· Meal Planning and Budgeting:
o Calculate monthly budget for food, divide into four to know how much to spend per week. You can also divide into a daily food allowance.
o Check out weekly sales (I look online at save-a-lot, Wal-Mart, Food City, Dollar General, and the Dollar store). When you find a healthy food you like on sale, take advantage and stock up (if you can store it properly).
§ Collect coupons for your list of commonly eaten items from newspapers or go online to print coupons.
§ Get membership cards, if free.
§ Buy things in bulk, if you can use it or freeze it before expiration date. Check the unit price to make sure it is actually cheaper in bulk. Things typically cheaper in bulk include chicken, carrots, potatoes, onions, nuts.
o Make a healthy menu for the week with a variety of fruits, veggies, whole grains, dairy options, and lean proteins. Plan to spend the bulk of your food budget on fruits and vegetables. For dinners, plan to fill half your plate with veggies, ¼ protein, and ¼ carbs.
§ Plan beverages too! Try to drink water only. Juices and other “healthy” beverages contain tons of sugar and calories. If you must, buy 100% juice.
o Calculate the cost of each day's meals to keep track of whether they fit into your budget.
o Look at what food is already in your kitchen and build meals from there.
o Use a website like epicurious that finds recipes for the ingredients you already have in your kitchen plus the items on sale!
o See my earlier post about the healthiest foods for your buck and include as many as you can into your weekly meal plan.
o For meal planning inspiration, write a list of your favorite healthy and cheap foods. Look at your most commonly eaten foods (I pull mine from my calorie counter tool).
o If you’re feeling especially motivated, make a chart of the prices of your common foods including both the high and low prices.
o From this weekly healthy menu, what you need to buy.
§ Remove all prepackaged, high sodium, high fat, high sugar, and other items with low or no nutritional value from your list.
o While shopping, stick to your list and don’t shop while hungry.
o Grocery stores typically have a near-expiration date rack for breads and for produce. Check out these racks and grab as much produce (inspect to make sure it’s not bad) as you can use/freeze. Sometimes there are good fresh breads (with less preservatives) and carbs as well, marked cheap.
o Shop along the edges of the grocery store aisles to avoid processed foods (meat, produce, dairy)
o Bring a calculator (or bring your phone and pretend to be texting) to the store and add up the price of each item to stay under budget
o For every minute you spend in the store after 30 mins, you will likely spend between 50 cents and $1. However, longer shopping = more walking (especially nice when cold or raining). So, either plan to make a quick trip, or make it into an exercise trip.
· Batch cooking and cooking in general:
o Cook at home. Convenience and pre-made foods are more expensive and less healthy. I batch cook – eat one serving and freeze the rest in single size containers for later meals.
o Try for more meatless meals (especially with beans) because meat is expensive. When cooking with meat, replace some meat with vegetables.
o Try cooking parts of meals – I like sautéing green peppers and onions to add to omelets, spaghetti, etc later. Or bake squash and freeze for side dishes later.
· Eating Out:
o Keep all your food receipts for a week. At the end of the week, evaluate and calculate your average expenditure per week and set a goal for decreasing your spending. Start with cutting back by $5 or $10 a week. Also, check your receipts for unhealthy spending patterns and make strategies to avoid them.
o When you do eat out (because you’re going to be eating out sometime), order from the kids' menu or buy only an appetizer. It will cost you less and the total calorie count will be lower.
· Snacks:
o Make air-popped popcorn, trail mix, and other snacks. Package in individual servings.
o Buy healthy snacks in bulk (pretzels, nuts, dried fruit, etc). Package in individual servings.
o Make your own Cheese and crackers
o Buy whole vegetables and fruits, slice, and throw into individual servings.
o Cut out that bedtime snack and stop eating 3 to 4 hours before bedtime
· Exercise:
o Walk (friend’s house, work, around the block, grocery store and you’re sure to buy less!)
o Hulu exercise videos
o Library workout books, diet books, recipe books, workout dvds
o Used exercise equipment is a staple at many garage and estate sales.
· Outside the grocery store:
o Grow your own food in planters/pots or in a garden –
§ easy plants are tomatoes, green beans, peppers, squash, rosemary, basil and mint
o Farmer’s markets – supports your local economy, supposedly cheaper and healthier.
§ Organic foods may be healthier because of less exposure to hormones and pesticides. However, they can be more expensive. Prioritize buying organic thin and soft skinned produce, which are more susceptible to environmental contamination.
o If you live near a forest or field, forage for edible berries. Blackberries and black raspberries tend to grow on the sides of roads where I live.
o Look for local food banks or other programs to help supplement your food budget. Research to learn if you qualify for foods stamps.
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