Trim Your Food Budget and Your Waistline

If it seems like groceries are becoming more expensive, it's not your imagination: food prices in 2007 have been rising faster than any time in the past 15 years. But families on a tight budget can still eat well -- healthier, even -- by following these 10 tips for saving dollars and calories at the supermarket:

1. Pay with cash. Your grocery bill feels more real when you shell out actual, physical 10s and 20s instead of swiping a debit (or, even worse, credit) card or writing a check. Suddenly, you might not feel that $4 jumbo bag of potato chips is worth it.

2. Keep a running tab on the foods you actually use at home. I keep a small, sticky notepad on my fridge and write down each food item I'll need as I run out of things at home. That way, I have a list of all the foods my family actually consumes, rather than things that simply sound good.

3. Avoid these: junk foods, convenience foods, processed foods, sodas and bottled water. The first four are expensive, unnecessary in a healthy diet and bad for your health and waistline. The last one is just expensive and unnecessary: most tap water in the U.S. is just as pure -- even purer sometimes -- than the water in bottles bought at the store.

4. Get a store saver card and use it. Most big chain grocery stores offer discounts and specials to their card-holders; take advantage of them, as long as the breaks are food healthful, wholesome foods. Coupons can come in handy, too, but beware: most coupons are for heavily processed or junk foods, not fresh fruits, grains and vegetables.

5. Compare unit prices to get the best deals. Many stores identify each food item's per-ounce or per-unit price in smaller print below the main price listed on the shelves. If your store doesn't offer this information, carry a small calculator with you to make sure you're getting the best price per ounce or pound.

6. Stick to your list. Grocery stores set up tempting displays at the end of every aisle and in every checkout lane because they know they work. Don't buy anything that's not on your list, with two exceptions: if fresh produce is on sale and you know you'll eat it, or if a healthy (no junk, cookies, etc.) item you know you'll use is on a two-for-one special or similar sale.

7. Stock up on bulk staple goods when you can. If you know of a food co-op or bulk foods seller near you, take advantage of it by making a once-a-month trip for low-cost bulk essentials that won't go bad: dry pasta, soup mix, oatmeal, flour, sugar, salt, dried beans, nuts, etc.

8. Bake more. Using bulk whole-wheat flour and a home bread-maker is an easy way to save money on costly (and quickly eaten) store-bought loaves of bread. Even if you don't have a bread-maker, you can easily bake your own healthy quick-breads, muffins and cookies at home. In fact, you can bake a whole loaf of quick-bread or pan of muffins in the microwave in six minutes or less: just use glass or silicon baking sheets or trays.

9. Freeze your leftovers right away. Leftovers stored in the fridge always bring to mind an old George Carlin joke about how, when you put them away, you're saving food, but when -- two months later -- you throw them away, you're saving your life. Save food the right way right away: in the freezer.

10. Make your own meals. Even fast food isn't really all that fast, when you factor in the time it takes to drive to a restaurant, place your order, wait for your order and then drive home again. Quick and healthy meals are easy to make at home if you keep the right ingredients on hand and make the right recipes. For hundreds of quick and easy meal ideas, check out online resources like Recipezaar, which lets you search for recipes that can be made in less than 60, 30 or even 15 minutes.