Slash your grocery bill....

Today's post: Friday, 2-13-2009

Suppose you watched the checkout line at a large supermarket in almost any part of the United States.

Then suppose you could somehow see all the labels and all the packages that went into those shopping carts.

Do you realize that if you took out all of the things out of those carts that have nonfood ingredients and those that tend to cause health problems either right away or if too much is taken in for too long and subtracted ALL those items from the bill, the total would remove between 60 to 95 % of the dollar charges from the bill?

To be sure, for some things you remove, you’d need to add something back to replace things people were eating before which would move the cost back up some.

But you’d also remove so many things that do not need to be replaced, the new bill would still be between half and three fourths as much as it was before.

Most of you reading this blog regularly will have less bad things to remove because you know better because you’ve learned better here or elsewhere. But by being a bit more thorough in removing the bad stuff and by leaning toward a bit more of the less expensive good stuff, most people can still cut their grocery bills enough to make a large difference.

Here are some updates on two of our previous blog posts.:

From a recent post:

“Eating food, or drinking drinks, made of refined grains; excess salt; any hydrogenated vegetable oils; oils that are high in omega 3 oils; fat from animals fed grain because it's too high in fat, saturated fat, & omega 6 oils; artificial sweeteners high fructose corn syrup; and excessive sugar reliably makes the people who do it fat and sick.

If you don't buy that stuff to take home, you get immediate savings compared to most people today because 70 to 80 % of the grocery bill for many people contains nothing else.

Eating beans and lentils; vegetables; some naturally fed poultry if you can get it or very lean grain fed poultry with the skin removed; some beef fed only grass; and nuts, low mercury fish and seafood wild caught only & if you aren't allergic to them; using extra virgin olive oil and eating some fresh fruit and occasional whole grains and very occasionally eat sugar or foods it has been cooked into, tends to make you stay healthy and trim.

Plus if you don't buy the bad stuff, and you lean towards more beans and lentils than the more expensive animal protein foods on most days of the week, you can eat well and still spend less than many people now spend on junk. That means you can pay LESS for groceries now and much less for your medical bills later too.”

From: Save money on food & get healthier! Posted on Tuesday, 1-13-2009

….a surprising amount of Americans can SAVE MORE money on food while losing fat weight and improving their health….

There are three ways this is possible.

1. Stop buying ALL junk food and drinks.

Loosely speaking as little as half the edible or drinkable items in the average shopping cart today are real food by both item count and dollar cost.

If NONE of those edible or drinkable items that are not food or are extremely poor, bad for you foods and drinks, were not there at all, adding enough real foods to make up for that loss would only add back a tenth or a fifth of the money saved.

In fact, just yesterday, I read an ad for a local medical hypnotist who helps local people learn to eat right and actually do it. The woman in the ad who had lost something like 50 pounds relatively painlessly following his advice, simply stopped buying edible or drinkable items that are not food or are extremely poor, bad for you foods and drinks at the grocery store. And, since she has several kids at home, she reports saving “hundreds of dollars a month”!!

What to leave out to do likewise. (And, this list is incomplete.)

ALL soft drinks -- both regular and diet. All refined grain cereals. All commercial baked goods. All refined grain breads. All packaged snack foods. All jams, jellies, and syrups. All oils except extra virgin olive oil. All shortening. All margarine. All ice cream with any ingredients other than sugar, cream, and real flavorings or fruit. All candy & related items except dark chocolate with no transfats added.

If you are one of the families who have been spending in the neighborhood of $150 a week on this stuff, if you simply stop doing it, you can then much more easily afford some frozen or fresh vegetables, some fresh fruit, and some nonfat & lowfat dairy foods, whole grain foods, and even some wild caught fresh fish. You can even afford shelled pecans, walnuts, and almonds if you buy them in bulk or at Whole Foods Market stores. These, plus fresh fruit or veggies you actually like make great snacks. And, to go with veggies, guacamole also works & in reasonable moderation is actually good for you. (Extra virgin olive oil costs a bit more than the junk oils; but is much better for you. And, you’ll save enough to afford it and still be way ahead on your total bill.)

2. Buy healthier AND cheaper protein foods, particularly beans and lentils.

Most Americans have more meat than is good for them; & most of the meat they buy is fatty, grain fed, and is high in saturated fat and omega 6 oils.

Eggs, nonfat and lowfat dairy foods, old fashioned oatmeal, beans, and lentils, are dramatically cheaper sources of protein. And, they cost enough less even than the cheap, poor quality grain fed meats that you can then buy some beef fed only grass and wild caught fresh salmon occasionally and still be money ahead.

In addition, beans, lentils, and oatmeal are high in soluble fiber. So by substituting those for bacon and hamburger, you get read of saturated fat coming into your body and get rid of what’s already there. So, you may also be able to save money by no longer needing to take statin drugs to do that for you.

3. Buy canned, wild caught fish, less expensive protein food that’s actually good for you.

Canned fish is often as good for you as fresh fish. And, it is both dramatically cheaper and much more convenient to fix.

I’m too allergic to non-fresh fish to eat canned Sardines. And, they are a bit too stinky for my taste. But a serving of them has as much high quality protein as ham or steak. It costs a fifth as much, literally. And, instead of being high in saturated fat and omega 6 oils, sardines are high in the omega 3 oils that help you think well, avoid depression, and protect your heart.

It’s only safe to eat canned tuna about once a week since it does have some mercury in it. But many people like the taste. And, is has all the benefits of sardines except for the mercury and having a bit less omega 3 oils.

Canned Alaskan salmon is wild-caught. It does cost more than sardines; but per ounce is comparable or cheaper than tuna though sold in larger cans. It definitely costs less than fresh wild caught salmon. And, since it is precooked and not fresh it’s easy to serve, stores OK, and tastes a LOT better than sardines.

In summary, you can eat in a way that improves your health and costs LESS money!