Welcome to Nutrition Bites. The no nonsense podcast where you get the truth about food so you can eat what you want and be healthy. I’m your host Maggie and welcome to the series! Food prices are on a steep incline and it doesn’t seem like it’ll be slowing down anytime soon. So how can we make sure our health doesn’t take a back seat when we have to cut costs at the grocery store? On the menu today, eating healthy on a budget.
Grocery shopping has always been one of my favourite chores - it’s even something I look forward to doing while on vacation. There’s just something so uniquely joyful about seeing what fun fruit is on rotation that week, or exploring aisles of snacks from around the world. But I’m also the kid who read nutrition labels for fun growing up so take this opinion with a grain of salt. Lately though I’ve been feeling a slightly different set of emotions while food shopping: namely shock and horror. Ok maybe not that extreme, but shades of those emotions for sure. Many countries, including the US, Canada and UK, have seen food prices increase at astronomical rates over the past two years. Supply chain disruptions and labour shortages during COVID kickstarted this trend, but recent extreme weather events, and geopolitical wars, have kept it going. This year alone many countries saw grocery store prices increase at an average rate of 11%, which may not seem too terrible until you compare foods individually. For example, eggs bought in the US now cost 40% more than last year! From produce to cooking oil to bread and meat - nearly every category of food has been affected by inflation. And with such steep prices, and a recession on the horizon, many people are trying to save on food. But considering how closely tied diet is to our health, it’s super important we don’t compromise nutritional quality during times of financial constraint. Which begs the question, how can you eat healthy on the cheap?
Fortunately and unfortunately, this isn’t our first rodeo with global economic hardship. A mere 14 years ago we all endured The Great Recession. Now my teenage self was a bit more preoccupied with the Jonas Brothers third album at this time, but I do recall endless headlines about the struggle of affording food. It was a scary period. But one small benefit to collectively going through this experience, is that now we have data to understand how our food choices shift during tough economic times. This info can then be used to create strategies to ensure we don’t give up on nutrition.
One great resource is a study which reviewed the diets of over 2.5 million people during the 2008 recession. The first major conclusion from this paper was that across the world people significantly reduced their fruit and veg intake. And second: our overall dietary quality decreased. Which is a fancy way to say, we started to eat like trash. Another study on American diets during this time showed similar results, however they also found that added sugars and refined grains, like white breads and cereals, increased in the average diet too. This pattern of less fruit and veg and more white carbs may sound familiar, especially if you lived away from home as a young adult. I mean, the hallmark of a poor student diet is literally just packaged refined grains, aka ramen, mac and cheese and peanut butter sandwiches. Thinking back on this time is particularly ironic for me because I was actively studying nutrition and yet eating like I had never heard of the word before. But while my pre-packaged and vegetable-free diet was a time-boxed experience, having to forgo produce to stretch a dollar remains a reality for many, and it can have some pretty significant health consequences too.
Food insecurity is the technical term for when an individual or household is without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. Unlike the kinda-racist World Vision ads of my youth, food insecurity doesn’t just affect children in low-income countries. About 1 in 10 North American households are food insecure, and this has created a serious public health issue. Scientific evidence consistently links food insecure individuals with poor physical and mental health outcomes. Simply not being able to regularly afford a nutritious diet, is associated with increased risk of: premature death, infectious diseases, injury, and development of multiple chronic conditions including heart disease, arthritis, obesity, hypertension, chronic pain, depression, and anxiety. And while the historical idea of food insecurity is related to quantity of available food, or lack thereof, the struggle in high-income nations is more so related to dietary quality i.e. the inability to afford nutritious food. And it’s this challenge that is impacting how many people feel at the grocery store today.
One of the most common dietary changes that people make when under financial constraint is to swap out nutritionally-dense foods for energy-dense ones. Now let’s break that down a bit. Nutrient density is a concept that compares the amount of beneficial nutrients in a food to its quantity of calories and less desirable nutrients. What that looks like from a public health perspective is a food high in fibre, vitamins and minerals, with reasonable calories, and little-to-no saturated fat, added sugar or sodium. Examples of nutrient dense foods include fruits, vegetables, yoghourt, fish, eggs, and beans. Now the opposite of nutrient density is energy density. Energy-dense foods provide an excess of calories, sat fat, sodium, and sugar, and are generally seen as having little nutritional benefit. Think of things like potato chips, ramen, and chocolate-dipped granola bars. Some people also call this category “empty calorie” foods, as they act as a source of energy but don’t provide any other nutrient our body needs. Now because energy-dense foods are often highly processed and use cheap-to-source ingredients, they can be quite affordable and accessible. These are usually the foods available outside of a grocery shop, like at a corner store or dollar store. But outside of a low price point, there are plenty of other reasons why people gravitate towards energy-dense foods, and away from nutrient dense options, when on a budget.
For one, nutrient dense foods are often perishable, which can equal a big waste of money if they are not stored properly or eaten quickly. I mean, we’ve all experienced the speed at which fresh spinach turns slimy and wilted. Or the black magic of the rock-hard avocado turning into mush the minute you set eyes on it. Of course, not all nutrient-dense foods have a short life span, take for example canned beans, dried legumes, and frozen vegetables. But, some of these foods can be seen as time-consuming and cumbersome to cook. And for people who are already likely stressed and burned out from a day of labour with pay that did not rise alongside inflation, easy meals reign supreme. Unfortunately for our health, energy-dense foods are the easiest to prepare. These items are often shelf-stable, pre-processed and super convenient to consume. With frozen chicken nuggets and a side of microwavable mac and cheese, dinner can be solved simply by pushing a few buttons. But as I’ve stated over many episodes on the podcast, a diet high in these highly processed foods is associated with so many short- and long-term health woes. Fortunately, it’s not written in the stars that when food budgets tighten you must give up on a nutritious diet. Implementing a few strategies just may make you rethink what you can and can’t buy during your next grocery trip. Of course, it’s not a magic wand that erases food insecurity, but the following 5 strategies may help save you money and stay healthy.
First, we have to rethink our approach to buying produce. Purchasing imported strawberries and sugar snap peas during the dead of Canadian winter is an expensive choice. A more frugal way to maintain that fruit and veg intake is to buy seasonal produce. Of course this is easier said than done, especially when you like a wide variety and live in the Northern Hemisphere, but options for buying those out-of-season goodies still exist, they just may be a little cold. On a per gram basis, a bag of frozen produce is usually much cheaper than the same weight as its fresh counterpart. And as covered in episode 26 of the podcast, nutrition is not impacted when produce is frozen. So buying fruit and veg is definitely feasible on a tight budget.
Now let’s shift our thinking around protein. Ever since the beginning COVID-19 we’ve seen the price of meat and dairy steadily increase. But you know what hasn’t seen a massive jump in cost? Lentils. Alright, so maybe lentils don’t have the same street appeal as a hamburger, but when it comes to saving money, legumes, beans, and tofu are the cheapest proteins available. Eggs, while a bit more expensive, are another great source of protein, and compared to meat are still a massive cost saver. And bonus - all of these foods also happen to be nutritionally dense and provide so many health benefits when incorporated into your diet. Now it is important to note that on a per gram basis these options provide less protein compared to animal meat, but unless you’re an Olympic weight-lifter, you’re probably getting more than enough protein as it stands. So I wouldn’t worry.
The third strategy to maintain nutritional quality while on a budget is to meal plan. Picking recipes in advance and sticking with a set shopping list can do wonders to reduce those impulsive “oh it’s on sale so we have to get it” purchases. It’s also a really beneficial tool to help you make more meals that contain perhaps newer ingredients to your kitchen like seasonally available squash. As Master Chef as I’d like to think I am, I still don’t know how to create a delicious dinner out of canned pinto beans without a recipe in hand. Meal planning also helps us get away from our Western-centric idea of meal, you know, hunk of meat and side of potatoes. Large batch foods like stews, stifries, curries and soups are a historical way to stretch a dollar while eating something delicious and nutritious. These kinds of meals can be found across so many amazing cuisines and are a perfect venue to incorporate non-meat proteins and tons of “what can I do with this?” type of vegetables.
Meal planning is also fundamental to the fourth strategy for eating healthy on the cheap. That is, to reduce your food waste. In the US an estimated 30% of purchased food is thrown out. That’s the equivalent of taking a third of your groceries and feeding them directly to the local raccoon gang. Only buying what you need is a core principle in reducing food waste, but there are other helpful tips too. Like knowing how to properly store your food, and choosing more sturdy produce that doesn’t perish as quickly - think apples instead of bananas, and carrots over cucumbers. Another great food saving tip is to use your freezer. So many foods can be frozen for later use, and in creative ways too. Although reducing food waste is an obvious money saving strategy, it’s also really helpful to ensure we keep nutritionally dense foods, like fresh produce, dairy, and seafood, as a staple in our diet.
The fifth, and final strategy to try out, is by far the easiest: avoid food trends. Whatever ancient berry becomes the hot new metabolic panacea, just do me a favour and look away. And the same goes with packaged keto snacks, green powders, and Kardashian-branded supplements. These diet add-ons use ruthless marketing to convince you they are necessary AND to pay a premium price for a glorified snack that does nothing. Research has proven time and time again that you’re much better off investing your money into a grocery cart filled with fruit and veg, nuts, and fish than some Willy Wonka make-believe magic pill.
Despite the inflation-recession combo looming over our heads, I hope you feel that eating nutritiously during a tough financial time is slightly more achievable. Just keep in mind these five strategies: prioritise seasonal and frozen produce, choose non-meat proteins, plan out meals, reduce food waste and avoid trends. Of course, each individual’s financial situation is different and this is not a blanket solution for everyone’s food challenges. Access to grocery stores, and spaces and time to cook food, are struggles that are not addressed here. But for those of you who can afford the time and energy to tweak their food purchasing behaviour, it’s worth trying out these methods to maintain the nutritional quality of your diet as best as possible. And take some comfort in the fact that humans have long created delicious and nutritious meals with very few resources. So next time you don’t know what to cook for dinner, just take some inspiration from the global Grandmother network and whip up a nutritionally-dense and financially-savvy dish.
That’s been the bite for today, stay hungry.