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Healthy Eating: Happy Budget · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  Hello, and welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  I am your host, Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support
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  with Family and Consumer Sciences Extension at the University of Kentucky.
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  We are housed in the Martin Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment.
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  Eating is a necessity of life, and we have to spend money to be able to eat well.
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  But on this episode, eating well on a healthy budget,
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  Kelly May, Extension Senior Associate for Family Finance and Resource Management,
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  is going to be giving us tips on how to do just that. So welcome, Kelly.
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  Thank you. I'm really glad to be on here. We would all like to save money on
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  food because while it is a necessity, we don't want too much of our budget going to food.
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  But we also want to ensure that we are eating a healthy diet that is meeting
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  our nutritional goals while staying within certain budget constraints.
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  Is it possible to eat healthy while saving money?
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  It is. It sounds like a magic trick, doesn't it? Exactly.
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  But, you know, there are ways to save money that may not be as healthy.
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  And so we don't necessarily want to do those things, right?
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  So we don't want to stop eating as often as we need to eat or just buy the foods
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  that are cheaper that aren't adding anything beneficial to our nutritional intake.
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  So there are some strategies that we can use to fit a tight food budget around
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  being able to choose healthy options that will be good for us.
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  And the Department of Agriculture says that inflation has gone up for a lot
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  of different categories that they measure, but food was the second highest category
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  increase in the last several years.
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  So we all know the prices are going up. So we want to use any tips we can, right?
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  To get some food that's a little bit better for us. That's exactly right.
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  So when we're thinking about tips or strategies for saving money on our food
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  budgets, what are some recommendations that you have for us?
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  Well, there's actually some things we can do before we even leave to go to the
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  store. One of them is to inventory.
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  Take stock of what's in your pantry and your refrigerator. Don't forget the fridge.
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  Yes. We need to look at what we have before we go buy more.
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  So we don't duplicate or get things that we don't want to have too much stock on hand.
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  And also that helps us keep in mind the expiration dates. And we can kind of make a game of it.
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  You kind of create these meal plans centered around what you need to use up
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  first so that you don't have the waste.
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  And of course, eliminating that waste helps you save money too.
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  You don't have to buy things again that you've already bought once and ended up throwing away.
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  Another way to do it is to plan your meals ahead.
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  And if you can plan meals that use similar ingredients, you can mix and match to kind of save time.
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  And that helps you both saving time in the grocery grocery and the kitchen.
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  So when you're cooking, if you are grabbing similar things all the time,
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  it'll take you a little less time to prep. Sure. Yeah.
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  And if you know where those things are in the grocery store,
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  then you can go directly to them and not be tempted by passing lots of other
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  things that might bust your budget.
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  Exactly. We don't fill the cart with that extra stuff or wander around the store.
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  It's a time saver. Yes, exactly.
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  So now that we're in the grocery store? What are some strategies that we can
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  use to ensure that we aren't spending more money than we want to?
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  A list will help because you can, again, avoid buying things on a whim.
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  So you could keep your pantry well supplied, but sticking to the list will help
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  you keep to the things you need and not all the extra things that maybe just
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  sound good in the moment.
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  You need to allow a little flexibility though. So think about sales,
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  what fresh fruits and vegetables are on sales, what lean proteins are on sales,
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  and be careful when you purchase perishables.
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  I know sometimes I get excited by the really good looking fruits and vegetables,
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  and I might buy a little bit more than my family's willing to take in in a week.
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  And again, we don't want to have that food waste.
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  So So make sure that what you purchase, if it's perishable, is something you
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  can use within a week or if you can preserve it by freezing it or another method
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  of preservation so you can shop for that fresh.
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  Really good inventory that is got a lot of nutritional value,
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  but we don't want to spend more than we have to.
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  And another way to do that is coupons and deals.
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  So not just paper coupons, but digital coupons, whether you're shopping in person
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  or using an online shopping cart, there's lots of ways to snip a few cents off here and there.
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  And also when you're in the store, or check for a discounted cart.
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  A lot of places will have like discounted produce or oops, we bake too much
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  kind of racks in the store.
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  And as long as it's something that you will definitely eat and it fits in your
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  plan, maybe you can substitute one of those for a full price item.
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  Just make sure you eat those things more quickly so they don't spoil.
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  And I like to shop in season when I am purchasing fruits and vegetables because
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  they tend to be lower cost because they are more plentiful.
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  You know, supply and demand tells us that when you have more of something available
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  than usually, the cost goes down.
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  So if you shop in season, then your fresh fruits and vegetables are going to
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  be just a little bit cheaper than they are in off-season.
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  That's going to be a cost saver. And think of different types of meals than
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  you might be used to. Consider something new. Be adventurous.
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  I know that Plate it up! Kentucky Proud has a lot of fun recipes,
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  and some of them are for meatless options.
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  Protein can be great for us nutritionally in our diet,
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  but there are plant-based options now and non-meat proteins such as beans and
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  nuts and others that can be very nutritional and good for you and might make
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  an exciting change for something once or twice a week.
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  So those are things to consider. And finally, I wanted to mention leftovers.
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  Making extra can help you save time as well as money.
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  So if you have the quantity and you need to use it, go ahead and cook it and
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  make it a plan to have that again the next night.
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  Say you roast a chicken and you don't eat it all the first night,
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  you don't have to eat it the same way the next night.
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  You can and dress it up and do something different with it and have a totally
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  different thing the next day.
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  Yeah, I think those are all great tips because nobody wants to have a boring diet.
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  And so if you can change things up just a little bit to make them new and exciting,
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  that's going to entice your palate to enjoy it. Sounds delicious. I'm hungry.
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  Eating well can be a budget-friendly option.
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  So if we take the time to shop well,
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  and shop our pantries, and shop our refrigerators, and really pay attention
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  to what we're selecting, then we can ensure that we are meeting our nutritional
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  needs as well as our budget needs.
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  Kelly, thank you for taking the time to share with us today.
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  If you are just tuning in, you're listening to Talking FACS
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  and you can find us wherever you find your favorite podcast.
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  Thank you for listening to Talking FACS. We deliver programs focusing on nutrition,
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  health, resource management, family development, and civic engagement.
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  If you enjoyed today's podcast, have a question or a show topic idea,
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  leave a like and a comment on Facebook at UKFCSEXT or send us an email at ukfcsext at uky.edu.
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  Visit us online at fcs.uky.edu to learn more about the University of Kentucky
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  Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program or contact your local extension
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  agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.
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  We build strong families. We build Kentucky. It starts with us.
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  Music.