Lets face it, life is getting harder while the economy is going to hell. We’ve all had to make cuts, wanting them or not, in order to be able to spend a little less, save a little more and pray to be able to have our basics needs met for the next day. Even when the economy was good decent, going to Whole Foods and spending a “whole pay-check” or a bit less was out of reach, but was a “treat” that was somewhat viable.
The closest grocery store for me is a The Cellar at LIC, which is a mix of a Whole Foods meets Amish Market. It’s a nice place, conveniently located literally across the street, but let’s face it you can’t get “gourmet” and accessible for cheap. Thing is, at Queens West is pretty much impossible to find a grocery store of any type – period. You can find “bargains” here and there, especially compared to other places around the neighborhood or other stores. For example, I paid 4.79$ for a box of Honey Bunches of Oats, usually I pay 5$ or more when I purchase it at Duane Read and the closest deli. However, here I just saved cents, but compared to other places, especially in neighborhoods such as Jackson Heights and Washington Heights were I’ve gone recently for other purposes other than grocery shopping, the difference sometimes is 50 percent less in comparison.
On Sunday I was at Jackson Heights and I bought at a supermarket five lemons for one dollar and a big bunch of cilantro for 69 cents. I paid 1.69$ for these two items, which somewhere else, non-gourmet, would’ve probably gone up to five dollars, or at a gourmet place like right across the street for 10$.
Let’s face it, living in New York by itself is expensive, rent is overpriced, utilities are as well, but also you don’t have that many options on where you shop, at least not for groceries. Carrying grocery bags by yourself, even if you do grocery shopping with your roommate, partner or relative, there are two many bags, and going out of your way just makes it more difficult. It doesn’t help the fact that you can’t rely on the subway or the bus – and if you take a cab, you might as well go to Whole Foods. Add to that the extreme weather conditions, when it rains it pours, on the winter your face turns to ice, but with good luck summer will come melt that ice and burn your skin on the process. For those of you who’ll say buy a cart, you know as well as much as I do that a cart is sometimes not your best friend, especially when most subway entrances don’t have elevators or escalators working.
Now reports are saying that the recession is going to make bellies grow. Basically because fatty, sugary food is cheaper than healthy food like fruits, vegetables and meats.
So what’s someone on a budget to do, without having to waste money on diet plans, when the nearest option is pricey? Well here are 10 tips to save money and lose weight:
1-Plan ahead.
Before going to the grocery store, sit down and plan a menu for the entire week. Get creative with it, and think of things that you can always reheat (stews, chilis, soups and pasta sauces always taste better after a second cooking), think of how you can make the best out of certain items, e.g; ground beef can be burgers, chili, a bolognese sauce etc . . .
2-Portion Control
You know you want to lose a few pounds, you also know that you want to save money. What better way than to reduce your portions? Don’t have seconds, or just have a bit less of your dinner today and you’ll have lunch for tomorrow. In the end, you’ll drop some extra pounds and not some extra bucks.
3- Waste not
Have some left over pasta (sans sauce)? Don’t throw it away, keep it you might as well add some sofrito (a mix of garlic, cilantro, onions, salt and pepper), some chicken (left over chicken is a good idea) and water to make a delicious left over chicken soup. Be very thrifty, if it comes to worse, just get all your left overs, dump some tomato sauce and/or cheese, put it in the oven and enjoy.
4- When there’s nothing, improvise!
There have been several times where I opened the fridge or the shelves to find nothing. At least nothing that could’ve made a decent meal, but after thinking and going through everything thoroughly and reviewing what I had, I came up with a dish that could serve as my lunch for that day and be enough to have an extra meal. This simple dish was Chinese Fried Rice. I just boiled some rice, shredded some baby carrots, chopped scallions and a clove of garlic, sauteed all of them together in a bit of olive oil, once cooked threw in an egg (or two) and scrambled it. Once the rice was cooked, I mixed them all together in the pan, added some soy sauce, and abbra kaddahbra, a meal was done.
5-Soup is your best friend
As I’ve stated before, you can use left overs for soup, but hey, it doesn’t have to be left overs every time. Once I made a simple onion soup, and it lasted a week or so giving me at least 3 days worth of meals, given this was for myself, but hey you can always add more water if you have more people :). For the onion soup you can always skip the bread and the cheese (or just use any type of cheese you have available). Soups are figure friendly, budget friendly and your best winter companion. Attention, creams are not soup. A Cream of Tomato, will have twice if not more the calories than a regular tomato soup.
6- Learn the differences between Want Vs Need
When you are at the supermarket, always think twice before buying something, fight your impulse buying by thinking: “do i really need this.” One day at the supermarket I was going through the dairy section, and I could hardly resist buying an Emmi Swiss Premium Low Fat Peach Yogurt (which is to die for) and some shredded jack-monterrey cheese. I thought to myself, “do I really need this items? I have some yogurt already in the refrigerator going bad cause I haven’t eaten it, and for whatever I want to use cheese, I can use whatever’s left in the fridge, or just skip it entirely.”
When I went to the register, my total was $20 dollars, had I bought those two items my total would’ve been 30$ (if you count the price of each item + tax). Just by saying NO to these two items, I saved myself not 10$ but I didn’t spend 50 percent more of what I needed.
This works best for people who have a sweet tooth, instead of spending money buying cake, pies or other sweets, go for fresh fruit. Is cheaper, healthier, more nutritious and in the end it will satisfy your craving.
Also spend your money wisely, just because you want coffee doesn’t mean you have to pay five dollars, for a tall mocha chai latte with extra whipped cream, a one dollar cup of coffee at Starbucks or anywhere else, will do the trick. Here you’ll save hundreds of calories, and by the end of the month or year, hundreds of dollars.
7- Go generic or buy store brands
Brand names are great, but when it’s time to be thrifty it’s good to do your research. In most cases you won’t notice the difference between your Store Brand Milk Vs your favorite brand, and really there’s no difference. Same thing happens when you buy cleaning supplies, detergents, soaps or even medicine. Check the ingredients of both products and you’ll notice you’ll be saving more money and getting more for your money going generic.
8- Clip coupons
Some people may be embarrassed to show up to the cash register and use coupons to pay for their groceries. I have only one advice for you: SUCK IT UP! No one will judge you, we are all on the same sinking boat here!
9- Wait for specials, but be wary
When there’s a special going on, 2 for 1 etc. . . take advantage of it, especially if it’s something you really need. However, make sure you are indeed getting a bargain, why buy two Bounty paper towels for 3$, when you can get one Basic Bounty for a dollar? Also make sure it’s not for food that is about to go bad, check expiration dates and double check fruits and vegetables for freshness. If they are about to go bad, use them right away.
10- Finish whatever you have in your kitchen before buying something else
Americans throw away billions of dollars on edible food ever year. Don’t let things go bad or go to waste. Use them before buying something else and throwing that away. You finish your cereal, need something for breakfast? Then check what you have, somewhere there should be maybe some oatmeal, or eggs, ham and cheese just waiting to be eaten, maybe even some fresh fruit about to go bad. Take advantage of what you already have, you’ll end up saving money and eating healthier.
Hope these 10 tips will help you save money and save calories.
2 Comments
February 26, 2009 at 5:29 pm
[...] God, Gastronomic Stimulus Package! Jump to Comments As I’ve mentioned before now reports are saying that the recession is going to make us fat. Now, after seeing what is [...]
February 26, 2009 at 6:27 pm
[...] Free Food creating Gastronomic Stimulus Package! Jump to Comments As I’ve mentioned before now reports are saying that the recession is going to make us fat. Now, after seeing what is [...]