Hot Topic: Income
Levels and Obesity
From the Headlines:
USDA
Goes to Public for Ways to Fight Fat
People
Who Gain the Most Weight are Among the Poorest, Studies Find
Commentary:
For decades we have approached the problems of overweight and
obesity as a lack of willpower, laziness, lack of exercise and
eating too much food - basically taking a "blame the
overweight or obese person" without much attention paid
to the quality of the foods being eaten. As data
continues to emerge, one thing is becoming very clear - those
who are most "food insecure" in the United States
are the very population gaining the most weight.
The poorest among us are eating what
they can afford - and too often the cheapest foods are the
least nutrient-dense in our food chain. We know fruits,
vegetables and whole grains are better for us than highly
processed foods. Yet these healthier selections are more
expensive calorie for calorie than highly processed sugar and
fat laden processed foods. When on a tight budget it is
clear a family will choose foods that are lower in quality to
meet caloric demands and not go hungry.
Low-Carbohydrate Diets and
controlled-carb nutrition offer those who are overweight
and/or obese a way to effectively lose weight and maintain
weight and health. However, this approach also requires
an individual to select from more expensive selections in the
grocery store. As part of our commitment to helping
provide information about low-carb diets and controlled-carb
nutrition, we include in this issue an article about following
a low-carb diet on a budget.
Weekly Feature: Low-Carb on a
Budget
Lots of fresh non-starchy vegetables, an assortment of
quality proteins, fruits, legumes, cheese, etc. - when you're
on a tight budget, how do you afford to eat a low-carb diet?
In this article we'll explore a number of money saving options
that make it easier to pinch those pennies and stretch your
food dollar to get the most bang for the buck when you are
watching your carbs and your dollars! Meat, Eggs,
Poultry, Pork, Fish & Game
By far the largest expense on a low-carb diet is your protein
selections. Careful planning though can help take the
pinch out of your pocket as you include quality protein in
your menus.
- Eggs are by far your cheapest and most versatile
protein source. Not only do eggs make a great start to
your day for breakfast, but they can be used to make crust less
quiche, be added to soups and turn an ordinary salad into
a protein powerhouse chopped on top.
- Roasts - even the cheapest cuts - are incredibly
tender when slow-cooked in a crock pot.
- Poultry - look for sales on legs and thighs and
stock up - both legs and thighs are tender no matter how
you cook them and when they're on sale you can package
them and they freeze well too!
- Bone-in Chicken Breasts are almost 1/2 the cost
of boneless and taste the same when cooked. If you
want to cook them boneless, it takes less than 2 minutes
to remove the bone yourself and saves you over $1.00 a
pound!
- A Whole Chicken or Turkey goes a long way in
feeding a family. When on sale pick up more than one
and roast one whole and cut the other into quarters and
freeze. Cooked leftovers are great made into a salad
or chopped on top of a bed of greens.
- Cold Cuts are almost always more expensive than
buying the meat, cooking it yourself and slicing
thin yourself. You can slice chicken breast, turkey
breast, roast beef and ham from leftovers and save money
skipping the deli sliced selections and have the added
bonus of no added sugars or preservatives too!
- Fish and Shellfish are among the most expensive
proteins fresh - look for sales and purchase in quantity
as the different varieties come into season throughout the
year. Fish freezes well raw or cooked.
- Tuna is an excellent source of protein and one of
the least expensive fish options available. Look for
sales on chunk light tuna which is almost always 1/2 the
price of albacore.
Vegetables & Fruits
By far, non-starchy vegetables will make up the most volume in
your eating each day when you're following a low-carb
diet. Two things can help save money each week on your
vegetable & fruit purchases - watching for sales and
knowing which selections are in-season (these are often the
cheapest available in any given week). In addition,
being open to trying new vegetables can enable you to try new
selections, especially when something is on sale!
- Fresh or Frozen? When priced right choose
fresh selections of non-starchy vegetables &
fruits - but don't be wary of frozen vegetables or
fruits since these too are acceptable selections and
sometimes priced better than the fresh vegetables in your
produce section. Often the frozen is cheaper - for
example, frozen spinach is almost always cheaper than
fresh spinach.
- Canned Veggies? While many decry canned
vegetables, these can be budget savers when your store has
a canned good sale! Not only are these an acceptable
alternative, they are often priced right a few times a
year at the grocery store when they're available for a few
cans for a $1.00! Wait for the sales though - when
canned goods are at full retail, they're often more
expensive than the fresh or frozen. Be wary of
canned fruits - these are often packed in syrups and
higher in sugar than the fresh or frozen varieties.
- Farmer's Markets - These often over-looked local
markets are brimming with bargains for in-season
produce. Check in your local area to see if a
farmer's market is close by and visit it when open after
reading through the weekly circular for your grocery store
- that way you know what the bargains are at the farmer's
market and what's a better deal at the grocery store.
- Garden! Even apartment dwellers in a city
can cultivate a small vegetable garden in a small space.
Check online through various gardening websites to see how
to grow everything from tomatoes to squash, lettuce to
green beans on your own and save money while you watch
your handiwork grow and thrive!
- Bulk Cooking & Freezing - some vegetables and
fruits do well blanched and frozen. If you
come upon a great bargain at the grocery store or farmer's
market, don't be afraid to buy in bulk and blanch your
selections in boiling water and freezing.
Other Low-Carb Items & Money Saving Tips
Peanut butter is another inexpensive item on the
low-carb shopping list. Avoid those products made with
added sugar - peanut butter should have one or two ingredients
only - peanuts and salt. Also, there is no need to
purchase a peanut butter labeled as 'low-carb' since peanut
butter is naturally a good selection and you don't need to pay
more for a peanut butter labeled low-carb - just look at the
ingredients and you'll know if it's what you want to buy.
Legumes are a great addition to a low-carb diet
after the first couple of weeks. They're rich in protein
and fiber and are very inexpensive. Dried legumes are
less expensive than canned ready to eat legumes most of the
time. But, watch for sales - especially of the Goya
brand - and stock up when the price is right since the
ready to eat canned legumes save a lot of time for preparation
because you don't have to soak them!
Fats and oils are cheaper in bulk. Joining a warehouse
club (BJ's, Sam's Club, Costco) may be a good idea if you
want to be able to purchase in bulk - especially oils, spices
and even meats and vegetables. The cost per year is
typically $25 to $40, so calculate out how often you'll use
your membership to see if it will save you more than that in a
year. Most warehouse clubs offer a free trial week for
you to shop and compare before you purchase a
membership. Also consider sharing a membership with
someone else in the family - most clubs allow two individuals
to be on one membership!
Coupons - Clip those coupons on staples like canned
goods, frozen vegetables & fruits, condiments, spices and
oils. Many families save hundreds of dollars (sometimes
even thousands) each year by clipping coupons. Warehouse
clubs also accept manufactures coupons too! You can even
start a coupon club with friends and family to swap coupons
you need for ones you don't need - this way you can get more
coupons you'll use and someone else gets more of the ones they
want too!
Low-Carb Products - While these products may offer
convenience, to the budget-conscious they're expensive to
include in the weekly shopping budget - especially when many
of the low-carb products are available in regular varieties
for less money. Case in point - the new low-carb salad
dressings are more expensive than regular salad dressing and
not much better for carb counts. Unless a new low-carb
product can boast 2g less carbohydrate or more per serving,
stick with the regular products available and save money doing
so.
Set aside a bulk shopping fund - many find that
setting aside a bulk shopping fund of $50 to $100 dollars help
them maintain their food budget while allowing for bulk
purchases when sales pop up unexpectedly. If you can set
aside a small amount - even just $50 - in an envelope to use
when a good sale comes along, you'll be able to take advantage
of sales effectively without shorting your food budget
elsewhere that week.
It works like this: Set aside $50-$100 in an envelope
for sale items in bulk - if tuna goes on sale for 3/1.00, buy
48 cans for $16.00 from your envelope. Do the rest of
your shopping according to your weekly budget but take $5.00
from the food budget to put back in the envelope. If the
next week there are no good sales to buy in bulk, again put
back $5.00 in the envelope and continue to do this until a
good sale comes along again. This way, part of your
shopping budget now includes a $5.00 weekly allowance toward
bulk items which you'll maintain in a separate envelope.
If in a couple of weeks you see that canned vegetables are on
sale 4/1.00, buy $20 worth (50 cans) - you have the money
available to stock up without taking away from your usual
weekly budget other than that $5 a week you keep placing back
in the envelope! This is one way to stabilize your food budget
while including a fund for sales to stock up.
Your Ideas Count!
We'd like to know how you save money while shopping for a
low-carb diet. In our May 10th edition we'll feature
reader ideas to supplement the above money-saving tips.
If you have a money-saving idea for low-carb shopping, email
us and we may include it in our upcoming supplement to
this article!
Cooks Nook
Sweet Breakfast Custard
Two Servings
1. Pre-Heat oven to 350
2. Mix eggs, cheese, heavy whipping
cream, Splenda, cinnamon, nutmeg and melted butter.
3. Pour into a small baking dish lightly
greased with butter.
4. Bake at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes -
until a knife inserted into center comes out clean
Total Carbs = 5g
Fiber = trace
Net Carbs = 5g
Reader Questions
& Answers
Question:
I'm on Atkins and planning my menu seems so complicated - do
you have any tips to make planning my menu easier?
Answer:
Congratulations on starting a low-carb program to lose
weight! Planning menus is an excellent idea as you get
started since it helps to establish good habits as you
progress through the various phases of the plan you're
on. A good article on this subject "Menu
Planning Made Easy" is available online and should
answer any questions you have about how to plan your
menus! Good luck!
Do you have a question you’d like
answered, email
us! Please be aware we may not be able to answer all
questions received.
Quote
of the Week
"If we don't address this issue, it
is going to kill us," Eric Bost, USDA's undersecretary
for food, nutrition and consumer services, told the group.
"It's going to kill our children."
--Eric Bost, USDA Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and
Consumer Services in comments during a USDA-Sponsored Obesity
Forum in California. USDA
Goes to Public for Ways to Fight Fat
The CarbAware Consumer Bulletin is a
weekly feature from the Carbohydrate Awareness Council.
Through April 15, 2004 it is available online for free. Consumer
Members of the council will receive the CarbAware Consumer
Bulleting each week via email and have member-only access to
the online archives after April 15th. Please support us
& controlled-carb nutrition by becoming a Member
today!
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