Spend Smart. Eat Smart.

What’s better?  What’s cheaper?  Canned tuna or salmon?

We checked out costs in central Iowa last week. Cost per ounce varied from
$.10 for chum salmon in a 14.5-ounce can to $.86 for “Smoked Alaskan Pacific Wild Caught Salmon” in a foil package. 

Spend Smart Tips
• Avoid the foil packages—those started at .38 per ounce.
• Note that individual serving cans (3-ounce) cost twice as much per ounce as the regular (5-ounce) cans.
• Both canned salmon and tuna provide good amounts of protein and omega-3 fatty acids, and since they are canned, sodium.  The American Heart Association recommends eating fish (particularly fatty fish such as mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna, and salmon) at least 2 times a week.

See the price breakdown and more information on canned fish on the Spend Smart. Eat Smart. web site.

food cost, resources AHA, omega-3 fatty acids, price, salmon, tuna

Consumers used to ask me about products labeled for specific nutritional attributes such as sodium free, trans fat free and rich in omega 3’s. Now, they are asking if there is a nutritional advantage of organic foods.

The nutritional value of food depends on the soil in which it was grown, cultivar of the plant, growing conditions (weather), degree of maturity at harvest, handling after harvest, and time spent in transport or storage to name a few. Research suggests organic food production does not produce nutritionally superior food. It is more likely that ‘locally grown’ food may have a nutritional advantage because it isn’t picked prior to maturity, transported, and stored–factors that decrease nutritional value. Bottom line: organic and locally grown are not the same; the primary advantage of organic food production is not nutritional value, but environmental friendliness.

Does this influence my grocery shopping habits? Sure does! I am not inclined to purchase organic foods, which are typically more expensive, for better nutritional value. Instead, I look for nutritious foods by visiting my local farmer’s market where I can support the local economy, and being physically active in my garden.

If you would like to see reviews related to this issue, check out the USDA website  and Institute of Food Technology website .

              -contributed by Ruth Litchfield

food cost, resources farmer's market, gardening, locally grown, nutrition, organic

Are you trying to eat healthy AND use packaged foods because your time is limited? If so, here are a few tips to make convenience foods healthier:

1. for boxed mixes of rice, pasta, stuffing or macaroni and cheese, use half (or omit) the butter or margarine called for in the instructions;
2. to spaghetti sauce or creamed soups, add canned, frozen or cooked vegetables;
3. to frozen pizza, top with raw or cooked vegetables before baking; and,
4. for seasoned rice mixes, use only half the seasoning packet–the remaining seasoning may be added when cooking plain rice or to flavor slow cooked meat.

For more ideas, see Tips to Make Convenience Foods Healthier on the Spend Smart. Eat Smart. web site.

–contributed by Peggy Martin

food preparation, recipes convenience foods, mixes, pizza, soups, spaghetti sauce, vegetables

I love to talk about family mealtime – it reminds me of happy memories of my childhood and all the conversations we shared around meals! I didn’t realize then how important our time together was, nor how much money we saved by eating at home. It’s true, though, families can save money by eating at home. Check out fast food for families which compares the cost of a restaurant meal with one you prepare at home. When you eat out or use processed foods, you buy labor as well as the food. 

So, how do you save money by eating together at home? Spend Smart Eat Smart website has lots of great ideas for saving money as you prepare meals. Prepare double or triple batches of favorite recipes to have on hand when you are in a hurry. Save money when you buy ingredients in quantity to make several batches. Make a list of foods that cook quickly and save time, such as scrambled eggs, fruit and toast; stir fry meat and veggies.

Keep meals simple and easy – a family meal together doesn’t have to be elaborate or include expensive ingredients. A simple meal, eaten with others while sharing conversation, is worth more than the most elaborately prepared dish. What I remember is how good it felt to gather around the table and share. Don’t let this simple concept become lost in the busy-ness of everyday life. 

We’d love to hear from you about ways you’ve found to carve out time for meals with your family and saved money at the same time!

-contributed by Patty Steiner

food cost, food preparation conversation, eating at home, family meals, quantity cooking, savings

During the month of March, grocery stores may run really good sales on cabbage – whole heads as well as the bags of slaw. This is super news because such healthy foods aren’t always THIS cheap! Cabbage is a great source of vitamin C as well as fiber AND is low in calories – or at least is CAN be unless you go drowning it in mayo by making it into coleslaw. Here is a flavorful tip to try – use lemon or pina colada flavored yogurt for the dressing INSTEAD of mayo. It adds great flavor and a little bit of calcium to your diet. Rather than mixing up a big bowl, stir together what you can eat at one meal or snack. If you use fat free yogurt, you have a side dish that is very inexpensive AND easy on your waistline. To make it more fun, add some fruit and nuts (small amounts since they are higher in fat and more expensive). Here are some combinations I like:

• Diced apple, raisins and walnuts with vanilla yogurt
• Canned mandarin oranges and canned pineapple with sliced almonds and pina colada yogurt.

For a specific recipe, check out Tropical Cabbage Slaw.

-contributed by Jan Temple

food cost, food preparation, recipes cabbage, fiber, recipe, sales, vitamin C, yogurt

Last March an Ames couple challenged themselves to eat on $42 a week. That’s about $1 per meal each, less than what they would receive on USDA’s SNAP Thrifty Food Plan. (SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, was formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. The Thrifty Food Plan is the basis for food stamp allotments.)

The couple provides a diary of the food they bought, the meals they ate, and how they felt. They write that they are now better comparison shoppers and do a better job planning their shopping trips.

I appreciate their empathy for families who face this situation daily. Read their diary at Reflections on Eating the Thrifty Food Plan.

-pointers by Peggy

food cost, resources diary, food stamps, SNAP, thrifty food plan

One way to save money is to not throw food in the garbage. Adjusted to our 2008 economy, an average family of four tosses out $1,039 annually, regardless of income, ethnicity, education, and other socio-economic factors.

On the other hand, we are all concerned about food safety. No one wants to get sick. The International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation has created a series of videos to help you determine when food has gone bad and is no longer safe to eat. The short videos (less than 5 minutes each) feature Christine Bruhn, PhD, Director of the Center for Food Safety Research at the University of California, Davis, CA. 

How to tell if your food has gone bad
Food safety basics
How to tell if your bread has gone bad
How to tell if your lunch meats have gone bad
How to tell if your dairy products have gone bad
How to tell if your leftovers have gone bad
How to tell if your fruits and vegetables have gone bad
How to tell if your frozen foods have gone bad
How to tell if your pantry foods have gone bad
How to properly wash your produce
How to properly store your food in the fridge

-pointers by Peggy

food cost, resources food safety, food spoilage, food storage, savings, videos

As I looked at my sister’s grocery receipts, I noticed she bought lots of fresh, canned, and frozen fruits and vegetables, which is great! There are not many prepackaged meals or convenience items—also a plus. The meat purchased was quite economical with the exception of chicken strips. They are generally not a smart buy in terms of nutrition and cost. 

There were four places I think my sister’s family could consider making some changes:

1. Reduce the number of boxes of Toaster Strudel™ purchased. Twelve boxes (72 strudels) during the month cost about $25. Toaster Strudels™ are 190 calories, 38% fat including Trans Fat and provide zero vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and only 4% iron. Check out ideas for substitutes that your family could try on our recipe page.

 

2. Reduce the amount of Kudos® (5), snack crackers (9), cookies (2), Cheetos® (2), snack pudding and gelatin cups (2), and jars of peanuts (4). Cost for these items was around $85. Encouraging the family to eat fruits and vegetables as a snack would decrease calories and increase nutrition content. Consider making some homemade bakery items for snacks. Packaging these items in snack bags could help with portion control. Popcorn could substitute for crackers as a snack. If you pop your own, it is very economical.

 

3. The 13 packages of crescent rolls purchased this month cost around $37. Consider substituting whole wheat, French, or Italian bread for crescent rolls. Slice the bread, spread with margarine, sprinkle with garlic powder, and toast.

 

4. Review the amount and brand of cheese purchased. The amount spent for the month was $33. Most of the cheese purchased was a name brand, instead of a store brand. Cheese does provide good amounts of calcium, but it is high in calories, fat, and sodium.

-pointers from Peggy

food cost, food preparation groceries, nutrition, receipts, snacks, substitutions

As I mentioned earlier, my sister asked me if she was spending too much at the grocery store, and I offered to take a look at her grocery receipts. 

The first thing I did was use the figure your food dollar calculator to come up with an estimate for her family: $150.53 a week or $653.26 per month. My sister and her husband take their lunches to work, and other than school lunches for the kids, they only eat out about 2 meals a week. This makes their cost of food at home a little higher, but saves on the overall budget.

Next, I added up the food and non-food items on all the receipts. Sometimes the receipts listed the amount spent on non-food items; for others, I had to figure the amount of non-food purchases by dividing the tax charged by the tax rate. (If the tax charged was $2.33 and the tax rate was 6%, the math is $2.33/.06 = $38.83 of taxable items.)

Surprisingly, over 30% of the money spent at the store was for non-food items. This included soft drinks, cleaning products, personal items such as shampoo and rinse, paper towels, toilet tissue, wine, etc. Just looking at the total spent at the grocery store gives you a false reading on grocery costs. My first suggestion is to compare prices of non-food items at warehouse type stores (like Sam’s or Costco) and discount stores (like Target, Kmart, Walmart, etc.) and stock up on items instead of buying them at the grocery store.

Next time, I will share four other suggestions I gave my sister.  Feel free to share your tips with us.

-pointers from Peggy

food cost, resources discount stores, grocery, receipts, spending