Mason Jar Savings: Eating healthy and saving money: impossible?

May 13, 2011

Not at all!

Okay, let me explain. I live in Florida, we have a ridiculous long growing season and at any time in the year we have fresh groceries (on sale!!) in every grocery store. You do not need this luxury to save on veggies though, our import and trasnport system is very refined and I’m sure you can get sales anywhere. Also - frozen veggies are typically delicious! So, how do I eat healthy AND save money?

Its actually pretty simple. Plan ahead. That is all, plan ahead and you can eat well, eat healthy, and save money.

It all starts with a protein if you are not vegetarian. What meat is on sale? This week at publix, top sirloin steak is on sale for $3.99/lb. at 6 oz/serving that is a little less than 3 servings. If you round up, its $1.30 a serving. An actual serving of meat, according to the most nutritionists is 3 oz but no one follows that in the real world. I use 6 oz because I can hardly finish it and it is what I would order at a restaurant. Also, it is easy for me to visualize as it is about the size of my small fist.

Right now, corn on the cob is on sale for 12 cobs for $2 … yes … that is approximately $0.17 a serving. Add in a baked sweet potato (~$0.25/serving) and you have a meal for 4 for $7.00 or for one, $1.75.

That’s right, my dinner tonight of roast sweet potato, grilled steak and steamed corn costs less than $2.00. Cheap, healthy, and delicious. A similar meal at Outback steak house would cost around $12-$15 and I am willing to bet mine is healthier.

I love cooking and I LOVE saving money. Maybe I will do a tutorial series on youtube about affordable cuisine and post them here…

TIP: Buy cuts of meat that are easily separated into portion sizes! Either a large steak that can be cut in half or smaller cuts and then sandwich baggie and refrigerate or freeze when you get home! This will eliminate the temptation to eat a larger portion of meat and drive up the cost of your meal. More veggies = more filling = less meat and less $$$.