.
- Total savings per serving today are €4.77.
My boyfriend is a dab hand at enchiladas, and it’s one of our favourite lunchtime treats. We always pick up the Old El Paso Cheesy Baked Enchilada Dinner Kit when we find it on offer (I swear I am not sponsored by Old El Paso...) and this week we find it in Dealz for €3. The pack advises adding 500g of chicken, which would cost about €5.64 in Tesco. Instead, he throws in a 400G tin of black beans this week, 79c in Tesco, and we load up on peppers and cheese.
For dinner, I opt for the veggie version of one of my favourites at our local Indian, Indian Curry Club. The chicken Tikka Masala is priced at €11.95, with the vegetable version a euro less at €10.95. While I did save some money, I have to say I was definitely not satiated after it and wish there had been an option to add tofu or some other protein source.
- Today I save €3.42 per serving.
A lazy Sunday morning fry up is a rare treat in ours. If I am indulging, it means 2 sausages, 2 slices of maple cured bacon, some scrambled egg and 2 slices of buttery toast. This costs about €2.03. Today, I deviate slightly and instead have some baked beans on potato waffles instead, with two of Linda Mccartney's vegetarian Sausages. This costs me €1.68.
For dinner, it's time to crack out the tofu, something I've been procrastinating because it's a little messy to prepare. I make a stir fry with it, complete with noodles and veg out of a frozen mix. The tofu is replacing chicken here, and costs €3.50 for the amount I need for two portions, versus the diced chicken pack I'd usually use from Tesco which is €3.19.
- Today I save 20c.
Over the course of a week, my meat-free lunch and dinner swaps save me €14.69. While this doesn't seem like a lot, for a family of four that could be almost €60 a week, which would be a significant saving.
It's also worth noting, processed food was usually involved where savings weren't made, so cutting that out altogether probably would have saved me more.
