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
food cost, food preparation, recipes
calories, cost, exercise, healthy, menu, recipes, Thanksgiving, turkey trot, weight
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
food cost, resources
comparison, cost, hamburger, hot dogs, protein, salmon
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
food cost, food preparation, resources
100-calorie packs, convenience, cost, portion, snacks
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
food cost, resources
apples, cost, fruits, prices, vegetables
What is cheaper? The slaw mix or the entire head of cabbage and shredding it yourself?
This was a question I encountered recently when I was planning to make broiled fish tacos. (If you have access to fresh fish, this is a way to prepare the fish without drowning it in grease by breading and deep fat frying!). I discovered I could pay $ .22 per cup for the prepackaged cabbage slaw, or just $ .11 per cup if I shredded it myself – half the price! That’s pretty impressive. But whether you use the slaw mix or the whole head, either is an inexpensive source of nutrient rich vegetable.
-pointers by Peggy
food cost, food preparation, recipes
cabbage, cost, fish, recipe, slaw mix, vegetables
Small seedless?…Larger with seeds?…Cantaloupe?
Last week I took the time to weigh the melons and figure the unit price by dividing the price by the pounds ($/#). It turns out all three pictured were around $.28/pound. I was surprised because I thought the seedless would cost more.
Seedless watermelon - 11 pounds for $2.99 = $.27/pound
Seeded watermelon - 18 pounds for $4.99 = $.28/pound
Cantaloupe - 7 pounds for $2.00 = $.29/pound
Of course, none of this information tells us anything about the flavor or ripeness. Last week I got a melon so ripe I called the store and complained. The manager told me next time I shop to bring the receipt and get a refund.
Three tips for selecting ripe melons include:
- they should feel heavy for their size,
- have a sweet smell, and
- have a yellow underside where they touched the ground.
-pointers by Peggy
food cost
cantaloupe, cost, ripeness, unit price, watermelon
Is fresh fruit expensive? Many people think so. Recently I was really hungry for fresh peaches. The store I was at had only 1 variety. They were $1.48 per pound and the peaches were very large. I bought 4 of them. When they rang up, they totaled $2.92…more than I thought they would be and more then I would normally pay for 4 pieces of fruit—$.73 a piece.
Here are some tips for controlling the cost of fresh fruit:
- Watch size of individual fruit. Small peaches would have been about 3 per pound and even at $1.48/pound they would have been less than $.50 a piece.
- Watch quantity purchased. I purchased fresh cherries earlier this summer. They were $2.99 per pound, a pretty good price for fresh cherries. I was so surprised when they rang up over $10! They were pre-bagged and even though the bag didn’t seem that big, I had purchased over 3 pounds of cherries. Just be sure you can eat the quantity you purchase!
- Store them correctly. If fruit needs to ripen (like peaches), place them in a basket on the counter or in a brown paper bag. Once they ripen (or if they were already ripe when purchased), place them in the refrigerator—either in the paper bag or in a bowl/basket. Some fruits (like peaches and pears) spoil from the inside out when kept in a plastic bag; so, when you get home from the store, take the fruit out of the plastic bag you bought it in.
- Keep it in perspective. My peaches were $2.92 and that seemed like a lot, but I recently bought a bag of baked chips that cost $3.79—less filling and less nutritious than the 4 peaches! Also, $.75 for a piece of fruit may seem expensive, but a regular-sized candy bar at a convenience store is $1.19.
So, enjoy that fresh fruit!
-contributed by Renee
food cost
cost, fresh fruit, quantity, size, storage
This spring, Dietetic interns at ISU were asked to develop a menu plan for a week for a low-income rural family with one adult female and three children (one in preschool, two in elementary school). First they had to figure out how much money it would take to feed the family using USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan. This is the amount that Food Assistance (formerly Food Stamps) is based on. Then they developed menus, recipes, costs, nutrition analysis, and shared their reflections. The ISU Food and Nutrition Department instructors shared the six best papers with us. Click on the names below to see the edited versions. If you want to know how much your family would spend on the low-cost plan (which is a little higher than the thrifty plan), use our online calculator.
Kathryn Elenewwich
Kelsey Ermels
Caitlin Heaney
Jeannine Lise
Laura A. Merrifield
Mary Jo Schechinger
-pointers by Peggy
food cost, food preparation, recipes, resources
cost, menus, nutrition analysis, recipes
My husband loves pickled beets, and I am also fond of them. He tends a small garden and the beets are ready for harvest. I have a recipe for making a small batch of pickled beets in the microwave. I was curious as to the cost of my homemade beets compared to commercial ones.
When I figured it out, it was a bit depressing. The ones from the store (in a nice resealable glass jar) cost $ .37 per serving. My homemade ones cost $ .30 a serving; but, that didn’t figure anything for the beets! It also didn’t allow for canning costs including jars and flats. One of my biggest expenses was the stick cinnamon. I needed one stick and a little jar cost $4.29, meaning 10 cents of the cost per serving of the homemade was because of the cinnamon. I suppose you could use ground cinnamon and it would taste the same, but you wouldn’t have the pretty clear liquid. By purchasing commercially canned beets, you would miss the personal satisfaction of doing it yourself and knowing exactly how the food was grown and prepared.
Home food preservation doesn’t automatically save money. It depends if you have the interest and time, as well as what value you place on knowing the exact source of your food.
If you are interested in the recipe, Microwave Pickled Beets is found in the July 2009 issue of Food for Fitness and Fun.
-contributed by Jan Temple
food cost, food preparation, recipes
commercial, cost, garden, homemade, pickled beets
What I learned about the cost of eggs is interesting. Alan, my son, had a late morning graduation party with egg casserole, fruit and coffee cakes. Almost every coffee cake recipe called for 4 eggs. At the store, I found large eggs to be $1.29 per dozen. Medium eggs cost $ .69 per dozen. A book I have indicated that 5 medium eggs are equal to 4 large eggs. By using the medium eggs, I saved 14 cents for each recipe.
-contributed by Jan Temple
P.S. For more information comparing egg size and cost, see the all about eggs section on the meat foods aisle of the SpendSmart. Eat Smart. web site.
-Peggy
food cost, food preparation
comparison, conversion, cost, eggs
