Cut your food spending budget down to size – Finding a less expensive protein

The average grocery bill for a family of four within the United States is anywhere from $586 to $1,159. Meat makes up for forty percent or more of that budget. With food costs expected to rise quickly within the next five years, cutting your grocery budget is one step many families are investigating. Eating cheaper shouldn't mean eating less healthy.

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The math behind an affordable diet

A healthy cheap diet does not necessarily mean a diet that takes a lot more work. While a few $1 burgers at a fast food joint seem like a great option to eat cheaply, they are actually expensive. A family of four eats 360 meals each month. A liberal food budget of $1,159 means each meal should be no a lot more than $3.22. One easy way to cut down on how much you spend is simple: eat less meat.

The idea of 'weekday vegetarian'

Though going vegetarian entirely is cheaper often, it isn't a move individuals want to make. Cutting meat out of even part of your daily diet, though, can cut a lot more than $200 a month out of your food spending budget. You can in addition try making meat a smaller portion of your meal – the USDA recommended serving size for meat is just 3 ounces, not the five to eight that most Americans eat. Your pocketbook will thank you if you eat just a little less meat.

What things to eat then?

If you’re not consuming meat, that does not mean that your vegetables should replace every little thing inside your diet (though more vegetables never hurt everyone). Protein helps you to feel satisfied after a meal though. Protein needs to replace the meat somehow. Replace your meat with:

• Rice and beans – about 20 cents per serving
• Hummus – about 30 cents per serving
• Lentils with a nut sauce – 45 cents per serving
• 25 cents per serving – oatmeal with milk

The basic idea is to blend legumes, grains and nuts or seeds together during the day. Protein isn't made out of these three groups alone. Together, any two do.