Food News You Can Use: Ways to Save Money in 2009 and Rice Update
Ways to save money in 2009:
- Plan meals around what you have on hand and what is a good price in the store. A good goal is to keep ingredients on hand for at least 5 meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
- Planned leftovers help save time and money.
- Do not buy snack or dessert foods in bulk; they will not last longer, they will get eaten!
- Buy grains, canned beans and frozen vegetables in bulk when they are on sale.
- Use seasonal produce for meals and snacks for better value. Right now you can find specials on potatoes, cabbage, carrots, broccoli, apples, pears and citrus fruits.
- A general rule of thumb for better buys: The less processed the food, the lower the cost. Bulk rice is cheaper than boxes of flavored rice. Whole potatoes are less expensive than frozen/fried and boxed instant/mashed. Whole apples are a better value than apple pie or apple bars. Rolled oats are less expensive than packaged cereal or cereal bars. And these items are better for you because they are usually lower in fat, sodium, and sugar. They are often higher in fiber.
- Rice and pasta make great staples for the pantry and are very low in cost per ounce. They keep for a long time, too.
- Plan your meals and make a list. Shop by yourself when you are not hungry or stressed
Rice can add variety to meals. Take a look in your grocer’s rice aisle. Shoppers now have more choices than ever with rice. Rice is a cheap food when compared to most by cost per ounce. It is naturally low in fat and sodium. Some interesting varieties worth trying:
- brown wehani rice
- brown basmati rice
- brown jasmine rice
- forbidden black rice
- red rice
