Abundant Health

Up to date health information tailored for you

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Recipes
  • Shop
  • Contact
  • pt_BR
You are here: Home / Nutrition / How to Save $50 off Your Food Bill and Still Eat Tasty, Nutritious Meals

How to Save $50 off Your Food Bill and Still Eat Tasty, Nutritious Meals

January 22, 2023 by Clare Collins and Megan Whatnall

Grocery prices have taken a hike upwards for a host of reasons, including the rising costs of petrol, fertilizer and labor. You could “shop around” for cheaper groceries, but that would cost you more in fuel or travel, not to mention time.

How to Save $50 off Your Food Bill and Still Eat Tasty, Nutritious Meals

Research shows a healthy diet costs low-income households 20 to 30% of their disposable income.1)Lee AJ, Kane S, Ramsey R, Good E, Dick M. Testing the price and affordability of healthy and current (unhealthy) diets and the potential impacts of policy change in Australia. BMC Public Health. 2016 Apr 12;16:315. doi: 10.1186/s12889-016-2996-y But a healthy diet remains cheaper than one dominated by highly processed foods and drinks. Cutting your grocery bill takes planning and flexibility – and knowing your budget.

So how do you do it?

Start by checking which vegetables and fruits are in season, and find recipes that include these.2)Seasonal Produce Guide. Sustainable Table

Swap some fresh veggies and fruit with canned and frozen varieties, and substitute very expensive items for cheaper alternatives.

Have a meat-free meal at least once a week.

Next, create a grocery list. This helps save money by reducing in-store impulse buys. Look at what you already have in the pantry, fridge and freezer, and only buy what you need. This will reduce food waste.

Check online catalogues for specials before heading to the shops. Once in store, compare prices and choose brands that are cheaper. This makes nutritious meals more affordable.3)Lewis M, McNaughton SA, Rychetnik L, Lee AJ. Cost and Affordability of Healthy, Equitable and Sustainable Diets in Low Socioeconomic Groups in Australia. Nutrients. 2021 Aug 23;13(8):2900. doi: 10.3390/nu13082900

How much do households spend on groceries?

A 2021 survey in Australia found the average supermarket grocery bill was A$98 per week for a single person, $145 for two, $168 for three, $187 for four and $255 for five or more people.4)Birot M. What is the average grocery bill? Canastar

An older survey from 2016 found the average household (2.6 people) spent $269 per week across all food ($237) and alcohol ($32) purchases, both at the supermarket and other outlets.5)Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of Results. Australian Bureau of Statistics

About half the money was spent was on “discretionary” items such as meals out or fast food ($80), with $20 spent on lollies, chocolate, savory snacks and potato crisps, and $10 on cakes, biscuits and puddings. At the supermarket, $26 was spent a week on fruit and vegetables.6)Discretionary food and drink choices. Eat for Health

Unhealthy snacks

A 2019 survey found the average person spent $300 a week for all food and drinks. This included groceries ($135), eating out ($52), alcohol ($31), take-aways ($22), barista coffee/tea ($13), food delivery services ($12), supplements ($12) and health foods ($11).7)Food for thought: Australians spend $272 billion on food annually. Suncorp, 21 December 2019

These surveys show it’s common to spend more on foods and drinks consumed away from home than on groceries and more on unhealthy items than healthy ones.

5 Tips to Help You Save

Putting all this together, here are five key tips to keep in mind when planning food for your household:

1. Have a food budget

Total food budget dollars will be influenced by how many people you need to feed, their age and your household income. A rough rule of thumb is it shouldn’t cost more than one-third of your total household disposable income.

Allocate target amounts in your budget for both core, nutritious foods and discretionary foods and drinks (softdrinks, chips, biscuits, cakes, lollies, pies, pastries and deli meats) and on foods away from home (coffees, fast food, pubs, clubs, bottle shops and restaurants).

2. Make a weekly plan for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks

Write a matching grocery list. Check the pantry, fridge and freezer to see what you already have or whether any ingredients can be swapped to save a purchase.8)Running low on key ingredients? Try these swaps. No money, no time

3. Pack your lunch

Buy a lunch box and pack it the night before. Put it in the fridge so you can grab and go in the morning. If your mornings are too busy, pack in breakfast foods too.

A lunch box prepared at home

4. Cook more meals at home

Cooking more meals at home might include cheaper and healthier versions of some of your take-out favourites such as pizza and burgers.

A study from the United States found those who cooked more at home spent half the amount of money on food eaten away-from-home than those who cooked infrequently. They also spent 17% less on food overall.9)Tiwari A, Aggarwal A, Tang W, Drewnowski A. Cooking at Home: A Strategy to Comply With U.S. Dietary Guidelines at No Extra Cost. Am J Prev Med. 2017 May;52(5):616-624. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2017.01.017.

Interestingly, both groups spent the same on groceries suggesting that infrequent home cookers either wasted more food, ate more, or both.

5. Cook double batches

Cook greater quantities of meals like curries, soups and casseroles, and either freeze them or have the same meal twice.

Healthy Fruits

Stay Always Up to Date

Sign up to our newsletter and stay always informed with news and tips around your health.

Sign Up Now!

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The Conversation
Clare Collins
Clare Collins

Clare Collins is a Laureate Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics in the School of Health Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing at the University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia and NHMRC Research Leadership Fellow.

Megan Whatnall
Megan Whatnall

Dr Whatnall is a Post-Doctoral Researcher in the Priority Research Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition (PRC-PAN) and the School of Health Sciences, and a Casual Academic in the College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, the University of Newcastle. Dr Whatnall’s research focuses on understanding and optimising the health and wellbeing of young adults, with the aim of enabling individuals to lead a healthy lifestyle and reduce their risk of chronic disease.

www.newcastle.edu.au/profile/megan-whatnall

References

References
↑1Lee AJ, Kane S, Ramsey R, Good E, Dick M. Testing the price and affordability of healthy and current (unhealthy) diets and the potential impacts of policy change in Australia. BMC Public Health. 2016 Apr 12;16:315. doi: 10.1186/s12889-016-2996-y
↑2Seasonal Produce Guide. Sustainable Table
↑3Lewis M, McNaughton SA, Rychetnik L, Lee AJ. Cost and Affordability of Healthy, Equitable and Sustainable Diets in Low Socioeconomic Groups in Australia. Nutrients. 2021 Aug 23;13(8):2900. doi: 10.3390/nu13082900
↑4Birot M. What is the average grocery bill? Canastar
↑5Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of Results. Australian Bureau of Statistics
↑6Discretionary food and drink choices. Eat for Health
↑7Food for thought: Australians spend $272 billion on food annually. Suncorp, 21 December 2019
↑8Running low on key ingredients? Try these swaps. No money, no time
↑9Tiwari A, Aggarwal A, Tang W, Drewnowski A. Cooking at Home: A Strategy to Comply With U.S. Dietary Guidelines at No Extra Cost. Am J Prev Med. 2017 May;52(5):616-624. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2017.01.017.
Good things need to be shared:

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: food budget, healthy on a budget

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Social Channels

Coronavirus Immunity Challenge

Boost your immune system to be bullet-proof for the pandemic.

I Want to Participate

pt_BR Português

Recent Posts

  • 5 Signs That You May Have an Unresolved Childhood Trauma
  • How to Save $50 off Your Food Bill and Still Eat Tasty, Nutritious Meals
  • Reclaim Control in a Stressful World
  • Six Tips for Losing Weight Without Fad Diets
  • The True Meaning of Christmas
  • Natural Treatments for Long COVID
  • Plea for a Simpler Life – Less is More
  • Why you Should Eat a Rainbow of Fruits and Vegetables

Categories

  • Body Systems (10)
    • Cell Function (2)
    • Digestive Tract (5)
    • Immune System (3)
  • Diseases (20)
    • Cancer (1)
    • Cold (1)
    • COVID-19 (10)
    • Diabetes (1)
    • Digestive Diseases (2)
    • Heart Disease (1)
    • Kidneys (1)
    • Metabolic Syndrome (2)
    • Skin (1)
  • Healthy Lifestyle (32)
    • Exercise (9)
    • Gardening (2)
    • Sleep (5)
    • Sunlight (2)
    • Temperance (10)
    • Water (3)
  • Mental Health (55)
    • Addictions (3)
    • Anxiety (5)
    • Burnout (1)
    • Depression (3)
    • Psychosomatic Diseases (4)
    • Stress Management (31)
    • Trust (1)
  • Nutrition (38)
  • Obesity (8)
  • Phases of Life (11)
    • Adults (2)
    • Babies and Infants (1)
    • Children (3)
    • Seniors (3)
    • Teenagers (3)
  • Therapies (4)
    • Herbs (2)
    • Hydrotherapy (1)
  • Uncategorized (1)

Archives

  • January 2023 (4)
  • December 2022 (4)
  • November 2022 (4)
  • October 2022 (5)
  • September 2022 (4)
  • August 2022 (4)
  • July 2022 (5)
  • June 2022 (4)
  • May 2022 (5)
  • April 2022 (4)
  • March 2022 (4)
  • February 2022 (4)
  • January 2022 (5)
  • December 2021 (3)
  • November 2021 (4)
  • October 2021 (6)
  • September 2021 (4)
  • August 2021 (4)
  • July 2021 (5)
  • June 2021 (4)
  • May 2021 (3)
  • April 2021 (5)
  • March 2021 (4)
  • February 2021 (4)
  • January 2021 (5)
  • December 2020 (3)
  • November 2020 (4)
  • October 2020 (5)
  • September 2020 (5)
  • August 2020 (3)
  • July 2020 (1)
  • June 2020 (1)
  • May 2020 (1)
  • April 2020 (1)
  • March 2020 (1)

Copyright © 2023 · Abundant Health - Privacy Policy - Medical Disclaimer