A scientifc proof we can still afford to have principles

Previously in this blog...
money is scarce and fair-trade-organic-eco is expensive,
however, you can still be kind to the planet, and no, I didn't mean loan sharks.

According to some very authoritative research I discovered today, at least British shoppers started buying more fair trade, animal welfare etc. produce as the times grew bleaker. However, the figures come from market research, which has its limitations. Much more interesting would be to take a look how both the "ethical" producers and "ethical" stores (their price tags coming with some "karma bank" investments) perform in terms of turnover and profits. I still maintain that we should maybe rethink our definition of ethical consumption; paying attention to which supermarkets have a horrible workers' rights' record is quite efficient for a start.

Ah, and somehow I discovered a very old article on what meats are OK to eat. Basically you should stay away from most fish unless you can ask the fish where it swam from, and chicken/pork is also dodgy.

Lamb (as I always knew) is quoted as one of the best choices, both in terms of what's good for you and what's good for the little lamb. Somehow reminded me this story I heard as a child (growing up in a virtually lamb-less country) that sheep are very stupid, to the point of not understanding when they're about to be transferred into lamb, ergo it doesn't produce adrenaline at the slaughterhouse - meaning their meat is very healthy.

And the only time I seriously considered becoming a vegetarian was when I saw a sheep herd peacefully nibbling on the grass outside this meat factory in a tiny country that basically had to import all foodstuff but meat. Seeing those critters outside at 9 p.m., seeing an empty turf at 11.p.m. and having a predictable (but delicious) meat dish for lunch kind of made me think of the value of life.

But seriously, how can you give up on this???


And it's cheap too. I got my lamb chops for 6.50 per kilo on Sunday, and frankly could have found as low as 5.80/kg. One kg of lamb with the same amount of onion, carrots and rice and some spices I know you still have in your pantry from your reach times can make up to two dinners for a moderately gluttonous family of five, and with some luck you'll arrive to the 1.50 eur per dinner per person.

Tomorrow, I'm going on my biggest frugally ethical consumption trip yet, so watch this space

xoxo

Recession Drembreakfast Part 1 - Nutritionally balanced for 0.25 eur p.p.

This morning, I've had a warm oatmeal porridge with a dash of butter and a spoon of confiture. Swap the jam for a tangerine, add a small cup of yoghurt, and you are getting a perfectly nutritionally balanced breakfast for less than what you paid for that croissant I know you'd grabbed on your way to work.
How so? You see, I've been using the carrefour/gb no.1 brand oatmeal for years just because I think most breakfast cereals are evil, loaded with sugar and whatnot, and I just want some plain honest porridge (or one of my favourite brand over-prices muesli, but maybe not this year :)). I make porridge with water; the recipe calls for 2 cups oatmeal for 3 cups water, but that's about double of what I can eat in the morning. So you can budget your breakfast like this:
100 g oatmeal from the 0.67 pack - 0.07 eur
a teeny coffeespoon of butter - 0.06 eur
(you can get economy brand butter for 3eur/kg, i've just checked in a shop :))
1 tangerine - 0.05 eur
(just got 1kg of the same no.1 carrefour/gb brand, and actually counted the tangerines just for this blog)
100 g of cheaper skinny drinking
yoghurt - 0.07 eur

My spreadsheet arrives at 0.25 eurocents. Add salt, water, electricity to boil, and even some of this confiture if you want - it's still really cheap, while fueling your body in a proper way and keeping you full until the lunchtime.

Those who think it must taste like scrap paper or take effort to make - thank you for the compliment, but I do not possess a kind of self-discipline required to stay loyal to this particular package for four years just for the price/healthy factor. It tastes really good, it takes but a few minutes to cook, and if you are bored with the porridge, you can always let the oatmeal soak with some milk and dried fruit while you take your morning shower, and voila - almost eco-muesli. If I got my hands on some (cheap) frozen berries, I'd put them in a chopper with yoghurt and just a gram of sugar, and then add the oatmeal to thicken my smoothie. Finally, there must be a way to make some delicious oat-cookies I don't know about.

Another way for the all-food-groups-pastry-price-equivalent breakfast is a medium egg, one slice of wholegrain traditional bread cut in half (one with frugal jam, the other with frugal butter), and whatever small vegetable/fruit you could get cheaply. I'll be back with the seasonal food charts quite soon. Yet another way is my made-from-scratch-pancakes, which are more Sunday brunch due to the time involved. Even then I focus on the cut-price basic ingredients such as cheap flour, cheap milk, cheap fruit or cheese.

You see, early in the morning economy brand food is justified. Our senses are not awake yet, so we are probably unable to appreciate nuances that come with fine foods. And while with food you often get what you paid for, there are a few exceptions - for example, this trailer that sells dairy on Sundays - when it comes to milk, they are superior to whatever you find in a shop in terms of both price and quality. The only cheap ingredient I feel bad about is eggs - I now get barn chickens' (wouldn't go near caged ones), but just because of my super-frugal-phase. Everybody, myself included, should buy free range or bio, as much as you can afford it. Egg-laying hens should not suffer THAT much for us :)

That's all. Come back tomorrow!