Cost-effective substitutes for seed-based cooking oils

[AloeSvea]

Hmmm - 'cost-effective' is very subjective!

In my home-country (Aotearoa/NZ), even though we are food-producing (as in all sources of cooking fat - the animals, the olives, the dairy industry), and coconut producing countries are relatively close by, all sources of fat is expensive, and butter has gone up in price most particularly.

But. My own attitude to dealing with the prohibitively high cost of food now is that I can't afford not to fork out and prioritise quality food, which absolutely includes expensive EVOO (especially if buying home grown and pressed, or second best the neighbour Aus's), and butter - our own of course.

 

[Outlier]

"Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food" - Hippocrates.

 

[Lupf]

While not cheap a bottle of olive oil costs no more than a glass of wine
at a bar or restaurant or two cheap pizzas at a supermarket.
I refrain from eating bad food as much as possible, thus I don't buy pizzas or other similar food,
but I like a glass of good wine when occasionally going out.
I've decided that life is too short to drink bad wine and bad coffee. The same applies to my diet.
Generally I am okay with paying a fair price for high quality food, including olive oil,
but I understand that some people here are struggling with money.
Cost of many food items have increased and it has become more difficult to buy within the available budget.

That said not all high quality food is expensive.
Many vegetables are usually very good value for money
Cabbage, cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, carrots, ... are often cheap,
e.g. carrots (if you can tolerate these) cost less than £1 per kg in the UK.
Go for the wonky shapes, buy vegetables when in season,
or food item which needs to be sold, as these are often reduced in supermarkets.
On the other hand I try to avoid takeaways as in my view these are overpriced,
often low quality and generate lots of packaging waste.
Having the ability to cook fresh food (and a partner who cooks even better than me)
also reduces the cost of eating. I stop here as I don't want to derail the thread.