For people living on a tight budget, buying the most inexpensive foods may not always be the most frugal purchase over the long term. Listed below are some tips to make sure you get the most nutrition value for your money.
Focus on Energy Dense, Whole Foods
1. Do most of your shopping at the perimeter of the grocery store. Focus on purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, dairy products, and healthy grains, such as beans and lentils.
2. Limit buying empty calorie foods such as soda, processed snack foods and ice cream. If you are a really tight food budget, skip buying these foods at all in favor of foods that give you more nutrition for your limited food dollars.
3. Pay attention to food labels. Visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's web site for specific information on food labeling. Note that ingredients are listed on food products in descending order by weight.
4. Try to avoid paying for foods that list empty calorie ingredients, such as sugar, near the top of the ingredient list. Frequent consumption of foods high in sugar can also lead to cavities and expensive dental bills down the line. Types of sugars that may be listed on food ingredient labels include corn syrup, dextrose, sucrose, brown sugar, corn syrup, and cane sugar.
5. Eat a variety of foods. Humans need a wide variety of different nutrients to stay healthy such as iron, manganese, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin K, etc. Eating a wide spectrum of nutrient dense foods helps to insure that each of these dietary requirements will be met.
6. Avoid foods with trans fat. Trans fats are unhealthy, artificial fats that were invented by food manufacturers to extend the shelf life of products. The FDA recommends that consumers keep their intake of trans fats as low as possible. Trans fats are most often found in processed foods such as cookies, doughnuts, cakes and French fries.
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S. L. Simmons is a frugal mother of two and the editor at Always Frugal, a site on household budgeting and frugality tips. Visit her site for articles how to live on one income,
how to save money from your grocery budget, and ways to make money when you don't have a regular job.
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