5 Ways to Lower Grocery Bill - Food and Health Communications

1. Switch to oatmeal
Buy bulk oatmeal instead of boxed cereal - pay .13 per ounce instead of .40 per ounce - save almost $400 per year for 4 people! Eat less sugar and sodium and more soluble fiber, too! Did you know that a tub of oatmeal contains 30 servings while a box of cereal usually contains 10 and they both cost about the same? Oatmeal takes just minutes to prepare in the microwave so you don’t lose that much convenience!
2. Replace chips, crackers and cookies with fresh fruit.
Most fruits cost about .04 to .05 per ounce while most chips and cookies are about .30 cents per ounce. Fruit is a much better choice because it contains far fewer calories per ounce and has fiber, too! One banana costs about .29 and it can be a great grab and go breakfast or snack that can keep you out of the fast food lane and vending machine. And a delicious peach can quench a sweet tooth and help you avoid the waist unfriendly nightly splurge on ice cream or cookies. Peaches are just .12 per ounce, too!
3. Get rid of bottled beverages.
Drink filtered water from the tap. A 12 pack of soda can cost up to $4.99 for a brand name and it disappears quick. Water seems not likeable when you have too much soda around. Save about $400-500 per year for 4 people and eliminate consumption of 27 pounds of sugar a year by a simple switch to filtered tap water. You don’t have to spend a lot to get a filter for the spigot or for a filtered pitcher for the refrigerator.
4. Serve more rice, pasta and potatoes
Rice, pasta and potatoes bought in bulk are still inexpensive and easy to prepare. You can find all sorts of low-fat recipes online. These 3 items, bought in bulk, in place of frozen or boxed meals ,or expensive meats, are much cheaper - around .06 per ounce as compared to .25-.40 per ounce. PLUS?they are much lower in fat and sodium than frozen meals!
5. Substitute lentils and beans in place of meat more often and use less meat
Dried beans and lentils are about .05 per ounce and contain a fair amount of fiber and B vitamins plus no saturated fat. Find fun recipes for them on the back of their package or online and make a switch at least a few times per week. Meat is much higher in saturated fat with no fiber and is 5 times the cost; start using less meat gradually and no one will notice.Cutting meat out twice a week can save $400 per year for a family of four.

_____ Oatmeal in bulk instead of boxed cereal
_____ Fruit instead of cookies, crackers, chips
_____ Water instead of soda
_____ Rice, pasta and potatoes in place of frozen dinners and boxed meal mixes
_____ Lentils in place of meat; less meat

Judy Doherty

Judy’s passion for cooking began with helping her grandmother make raisin oatmeal for breakfast. From there she earned her first food service job at 15, was accepted to the world-famous Culinary Institute of America at 18 (where she graduated second in her class), and went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland where she focused on pastry arts and baking. After a decade in food service for Hyatt Hotels, Judy launched Food and Health Communications to focus on flavor and health. She graduated with Summa Cum Laude distinction from Johnson and Wales University with a BS in Culinary Art, holds a master’s degree in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America, 2 art certificates from UC Berkeley Extension, and runs a food photography studio where her love is creating fun recipes.

Judy received The Culinary Institute of America’s Pro Chef II certification, the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year. Her enthusiasm for eating nutritiously and deliciously leads her to constantly innovate and use the latest in nutritional science and Dietary Guidelines to guide her creativity, from putting new twists on fajitas to adapting Italian brownies to include ingredients like toasted nuts and cooked honey. Judy’s publishing company, Food and Health Communications, is dedicated to her vision that everyone can make food that tastes as good as it is for you.