Vegetarians/ Vegans & Cheap Omega-3?

Fire_Fox

Thanks again, it's very useful to get your view. :cool: As regards eggs, Asda sell free range eggs in boxes of 15 or 18 which cost 17p per egg. These particular packs also frequently on offer, the most recent was two for £3, included various other dairy products not just eggs. If you did get just the eggs you would have got thirty free range eggs for £3 so 10p each: ideal if you have a mate, neighbour or colleague who is happy to go halves with you.

The packs are plastic (not recyclable), the exact quantity seems to change from week to week and the packs are not always kept with the other eggs, often on the end of an aisle instead. I live alone and can get through fifteen eggs as long as they are not short dated - my cat gets a couple! I find MySupermarket really helpful in identifying offers and cheapest pack sizes before I shop.

Kirri

pmorrisjones wrote: »

I buy linseeds from Julian Graves when they are on buy one get one free or half price. Could buy a year/six months supply if it could be built into budget somehow. :j

They are on offer at the moment - the brown ones £1.84 for 500g - does anyone know how they differ to the golden ones?

Ben84

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I too buy Goldenlay and Columbus eggs but they are 25p each, and provide only a third of the day's omega-3 which is £90 for the month and, as Ceridwen explained, the entire budget is £100! :eek: For omnivores we can get all the omega-3 in six large cans of pilchards at just £4.

That's a massive difference, not just in price but in quantity. I'm very interested to hear what sources you find, because it's not just a concern for vegetarians or those on budgets even. Some people need alternatives because they can't eat seafood.

Ben84

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Thanks again, it's very useful to get your view. :cool: As regards eggs, Asda sell free range eggs in boxes of 15 or 18 which cost 17p per egg. These particular packs also frequently on offer, the most recent was two for £3, included various other dairy products not just eggs. If you did get just the eggs you would have got thirty free range eggs for £3 so 10p each: ideal if you have a mate, neighbour or colleague who is happy to go halves with you.

The packs are plastic (not recyclable), the exact quantity seems to change from week to week and the packs are not always kept with the other eggs, often on the end of an aisle instead. I live alone and can get through fifteen eggs as long as they are not short dated - my cat gets a couple! I find MySupermarket really helpful in identifying offers and cheapest pack sizes before I shop.

Supermarkets can be affordable, and I do like mysupermarket for finding offers. However, I'm starting to discover after years of supermarket shopping that it is something of a mistake that many people believe they're the best priced place to shop. Markets, veg boxes and local retailers can beat them on many items.

I also find that supermarkets tend to average prices on fruit and vegetables a bit, while markets and grocers seem to sell seasonal stuff cheaper and pass on the higher costs of out of season items. Checking out average seasonal prices and non-supermarket prices could really improve what you can get for £100, although adding seasonality is possibly a new extra complexity?

I also find that to get the best supermarket prices you need to buy big packets. This is fine for cooking oil or washing powder, but for some items it doesn't matter how cheap they are, having to buy for example eggs by the 30 is impractical for many people. Anything with a fairly short life span or that needs to take up limited fridge/freezer space is difficult to bulk buy. The average family has 3-5 people, which in the typical under counter fridge is I expect less than a shoe box each. I do sometimes split offers or packets with friends, but it's not always possible.

Local shops and markets can be cheaper for the practical size packets, even if not the cheapest in regards to the super-size ones.

A_fiend_for_life

Pickling would be an option for so many eggs. Getting jars might be a challenge unless a takeaway or restaurant can provide them eg catering mayo jars are one option. The recommendation seems to be fridge storage for pickled eggs takeaways seem to do otherwise.

Not sure how long they keep for though.

http://www.helpwithcooking.com/egg-guide/make-pickled-eggs.html


How to freeze eggs

http://www.helpwithcooking.com/egg-guide/buying-storing-eggs.html

I'm not sure about this one I'd rather cook them first but for savoury use spices as well as salt might keep bacteria at bay when defrosting.


Aside

Some older ways of preserving eggs that seem more fascinating than practical

http://www.oldandsold.com/articles11/miscellaneous-recipes-13.shtml

lemontart

this new thread I started may be of interest
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=30364363&highlight=#post30364363

gibby

this is a great question. Im not a nutritionist but spent alot of time looking at this subject & helping others with issues.

From the many hours of research it seems that if the omega 3 n 6 is cooked its almost a waste of time. Some studies are now showing plant based omega oils are far better than fish oils (especially the cheap ones as they are cooked & have toxins)

One of the best sources is organic flax/hemp/pumpkin seeds that are uncooked. Do avoid the ones that have been sprayed or preserved as they can be a waste of money. The same goes with nuts & may be better if soaked in filtered water before hand. Just avoid those heat treated/dried etc

I also use good hemp or flax oils & for those in good health 1 table spoon per day is enough & not expensive.

There are also some good supplements for those fussy with seeds/oils.

For good info on the subject try Dr Joe

http://www.drjoeesposito.com
http://www.drjoeesposito.com/radio.html

Dr Joe has lots of free info & gives info on the latest studies
check out the radio shows & feel free to email him for more infp

Ive seen some ppl with very severe health issues get much better from his free info & many many vegans & veggies follow his advice as he is way ahead with nutrition

hope that helps

G

bitsandpieces

gibby wrote: »

this is a great question. Im not a nutritionist but spent alot of time looking at this subject & helping others with issues.

From the many hours of research it seems that if the omega 3 n 6 is cooked its almost a waste of time. Some studies are now showing plant based omega oils are far better than fish oils (especially the cheap ones as they are cooked & have toxins)

One of the best sources is organic flax/hemp/pumpkin seeds that are uncooked. Do avoid the ones that have been sprayed or preserved as they can be a waste of money. The same goes with nuts & may be better if soaked in filtered water before hand. Just avoid those heat treated/dried etc

I also use good hemp or flax oils & for those in good health 1 table spoon per day is enough & not expensive.

There are also some good supplements for those fussy with seeds/oils.

For good info on the subject try Dr Joe

http://www.drjoeesposito.com
http://www.drjoeesposito.com/radio.html

Dr Joe has lots of free info & gives info on the latest studies
check out the radio shows & feel free to email him for more infp

Ive seen some ppl with very severe health issues get much better from his free info & many many vegans & veggies follow his advice as he is way ahead with nutrition

hope that helps

G

Lots of this is wrong. The oils in fish remain beneficial when the fish is cooked, unless you manage to cremate the poor fish :eek: It's much easier to get a decent amount of EPA and DHA by eating fish, rather than using veggie alternatives. I can understand why people may avoid fish for ethical reasons. Healthwise, though, most people would do well to eat some oily fish.

In terms of cooking veggie oils with omega 3 in, cooking with the oils will damage some of the fat. Using rapeseed oil for deep fat frying at high temps isn't likely to lead to healthy food! On the other hand, using rapeseed oil in things like carrot cake make be a good option.

Pumpkin seeds are a poor choice for a source of omega 3 fats. They had a load of omega 6 in them - so are likely to skew you omega 3:6 ratio towards omega 6, unhelpfully.

No need to choose organic nuts for health reasons - especially if you're eating on a budget. Anything with sensible regulation on the use of sprays etc. should be fine (and, of course, some herbicides etc. are allowed on organic crops).

Um, that's probably enough to say for now...

Kirri

This is a thread about vegetarians and vegans though so it's pointless talking about fish...

bitsandpieces

Kirri wrote: »

This is a thread about vegetarians and vegans though so it's pointless talking about fish...

It's relevant because people are sometimes encouraged to become vegan for supposed health reasons (for example, overplaying health concerns about toxins in fish). It's not very moneysaving to give up cheap and healthy foods because of exaggerated fears! I do understand, though, that people often become vegan for ethical reasons.