Healthy eating for less: Can you top CR’s staffers?

Here's an official challenge to the readers of this blog: Can you come up with better ways to save money on healthy food than the highly trained professionals who work here at Consumer Reports?

I'm betting you can, but you'll have your work cut out for you. I recently put out a company-wide request for ways to eat healthfully on a budget, and terrific responses poured in.

Here are 10 of the choicest tips:

1. Toss in tofu. It's a low-fat, low-cost meat and cheese substitute. Add tofu to salads, sautee with vegetables, flavor with something savory like chili sauce or tamari, and serve over rice. Staffers pointed out that tofu's bland taste means it takes on the flavor of whatever surrounds it.

2. Add beans. They're a cheap, versatile, and nutritious source of protein and fiber that you can add to salads and one-pot meals like soups, stews, chili, and pasta fagioli. Canned beans are convenient, but for maximum savings start with dried beans.

3. Bulk up. Buy large packages of meats and frozen veggies at warehouse stores, and repackage and freeze what you don't eat immediately.

4. Cook ahead. Make more than you need, and freeze extra portions for later. If you’re super-organized, set aside an afternoon or evening to do all your cooking for the entire week. Consider investing in a vacuum-sealing system for long-term freezer storage.

5. Buy local. Get what you can from farmer's markets or sign up for delivery of seasonal produce from your local Community Supported Agriculture outlet (find a CSA near you).

6. Avoid packaged stuff. Learn to cook from scratch with unprocessed meats, produce, and grains. Brew your own tea and mix in fruit juice instead of buying bottled flavored teas from the refrigerator case.

7. Brown-bag it. Bring leftovers to work for lunch, and fruit or flavored yogurt for a mid-afternoon snack. Buy fruit on sale on Sunday and make fruit salads to carry to work for the coming week.

8. Bargain-hunt. Get to know the schedule for specials and discounts at your regular supermarket, and take advantage of its loyalty card. Check out local independent and ethnic markets, which may be cheaper for some types of foods such as spices or specialty vegetables. Use mygrocerydeals.com to find out what's on sale at local supermarkets.

9. Dig in the dirt. Enjoy vegetables in season from your own garden, and freeze the surplus to use all winter.

10. Waste not your scraps. Make a frittata with a few days' worth of leftover veggies and potatoes. Make your own broths with leftover bones, meat scraps, and vegetable trimmings. For a dark broth, roast ingredients first before simmering.

OK, readers, now it's your turn. Give me your best suggestions!

—Nancy Metcalf, senior program editor

Comments

[surferwife]

I always buy whole organic chicken, I first roast it for our first dinner, then use the carcus to make broth, and then use the left over chicken and broth for soup. I get out of it as much as possible. Same goes for beef but we only eat that once a week. We eat a lot of fresh Alaskan Salmon and Alaskan Halibut, which is awesome. To lighten up recipes like Banana bread, which we like, I used applesauce instead of any oil and only healthy ingredients and it was wonderful and moist, my kids loved it too. You can eat healthy and cheaply if you want to. I always cook from sratch now because once I started reading labels I realized how much "junk" we were eating. We have also incorporated a Sunday hike every weekend and it's good family time. We pick out a new hike from our book each week and pack a good lunch and enjoy the day. It's great.

[Ellen]

Yeah, I'm all about the soups, too (especially in winter...).This past weekend I made a very thick chicken broth with a few chicken thighs (4), carrots, garlic, onion, parsley, lentils, potatoes, and chard. You just chop up the veggies and toss them in with the chicken and hot water and boil for a few hours. Easy! So far I've had it for dinner twice and lunch once and it should serve for at least 3 more meals. There are endless variations on this--just mix the vegetables around.

[Tom]

All of these recommendations are great. If people choose just 4 - 5 simple changes to make each and every day to improve their health the impact will be profound. Just reducing the amount of sugar and alcohol in a person's diet will help reduce the weight.

[Pam]

Make SOUP! It's a fantastic way to use leftover meats and veggies. Throw in some rice, noodles or barley to make it more substantial. Season with bouillon and herbs you may have growing on your windowsill or yard, serve with bread and you have a fantasic meal. If I have a large batch I can or freeze it in serving sizes so that I have extra on hand when the cupboard is bare.

[Jeri Yoest]

Yogurt is easy to make inexpensively, although there is an initial investment in a thermometer if you don't have one. Check the Internet for recipes, or try this: Buy one container of a good yogurt with a lot of active cultures (I like Fage). Buy any fat content milk that you like (2% works, so does full fat) or even goats' milk. And buy a thermometer that registers at least from 110 to 180 degrees. Heat the milk (I make a gallon at a time) over low heat until it reaches 180 degrees (a Polder thermometer with a remote sensor can be rigged to attach to the pot and will sound an alarm when 180 is met), stirring occassionaly. Hold the temp for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let the milk cool to 115 degrees. (A gallon takes a little over a half hour.) Stir in some of the (room temperature) yogurt. Mix thoroughly. Pour warm mixture into glass jars that are very clean and rinsed in hot water. Jelly jars and glass mayo jars work nicely. Place in a 200 degree oven overnight. (Turn the oven to 200 and after it reaches that temp you can turn the oven off. Just be sure to leave the door closed.
The longer you leave the yogurt the tarter it will be. Save some yogurt to "start" your next batch and you'll likely not have to buy commercial yogurt for a very long time (I'm still using the same cultures for over 6 months.)

[Beth]

I've heard that tofu and soy products are a bad idea for people at risk of breast cancer (because they mimic estrogen). Does anyone know if this is true?

I've started using lentils more often. Like beans, they're cheap and easy to cook, and I serve them with rice, toss them in a salad, or use them to top a vegetable stir fry. I often cook them in a little broth, so I'm going to give Dee's suggestion a try!

[steph]

If I noticed bananas getting over-ripe, I peel them and cut into pieces, then stick in the freezer. Later, blend frozen banana pieces with milk, a little sweetener (I use honey) and vanilla to make a great tasting, inexpensive, healthy smoothie.

[David Drescher]

Why is it that all the farmer's markets I have gone to in Vermont, and New Jersey are more expensive than the supermarket? Their produce is grown less than 50 miles from the farm. For this reason, I do not shop at these markets.

Buy local. Get what you can from farmer's markets or sign up for delivery of seasonal produce from your local Community Supported Agriculture outlet (find a CSA near you).

[elisabeth]

two thoughts: don't be afraid of eggs. a quiche, bread pudding, or other egg-centered dish can be very inexpensive (even "breakfast for dinner ideas like scambled eggs or an omelet). Also, look at your serving size -- we divide up our pasta boxes, for example, and store the "enough for two servings" amount separately so that we won't be tempted to cook more than necessary, and make fruit plates for dessert with a mix of fresh and dried fruit and often some nuts, again controlling how much we eat instead of mindlessly eating these items...

[Dee]

Use tomato paste diluted with warm water as a base for soups and stews, instead of using broth or stock. It's inexpensive and works well in bean and vegetable soups. Use one to two tablespoons per recipe, with 1/2 to 1 cup warm water- one small can of paste will go a long way. Scoop out a save the rest in the fridge, use after one week.

[al]

My wife and I have been mixing Chia gel in with our mourning shake. Chia is a super good food for you plus it absorbs water many times it's own weight. It will fill you up and keep you healthy too!

[joyce]

Find organic food coupons online and in magazines. Download and print out these coupons from websites and e-mail newsletters. Then, use the coupons before they expire. If you tend to buy specific brands or types of foods regularly, especially look for those food items which you spend more money on so you can save more on these. And, look for coupons for organic chocolate, organic wine, or other good yummy items which you might not buy otherwise when on a budget so you can more easily afford these.

[Tammy]

Plan ahead. Make a list of meals for the week and create a shopping list for the items needed. Have a bi-weekly list of frequently used items that can be checked of and taken with the meal list.

[Corbey]

To save money on organic and natural products, ask your friends or search the web to find out if you have a natural foods co-op or buying club in your area. These can be as simple as a group of neighbors who get together to buy in bulk from a wholesaler every few months.

[Tina]

A few minutes of planning will always pay you back in dollars. Review the weekly ads for your store and plan your menu based on the sale items. Organic and healthy items go on sale too! Always shop with a list and take advantage of coupons.

[Moira]

Grow your own sprouts. They are packed with enzymes and are far more nutritious than any vegetables. Plus you avoid the risk of contamination from things shipped hundreds or thousands of miles. Very inexpensive to do, and takes only seconds a day.

[Ilona]

Another great idea is purchasing a whole chicken, then cutting it up per needs....wings, breasts, legs, thighs, to make a stock, roast wings, sautee breasts etc. Buying a whole chicken is much less expensive than buying individual pieces. Plus, buying the whole thing enables you to make the stock/broth which is so healthy due to the minerals (especially if the chicken is organic) and gelatin that will be in the broth. Also, 1 cup of chicken broth/stock will have the daily requirement for calcium in it!

[Michelle]

Make use of services provided by the butcher in your local grocery store. Roast beef on sale - ask the butcher to grind it for you...voila! Very lean ground beef at about half the price of the prepackaged versions. Like chicken wings? Use chicken legs (drumsticks) instead. Legs are always cheaper than wings so you get twice as much meat for half the price, with half the fat. Great replacement for buffalo wings!

[DJ]

#1. Tofu is an unfermented soy product, there are chemicals left in the soy that are not only indigestible, but also rob your body of other nutrients. Use miso or tempeh instead.

[Matt London]

Purchase a meat slicer. Processed lunch meats have nitrates and other additives. Slicing your own freshly broiled or roasted meats can reduce additives and save money in the long run.

[Cholesterol Lowering Foods]

Instead of frying, try grilling so you can eliminate most fats and veggies will have a distinct taste especially if sprinkled with lemon juice, etc.