Healthy Eating on a Budget

You don't have to compromise your health to reduce your food bill. Here are some tips to help you buy low fat and nutritious food without paying top dollar:

Shop from a list Make a meal plan at the start of each week and decide what you need to purchase to make your meals. If you can be organised at the beginning of the week you won't need to shop at smaller, more expensive food stores. And if you have a weekly menu plan and ingredients to hand, you will be less likely to eat out at restaurants or buy take away foods on the way home from work. 

Shop at fresh fruit and vegetable markets Fresh fruit and vegetables from specialty markets last longer (and taste better) than items purchased at large supermarket chains. Purchase fruit and vegetables that are in season.

Don't shop when you are hungry If you are hungry when you shop, you are more likely to buy items you don't 'need'.

Buy in bulk Buy non perishable items such as cereal and pasta in bulk at large supermarkets.

Shop online You'll be less likely to make impulse purchases if you shop online. And if you shop online from home you can check what is in your fridge and pantry to save doubling up! 

Prepare meals yourself Buy fresh ingredients and prepare meals yourself rather than buying takeaway foods or pre-prepared items. By preparing your own food you can save calories - and dollars. Take a look at the following items that become more expensive as the amount of processing increases:

Potatoes (150g)
Potatoes 25c
Frozen chips 50c
150g potato crisps $2.99

Oats (40g)
Rolled oats 10c
Corn Flakes25c
Breakfast bar 95c

Chicken (100g)

Frozen whole chicken 35c
Raw whole chicken 50c
BBQ chicken 70c
Pre-made chicken kebabs $1.80

Apple (100g)

Apple 40c
Packet of sultanas 90c
Fruit bar $3.20

There are lots of online resources for quick and healthy recipes, including the National Heart Foundation Recipe Guide.

So it's no more expensive to eat healthy food - it just takes a bit of preparation and planning.

How to Read a Food Label

Reading food labels is a useful skill for weight loss and it's simple to master. There are three components to a food label you need to be aware of; its nutrition claims, ingredients list and nutrition information panel:

1. Nutrition Claims

Manufacturers use nutritional claims on their packaging to encourage us to buy their products. These need to be factual by law but they can still be quite misleading unless you read the whole label. Here are a few examples:

Lite/Light – does not necessarily refer to the fat content, it can refer to the colour, taste or texture
Reduced/Lower/Less Fat – product may still be high in fat but lower in fat than its competitors’ products
90% Fat Free – contains 10% fat
No Added Sugar – may be high in calories due to natural sugars or fats
Cholesterol Free – May contain saturated fats which can increase your blood cholesterol levels

2. Ingredients List

Ingredients must be listed from largest to smallest by ingoing weight, therefore it makes sense to avoid products that contain fat or sugar at the top of the list.

A trick that manufactures to disguise the presence of fat, sugar and salt is to call them different names. Here are a few common examples:

Fat – vegetable oil, shortening, dripping, coconut oil, milk solids, monoglycerides
Sugar – glucose, dextrose, lactose, fructose, glucose syrup, sorbitol, xulitol
Salt – sodium, Na, MSG, sodium phosphate, vegetable salt, sea salt

3. Nutrition Information Panel

This is the best source of nutritional information on a food label. The Nutrition Information Panel lists the amount of protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugar and sodium in a product. It also lists any nutrient referred to in the product’s nutrition claim.

First, look at the total amount of energy and fat in the product. Compare the serve size recommended to the amount you would consume. It can be deceptive!

Nutrition information is provided for two measures of the product: per 100g and per serve. The ‘per 100g’ column is very useful as it allows you to compare different products and calculate the percentage of fat that they contain.

Next time you visit the supermarket practice reading food labels. You may be shocked by the fat and sugar content of some of your favourite products - and then pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to find alternatives that are lower in fat and sugar.

How to Make Healthy Choices at the Supermarket

To lose weight you need to reduce your calorie intake, which means selecting foods that are low in fat and sugar. Here’s a quick guide to making healthy choices at the supermarket to save you time sifting through the shelves.

The trick is to locate the product’s food label, find its nutrition information panel and look for the ‘per 100g’ column. Good choices are foods that contain the following amounts of fat and sugar:

Fat Content

Less than:
Cereals – 8g/100g
Biscuits – 5g/100g
Cheese – 15g/100g
Milk and yoghurt – 2g/100g
Mayonnaise and sauces – 3g/100g
Spreads such as cream cheese – 10g/100g
Meat products – 8g/100g
Frozen/packaged foods – 5g/100g

Sugar Content

Less than:
Cereals and biscuits – 5g/100g