cheaper protein
Submitted by Aldrin on Wed, 07/21/2010 - 21:15.
Finding cheaper protein to help trim down your grocery budget
For a family of four in the US, the average food bill is from $586 to $1,159. Meat makes up for forty percent or more of that spending budget. In the next five years, food costs are expected to rise which is why it is important to cut down your grocery budget. Eating cheaper, however, should not mean eating less healthily.
Resource for this article: Finding a cheaper protein - Cut your grocery spending budget down to size
Math behind any low-priced diet
A cheap healthy diet doesn’t have to be a lot more work. Although $1 burgers from a restaurant may seem cheap, they're expensive. A family of four will eat about 360 meals each month. Even a very liberal food budget of $1,159 means each meal for each person needs to clock in at no a lot more than $3.22. Cutting down the amount you spend is easy if you eat less meat.
The concept of ‘weekday vegetarian’
Going entirely vegetarian, while is cheaper in many ways, is simply not a move everybody wants to make. $200 can be cut out of your budget if you cut meat out of your diet. You can 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 just a little bit less - your pocketbook will thank you.
What is it best to eat?
If you are not eating meat, that does not mean vegetables should replace every little thing with your diet (though a lot more vegetables never hurt anybody). Protein is important in helping you feel full after a meal though. You need to replace your meat with other protein. Try replacing your $2 - $3 per serving meat with:
- Rice and beans – 20 cents per serving
- Hummus – 30 cents per serving
- Lentils with a nut sauce - about 45 cents per serving
- 25 cents per serving – oatmeal with milk
The essential idea is to blend legumes, grains and nuts or seeds together during the day. Alone, each of those three groups doesn't make a complete protein. Together, any two do.
