Healthy Eating on a Budget

Your weekly grocery bill can cost you less! By following these steps, you should be able to get the best value from your food dollar.
Follow Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide
Plan a Menu
Make a Shopping List
Shop Smart
Store it Right to Prevent Waste
Using Leftovers
Cook Your Own

Everybody's Food Budget Book (PDF Version)

Follow Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide

Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide describes what amount of food you need and what type of food is part of a healthy eating pattern. Canada’s Food Guide is for healthy people 2 years of age and older.

Canada’s Food Guide recommends how many Food Guide servings people should eat from each of the four groups. The recommended number of servings is different depending on your age and gender.

Check Canada’s Food Guide to see if you and your family are eating your recommended number of servings per day from the four food groups. Following the recommended number of servings can cost you less.

Here are some best buys to look for next time you are in the grocery store:

Best Buys in Vegetables and Fruit

• Fresh Ontario vegetables and fruits.
• Apples, oranges, and potatoes in pre-packaged bags rather than individually.
• “No name” frozen and canned products or lower priced brand name products.

Best Buys in Grain Products

• Day-old breads and buns.
• Breads on special. It can be frozen for up to two months.
• Cereals, pasta, rice, couscous, and bulgur in bulk. They keep for a long time when stored in a dry place.

Best Buys in Milk and Alternatives

• Skim milk powder
• Mild and medium cheese. They are cheaper than old cheese.
• Yogurt in large containers. They are cheaper than single-serving size.

Best Buys in Meat and Alternatives

• Dried or canned beans, peas or lentils.
• Whole chickens and cut them into serving size pieces yourself.
• Frozen fish. Best buys are smelts, haddock, orange roughy, ocean perch, and Boston bluefish.

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Plan a Menu

Menu planning is a very important step to help you stick to your budget. It is easy when you use Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide. When planning your menu, aim to include at least one Food Guide serving from three or four food groups at each meal.

Try these menu-planning tips:

• Check supplies at home to see what needs to be eaten first
• Check for items on special in daily newspaper or weekly grocery store flyer especially from the Meat and Alternatives group
• Add foods from the other food groups to complete the main meal
• Plan breakfast and other meals next
• Plan to use leftovers
• Plan for the occasional “take-out” or restaurant meal if budget permits. If you plan for it, you will stay within your budget

Sample one week menu

This one-week menu is an example of how menu planning can work for you. Your menu will be based on your family’s tastes and needs. [PDF version]

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Make a shopping list

A shopping list can help you remember to buy the items you need. Keep a list in the kitchen and write down items that you need to buy that week.
Tips for making a shopping list:

• Include all foods needed for your planned menu for the week and any healthy snack food.
• Check your cupboards so see what you have and what you need. The “Foods to have at Home” is a list of suggested foods to always have available.
• Consider the amount of food you need based of how many people you are shopping for and the number of servings you need.
• Arrange your list into categories, such as fruits, vegetables, cereals, canned goods, milk and alternatives, and meat or meat alternatives.

Food to have at home:
All purpose flour Whole wheat flour Natural bran Rice Macaroni/pasta Rolled oats Peanut butter Onions Potatoes Carrots Dried peas, beans, lentils	Frozen beans, peas Canned corn Canned tomatoes Canned tuna Canned salmon Canned fruit Tomato paste Raisins Tea Coffee	Brown sugar White sugar Soft margarine Cooking oil Cocoa Baking powder Skim milk powder Cornstarch Worchestershire sauce Dry mustard Ketchup	Soy sauce Salt, pepper Vinegar Chicken, beef or vegetable bouillon cubes Chili powder Garlic powder Oregano Vanilla Cinnamon Salad dressing Mayonnaise

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Shop Smart

Shopping smart helps you stay within your budget. Consider the following while grocery shopping:

• Use your shopping list!
• Shop at supermarkets and fresh produce markets. Corner convenience stores are much more expensive.
• If possible, shop alone and eat before you shop. Hungry shoppers buy more than they need. Children may pressure you to buy unnecessary items.
• “Featured items” which are often at the end of the aisle, are usually not a lower price.
• Shop around the outside aisles first. Higher priced convenience items are most often found in centre aisles.
• Lower cost foods are often found on the top and bottom shelves.
• Look for and compare prices on store and “no name” brands.
• If you have extra money and storage space, buy items that you use often when you see them on “special”.
• Unit pricing helps you to compare similar items of different sizes and brands and get the best price. Most stores show the unit price on the shelf below the product.

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Store it right to prevent waste

Food dollars are wasted if food becomes spoiled and unsafe to eat. There are ways you can reduce this food dollar waste by storing food safely.

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Using leftovers

Throwing out food that is not eaten is food and money wasted so cook once, and eat twice!

Here are some tips on how to use leftovers:

• Add leftover vegetables to your pasta, salads, casseroles, canned soups or spaghetti sauces.
• Add leftover fruit to your yogurt or blend into your favorite milk shake or smoothie.
• Use stale bread for grilled cheese sandwiches, French toast or for croutons to top salads and soups.
• Add leftover meat or tofu to a tossed salad, stir-fry, casserole, omelet, spaghetti sauce or soup.

Get the most out of your leftovers. Here’s how:

• Place in refrigerator or freezer within 2 hours after cooking.
• Store in plastic or glass airtight containers.
• Label and date containers/jars.
• Use leftover foods (stored in the refrigerator) within 2 to 3 days after cooking.
• Use only microwave containers for heating leftovers in the microwave. Margarine or yogurt containers, for example, cannot be heated safely.

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Cook your own

Preparing your own meals is less expensive than buying convenience foods and takeout items and can be much healthier. Here are some recipes to get you started:

How to make a pot roast
How to roast a chicken
How to make a “catch-all” casserole from leftovers
How to make an omelet
How to make a stir-fry

How to make a Pot Roast

1. Brown meat on all sides in a little hot oil in a big heavy pot.
2. Season with salt and pepper and add a small amount (about a ¼ cup) of liquid (water or soup stock). Cover tightly and simmer in a 325 oF (160 oC) oven or on the stove-top until tender (about 1 hour/lb. or 2 hours/kg). Vegetables can be added for the last half hour.

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How to roast a chicken

1. Remove neck and giblets from inside.
2. Place 2 or 3 garlic cloves and 1 large onion, chopped in cavity of a 3 pound chicken.
3. Cook at 350 oF (180 oC) for about 1-1/2 hours (20 to 25 minutes per pound).
4. Baste occasionally with vegetable or olive oil. Chicken is done when bones separate easily from joints.

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How to make a "Catch-all" Casserole from leftovers

1. In a large pot, add cooked meat, fish or poultry (cut into bite-sized pieces), and an equal amount of cooked vegetables. You can also add cooked rice, macaroni or potato. Mix well.
2. Add one or more of the following to make it more moist: condensed cream soup, milk, vegetable broth, meat stock, tomato sauce or gravy.
3. Add a topping: bread crumbs, grated cheese or pastry.
4. Heat thoroughly at 375 oF (190 oC) for about 30 minutes.

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How to make an omelet

1. In a bowl, beat together 2 eggs and 2 tbsp. (30 mL) milk. Add a dash of salt and pepper.
2. Heat 1 tsp. (5 mL) vegetable oil in frying pan on medium high heat.
3. Pour in egg mixture. Cook at low heat.
4. During cooking, lift edges and tip pan so that uncooked mixture flows underneath. Do not stir. Cook until omelet is set.
5. Sprinkle half of the omelet with leftover cooked vegetables, tomato slices, pieces of onion, green pepper, or grated cheese. Fold the other half of the omelet over the other side.

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How to stir-fry

1. Cut cooked meat or tofu (2 cups or 500 mL) into bite-size pieces. Prepare an equal amount of cut-up vegetables (carrots, celery, zucchini, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, etc.)* Mix together 2 tbsp. cornstarch and 1 ½ tbsp. soy sauce set aside.
2. In a hot frying pan or wok, heat 1-2 tbsp. (15-30 mL) vegetable oil. Add vegetables and cook until tender crisp, stirring constantly. For more flavor add 1 tsp. (5 mL) fresh ginger, minced and 1 clove garlic minced.
3. Add 1cup (250 mL) beef, chicken or vegetable bouillon or water to the vegetables. Stir in cornstarch and soy sauce mixture. Stir until thickened.
4. Add cooked meat or tofu. Heat thoroughly. Serve with rice, noodles, or pasta.

* Double the amount of vegetables (4 cups or 1L) for vegetable only stir-fry.

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