Sticker shock
Food costs are high across the board right now and if you've got a thrifty bone in your body you're likely looking for ways to reduce your grocery bill. I find myself getting easily irritated when high cost convenience foods come into our house.
My brain can't help but to think, “I could make that myself for half the price!”. Indeed, many packaged products can be made at home for less, but can it save you significant cash?
Homemade swaps
I’ve done some homemade swaps for awhile now. Time to crunch the numbers to find out how much we are saving and if it’s really worthwhile!
2 homemade peanut butter energy balls ($0.28) vs. 1 Quaker Chewy peanut butter granola bar ($0.35) - savings $0.07 per serving 😒
6 Ritz crackers with 1 oz of cheddar cheese ($0.33) vs. 1 Ritz cheese and cracker package ($0.37) - savings $0.04 per serving 😪
1 homemade fruit and Greek yogurt smoothie ($1.26) vs 1 Chobani Greek yogurt drink ($1.82) - saving $0.56 per serving 😉
2 pesto and feta egg cups ($0.62) vs 2 Aldi frozen egg bites ($2.50) vs 2 Starbucks Roasted Red Pepper egg bites ($5.78) - savings $1.88 per serving, and stop going to Starbucks! 😍
Clearly the big ticket items are the smoothie swap and the egg cups. If you consider 1 person making all of these swaps everyday for 1 week they’d save $17.85 for the week. Of course for most of us time is money and homemade swaps might not be realistic.
Save more with less meat
Stretch ground meats by adding beans to your meals. Use just 1/2 a pound of ground meat in meat sauce and blend 1 can of cannellini beans into the marinara to boost protein and filling power.
Build in more vegetarian meals. It doesn't have to be tofu kale casserole; we're doing breakfast for dinner more often these days, making things like broccoli cheddar frittata with French toast as a meal.
Do a quick stir fry with frozen or fresh veggies and shelled edamame (soy beans that are high in protein), peanuts, and top with a scrambled egg. Serve over rice.
Talk with your dietitian about other creative ways to save money on food. Healthy eating doesn’t have to be more expensive, but it may require trying new things and spending a little more time in the kitchen.
If you’re just getting started with healthy eating on a budget, schedule an appointment with our dietitians today!
Author: Jodi Serafin, RDN, CDCES