Ouch!  Have you felt the “pinch” of rising food prices at the grocery store lately?  Up and down the aisles, prices are soaring for basic staple foods such as meat, milk, eggs, fruits and vegetables. 

There are many factors driving the high food costs.  At the latter end of 2014 into 2015, 49 million chickens and turkeys were wiped out due to the Avian Flu affecting egg and poultry prices.  The continuing severe drought conditions in California, producing nearly ½ of the fruits, nuts and vegetables grown in the U.S, is another cause. Water shortages are hindering various crop and livestock production.  Lost grassland and higher feed costs in agricultural states like Kansas and Texas also affect what consumers will be paying at the cash register for commodities like beef.   Basically, Americans should be ready for food prices to remain relatively high throughout the rest of the year.

You want to feed your family healthy, nutritious meals, but with food costs soaring, how do you do this without breaking your budget?  With some creativity and a well-thought out plan before you head to the grocery store, this goal is possible to accomplish.

Plan ahead

Before you leave the house, make a plan.  Each week, plan your meals for the next 7 days. Sit down and decide what you’ll have for dinner each night.  Doing so will:

·         Simplify what you buy at the grocery store.

·         Make you check to see what foods you already have on hand so you don’t overbuy.

·         Help you make a list of what you need and to stick to it.

·         Make it more likely you’ll check what the store has on sale helping reduce your cost.

·         Makes your life easier – you’ll already know what’s for dinner each night.  This decreases eating out, spending more money and eating higher calorie foods.

To accomplish this goal, check out ChooseMyPlate.gov and view the link “Healthy Eating on a Budget” to get excellent ideas on making healthy choices and preparing healthy meals along with a sample 2-week menu with budget-friendly recipes.

At the grocery store

·         Buy fruits and vegetables in season.  They’ll cost less and taste better.  Fresh produce is good, but frozen and canned (water-packed) fruits and vegetables are also nutritious and often a better bargain.  Frozen and canned produce are picked and processed at their nutritional peak.  Therefore they can retain more nutrients than fresh produce that is exposed to air and each day fresh produce is not eaten, they lose some nutritional value.

·         Make a habit of looking at the unit price displayed on the shelf below each food item.  It’s useful in comparing different brands and sizes of the same brands to know which is the better buy.

·         Buy in bulk but only if you have the freezer and shelf space in your kitchen and will actually use all of it.

·         Skip convenience foods – frozen dinners, instant oatmeal, instant rice, pre-cut produce are some examples.  These items will always cost you more than what you can make from scratch.

·         Buy beans.  Whether dried or canned, beans are one of the most economical sources or protein and fiber you can find.  They also have no cholesterol and are low in calories.

·         Save money on milk by buying the largest size you can use within 4 to 5 days.  Smaller sizes such as quarts or pints will cost more than buying a gallon or half-gallon size.  Another money saver is buying instant nonfat dry milk.  You can extend the quantity of milk by mixing powdered milk  half and half with fresh milk for drinking.

·         When buying breakfast cereal, put down the sugar-coated ones and opt for whole-grains.  Whole-grain cereals will give you more nutrition for your buck.  Store brand cereals, often identical to higher-priced name-brand cereals, will also be cheaper

·         Check the expiration dates:

*“Sell-by” tells the store how long to display the product for sale so buy the food item before the date expires

*”Best if used by” is recommended for best flavor or quality.  It is not a purchase or safety date.

*”Use-by” is the date recommended for the use of the food item while at its best quality.

At home

·        Make large batches of food that can be frozen into smaller amounts to be used throughout the week.  These can be easily thawed or defrosted in the microwave on busy days, preventing you from spending money on eating out.  Add a side dish such as fruits, vegetables or grains to round out the meal. 

·        Don’t go grocery shopping when hungry.  It’s too easy to overbuy, making impulse purchases of food you don’t really need.

·        Plant a garden.  Whatever food you can grow yourself will be cheaper than what you pay for at the grocery store.

·        Make food from scratch.  It costs less than the same item already made at the grocery store – and it tastes better too.

Putting it all together

Grocery shopping doesn’t have to put a dent in your food budget.  Remember, the best way to avoid the pain of higher food prices is to have a plan in place, be prepared and use up all the food you buy.  This will allow more money in your pocket to enjoy the other pleasures in life. 

Cheryl Mussatto has over 30 years of experience as a Registered Dietitian and has worked in a variety of settings that cover a wide span of nutrition experience.  Currently she works as an adjunct professor for two community colleges, Allen Community College in Burlingame and Butler Community College in Council Grove, Kansas teaching two courses, Basic Nutrition and Therapeutic Nutrition. She is a consulting dietitian for the Cotton O’Neil Medical Clinic in Osage City doing individualized nutrition counseling. Cheryl also is a contributing author for osagecountyonline.com, an online newspaper and Edietitians, a global free nutritional and health magazine. Her articles for both publications pertain to nutrition topics that cover a diversity of health and nutrition interests for the general public.  She is also certified as a health and wellness coach. Visit her website at www.eatwell2bewellrd.com and Facebook page: Eat Well 2 Be Well.