Hey Dad, Let's Talk 2| How To Reduce Your Grocery Bill (while improving your diet at the same time!) |
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Without going off on a major tangent about the dangers of eating processed foods, suffice it to say that processed foods (basically any food that comes in a colorful cardboard box/bag), deep-fried restaurant and snack foods (fries, chips, donuts), and grocery-store baked goods (muffins, pastries, cakes, cookies) are laden with chemicals, outrageous proportions of sugar and iodized salt, artificial ingredients, preservatives, and trans fats (hydrogenated oils, shortening, lard). So, why does this matter? ... Consuming these processed foods on a regular basis over your lifetime is a leading cause of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, cancer, and a whole host of other degenerative diseases. Add to that the cancer-causing pesticides covering all our non-organic fruits and vegetables, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. To add insult to injury, processed foods are greatly overpriced, and the amount of waste they produce (all that packaging and manufacturing) is extremely damaging to the environment.But how can you minimize your exposure to pesticides, for example, without buying organic produce? The best you can do is wash and peel all vegetables, fruits and potatoes, and if you can’t peel it (example, green beans), be sure to rinse it thoroughly before cooking/eating. Also: fresh local produce, regardless of pesticide residue, is going to be healtheir than shrivelled, limp organic produce that's imported. That being said, if you can afford organic produce, do make the switch. It's definitely superior; you'll avoid all cancer-causing pesticides and your produce will have more nutrition than the non-organic equivelant. Something to consider: if you cut down on the amount of times you eat out in a month, or cut down on the amount of junk food you buy, and/or cut back on how often you eat meat, you can use the money saved to buy organic produce instead of non. Remember: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Here’s the key money saver, folks: Don't buy processed foods! Does this mean you have to deprive yourself of all your favorite foods? Not at all. Firstly, save your favorite foods to be eaten as treats, rather than daily "staples." For example, instead of eating chips every night, have them just once a week or even just once a month. Apply this to any of your favorite foods and you'll be amazed how much you can cut back while actually enjoying this foods all the more. It's called the 100th Steak Concept . Secondly: Cook the majority of your foods from scratch. Yes, that means using a recipe. ;) Does this mean you'll have to spend twice as much time in the kitchen? haha Well, not twice as much time, but yes, a little more time. *But* - you’ll spend far less time at the grocery store as a result! So, in the end, it all evens out. Consider: by cooking from scratch and buying your staples in bulk: instead of having to make a trip to the grocery store once or twice a week, you'll be able to reduce your shopping to as little as two trips a month. Not only will you be saving money on gas, you'll also be avoiding untold numbers of impulse purchases. So, yes, you’ll spend more time in the kitchen, but you’ll also spend less time wandering the grocery store aisles week after week. Where would you rather spend your time? In the comfort of your own home or in the chilly packed-out grocery store bumping carts and getting your heels stepped on? Speaking of staples: My husband and I buy free-run eggs from a local farm, sea salt and organic whole milk. It's more expensive but we feel it’s well worth the extra cost. We also purchase unsalted butter. Again, it costs extra (unless you stock up on it during sales!), but the health benefits are enormous. Table salt is practically artificial, and in my humble opinion, is no safer than sprinkling poison on all your food. It dries up your cells and depletes your body of water. Sea salt doesn't do this; plus it's got all the added minerals that your body needs. The advantage of free-run eggs and organic milk is that you avoid consuming antibiotics through your dairy. In the age of the superbug, we need to avoid as much exposure to antibiotics as possible. Plus, chickens and cows who eat a natural diet instead of corn, will produce a more nutritous dairy product - to say nothing of the humane treatment of the animals which you won't find in a factory farm. How can free-run eggs and organic milk work with a budget? Here's what I do: In recipes that call for two eggs, I use 1 egg and one egg substitute, saving one egg per recipe. As for milk, we don't buy pop. Consider: even though organic milk is twice as much $$ as non, simply by cutting pop from your diet (as just one example), the money saved can be put toward your milk. As for margarine and vegetable oils (canola, soy, sunflower, safflower, etc) they will only clog your arteries with undesirable trans fats. The only healthy cooking and baking oils are butter, olive oil and coconut oil. We can't afford coconut oil, so we buy extra-virgin olive oil as the next best alternative. Remember: Always buy in bulk to optimize savings. And when using recipes, make sure to substitute the margarine, shortening or vegetable oil with either butter or olive oil. Butter is a suitable alternative in most recipes. Other Tips:1) In the warm Spring/Summer months, buy all your produce from your local farmer’s markets. This is typically cheaper because you've effectively removed the middle man equation (the grocery store) from the cost of goods. At the end of the summer, stock up on farmer’s market produce and fill your freezer for winter months. Buy a year’s worth of strawberries and blueberries by picking your own at berry farms, and make your own jams and/or freeze the extra fruit to use in muffin and pancake recipes throughout the winter. 2) Eat 2 vegetarian meals a week (examples: meat-less pizza, Quiche, mushroom white-sauce pasta, tomato-sauce pasta, veggie stir-fry, etc.). Since meat is one of the more expensive food products, just 2 vegetarian meals a week can save you between $25 - $50 a month. 3) Certain types of produce are typically cheaper than others. Generally, apples, oranges and bananas cost less than peaches, pears and kiwi. So eat more of the cheaper fruits and buy the expensive ones only when they come on sale and/or are in season. The same applies to vegetables. For those who are really eager and have the extra time to devote, here are a couple of more time-consuming/extreme ways in which to save on your monthly grocery bill: 1) Buy 40 tomatoes, half a dozen cans of tomato paste, etc. and brew up a giant pot of tomato sauce (use a recipe for homemade, bulk spaghetti sauce). Can it yourself (mason jars) and use for pizzas and spaghettis. Note: If you’re going to can your own sauce, be sure to do your homework - it’s dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. This requires the initial investment of mason jars and canning equipment but it won’t take long to earn back your investment. Like other scratch recipes, you’ll also be avoiding a host of artificial ingredients. (Again, it's possible to get grocery-store pasta sauce for *cheaper when it is on sale, but then you’ll be consuming unhealthy additives. If you do decide to can your own homemade pasta sauce, watch the fliers and purchase your 40 tomatoes when they come on sale, or buy them directly from the farmer.) *Canning saves the most amount of money when you grow your own produce. (See following suggestion) 2) If you have the yard space, the desire and the time to devote, make a garden and grow your own produce. Can or freeze all surplus to last through winter months.
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(c) Bekah Ferguson - 2007 Permissions: By all means, you are welcome to reproduce and distribute my articles in excerpts or complete format as long as you don't change any of the wording. If you do reproduce any part of my articles, please include the following information: by Bekah Ferguson, Ontario, Canada. www.bekahferguson.com Licensed under Creative Commons.
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My husband and I have recently discovered how to greatly reduce our monthly grocery bill while improving our diet at the same time.
