Eating Healthy on a Budget

The Healthy SC Challenge is the Sanford family's effort to get all South Carolinians to do just a little more to live a healthier lifestyle. The tips are designed to encourage individuals and communities to live healthier lifestyles in three categories - nutrition, exercise and help to quit smoking.

Nutrition
Does feeding your family a healthy diet have to break the bank? Not if you know how to do it. Start by adding up the cost of all the food that your family eats away from home each week. Include lunches in the cafeteria, coffee breaks, sodas, vending machine purchases and meals eaten in your car or a restaurant. Then think about how much money you could save by eating more meals at home, carrying snacks with you, brown-bagging lunches and changing favorite recipes. Here are a few tips:

Avoid buying liquid candy like soda, lemonade, sweet tea, sweetened juice, energy drinks and fancy vitamin drinks. These options are not as healthy as a glass of water and a piece of fruit. In addition, the cost really adds up. Just two sodas or juice boxes every day can have a monthly cost anywhere from $15 if brought at the grocery store to as much as $120 if bought at restaurants and convenience stores. Avoid bottled water, too. It is very expensive since it is mostly just tap water. Save money by buying a water bottle for each person in the family-then fill it with your own water, keep it cold and ready to go.

Do not buy boxed cold breakfast cereal. Boxed cereals usually cost between $3 and $4 per box, and contain mostly refined grains mixed with sugar. And - have you noticed recently that you are getting less cereal for the same cost? Instead, buy other breakfast foods like 100% whole-wheat bread or English muffins for toasting, plain oatmeal, plain grits or big bags of store-brand whole grain cereals like O's or bran flakes. Add your own raisins or chopped nuts.

Go out to eat less often. Eating at home just one more time per week can often save $100 or more a month. Fixing food at home can be cheaper and quick, and allows you to make things that your family likes. Foods like grilled-cheese sandwiches, whole grain pancakes or scrambled eggs can be on the table fast, and are healthier than most fast-food meals that are typically high in calories, salt, fat and sugar. One way to avoid eating out: carry snacks like raisins, cereal Os or apples in the car to keep appetites under control until you get home.

Pack lunches for school and work. Fill lunch boxes in the morning quickly and easily with already prepared food. Sandwiches can be made for the whole week, and then frozen in small plastic bags. Oatmeal cookies, banana bread or muffins can be baked in large quantity and frozen in individual portions. A big bag of carrots, peeled and sliced to create a 2-3 day supply, can be ready to pop into a plastic container with a little ranch dressing for dipping. By adding a piece of fresh fruit or frozen fruit in a small plastic container, you can create a lunch that is fast, cheap and healthier.

Buy fewer single serving pre-packed foods. Avoid things like 100-calorie bags of cookies, granola bars, "fruit" chews, crackers, pudding, yogurt tubes, cheese, canned fruits, gelatin cups, applesauce, pre-boxed lunches and juice boxes. You pay a premium for someone else to stick these products in a bag or container for you. Invest in inexpensive, reusable, lidded containers and pack your own. Chances are that what you pack will be healthier, too.

Look for fresh fruits and vegetables on sale. Stores often have specials on produce that is in peak production. That means the fruit or vegetable is "in-season" and will be extra fresh and flavorful-as well as less expensive. When farmer's markets open in your area, you can get fruits and vegetables right out of the garden at even lower prices. Or, you can even plant your own tomatoes or cucumbers.

Watch for canned, dried and frozen fruits to go on sale and stock up. They keep for months and help you get a simple meal on the table fast. Be sure to stock up on basics like pasta sauces and frozen vegetables during sales when you can.

Consider making your own food. Muffins, cookies, instant oatmeal, granola bars, rolls, pizza dough, pudding, and salad dressings can be quick to make. The ingredients in these foods cost very little- and when you make them yourself, they can be much healthier. Be sure to use at least half whole-wheat flour, and add extra powdered milk, chopped nuts, dried fruit, and healthy fat (like olive or canola oil) to make them even healthier.

Eat less meat. Some old-fashioned basic meals like meat loaf, stew, soups, chili beans, pasta casseroles, or spaghetti use less meat because they contain other healthy ingredients. Grandma or older friends can be great resources for these old-fashioned "stretch the dollar" recipes. Update these old favorites to meet current nutrition standards by cutting the meat in half, and adding healthy extras to the recipe like vegetables (frozen peas, grated carrots and corn are kid favorites), beans, brown rice or whole grain pasta.

Have beans as your main course at least once a week. Kids and adults do not need meat every day. Beans are cheap and super healthy. Canned beans are great, but get rid of extra sodium by rinsing them with running water. Dry beans are even cheaper; just remember to soak them for a few hours before cooking. Quick bean meals include red beans and rice, black-eyed peas on rice, bean soup and baked beans.

Avoid foods with health claims on the label. These foods usually offer fewer benefits than cheaper brands. You can get much more nutrition from eating a great variety of less expensive foods. Remember that the word "organic" on the label does not mean "healthy," and many packaged organic foods contain unhealthy amounts of fat and sugar. Non-organic foods still contain most of the vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein found in organic choices. If you want to limit your family's exposure to pesticides and herbicides, one low-cost strategy is to scrub your conventionally grown fruits and vegetables very well with water.

Eating at home is not just great for the pocketbook and health-it is wonderful for children. Learning kitchen survival skills will help kids to grow up knowing how to care for themselves and enjoy healthier foods. Many children like to help the kitchen, and have fun doing tasks like setting the table or chopping vegetables for a salad. Cooking at home can be combined with the best idea ever for getting the whole family to eat more vegetables: serve some raw veggies for munching while the family cooks and talks together in the kitchen.

-EllieTaylor, RN, MS; South Carolina co-author of Feeding the Kids: The Flexible, No-Battle, Healthy Eating System for the Whole Family (2007) and Feeding the Kids Workshops: Raising Happy, Healthy Eaters (2009)