Healthy eating on a budget
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As part of our series on nutrition, Bay Area Senior Advocates (B.A.S.A.) wants you to know that eating healthy doesn’t mean spending more money on food. Granted, fresh produce can cost more than, say, box macaroni and cheese, and its shelf life, before turning into vegetable mush in the bottom of your refrigerator, can seem very short. But, eating healthy can be affordable and is often a better value.
How should a healthy diet look? Well, first of all the American Cancer Society recommends 5-9 servings per day of fruits and vegetables. A serving isn’t as big as you’d think. On average, a small apple, orange or pear, or a half cup of applesauce, or other cooked vegetable counts as one serving. Most folks eat at least a cup at a time of either fruits or veggies. So you may be getting enough produce per day even if you can’t count 5 to 9 different types of produce per day.
The next goal is to have at least half, or 50%, of your grain choices be whole grain. That means that, instead of buying white bread, you’d choose whole wheat. Or instead of white rice or white pasta, you’d try brown rice and whole wheat pasta. Maybe have high fiber cereal at breakfast rather than corn flakes.
In the protein department, the goal of healthy eating is to make lean choices most of the time. The ideal portion would be around 3 to 4 ounces per meal, or the size of a deck of cards.
As with the other food groups, the more you vary your protein foods, the better. For example, today I might have chicken breast for lunch and salmon for supper. Tomorrow, I might eat a vegetarian meal for lunch, like beans and rice, and beef stew for supper. Each high protein food carries a different nutrition package, which is why variety is so important.
The last food group, dairy, is also a good protein source along with calcium. Once again, try to make most of your choices low fat. If you usually eat less than two servings per day of dairy, you should probably take a calcium / Vitamin D supplement. Discuss this with your doctor.
Now that we’ve looked at the various food groups needed to eat healthy, how can we keep our food cost as low as possible? First off, buy seasonally. Buying fruits and vegetables in season is probably the best value per pound than any other time of year. If you have any extra freezer space, consider buying enough to put a little up for later. Eating seasonally also means that you’re probably buying more local produce that’s grown to maturity. The vitamin / mineral content of fresh, grown until it’s perfectly ripe, produce is the best you can get.
Another thought is to buy the smaller apples in a bag, rather than the very large shiny ones that are more expensive per pound. Even if you live alone, apples last a long time in the refrigerator. The same holds true for carrots: buy whole bagged carrots instead of the small pre-peeled ones. You’ll get a lot more for your money and they taste better, too.
Thirdly, cook from scratch. Believe it or not, buying pre-processed food is your most expensive option since it usually has a lower nutrient content for a higher price tag. Buddy up with a friend if you don’t know how to cook whole foods from scratch. Many grocery stores also offer recipe cards next to the produce to encourage you to buy them.
So the bottom line for eating healthy on a budget is to watch for sales, put up extra foods when you can, and cook from scratch.
Laura McCain, Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator, Chef
Food & Nutrition Services / Sodexo Health Care
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About Bay Area Senior Advocates:
The mission of the Bay Area Senior Advocates (BASA) is to support and enrich the lives of older adults through collaboration, planning, and advocacy. BASA is a unique blend of both public and private partnerships working together for the good of older adults, families and caregivers in our region.
For more information go to www.basatc.org