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Save
some money in the kitchen
June 3, 04
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
If
you’re looking for ways to save money, don’t overlook
the kitchen.
Easy changes in the way you shop and prepare foods can not
only cut your food budget but may improve your diet as well.
Of course, eating more meals at home instead of at restaurants
is a good place for many of us to start. Americans now spend
about 40 percent of their food budgets on meals away from
home. You have more control over ingredients and portion sizes
at home. So eating in can result in healthier meals and at
the same time reduce cost and calories.
But there’s cash to be saved at home, too.
Think about the foods you buy and how you use them. Do this:
Study your cash register receipts and circle the big-ticket
items. What kinds of foods stand out? How often do you buy
them, and how much do you use?
If you’re like most people, meats and cheese, frozen
entrees and other prepared, convenience foods top the list.
Commercial baked goods also add up. In most cases, reducing
your reliance on these foods or preparing more of them at
home can save money and bring meals closer to meeting recommendations
for lowering intakes of saturated and trans fats and boosting
fiber.
Some meal ideas that are relatively cheap, quick and easy
to fix, and are good for you:
* Pasta. In place of cheese-filled dishes, toss pasta with
olive oil and steamed vegetables. Make variations using pesto
sauce and pine nuts, marina sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
walnuts, fresh basil, and chopped fresh tomatoes. Vary the
shape of the pasta for fun.
* Beans and rice. An excellent once-a-week tradition. Black
beans and rice, red beans and rice – you can make endless
variations using different seasonings.
* Soup or chili. Once a week, serve a big bowl of homemade
soup with a green salad and some good bread for dinner.
* Leftovers day. Don’t let small amounts of leftovers
go to waste. Take a break from cooking and heat and serve
little bits of this and that. Make a salad or extra item to
complement what you’ve got on hand if you need to round
out the meal.
* Rice or couscous. Fix a one-plate meal made with steamed,
seasoned rice or couscous tossed with cooked vegetables or
small pieces of seafood if you eat fish.
Some other tips for reducing food costs:
* Take leftovers to work or school instead of buying lunch.
* Use coupons only for products you’d buy anyway, but
buy generic foods if they’re cheaper than the brand
names with coupons.
* Shop at warehouse stores. A two-pound tub of hummus at warehouse
stores costs a fraction of what you’d pay per ounce
for the small tubs sold at supermarkets. We sometimes eat
two tubs per week at my house.
* Anticipate spoilage and use up foods before they go bad.
Cut up fresh fruit for salad, bake potatoes before they go
soft and sprout, and incorporate fresh vegetables into meals
before they spoil.
* Rotate stock in your pantry. Use up what you have and don’t
let foods languish in the pantry. Move foods from the back
to the front from time to time to remind yourself to use them.
* Grow your own tomatoes, herbs and bell peppers. They often
cost much more at the store, and they’re easy (and fun)
to grow at home.
In life, it’s often true that “you get what you
pay for.” But where nutrition is concerned, saving money
can go hand-in-hand with a better diet.
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