3 Easy Ways to Save Money When Grocery Shopping

Shopping smart can help you save money on fuel and food!

Between rising gas prices and food costs, consumers these days are feeling a crunch. The Department of Agriculture predicts a 4% to 5% increase in food prices this year, and the largest increases are forecast for fats and oils, estimated to rise 8% to 9%, and cereals and bakery products, projected to jump 7.5% to 8.5%. Gas is already edging closer to $4 per gallon. Here are 3 tips to help you save money, yet still eat healthfully.

1. Shop less frequently.

One way to save time and lower food costs is to shop less frequently. Fewer trips means less money spent on impulse decisions, as well as less money spent on fuel (and other transportation costs) that you use  in order to get the store. Plus, shopping less frequently will save you time. Who doesn’t want to ease a busy schedule?

2. Stock up on low-cost frozen and pantry items, especially when they’re on sale.

Foods for the pantry and freezer have a much longer shelf life than refrigerated items. Frozen foods, canned goods, and bulk pantry items also tend to be bulky and take more time to gather, especially since you have to push the cart all over the store. It is more efficient to buy more of each product all at once, so that you don’t have to repeat the same dance week after week. By stocking up a lot on freezer and pantry items at a discount store (or when you see them on sale) you can save serious $$$. Once you have a good stockpile, weekly shopping becomes much easier. You can simply dash in to the local market for a few fresh produce and dairy items.

With food costs on the rise, it makes sense to stockpile foods. Buying now gets you today’s prices.

And if you stock up on MyPlate foods, you are more likely to prepare and eat healthful meals at home instead of eating at restaurants and drive-thrus all the time. Foods prepared at home are often healthier and lower in calories than restaurant foods, and you spend less on transportation if you stay home as well.

Try these great pantry and freezer items. Remember to steer clear of added sugar and sodium.

Pantry:

  • Canned beans
  • Canned tomatoes and veggies
  • Canned tuna
  • Fat-free dry milk powder
  • Jams
  • Lentils
  • Oatmeal
  • Pasta and whole grain pasta
  • Pasta sauce
  • Peanut butter
  • Rice and brown rice
  • Soups

Freezer:

  • Bread (whole grain)
  • Chicken
  • Egg whites or nonfat egg substitute in cartons
  • Fish and seafood (not breaded)
  • Fruits
  • Lean meat
  • Seafood
  • Turkey
  • Vegetables

3. Choose less processed foods.

By purchasing items that are less processed, you will spend less money and buy items that are often much healthier. For example, by choosing whole potatoes instead of potato chips or frozen French fries, you save a lot of money per ounce. You also reduce fat, sodium, and calories as well! Not convinced? Check out the price per ounce for each of the following potato products…

  • Baking Potatoes                      $0.06 per ounce
  • Frozen French Fries               $0.13  per ounce
  • Frozen Mashed Potatoes        $0.13 per ounce
  • Instant Mashed Potatoes        $0.21  per ounce
  • Potato Chips                           $0.32 per ounce

The processed items (in italics) are at least double the price of the plain potatoes.


Plan a Meal Together

Planning a family meal together can be a great experience for kids and parents alike. You can turn an everyday dinner into a dinner party with just a few simple steps…

Preparation Timeline

Plan your menu.

  • Check out cookbooks, websites, and family recipes for inspiration.
  • Remember to balance the plates appropriately and include lots of fruits and vegetables.

Make lists of everything you need.

  • Ingredients that you need to locate (ie pantry staples that are probably somewhere in your house, like pasta, rice, and spices).
  • Ingredients that you need to buy.
  • Equipment that you need to have at the ready.

Go shopping for the ingredients and equipment that you need.

On the Day of Your Party…

  • Prep everything (that you can) ahead of time — pre-chop, even pre-measure if possible.
  • Cook the food.
  • Serve it to your guests.

Elements of Stylish Gatherings

If you want to have a remarkable meal together, a few simple changes can really make a differenec.

• Set the table with…

  • All the silverware that you would need to eat all of the dishes.
  • Nice glasses for water.
  • Napkins — decide whether you need cloth or paper options.

• Consider adding…

  • A nice centerpiece — try flowers, candles, or an arrangement of glasses.
  • Placemats.
  • A tablecloth.
  • A runner over the tablecloth.

Basic Dinner Party Building Blocks

Number of Guests

  • A dinner party typically involves 6 to 8 people, but make exceptions as you see fit.

Courses

  • A simple dinner party may limit itself to salad or soup, a main course, and dessert.
  • You could also include amuse-bouches, appetizers, or even palate cleansers.

Budget Shopping for a Healthful Lifestyle

It really is possible to save money while you shop, yet also purchase healthful foods that are good for you and your family. Here’s how…

Bread

  • HEALTH: Always buy 100% whole grain bread.
  • BANK: When bread goes on sale, stock up and freeze the rest for later.

Canned Goods

  • HEALTH: Try to choose items that nave little to no added salt, or at least reduced sodium.
  • BANK: Store brands, when they’re on sale, are the best value. Stock up when you see them.

Cereal

  • HEALTH: Oatmeal is one of the healthiest choices because it is a whole grain and has no added salt, fat, or sugar. The same is true for shredded wheat.
  • BANK: Stock up when items are on sale. You can generally get items more cheaply when you buy in bulk.

Pasta

  • HEALTH: Rice is a very inexpensive option that is also low in calorie density. Of course brown rice is best (being a whole grain and all) but white is not such a bad option, especially if that’s the only kind of rice your family will eat.
  • BANK: Look for sales on store brands and stock up when prices are good.

Produce

  • HEALTH: MyPlate calls for most people to eat about 4.5 cups of fruits and veggies each day.
  • BANK: Farmer’s markets and local stands often have the best prices on fresh, seasonal produce.
  • BANK: Watch local papers for grocery stores to offer sales on produce. When that happens, you can really get some great deals.
  • BANK: Choose fresh foods when they’re in season. This will offer the best value, and it’s fun to have a change of pace.
  • BANK: Don’t buy too much produce. It’s tough to use everything before it spoils. If you end up with more produce than you can eat, cook and freeze some soups to use up the extra.

Protein

  • HEALTH: Choose lean, cook lean and use portion control.
  • BANK: One word helps here – sale!
  • BANK: Use smaller quantities of meat.
  • BANK, HEALTH: Of course the cheapest protein item is also the healthiest and highest in fiber – beans.
  • BANK, HEALTH: If you don’t have a lot of time, cook lentils.
  • BANK, HEALTH: If you do have some time, consider cooking and freezing larger batches of dried beans.

Beware of these pitfalls

  • Expensive items include soda, chips, cereals, cookies, crackers, and convenience meals. These are also calorie dense.Try to limit these treats to just one per week – you don’t need to fill the cart with them.
  • Shopping without a list is dangerous because you might neglect some items that you need to prepare a healthful meal, while splurging on others that aren’t good for your budget or your health.
  • Shopping when hungry is also dangerous — it leads to way more impulse purchases, and they’re often not the healthful kind.

CIA Chef Launches Blog to Help Families to Cook Together

CIA Chef Launches Blog to Help Families to Cook Together

Food and Health Communications, Inc. launches a new blog to help families prepare and enjoy better meals together.

Chef and Founder Judy Doherty, PC II

Chef and Founder Judy Doherty, PC II

Quote startIt only takes about 10 more minutes each night to make a great family meal with your kids. The memories are priceless.Quote end

Louisville, CO (PRWEB) October 23, 2012

Food and Health Communications, Inc., a private publisher, announces the launch of a new blog designed to help families cook together and put better food on their tables with less time and money.

The Chef’s Tips for Healthy Family Cooking Blog is online at NutritionEducationStore.com, and will feature the work of chefs, dietitians, and home economists who team up to write articles, provide shopping lists, and offer great ideas for cooking with kids.

In addition to English, the blog can be converted to almost any language. Teachers can also easily turn blog posts into PDF files, which they can then copy and hand out to students.

The top article, 15 Ways to Help Kids Love Healthful Foods, features the journey that Judy took with her own son. He started as a very picky child and ended up as a teen who could cook any meal, even going on to attend Stanford University’s “Problem of Food” Summer Session with his class at Stanford’s OHS. This plan will help families end battles at the dinner table and turn dinner from a chore into a place for precious family memories. Readers will be delighted to gain great ideas like discovering and growing herbs with children, slipping fruit platters in front of video game players, and setting a better table, sometimes even in the child’s room!

Everyone will delight in the tips and tricks included in the article, What’s Your Cooking Style?. Identifying a child’s passions and interests will help build a family into a great cooking team.

Founder and Chef, Judy Doherty, PC II, says, “I have always believed that every child should experience good food at every meal.” She taught her son and his friends to cook, starting when they were toddlers. She is also the author of No Battles, Better Eating, a book about how to engage kids in many fun culinary projects. She advocates joy at every family meal. Judy is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY.

Her counterpart, family and consumer science expert, Cheryle Syracuse, MS, is currently working on a series of articles to help families make better decisions in the grocery store, based on health, budget, and other key factors.

About Food and Health Communications, Inc.

Food and Health Communications, Inc. is a private publisher that has been in business for almost 20 years. The company began when Chef Doherty began publishing a newsletter for dietitians in cardiac rehab with nutrition researcher James J. Kenney, PhD, FACN. It later expanded the newsletter to the nutrition education market that includes dietitians, nurses, home economists, teachers and public health agencies. It is now online at http://communicatingfoodforhealth.com. The company expanded and launched http://nutritioneducationstore.com in 1999 and they have over 375 products that have been created by customer request. They are known for their science-based team of dietitians, research scientists, graphic artists, chefs, and home economists. The company does not accept food industry dollars. Their materials excel in visual graphics, great food photos, and creative messages. Their corporate website, http://foodandhealth.com is a healthy food magazine that features a calendar, how-to-cook articles, and recipes that have full nutrition analysis. Food and Health Communications, Inc. is a National Strategic Partner with the USDA and MyPlate.

For further information or for an interview, contact Food and Health Communications, Inc. at 800-462-2352 or with the contact link at nutritioneducationstore.com. You can follow their tweets @foodhealth or visit their Facebook page at http://facebook.com/foodandhealth/.

Judy was just interviewed by the Society for Nutrition Education – see the post here: http://snecommunicationsdivision.blogspot.com/2012/10/spotlight-on-judy-doherty-pcii.html

See the official PRWeb Press release here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/10/prweb10037709.htm

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