Nutritious home cooking can be easy and inexpensive

Northeast Colorado has a significant population of people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity. These conditions reduce quality of life and life expectancy and increase health care costs. Eating habits contribute to all of these things. 

Everyone has seen the recent rise in prices for all types of commodities, but unlike a new TV, people can’t really avoid buying food. During the latest Northeast Colorado Health Department Community Health Assessment, the single most-reported reason for not eating healthy food was cost.

Cooking food at home is always less expensive and healthier than eating out. Even people who love burgers and fries can still make healthier versions at home for less cost. Following are some ideas for how to increase the nutritional value and variety of one’s diet but remain economical in cost and labor.

— Start the shopping trip with a meal plan and a list. Make the list at home to determine what is already there so as to buy only the ingredients needed. Money-saving options include purchasing generic brands and watching for sales. Additionally, consider buying in bulk or using coupons. Even with a coupon, a name-brand item may still be more expensive than the store version. Ordering online is another way to stay away from the tempting snacks and stick to the list.

— Buy whole foods, or the least-processed foods. Processed foods can contain extra sugar that causes rapid swings in energy and blood sugar, contributing to bad health and bad mood. With foods such as crackers and breakfast cereal, look for whole grains and low sodium and sugar. When buying cheese, a low-fat block is less expensive than pre-sliced or shredded.

— Canned and frozen foods are just as healthy as fresh food. They last longer, usually cost less, can be obtained out of season, and are ready whenever they’re needed to make a meal as quickly and easily as fast food. 

Read the labels! Look for simple ingredients like vegetables, canned fish and chicken, and peanut butter with no added salt, sugar or oil; fruit packed in water; and frozen foods with no added cream or sauce. These products will also save time and energy when it’s too late or one is too overwhelmed to cook something from scratch. Beans of all types bought dry in bulk are the least expensive way to buy these proteins but also require more extensive preparation.

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