Thursday, June 17, 2010

Looking for a cheaper protein - Reduce your grocery budget down to size

$586 to $1,159 is the average grocery bill for a family of four within the US. For most American families, meats make up forty percent or a lot more of that food budget. Reducing your grocery spending budget is something people are investigating as food costs are expected to rise within the next five years. Eating cheaper shouldn't mean eating less healthy.

Article Resource: Finding a cheaper protein – Cut your grocery spending budget down to size

Math behind any cheap diet

A low-cost healthy diet doesn't have to be more work. Despite the fact that it may seem easy and cheap to get $1 hamburgers, it is actually expensive. Each month a family of four will eat 360 meals. Each meal for each person needs to be around $3.22 if on a spending budget of $1,159. Eating less meat is a simple way to cut down how much you may spend.

The ‘weekday vegetarian’ idea

Even though it may be cheaper to go entirely vegetarian, individuals are unwilling to make that move. If you cut meat out of your diet, it can save you around $200 a month. You are able to also try making meat a much smaller portion of your entire meal – the USDA recommended serving size for meat is just 3 ounces, not the five to eight that most Americans eat. You don’t have to give up meat, just eat it a little bit less – your pocketbook will thank you.

What to eat then?

If you’re not eating meat, that does not mean vegetables should substitute everything as part of your diet (though more vegetables never hurt everyone). A total protein, though, is very important in helping you feel satisfied after a meal. You have to replace your meat with other protein. Try swapping your $2 – $3 per serving meat with:

  • Rice and beans – about 20 cents per serving
  • 30 cents per serving – Hummus
  • Lentils with a nut sauce – about 45 cents per serving
  • 25 cents per serving – oatmeal with milk

The essential idea is to combine legumes, grains and nuts collectively. These three groups alone don't make protein. Together, any two do.



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