Cut Cost of Healthy Foods
Reviewed By:
Susan Janoff, MS RD LD/N
- Buy dried beans and peas. Dried beans and peas are just as nutritious as the fresh or canned varieties. Though they take longer to prepare, you get a greater volume of chickpeas or kidney beans per dollar when buying the dried variety compared to canned or fresh. Beans and peas also help boost dietary fiber content.
- Compare the prices of different brands. Do you typically buy fresh mushrooms sold by Company A? Don't be afraid to defect over to Company B if you discover a coupon or sale. Also, buying store-brand or generic products almost always will save you money over buying brand-name competitors. This often is true even when you have a coupon for the brand-name product.
- Buy in bulk. This usually can result in significant savings. However, it's important to avoid being penny-wise and pound-foolish. Don't buy a tub of yogurt if you won't finish it before the spoilage date. Otherwise, you'll just end up tossing half the tub -- along with your savings -- into the garbage.
- Buy fruits and vegetables in season. Fresh fruits and vegetables are one of life's joys, a product that actually goes down in price as the quality goes up. Produce that is in season is almost always tastier and cheaper at the peak of the harvest. So, try to buy apples between September and May, oranges from November to June and cucumbers from May to August.
Blueberries, for example, are expensive most of the year but a bargain in summer. If you like them, buy as many as you have room for in your freezer. Wash them, let them dry and freeze them in airtight containers. In autumn and winter, you'll be able to add a nutritious taste of summer to your oatmeal.
If an item is not in season and you can't freeze it for later use, it is often cheaper to buy frozen or canned versions of the food. Just keep in mind that canned fruits may be higher in sugar, just as canned vegetables often have high sodium content. If you buy canned products, look for those canned in water or with low-sugar or low-sodium alternatives.
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