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Peggy
Thanksgiving is just a couple weeks away and for many of us that means lots of great food. But it doesn’t have to mean a lot of calories, extra weight, and an empty wallet. Last weekend we figured out a traditional menu that will serve 8 people a healthy meal for $30.
Why is it healthy? The turkey is roasted—not fried, the food is homemade so it isn’t loaded with sodium like many of the convenience foods, the vegetables and fruits are prepared letting the natural flavors shine rather than be smothered, and we have skipped the crust on the pie and gone right to the ‘good for you’ pumpkin filling.
My sister is trying to promote a “Turkey Trot” on Thanksgiving morning for us—just like they do in her husband’s hometown. The Turkey Trot is a 3K route and everyone walks or runs as far as they want and are able. This sounds like a great plan to me, and I think it would work with our family since we share the cooking. Walking and talking sure makes the exercise go more quickly.
Check out the recipes and see how we figured the costs.
-pointers from Peggy
One great change in the food that families receive from WIC is vouchers for fruits and vegetables. The amount of the voucher varies, but as I understand it, each child on WIC old enough to eat table food gets a $6 voucher each month. Amanda and I headed to the grocery store last Friday to see what $6 would buy. We were in luck because lots of fruits and vegetables were on sale.
The first two pictures show a variety of fruits and vegetables purchased for $6. We tried to get the most food we could, but also tried to get a variety of colors in both fresh and frozen foods. Some of the foods were priced by the item—celery, carrots, grapefruit, cucumbers, bell peppers, spinach and frozen vegetables. Other items—bananas, apples and onions—must to be weighed (there is always a scale in the produce department) and you have to take the weight times the price per pound to see how much the item costs. If you have your cell phone, use the calculator on it to do the math for you.
Picture #1
3# bananas .87
1 celery stalk .69
2 bell peppers/1 cucumber 3 for $1
2# yellow onions .58
1# bag baby carrots .79
3 grapefruits 3 for $1
16 oz bag frozen veggies .98
TOTAL $5.90
Picture #2
2# large braeburn apples 1.38
2 bell peppers/1 cucumber 3 for $1
2# bananas .58
1# bag baby carrots .79
16 oz bag frozen veggies .98
Dole Spinach .99
TOTAL $5.72
The last four pictures show how the price of fruits and vegetables goes up when you choose specialty products, or the grocery store does some of the food preparation work for you.
Picture #3
Each 12 ounce package of vegetables costs $2.50. So these two packages together cost $5. Since the Green Giant vegetables have a butter sauce, they can’t be bought with WIC coupons.
Picture #4
The Green Giant vegetables at the left cost $2.50. The Birds Eye Vegetables were on special for $1.00. Both are 12 ounces. Neither has a sauce.
The frozen vegetables in the first 2 pictures above are .98 for 16 ounces.
Picture #5
If you want someone else to chop up your vegetables, you pay dearly for that service.
Picture #6
Same goes for cantaloupe. You get 2 whole cantaloupes for $6. The cut up bowl would cost $8.22.
-pointers by Peggy
Last summer, Stacey Krawczyk posted an article on food and health.com called “Salmon is less expensive than hot dogs.” The article focuses on the cost of protein foods since meals usually revolve around protein, and protein foods are a high cost item in meals. Ms. Krawczyk compared the cost per gram of protein in various products. We did the same thing with prices in Ames. The prices are a little different, sometimes because of the type or brands that were used (for example, Krawczyk used kosher hot dogs). Hot dogs seem inexpensive because the cost per pound or package is less, but you have to eat 4 hot dogs to get the same protein in a 3-ounce hamburger.
If you would like to see the protein cost comparisons for Iowa, check out the Spend Smart. Eat Smart. web site. Cost of 1 gram of Protein is posted in the Shopping the Store section, under the meat aisle. We have posted our findings from lowest to highest cost per ounce.
-pointers by Peggy
