Cheap, Nutritious, Tasty Food: You Can Make it Happen

When tough economic times call for belt tightening, it's easy to let the quality of your nutrition deteriorate. However, with a few small changes, you can revolutionize the way you shop and cook to eat cheaper, healthier, and better tasting food so you can free up your money for better things.

Shop around

Grocery stores are not the time for exercising your sense of loyalty. Go to multiple grocery stores and watch their flyers for holiday sales. Make a list of what you use, and remember which of your essential products are priced lower at certain stores.

Vons has a meat sale every 3-day-weekend, and I use those low prices to stock my freezer. You should also check your local farmer's markets to find out what produce you can get cheapest directly from the grower. Don't forget to keep your eyes on the low-priced items you came for; to save money stocking up, you also have to leave the store without any impulse buys.

Coupons are your friend.

Check your local paper for grocery and food deals, and print coupons online. Coupons.com is a place to start, but if you know exactly what you want, try checking the manufacturer's page or searching Google for brand-name coupons. Some retailers, like GameStop, are using Iphone coupons that you can show to a clerk to redeem.

Cut down on pre-prepared foods

Plan your meals and find out which packaged foods you could be making in your home for healthier and cheaper. For instance, you can try eliminating expensive and preservative-laden sandwich meats in favor of oven-roasting your own meats. Remember that frozen chicken breast from the $1.99 a pound holiday meat sale?

It's a great investment to buy a slow cooker. You can get one at your local thrift store, and it'll save you a bundle while you lavish in fresh stews, rich soups and freshly cooked legumes.

Black beans cost $.98 cents per can. If you buy a pound of black beans and slow-cook them yourself, even after electric costs, the homemade, delicious, freshly slow-cooked beans yield almost 3 cans worth of fresh beans for the same price as one can at the store. Beans are a great protein replacement when meat is too expensive.

My technique for amazing beans

15 minutes prep, 4-6 hours cook time in slow cooker):

Important: Do NOT add salt until the beans are done cooking, or you'll toughen the shells.

1. Quick soak the beans, which means you boil in a big pot on the stove with lots of water for 2 minutes, let the beans sit covered for an hour, and drain them. Check for any foreign twigs or really bad-looking beans.

2. Put the beans in the slow cooker on "High" heat with 2 inches water above the top of the swelled beans. Let sit.

3. Test their texture and stir every couple hours. If the water's almost gone and the beans are still not done, add more water and stir. Make sure not to let the beans get too dry, or they'll burn.

4. When the beans taste good, NOW you can salt: but lightly, about 1 tsp for a pound of beans (dry weight). You can take off the top and let any extra water evaporate until the beans have the thickness you desire.

5. Herb, salt, and spice to taste, or just add lots of sour cream and hot sauce. Yum!

Keep your mind sharp

These tips and instructions are just a start; come up with your own ways to reduce waste, food and packaging, and you will be well on your way to a much cheaper food budget. Good luck!