Whenever we put together another issue, it always reminds me of a jigsaw puzzle – endless tiny pieces that somehow, some way, magically fit together to make one complete package. Our nutrition piece “Frugal Eats While You Shred,” for example, in the Abs Special issue, successfully tackled the dilemma facing most of us these days – the need to pare down our costs and yet continue to eat well to shed weight. (Btw, I just read a piece about a team of researchers from McMaster University in Hamilton, ON, Canada who determined that women eat less higher-caloric food when they eat with a man, than with a woman….hmmmm, does that make sense to you?????) What amazed me in the article we ran was the final cost for all the meals in our cheap-eats day – just $12…cheaper than take-out! Just goes to show you don’t have to spend a million dollars to stay lean.
What are your tricks for staying on a budget? Let me know!
My cheap tricks (ha ha) include buying meat in bulk on sale, only buying organics that are exposed directly to pesticides and chemicals (such as spinach, lettuce, berries) and buying natural but not organic meats. I buy the store brand organics and store brand anything (canned tuna, for instance) whenever I can to save dough. And I am a firm believer that eating clean is cheaper than eating processed foods! Packaged foods are more expensive than fresh meats and produce.
ReplyDeleteMy cheap tricks involve a few extra stops on shopping day but the net savings is worth it. I buy meat and whole grains in bulk from Costco and package up meal-size servings for the freezer so I can grab what I need as I need it. Then I get all my fresh produce from the local farm stand. The quality is so much better than what I find at the grocery store (or Costco) AND it is about 1/3 the price!
ReplyDeleteA local TV network has a listing of all sales circulars of the week. I scan those and plan out my shopping for the week - there is always chicken on sale somewhere!
ReplyDeleteI love looking for sales in healthy markets. Henry's (in california) is one chain that has new sales every wednesday for a week. If you shop on wednesdays, you get the sales of the previous week and the next week, so double bonus! Places like Whole Foods may be expensive, but they have great sales, too. And then there's my favorite, Trader Joe's! They're very popular in California and finally starting to spring out back east, too. They have great affordable prices, lots of natural meat and organic choices.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have to say, I totally agree with Lissa. And even if you buy organic, healthy options that may be a little more expensive than fast food/processed food, it's more affordable for your body in the long run. It gives you less extra time in the gym burning off excess calories--> more free time, more energy, and a healthier body!