Photo by: stu_spivack
Mondays here on Gather Little by Little are “Money Saving Mondays” where I share an articles that will help you save money. You can find my other Money Saving Monday articles here on the category page.
We have 6 children, 5 boys and 1 girl. Son #4 was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on November 14th, 2006. My wife and I both read various diabetes websites and magazines as we’re always on the prowl for new recipes and products.
My wife recently found this article on Every Day Health that shared 13 ideas for saving money when grocery shopping. Only one of them is specific to diabetics:
- Special “dietetic or diabetic” foods are costly and not necessary - I completely agree, most diabetic food is way more expensive than normal foods. We usually try to buy our son sugar-free desserts, items like cookies and pudding. They are usually twice as expensive as regular items. We generally avoid these products as much as possible and search diligently for generic alternatives.
- Boneless cuts of meat are often a better buy, since you’re not paying for the weight of the bone.
- There’s no nutritional difference between white eggs and brown eggs, which are more expensive.
- Not only do vegetables frozen in butter sauce cost twice as much as plain frozen vegetables, they have more calories.
- Instead of buying small containers of yogurt, buy a quart and separate it into one-cup servings yourself. -I like to throw in some frozen fruit, granola, and raisins and make a really tasty parfait!
- You can save a lot of money if you don’t buy individually packaged snacks. - My wife has started buying the larger packs and then just splitting them up for the kids using generic “zip lock” bags. This not only controls how much they eat but saves money too.
- When buying fruit, consider the cost per edible serving. If you’re paying by the pound, you’ll be paying for the weight of inedible seeds and rinds.
- If fresh fruit is too expensive, buy frozen or canned fruit packed in water. If you buy fruit canned in syrup, rinse it before eating. - We do this one as well. I like canned pineapple and peaches. Our daughter loves mandarin oranges. We put the cans in the refrigerator and they make a great snack.
- Use nonfat dry milk for drinking, cooking and baking. It’s inexpensive and has a long shelf life.
- You can make your own cooking spray by putting vegetable oil in a spray bottle.
- Use regular or quick-cooking oats rather than instant oats, which are much more expensive. - I love oatmeal with some real maple syrup. I far prefer the taste of the regular oats too, so I’m willing to wait.
- When soaked and cooked, dry beans triple in volume. A one-pound bag will make six one-cup servings.
- If you buy fresh greens by weight, give them a good shake before you put them in your grocery cart. An amazing amount of excess water (and weight) can be hidden between the leaves. - I have a friend that used to work in a grocery store produce section that told me grocery stores spray the veggies frequently to increase the amount of water and thus weight. This is an excellent tip.