How to save on food costs with rising inflation, Part 2.

Sarah Bullard (Registered Dietician) and Rentia Greyvenstein (Registered Dietician).

After trying out the tips from last month, I hope you were able to save some money while choosing more fruits and vegetables from a local market. We will focus on some more tips on foods with a longer shelf-life and ideas to save money on protein options.

Tips for cutting costs and eating healthily.

• Substitute some fresh vegetables and fruit with frozen ones for meals later in the week as you wait to shop at the farmer’s market again.
• Buy these frozen products when they are on sale: fruits, vegetables, or fish. When bought fresh, these items have a short shelf-life. Frozen lasts for much longer, leading to less food waste. While food prices rise, the frozen fruit in your freezer is locked in at a lower price from purchase. The nutritional content of many flash-frozen vegetables is sometimes higher, except for the vitamin C content. Use frozen fruit in smoothies. Frozen vegetables is an excellent addition to soups, casseroles, or stir-fries.
• Swap protein choices. Eat a smaller portion of beef or chicken and add protein-rich nuts or beans to the meal to cut costs. Consider canned tuna or salmon for salads.
• Unit price is a game-changer when trying to decide between similar products.

Make sure and check the unit price. This is listed as price per unit or price per kilogram. You may have to do some math yourself, but many stores list this on the price tag in smaller font.

Example:          

A dozen eggs = $5.09 divided by 12 = $0.42 cents per egg

Carton of 10 eggs = $7.95 divided by 10 = $0.80 cents per egg

• Buy on sale when you can.

 Shelf-stable foods that can be frozen can sit in storage for several months. As you trim your budget with these tips, you should have some extra wiggle room to stock up when sales happen.

• Try online grocery ordering. Most stores only charge a minimal fee. You can plan your meals shopping online while simultaneously looking in your pantry and fridge. No more forgetting or buying something you already had. No more surprises at the cash register.

• Can organic meat still fit into your budget? In an ideal world, organic chicken and organic grass-fed beef are the best options. While cutting costs from the tips above, you can incorporate these quality meats in a smaller portion. The fact is that we need much less meat than we are eating. You only need around a 120-180g piece of meat if that is your only protein source in a day (which is highly unlikely). Try to stock up on organic meat when it is on special.

Meat	Commercial
Beef Mince (400g)	$6.92	$10.00 Grass-fed, hormone-free	$11.00 Organic
Beef Stir-Fry (400g)	$8.40	$12.99 Grass-fed, hormone-free
Chicken Breast (550g)	$7.00	$10.00 Free-range	$16.00 Organic

Takeaway

Increasing grocery prices are a reality for all of us. You can make simple changes to offset the inflated prices and still eat a balanced diet while incorporating organic meat and poultry. Take a couple of these tips and see if you can save some of that 7% inflation at the checkout this week.