TIGHTENING YOUR FOOD BUDGET

If you find that your income has been reduced by the current COVID-19 pandemic, or simply
want to lower your food budget to free up money to be more charitable or support local
businesses, we have put together some tips to help.

PLAN AHEAD & BE FLEXIBLE
This may sound like conflicting advice, but both can be helpful strategies. Plan ahead by listing out
the meals and snacks you and your family will have. Start with doing inventory of what you have
on hand. Plan to use ingredients before they go bad by building them into your meals and snacks.
Group common ingredients so that you can plan for leftovers. If you are going to roast a chicken
for dinner one night, consider having chicken tacos a day or two later so that you can utilize the
leftover chicken. Within your overall plan, allow for some flexibility. You may find that some items
are sold out or that others are on sale. Look for swaps that keep your overall plan in mind but let
you take advantage of items that are on sale or seasonal.

STOP FOOD WASTE
Nothing can derail your food budget like throwing away food. Keep your refrigerator organized. It
can be easy to forget that you have strawberries waiting to be eaten if you can’t see them behind
the milk. If possible, store leftovers in clear containers so they are easily visible. Date your food so
you don’t have to rely on your memory of when something was opened or prepared. Use your
freezer! If you have fresh items or leftovers that you won’t use before they go bad, freeze them.
Make clean-out-the-fridge recipes. Soups, stir-fry meals, frittatas and smoothies are perfect for
using up a variety of ingredients before they go bad.

CONSIDER COST VS CONVENIENCE
Individual packs of snacks and drinks can be handy if you are packing lunches, but that
convenience comes at a cost. Bulk items are usually less expensive. To make them more packable
and control portion size, use reusable containers to repack them yourself. This will cut costs and
send less packaging to landfills.

Written by Jennifer M. Roberts, MS, RDN
JUNE 2020
weeatlivedowell.com

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Expert Tips For Quick Dinners

When life gets busy, whipping up a delicious, well balanced dinner that the whole family will enjoy can seem like a big task. Follow these tips from some of our Registered Dietitian Nutritionists to make dinner time more manageable.

Plan and Prep Ahead:
Spreading the work of meal prep to less hectic days can be a big time saver. CulinArt’s Director of Wellness, Kimberly Hoban, does just that. “When it comes to throwing together a quick, healthy dinner, I suggest taking a few hours on the weekend or one weeknight to prep and cook healthy ‘components.’ I like to roast a few types of veggies, cook some grains (barley and farro are my favorites) and prep one or two proteins like hardboiled eggs or tempeh. Then during the week, I can mix and match these pieces of a meal, add a dressing or avocado and have a complete healthy dinner in a snap.”

Smart Time Savers:
Weekdays don’t always lend themselves to spending a lot of time in the kitchen, but that doesn’t mean that the healthfulness of your meals has to suffer. Michelle Sadlowski, Eurest’s Eastern Division Wellness Director, keeps low-sodium microwavable bags of whole grains on hand that cook up in 90 seconds and are a perfect portion for two. She also makes a super-fast dinner by microwaving a large sweet potato and topping it with black beans, sautéed veggies, and a sprinkle of cheese. Jill Woodward, Eurest Central Division Wellness Director looks for vegetables that don’t require a lot of prep, like Delicata squash that has tender skin and does not require peeling.

Quick Sustainability Tips:
Being short on time doesn’t mean we forget about sustainability. Eurest’s Senior Director of Wellness and Sustainability, Suzanne Landry, uses the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® app when shopping to quickly identify seafood that’s fished or farmed in sustainable ways. Michelle Sadlowski cuts down on food waste by using up veggies she has on hand in a stir fry before they can go bad. She also freezes extra fresh herbs in ice cube trays with a little water to add flavor for dishes later.

RESOURCES: Kimberly Hoban, RDN, CDN, CPT, Director of Wellness, CulinArt Group; Michelle Sadlowski MS, RD, Eurest Eastern Division Wellness Director; Jill Woodward, MS, RD, CD, Eurest Central Division Wellness Director and Suzanne Landry, MS, RD, LDN, Eurest Senior Director of Wellness and Sustainability.

Written by Jennifer M. Roberts, MS, RD.
September 2017

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