Stay Nourished On Any Budget!
Oftentimes it can be difficult to budget accordingly when grocery shopping or planning meals. Thankfully, there are many ways to save money on food.
1. Eating out at restaurants can often be expensive, when in reality, many of the same foods can be prepared at home for less money and with more nutrients.
2. Planning what you are going to eat is also a great way to budget. Sometimes it may seem tedious to take the time and plan things out, but it can be a great way to save money. Once you have gathered the recipes that you want to make for the week, making a grocery list of what is needed and then checking what foods you already have can be helpful. Grocery shopping with a list can sometimes prevent us from buying items that are not on the list.
3. Focusing on nutritious, low-cost foods can also be helpful when grocery shopping. Certain foods tend to be less expensive than others, so finding ways to make meals out of low-cost foods can help to save money. Low-cost foods include: Beans, peas, lentils, potatoes, canned fish or chicken, oats, brown rice and frozen or canned fruits and vegetables.
Added Sugars & How to Look for Them
Consuming large amounts of added sugars may contribute to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, some cancers and cavities. Added sugars that sweeten foods and beverages add calories and offer very little nutrition. When looking at a nutrition label, under the carbohydrates section, most food items will have a ’Total Sugars‘ and an ’Added Sugars‘ section.
The ’Total Sugars‘ section includes sugars that are naturally found in products like milk and fruits. The ’Added Sugars‘ section includes sugars that are added during the processing of foods such as cane sugar. For most Americans the main source of added sugars come from sugar-sweetened beverages, desserts and baked goods. When trying to reduce added sugars, some beverage options include unsweetened teas, fruit-infused water, sparkling waters and coconut water.
Utilizing naturally sweet fruits and vegetables in cooking and baking is a great way to reduce added sugars. You can add a mashed banana to oatmeal for extra sweetness, or applesauce instead of all the sugar in chocolate chip cookies (half sugar, half applesauce). Cooking from scratch helps you to be in control of how much sugar is added to your foods.
Eat A Variety of Foods From All Food Groups
It’s important to remember that not one food group offers all the nutrients we need. So, eating a variety of foods from each food group on a regular basis offers an assortment of nutrients that our bodies need for good health. The five different food groups are: Grains, protein, fruits, vegetables and dairy.
One great resource to assist in eating a variety of foods from all the food groups is USDA’s MyPlate. It helps people establish a healthy eating routine and emphasizes that it can be followed at every stage of life. MyPlate encourages us to fill half our plate with fruits and vegetables to obtain important nutrients, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. The other half of our plate is encouraged to be proteins and grains. It is recommended to try to make our grains to be whole grains, and our proteins to be lean proteins when possible. This helps eliminate unnecessary fat and increase our fiber intake. One example of a meal that follows MyPlate would be a bowl of chicken noodle soup with celery, onions and carrots (protein, grain, and veggie), with a small fruit and yogurt parfait on the side (dairy and fruit). The website MyPlate.gov offers over a thousand recipes that follow their guidelines in building a balanced plate.
Eat With The Environment In Mind
Food and the environment go hand-in-hand. There are ways to build meals and be environmentally cautious at the same time. Americans throw away billions of pounds of food each year, including food that is cooked at home and eaten out.
When thinking about what is for dinner or the next meal, it is good to think about what food items we already have. Try looking in the refrigerator or pantry to see what foods need to be used up, and then make a grocery list of what is still needed to make your meal. One-pot meals or casseroles are a great meal option for combining leftover produce that only has a few days left before it perishes. Another great way to reduce food waste is to get creative with leftovers. Oftentimes it may be difficult to eat the same thing for a few days in a row, but jazzing up a leftover salad and turning it into a sandwich or a wrap can make it more enjoyable. Anything leftover can most likely be created into a soup as well.
Eating sustainably is also a great way to be environmentally cautious. When grocery shopping, purchasing produce that is in-season has a variety of benefits. Fruits and vegetables that are in-season have higher nutritional values, are more cost-effective and have not traveled as far to get to grocery stores. Additionally, growing food at home or in a community garden can also be a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to obtain produce. Having knowledge of where our food comes from helps make more environmentally conscious choices when it comes to food.
All posts inspired with information from Eat Right Pro – Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics