It seems to me that there is a correlation between the cost of meat and the amount of meat consumed. At least there is one for me. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to make a sort of teriyaki veggie rice mix for a couple of reasons. One was that I didn’t feel like cooking the meat and two was that the cost of meat generally speaking was a bit higher than I would like to spend. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit to the point where I plan on making it again. However, that doesn’t mean that I won’t eat meat. I grew up on meat and have not yet chosen the planet over my taste-buds. Either way, the amount of meat that I consume is directly related to the cost of said meat.
If I have to choose between spending an extra $5-10 or more a week on food and choosing a vegetarian option, I will probably be inclined to eat the vegetarian option. That’s because it is cheaper and in many ways, just plain easier for the lazy side of me. I have a vegetarian chili (yes I know, this can be blasphemous in some areas) and a meaty one. The vegetarian one is mostly tossing cut up onions, peppers, and possibly celery into the pot to cook before I add a can each of kidney beans, tomatoes, and chili beans. The meat one is the exact same except for the ground beef. This tends to be a theme across my vegetarian meals. I basically just make the food but without the meat. Again, it is mainly because of price and convenience.
Today, I was at the grocery store thinking that there would be a sale on ground beef. There was and it was way better than I was expecting. I weirdly found a bit of excitement when I was told that the sticker price was for the whole 3lb package and not just per pound. This basically enticed me to spend more than I had intended this week just to stock up on ground beef so that I won’t have to pay for it later. I will admit that I was also motivated to stock up because of what I have read about the possibility of the floods in the Midwest driving up costs of meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, and grains. Regardless, I now have quite a bit of my freezer filled with ground beef. I will probably cook the meat, separate it into regular portions and refreeze the cooked meat.
When the price of meat is high and the availability of meat in my freezer is low, I generally eat more vegetarian. Now that I have a stock of meat, I may choose to eat more meals with meat. I may also try to make vegetarian meals that I like since I know that the stock won’t last forever. Either way, in my home there is a direct relationship between the amount of meat I have available, at what price, and whether I make more veggies as a part of my diet. The higher the cost or the lower the availability, the more vegetarian my meals become. I would not be surprised to hear that other people choose to eat the same way. Do you see a relationship between the cost of meat and whether you eat more veggies? Do you have two versions of a recipe, one vegetarian and one not? Please answer below with your comments and thanks for reading.
unknownclimate 