Nutrition Round Up: The Healthy-on-a-Budget Edition
Factual Fridays – Friday, February 25, 2011
Everyone can eat healthy on a budget. Don’t believe me? Here are tips and tricks from some of the best.
An Oxymoron or The Way of the Future? Food Stamps and Organic Foods
I was inspired this week by Jenni Grayson’s incredible article of practical tips for eating organic on food stamps in the Huffington Post . It is one of my favorite articles ever written on the subject of healthy eating on a budget. Food stamps – called SNAP nationally and CalFresh in California – has become a reality for more people as times get financially more difficult across the country. While programs like FSNEP publish healthy eating education materials on a regular basis, Jenni’s tips reign supreme for me. I highly recommend that you click through each of the links she includes. Each and every one is unique, useful, and a money saver! Here’s a rundown with a few of my own links:
- Cook at home as much as possible. Yes, you can do it!
- Use more dried beans and make meat a condiment.
- Ignore name brands, choose whole foods, and search those bulk bins.
- Purchase the Clean 15 foods that may not need to be organic (or make an effort to stick to the top of this list.
- Stretch your food dollars at a farmer’s market. Find one at Simple Steps or Local Harvest.
- Stick to the classics for budget friendly meals.
Jenni will be putting her tips to the test and writing a follow-up column. I hope you’ll stay tuned with me for an update! (And, no, I don’t just love her because she has the best name ever 
Still Need More Tips? 30 Ways in 30 Days
Imagine how much of an improvement you can make in your food budget with just a few of these 30 tips from the CDC. Just in time for March’s National Nutrition Month)! I’ve highlighted a few of my favorites:
- Grow your own produce (even without a backyard)!
- Be creative by using produce in new, inventive ways !
- Utilize those coupons! Even catered to your area!
Do you think you can eat healthier on a budget? If not, what do you think stands in your way? If so, what are your favorite tips?
Jenn Jackson, MPH
The Nutrition Nerd
NOTE: If there is a health news story that you would like to share or know more about, please submit them to NutritionNerd@HealthyMenToday.com by Wednesday of each week (to be included in that Factual Friday round up).
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PHOTO CREDIT 2: http://www.barbertongarden.com/images/grow_your_own_food_victory_garden_canning_poster-p228752556213200633tdcp_400.jpg
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Eating Healthy On A Budget? Of course you can. Most folks today don’t want to invest the time needed to prepare healthy food or even become educated on what healthy food is. Sure, everyone knows that a weeks’ worth of fast food burgers and fries isn’t the thing to do if you want to live past 50; but I’m not so sure folks go much past that. Most guys know about the kind of advice the CDC, FDA, Food Pyramids and The Food Police. So staying away from the obvious offenders and reading labels, as daunting as it may be, only get you so far. Here are three tips for you, particularly you guys out there, on how to eat a bit healthier:
First
Learn how to cook. Ok, most folks growing up in in the 80′s and 90’s just did not think that was cool. But now it is more cool to be a “Chef” than even a doctor! But beware what kind of chef you aspire to be and what kind of cooking lessons are you getting on the tellie! Sure, every now and then your inner French Chef has to poke out there, but leaning how to make a 30 min meal or a healthy stir-fry or even a vegetarian dish or three is not a bad thing.
Second
Get a good large size freezer, maybe share one with a friend (even perchance a lady friend?). Take one weekend a month to cook foods for yourself with ingredients you know about. Invest in some freezer containers of bags and cook and store. Pasta sauces, stews, soups even, as Rachel Ray calls the, stoups (very hearty soups), roasts, turkey it is all freezable! If you share the duties with a friend the variety of foods you all can store up would be, as the saying goes, AMAZING. And affordable, I wouldn’t be surprised if you save 30% over pre-packaged foods both in terms of dollars, calories and unnecessary salt…not to mention a savings of 100% of the preservatives.
Third
Three times a week, yes JUST three times a week, have a vegetarian meal. Or at least a non-beefy, chicken or porky meal. Not too hard to do and it will not only stretch dollar budgets but be a good healthy alternative and build your repertoire of redcpies. Hey, who knows you might even meet the date of your dreams who is a vegan and think of the AMAZING conversations you can have!
Dr. Sal Giorgianni
Men’s Health Advocate
Vice-Chair, American Public Health Association’s Men’s Health Caucus