Spend Smart. Eat Smart.

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

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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.

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