"We are amazed at how much we save simply by eating a couple of vegetarian main meals a week. I don't know why it has taken me so long to discover beans and lentils, but now I have they are on my list every week. As long as I use lots of herbs or spices and a bit of garlic (well, a lot) I can put together very tasty meals quite quickly with some canned beans and whatever happens to be in quick sale tray at my greengrocer's. I have also found that lentils are little miracle workers - I can make a spaghetti bolognese with about 450 g (1 lb) mince serve 8 people simply by adding half to a cup of dried lentils - the red ones that seem to melt down as they cook and merge with the meat so no one knows they are there."

- Maria