With family budgets getting tighter, the challenge of buying healthy food is growing.
If you just take a few minutes to think about what's healthy, there are ways to buy good-for-you-food and stick to your budget.
The national obesity rates were released in July. As expected, it’s not good. Worse yet, 8 of the 10 fattest states, with rates higher than 30 percent, are in the south. Mississippi leads the way. Colorado is the leanest state in the country with 21.8 percent.
The rate is serious for the whole country, so now's the time to trim both your food intake and your budget.
Season Klein and her husband always head to the grocery store with an open mind. "We really don't have anything set, we just come to the store and see what looks fresh and if there are any sales going on and that's usually how we plan out meals," said Klein.
Klein said they always price shop, and lean towards store brands whenever possible. The biggest way they are eating healthy while saving money is by cooking at home.
"We spend a lot more time in the grocery shop, just kinda really thinking about planning out menus,” said Klein. “When we get to the store we really say ok, are we going to be eating lunches and dinners and base our menu plans around that."
Mary Ellen Scarborough is a Registered Dietician at Grand Strand Medical Center. She suggested people spend a few more pennies on leaner meat to end up with more after it's cooked. Also, buy frozen vegetables, they don't spoil quickly and they're healthy.
"Other things that are very inexpensive are; dry beans, rice and onions, things of that nature are very nutritious. Especially if you put a lean protein product like the leaner ground beef and sliced very lean ham,” said Scarborough. “Products can be nutritious with a lot less fat and certainly not near the trans fat and hydrogenated saturated fats that you get in a fast food chain."
The bottom line is you can almost always make something cheaper from scratch versus buying a processed version, if you take into account servings.
Even though things like boxed and canned foods are cheap, many contain little to no nutritional value. Just take a few minutes to make sure what you buy is not just good for your wallet but also your health.
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