What’s the secret to saving money at the grocery store? Believe it or not, eating a healthy diet can be as good for your wallet as it is for you.
Take the cost of potato chips, for instance. A package of 12 half-ounce, snack-size bags costs $2.29, or 19 cents each. Priced by the pound, that works out to a whopping $6.08! You can practically eat prime rib for that.
By choosing apples instead–a naturally low-fat, fiber-rich food and much healthier snack–you’ll reap big savings. A pound of Red Delicious can cost as little as 49 cents–that’s less than 10 cents an apple. Eating fruit instead of chips between meals could mean an extra $150 per year for a family of four.
To help you check out at the checkout with more money in your pocket and healthier food in your cart, we went to five budget-conscious Moms who are also health and nutrition experts: Eileen Kennedy is the executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Center for Nutrition; Althea Zanecosky is a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association; syndicated food columnist Cathy Thomas; Family Circle food consultant Patty Santelli; and Evelyn Tribole, author of “Healthy Homestyle Cooking” (Rodale, 1994).
The biggest chunk of a typical family’s grocery money–more than 16 percent or more than $600 a year–goes toward meat, according to a 1995 study conducted by Progressive Grocer Associates.
But you don’t have to become a vegetarian or even develop a taste for cheap meats, such as pig’s feet or chicken necks, to save. Just by eating smaller portions and using less, you’ll be healthier and wealthier. Here’s how:
– Cut the amount of meat in a recipe.
“There’s nothing magic in a pound of meat,” Tribole says. “I make tomato sauce, chili and soup using half a pound and add lots of beans.”
– Change the way you think about meat.
Instead of planning dinner around a meat dish, make vegetables, pasta or rice your main course and use meat as a side dish or flavor enhancer.
“Give meat a supporting role instead of making it the star,” Thomas says.
– Get protein from other sources.
At $1 to $7 per pound, meat can be an expensive way to add protein to your diet. A cheaper alternative is dried beans. Beans average 25 to 49 cents per pound, and contain plenty of protein as well as fiber, which meat doesn’t have.
– Have one meat-based meal a day instead of two.
If you have chicken for lunch, don’t prepare meat at dinner time. Adding a few meatless meals to the menu can save a family of four as much as $2,000 per year.
– When buying meat, always shop the specials, then plan your weekly menu around what’s on sale.
Freeze what you can’t use immediately.
– Save money by buying less expensive meats.
One of the best buys in the supermarket is dark-meat chicken in the family packs. The cost? About 22 cents per thigh! Since dark meat has more fat, trim away most of the skin before cooking.
Zanecosky cooks hers in the oven with barbecue sauce and a little water.
“It’s a quick meal that my kids love,” the mother of two young children says. “Before serving, I put the chicken under the broiler for a minute, which gives it a nice texture.”
– Eat more turkey.
It’s less expensive than red meat and provides the same richness. Substitute ground turkey for ground beef.
– Get more mileage out of a roast by serving it twice.
Buy a pork roast–pork tenderloin is very lean, with less than five grams of fat in a 3.5-ounce serving–and serve half of it the first night with lots of veggies and maybe a flavorful salsa or chutney. The next night, combine the other half of the roast with black beans and rice.
– Choose lean cuts of beef such as London broil and flank steak when on sale.
Red meat is an excellent source of iron; chicken has far less.
– Buy meat in season.
Meat, like fresh produce, has seasons. New York strip and porterhouse steaks are usually more expensive during the summer because it’s grilling season. Good winter buys include rump roast, eye round and pork chops.
– Consider the waste.
Sometimes boneless meat on sale is a better buy than cheaper cuts that include the bone and deliver less meat for the money.
A diet that’s rich in grains, vegetables and fruits, which are the cheapest products in the grocery store, not only provides the vitamins, minerals, fiber and complex carbohydrates you need, but also helps to lower fat intake.
Here are tips for getting more from your produce dollar.
– Fruits and vegetables in season are generally the best buys.
To freeze produce for winter meals, pour on boiling water to blanch it, and when cool, freeze in plastic bags. Corn on the cob and green beans freeze especially well.
It’s not necessary to blanch fresh herbs before freezing. They’ll lose their color, but not their flavor, when frozen.
– Fresh isn’t always best.
“Nutritionally speaking, frozen can be better for you than fresh,” Santelli says, explaining that by the time fresh produce reaches the shelves, it’s likely to be a few days old. “Frozen vegetables are removed from the field and processed immediately.”
– Add variety to your diet.
“Just by eating a mix of light and dark vegetables, a lot of dietary problems correct themselves,” Kennedy says, adding that when the USDA surveyed individuals, a high percentage cited French fries as the main vegetable in their diets.
“We’re not saying don’t eat fries,” she adds. “We’re saying if you like potatoes, explore other options. Eat them mashed one day, boiled the next and give vitamin-A-rich sweet potatoes a try.”
– Do more with canned goods.
Cans are often less expensive than their frozen counterparts. Canned peaches cost 48 cents for 15 ounces, for example, while a frozen 16-ounce bag goes for $2.19. Make fruits canned in heavy syrup and canned vegetables, which can be high in sodium, healthier by rinsing them in water before serving.
