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Eat More Healthfully While Stretching Food Budget

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@tampatrib.com

Published: November 15, 2008

It's easier for older people to save substantially on their grocery bills if they switch from boxed or prepared foods to cooking from scratch.

Nutritionist Janet Little says families of four can eat on $75 a week and older folks on just about half that if the cooks do a little planning ahead. The Food Marketing Institute estimates families spend a minimum of $115 a week on groceries, so shaving $40 a week from the bill saves about $2,000 a year, she says.

Even better: Buying raw ingredients to prepare meals at home can better ensure consumers are getting the recommended daily allowance of nutrients, instead of the harder to determine dietary contents of prepackaged and processed foods.

Little's tips include:

•Plan ahead. When we don't, we spend more at the grocery and buy things that sit unused and rot.

•Stretch food. For example, buy a whole chicken - or two - depending on the size of the family. Roast the chicken and serve it with broccoli and brown rice. The next day, make chicken enchiladas or a casserole. Then there's soup and salad. One item is stretched into three different meals.

•Try "old-fashioned" solutions, such as oats bought in bulk. They help lower cholesterol and a pound will probably last a whole week.

•Go meatless once in a while. One of the biggest food expenses is meat. Rely on eggs. They are a great source of protein. Hard-boiled eggs are great snack items.

•Stock up on staples when they go on sale.

The Orange County (Calif.) Register

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