By Donna V. Scaglione
Hard economic times are no excuse for living an unhealthy lifestyle, nutrition and exercise experts say.
They point to simple and inexpensive ways of eating well and exercising regularly on a tight budget. And according to research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it appears consumers are coming up with their own cost-cutting practices that still allow them to eat well and live healthy.
During the 2007-to-2009 recession, consumer spending on food dropped 5 percent, the largest decrease in 25 years, the USDA reports. A big part of that decrease was from less spending on dining out including eating at fast-food restaurants, which dropped 11.5 percent between 2006 and 2009.
Spending at grocery stores rose between 2007 and 2008 as shoppers replaced food they would have eaten out, the USDA says. But then in 2009, grocery spending dropped as consumers shopped in more savvy ways, such as buying store-brand products rather than name brands. In fact, a record 810 new store-brand products were introduced in 2009, seven times more than the number in 2001, according to the USDA. (Store brands on average are 30 percent cheaper.)
Commenting on the USDA report, registered dietitian and Boston University nutrition professor Joan Salge Blake notes shoppers didn’t scrimp on good nutrition. They simply gave up convenience.
“Rather than paying triple the price for pre-washed bagged leafy greens, which someone else has conveniently sorted, washed, and dried for them, the consumer decided that it was time to hunt for the colander in the kitchen and wash and dry their greens the old fashion way,” she writes in her blog “Nutrition and You!”
Salge Blake offers other cost-cutting suggestions:
Go meatless. Do it at least once a week, and don’t buy a lot of expensive cuts.
Consult your store circular. You’ll save time and money by knowing what is on sale. And it goes without saying: Clip coupons.
Buy frozen veggies over fresh. Frozen usually saves you money. “When you buy fresh broccoli, you're paying for the hefty stalk that's going to end up down the garbage disposal,” Salge Blake writes. “With frozen broccoli everything in the bag is edible.” If you do buy fresh, buy what is in-season to spend less.
Pass the deli counter. Roast your own turkey or ham over the weekend and enjoy leftovers in your sandwiches through the week and save.
