Ask a Dietitian

As seen on BCTV August 07/01

SAVING MONEY

Meal planning and preparation is no easy chore. Throw in a budget, and you have a real challenge on your hands. However, with a little planning and creativity, delicious and nutritious meals can be prepared at a low cost.

Remember the old rules:

• Shop the sales: Flyers, coupons and customer savings cards are great saving tools. Use flyers to determine your meals based on what is on sale. The internet is also a great tool for finding coupons. Saving just a couple of dollars on each meal will make a world of difference.
• Do not shop when you are hungry: You may be surprised to know that you spend up to 17% more money on groceries when you are hungry! Fuel your stomach before you go to save a bundle.
• Plan your meals: Planning your meals allows you to take advantage of inexpensive ingredients. Try doing this for a week at a time.
• Stick to your list.Fresh ideas for reducing food costs:
• Supermarket psychology: All your essentials are located on the perimeter of the store, but you are encouraged to go through the aisles where all the expensive packaged foods are kept. In the aisles all the expensive items are kept at eye level so check the lower and upper shelves.
• Check your receipt, there are often errors and some stores may give you the item free if you are overcharged.
• Use the Internet: Log on to www.save.ca, a Canadian Web site that offers coupons for grocery items. Click on the ones you want and they will be mailed to your door in a couple of days. You can also shop on-line and have the food delivered. www.quick.com has prices comparable to grocery stores and will deliver for free if you buy over $100 worth of groceries. And to top it off, you pay at the door, not over the net.
• Buy Bulk: Bulk food can be much less expensive than pre-packaged foods. Grains, pasta, hot cereals, legumes, muffin mixes are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to bulk. When buying bulk, look around the store to ensure that the bins and surrounding areas are kept clean to get the best quality and safest product. Big boxes also save money if you eat them before they expire.
• Join the Club: Become a club member at your local grocery store and receive even bigger savings.
• Day old and seconds: look for day old bread and freeze it for later in the week.
• Proper storage: Properly cleaning and storing your food will reduce spoilage and hence save you money. Re-wrap cheese in saran wrap once it is opened, freeze bread that won’t be eaten within a couple days and store whole-grain cereals and nuts in the freezer.
• Buy in season: If your freezer can handle it, buy fruits and vegetable when they are in season and cheaper and freeze them for later use.
• Go Meatless: As you may have noticed, meat, poultry, fish and seafood are expensive products. For other good sources of protein, turn to the plant foods. This includes beans, legumes, tofu, nuts, peanut and other nut butters, and eggs. Cheese is also expensive (not to mention high in fat), so use this in moderation.
• Go for homemade: There are two advantages to preparing your own food from scratch. The first is that it is less expensive than prepared pre-packaged foods. The second is that dishes made from ‘whole’ foods (in their natural state) are more nutritious. Manufacturers add preservatives and artificial ingredients that everybody should keep to a minimum. Remember, you are what you eat.
• Try frozen foods: A common belief is that frozen fruits and vegetables are less nutritious than fresh. Often, this is not the case. Because these foods are frozen immediately after harvest, nutrients are locked in and remain in the bag until they land on your plate.
• Eat at home: Eating at restaurants is nice for a treat but expensive. Reserve this for special occasions. Even convenience foods are cheaper than restaurant meals. Try rotisserie chickens, frozen lasagna and pizza, pasta sauce and prepared salad kits.

Watch for the Eating for Energy segment every Tuesday on BCTV’s Noon News Hour!