{"id":14852,"date":"2026-01-27T18:09:46","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T18:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/lets-bust-the-myths-a-plant-based-diet-helps-you-save-money\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T19:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T19:40:12","slug":"lets-bust-the-myths-a-plant-based-diet-helps-you-save-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/lets-bust-the-myths-a-plant-based-diet-helps-you-save-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s bust the myths: a PLANT-BASED diet helps you SAVE MONEY!"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Reading time: 4 minutes<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The new year has come and gone, but has your resolution to opt for a\u00a0flexible and mostly plant-based diet<\/strong>\u00a0not turned into a healthy routine yet? Don\u2019t be discouraged\u2026 perhaps you need another incentive.<\/p>\n

Often, people shy away from starting due to the firm belief that a\u00a0sustainable diet<\/strong><\/a><\/span>\u00a0is more costly and is therefore not at all a lifestyle we can afford. This is an unfounded prejudice: a diet rich in\u00a0pulses<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0grains<\/strong><\/a>,<\/span>\u00a0seasonal fruit\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0vegetables<\/strong>\u00a0(which are tastier and cheaper!) compared to other foods, are not only good for our health, the\u00a0environment<\/strong>\u00a0and are highly varied and palatable, but also a\u00a0great way to save money<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

As the saying goes \u201cfull belly, happy heart\u201d\u2026 let\u2019s take a look at some tips on how we can make our wallet happy too!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A flexitarian diet is good for your bank account<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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By reducing the environmental impact on food production,\u00a0shifting to a nutritionally balanced diet<\/strong>\u00a0would also decrease chronic illnesses caused by unhealthy eating habits, thus saving on public expenses (health and environment) as well as increasing savings for the consumers themselves. This is what researchers from\u00a0Oxford University<\/strong>\u00a0based their recent study on: refuting the thesis that a\u00a0healthy and climate-friendly diet<\/strong>\u00a0is not economically viable for most people and is instead\u00a0\u201cgood for your bank account as well as for the planet\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This result was achieved by simply calculating the weekly spending costs at the supermarket for both omnivorous and plant-based diets. In upper-middle-income countries, those who follow a\u00a0flexitarian diet<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, a plant-based diet that also includes eggs, fish, dairy products and the occasional consumption of meat,\u00a0would save an average of 14%<\/strong>, while with a\u00a0plant-based diet<\/strong>\u00a0the costs would be reduced\u00a0by 34%<\/strong>.\u00a0 Taking into account the expected cost increase of meat in the future and considering the damage a mainly animal-based diet causes to health and the environment, savings are estimated to reach\u00a053% in 2050<\/strong>.[1]<\/sup><\/p>\n

[1]<\/sup>\u201cLa dieta vegetale taglia di un terzo i costi della spesa: nuovo studio della Oxford University\u201d (A plant-based diet cuts spending costs by a third: new Oxford University study) Accademia della nutrizione blog, nutrition courses and training,\u00a0Source\u00a0accademianutrizione.it<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Bringing pulses to the table: tips on how to save on groceries [2]<\/sup><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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As a result of recent international conflicts and rising energy costs,\u00a0food prices have risen\u00a0<\/strong>considerably. A phenomenon that, according to data from Coldiretti, has pushed many Italians to find ways to \u201cdefend\u201d themselves and save money on groceries, avoiding waste, moderating the consumption of expensive foods and favouring more affordable ones, such as\u00a0pulses<\/strong>. Once known as \u201cpoor food\u201d due to the fact that they are cheaper than meat, they are a\u00a0complete source of proteins<\/strong>\u00a0and are rich in\u00a0vitamins\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0minerals<\/strong>: a perfect way to limit the consumption of meat without excluding it completely from our diets.\u00a0[3]<\/sup><\/p>\n

Taking into account that meat is often the most expensive part of the meal, we must not forget about the amount of\u00a0water<\/strong><\/a><\/span>\u00a0used to produce it and\u00a0the pollution impact that intensive farming has on the environment<\/strong>. So here are a few ideas on how to\u00a0replace it with pulses<\/strong>\u00a0in an economical and sustainable way:<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Lentil bolognese<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 In his book \u2018Flavour\u2019, the famous Israeli chef\u00a0Yotam Ottolenghi\u00a0<\/strong>teaches us that, as an economical alternative, even a completely vegetarian\u00a0lentil bolognese<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>can be a real treat. Don\u2019t want to give up on that typical meaty consistency? Just partly replace it with the same amount of ready cooked lentils.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Tortellini in a bean broth \u2014<\/strong>\u00a0A dish nicknamed \u2018Rich and Poor\u2019 by the Emilia restaurant that invented it in the 1970s, is classic tortellini that, instead of the classic meat broth, is served with\u00a0pureed borlotti beans<\/strong>, bacon, tomato concentrate, garlic, parsley and vegetable broth. An excellent way to avoid buying broth meat cuts while maintaining the flavour balance of the traditional recipe.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Pureed fava beans: a super nutritious poor dish <\/strong>\u2014 Traditional Apulian peasant recipe, fava beans mash is a poor but very tasty dish with which you can make small meatballs: it is more\u00a0complete and nourishing meal<\/strong>\u00a0than\u00a0mashed potatoes<\/strong>\u00a0as it is\u00a0made of pulses<\/strong>, if accompanied with chard and boiled chicory seasoned with olive oil, it can easily replace a meat-based second course.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Back in the good old days house bills did not determine our food costs, but now these bills influence the food costs of our home meals more and more: for the same ingredients, even the quantity of raw materials used influence our choices, whether they are cooked with the use of gas or electricity.<\/p>\n

The good news is that our\u00a0Pedon\u00a0<\/strong>pulses and grains from the ready to eat range\u00a0I Pronti<\/strong><\/a><\/span>\u00a0guarantee energy savings, seeing as we have already taken care of cooking them in a healthy and natural way by\u00a0steaming them and adding just a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil<\/strong>. All you have to do is microwave them\u00a0for just 2 minutes<\/strong>\u00a0and serve them: for a\u00a0healthy, nutritious and tasty<\/strong>\u00a0meal without having to turn on the stove!<\/p>\n

Try them alone with the\u00a0Pulse\u00a0<\/strong>options (like\u00a0Lentils or Mixed Pulses<\/em>) and\u00a0Grains\u00a0<\/strong>(like\u00a07 Grains<\/em>), mixed with the\u00a0Mix\u00a0<\/strong>line (including\u00a0Sorghum and Chickpeas and Lentils and Ancient Grains<\/em>), perfectly paired with\u00a0Mixes with Vegetables<\/strong>\u00a0(like\u00a0Quinoa and Peas with Corn and Carrots<\/em>) or with the comforting\u00a0Soups\u00a0<\/strong>(like\u00a0Pasta and beans soup<\/em>)\u2026 ready to please wallets and palates alike!<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Bibliography<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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  1. La dieta vegetale taglia di un terzo i costi della spesa: nuovo studio della Oxford University\u201d (A plant-based diet cuts spending costs by a third: new Oxford University study) Accademia della nutrizione blog, nutrition courses and training,\u00a0Source\u00a0accademianutrizione.it<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/li>\n
  2. Come risparmiare in cucina? Imbrogliando con i legumi\u201d (How do you save on groceries? Cheating with pulses) La cucina italiana.it, Portal of Italian cuisine and sustainable nutrition,\u00a0Source\u00a0<\/span><\/em>lacucinaitaliana.it<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
  3. \u201cCereali integrali e legumi: ecco il piatto completo per la salute\u201d Fondazione Veronesi.it \u2013 Portale di Medicina e Alimentazione della Fondazione Umberto Veronesi \u2013 Dott.ssa Elena Dogliotti Biologa Nutrizionista,\u00a0Source\u00a0fondazioneveronesi.it<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Reading time: 4 minutes The new year has come and gone, but has your resolution to opt for a\u00a0flexible and mostly plant-based diet\u00a0not turned into a healthy routine yet? Don\u2019t be discouraged\u2026 perhaps you need another incentive. Often, people shy away from starting due to the firm belief that a\u00a0sustainable diet\u00a0is more costly and is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-behind-the-scenes"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14852"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14852\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14853,"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14852\/revisions\/14853"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}