Menus Can Help Improve Childhood Health
The best way on earth to railroad your food budget is to shop for food when you are hungry and have no plan.
In order to minimize costs and maximize value in putting health enhancing food on your family table it is wise to create a menu. Use your newspaper ads to find sale items to outline what you’ll eat for the week. This plan does not need to be carved in stone; you only need a rough idea what you‘ll need to buy.
For example, if you look through your cabinets, refrigerator and freezer you’ll know that you are in need of flour or baking powder. You’ll see that you have only one package of meat and there is a package of dry beans on hand.
As you plan what you’ll have for the week coming up, it’s easy to see that the bacon advertised at a special price will pair nicely with those beans. If flour is on sale, now would be the time to buy a sack.
Check out the possibilities as you fill your grocery cart. Are there packages of meat that have been marked down? What about getting day old bread? Does the store have a “damaged goods” bin that will benefit you?
Choosing foods from the outside edges of the store will ensure healthier meals. The refrigerated cases line the perimeter. The fresher or frozen foods are likely to have more nutritive value than boxed and canned items. Processed and prepared foods offer very little in the way of value or nourishment. Be sure to read the labels in order to avoid paying for such things as MSG, hydrolyzed protein or artificial sweeteners. Just because things are sold in food stores, doesn’t necessarily mean they are edible.
Wise shoppers will consider cost per unit to determine value, not just price. It might be a good idea to use a calculator as you add items to your cart. Another point to take is that the ends of shelving in grocery stores offer promotions, and that is not always the best price point for the consumer.
Before you ever leave the house to go grocery shopping, prompt your children about what you WILL and WILL NOT be buying so they are clear about whether they will be allowed to choose treats. Give the kids jobs, such as checking the list; watching for the sale items that are on your list and making sure the fabric bags are in tow. Make sure everyone has a full tummy so there will be no impulse purchases to send the budget into splinters!
After you implement these ideas a few times they will become automatic and you will begin to feel a wonderful new sense of pride in your ability to better manage your food budget! Beyond that, you are contributing to good habits and healthy bodies for the children who hold the future!
Connie Baum
Connie Baum retired from a lucrative and satisfying career as a massage therapist; then she fell in love with the internet. Her passion for people, food, health and healing is revealed on her websites: http://thehealthyandwealthyyou.com/blog and others. She dearly hopes her visitors will leave comments on the blogs when they visit.
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