Community Voices for Health

By Lindsay Schwartz, RD, LDN, Signature Healthcare

Do you feel as if your weekly grocery bill just keeps going up? Here are some tips to save money at the grocery store, while still filling your cart with nutritious foods for you and your family.

1. Buy beans
As I mentioned in one of my previous blog posts, “What is fiber and are you eating enough of it,” most Americans are not eating enough fiber. Beans are high in fiber, containing 5-8 grams of fiber per ½-cup cooked and 8-16 grams of protein per ½-cup cooked. Examples of beans include black beans, chickpeas, soybeans, and kidney beans. You can buy dried beans or canned beans, both of which are very affordable options. If you buy canned beans, I would check the sodium content and choose low-sodium or no-salt-added if sodium is a nutrient you are concerned about. You also can rinse canned beans in a colander with water to remove some of the salt that has been added.

What foods can you prepare with beans?

Hummus: a Middle Eastern spread, made from chickpeas, is a delicious dip for veggies as a snack or an alternative for mayonnaise on a sandwich.

Soups: Now that the weather is cold, you might want to make more soups. Three-bean chili or minestrone soup are comfort meals that can be packed with nutrition. Follow the link for a minestrone soup recipe! https://therealfooddietitians.com/minestrone-soup/

Burgers or Tacos: replace ground beef with black beans

2. Eat what is in season

Seasonal produce is the most affordable. Strawberries are in season in the summer. If you try to buy them in the winter, you will pay much more. Broccoli, cauliflower, leafy greens (like spinach and kale), and citrus fruit (oranges, clementines, and grapefruit) are a few examples of produce that is in season during the winter.

3. Check the unit price
The unit price is displayed on the grocery store shelf and tells you how much the item costs per pound, ounce, etc. The unit price is simply the shelf price divided by the quantity. The unit price allows you to compare similar products and select the item that is a better buy. For example, a large container of yogurt often has a lower unit price compared with small, individual cups of yogurt.

4. Shop the store-brand products
Store-brand products are often more affordable than brand-name products for the same amount and product quality. Next time you are at the store, compare a brand-name product to a store-brand product, like oatmeal. Notice the price comparison and check the ingredients. The ingredients in oatmeal should just be whole-grain oats. So why pay more for the same product?