Keeping Your Food Budget in Check

• March 15th, 2013
• Posted in Healthy Eating, Nutrition by Melissa Halas, MA, RD, CDE
• Comments (0)
• Tags: budget friendly shopping, family food budget, food budget, meal budget

With good planning, you can keep your food costs under control by:

• Set a food budget so that you know how much you have to spend on the foods you need.
• Do some meal planning so that you know what’s for dinner and you aren’t tempted to buy fast food at the last minute.
• Write a grocery list so that you don’t make impulse purchases.
• Meal plan around the plate: make half the plate fruits and vegetables, one quarter of the plate whole grains, and the last quarter a lean protein.
• Check out meal time tips and choosemyplate.gov for healthy options.
• Lean proteins don’t always have to be meat: try a plant-based protein like beans, lentils, or soy.
  • Try making home made bean burgers
  • Cook frozen edamame for your protein source for dinner
• Pick an inexpensive “go-to meal” that you enjoy once a week –like tacos with veggies and lean ground turkey with salsa, bean-veggie enchiladas or a colorful southwestern bean salad.
• Pack snacks. Foods from snack bars or convenience stores can cost lots of money over time.

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