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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
My sisters are both fans of The Biggest Loser. It inspires them to keep their weight in check and keep up with the exercise. In fact, one of them walks on a treadmill for an hour during the program, competing with herself to get more miles each week.
There is a new book out by Cheryl Forberg, the registered dietitian from the show. The book includes tips, recipes and wisdom from the show’s trainers and contestants. It’s pretty good information about diet, exercise and other lifestyle changes. Fosberg tells what she has learned from the contestants in her eight years of working on the show. Among the findings:
Nothing new here—but just like the show, there is nothing magical about losing weight. It’s a matter of working hard and hanging in there. How does all this relate to finances—less calories means less overall food and less higher-cost prepared food. If I feel good and my clothes fit, I am not as tempted to buy new ones.
-ponderings by Peggy
Last week I was doing a presentation on the features of our Spend Smart web site. I discovered that we had gotten lots of hits from the more matters® web site which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Further investigation showed the people were being referred to our Spend Smart site from a flyer and other postings called 30 Ways in 30 Days to Stretch Your Fruit and Vegetable Budget.
The number ONE recommendation was:
Calculate an appropriate Healthy Food Budget for your family, based on USDA’s Low-Cost Food Plan. This easy-to-use calculator, offered by Iowa State University Extension, helps to create a budget for what is a reasonable amount to spend to feed your family healthy meals.
If you don’t know what a healthy food budget is for your family, you might want to put each family member’s age, gender and number of meals eaten away from home into the calculator. Then, to compare your spending, you will need to collect receipts for all your grocery spending for a month. Don’t count non-food items such as pet food, paper, cleaning and personal care items that you buy at the store.
-pointers by Peggy
100-calorie snack packs are a temptation when I am trying to keep my calories under control…I’m tempted because they are convenient, but I always balk at the price. Plus, most of them are higher in sugar and fat than I usually eat. There’s a section on our Spend Smart. Eat Smart. web site that discusses the 100-calorie snacks and the University of Arkansas gives ideas for healthy snacks you can portion yourself in 100-Calorie Snacks: 20 Choices.
-pointers by Peggy
Planning meals is important if you want to save money at the grocery store, but most people admit they don’t do it.
I know people who have 10-20 meals that they know their family likes and they just rotate them throughout the month, adding in seasonal foods and specials. Others just buy food when it is on sale and then plan meals based on what they have that needs to be used up or how much time they have. I am in that last bunch. I grocery shop about once a week rotating between two stores that I think have the best prices. When there is a good sale, I stock up. When planning meals, I include at least one food from each food group and sometimes more than one vegetable. Planning meals this way is called the Plate Method.
The Spend Smart. Eat Smart. web site has a whole section on planning meals. You can find a 4-day menu planner, flyer called 3 Steps to Quick Healthy Meals that includes recipes, and 6 weeks of menus that are very low cost, yet meet nutrition guidelines.
-pointers by Peggy
Krista from South Carolina asked if there was conflicting information about freezing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Jan Temple says, “I did my own experiment to test this. I made a total of 6 sandwiches, two of each type listed. All were made with store brand, 100% whole wheat bread. Jelly was also store brand. One sandwich I froze; the other I left at room temperature.”
Assembly methods tested:
Jan continues, “I then compared the frozen with the room temperature to test for sogginess. My taste panel could NOT detect any sogginess in ANY of the six samples. I conclude that freezing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches works as an effective way to save money on lunch away from home. If both time and money are your motivation, I would recommend method 1. If you have more time and can handle a few more calories, choose method 3. (It takes time to spread peanut butter really thin – especially if you have stored it in the refrigerator! You might try warming briefly in the microwave first to avoid getting two thick layers of peanut butter.) Method 2 works, but today, few of us need the extra fat calories from margarine or butter.”
-pointers by Peggy
Yes, it costs money and takes some time to eat healthy. But when people who have a large, flavored cappuccino or a 32-ounce soda in their hands tell me that they can’t afford fruits and vegetables, I want to point out how many they could have bought for the same amount as their snack.
Every six months we update the prices on our handout, Fruits and Vegetables-Try for More. The prices this time were less than they were last time we updated. This might be because many of the fruits and vegetables are in season.
When I can buy 9 medium apples for $2.00, I think that is a good deal.
-pointers by Peggy
