Most people assume that just by purchasing eco friendly products or perhaps growing their own vegetables they are in fact being “green”. However not all 60 plus million Britons have the luxury of owning a garden or a plot of land.
So how can city workers cook and eat in an eco friendly manor?
The main problem with city works, much like me is that during lunchtime’s convenience takes priority over eco friendliness every time. It’s not that I don’t realise the amount of plastic bags being used on a weekly basis or how the food has been cooked but as I said what’s a guy to do?
Well since the start of 2009 I have been “eating eco” and saving money in the process. During 2008 on any given day I would have typically eaten the following:
1. A Coffee – £1.20
2. A Muffin – £1.50
3. A Sandwich – £2.50
4. Pack of Crisps - £0.50
5. Chocolate Bar - £0.50
6. Canned Drink - £1.00
So in total I would have spent in the region of £7.20 PER DAY! Not only did I realise the amount of money I spent a month for pretty mediocre food was £144.00 but the amount of waste accumulated was horrendous.
How to solve the problem and save money?
Simple, spend around 1.5 hours on a Sunday and cook 2 dishes making 5 portions. Visit any main supermarket and buy a pack of plastic lunch containers, these tubs are re-usable and tend to last for months at a time. A typical lunch for me will now include:
1. A green tea (tea bag) - £0.03 per bag
2. Porridge (multi pack) - £0.20 per sachet
3. Spaghetti/Chilli/Pasta/Stew – On average £1.00 per portion
4. Chocolate bar (one step at a time) - £0.50
With only an extra one or 2 hours effort you could save your monthly cost on food by £109.40 per month – that’s what I did. If you wanted to take it a little further you could make your own muffins or cook your own potato crisps but doing this is very achievable! ac
