Healthy Eating On A Budget

Mar. 22 - KGO (KGO) -- In our continuing series focusing on reasons to keep New Year's Resolutions, we turn our attention to tips for eating healthy while still saving money.

We asked a dietician from UCSF to put together a healthy seven-day menu for a family of four. Then we went shopping.

Toby Morris scoured the grocery aisles on a mission. We asked the UCSF dietician to offer ways to eat healthy while leaving the wallet fat.

Toby Morris, UCSF dietician: "The way to shop more cheaply and more affordably is to have a plan, to bring your shopping list, to know what you're going to eat for the week."

Sticking to a shopping list helps you avoid impulse buying which can be expensive.

Toby Morris: "And I had a snack before I came so I wasn't buying things out of hunger."

Instead she filled her shopping cart with plenty of fruits, vegetables, eggs, fish, lean meats, whole wheat bread and non and low fat dairy. Staying away from pre-cut and pre-packaged items also saves you money.

Toby Morris: "Often times it's cheaper to buy, for an example, these whole broccoli pieces rather than just the broccolli crowns."

Buy large packages and divide the items in small containers. This is less expensive than more convenient but costlier lunch size items. It also pays to read the labels on the shelves.

Toby Morris: "These tags will tell us how much we're paying per ounce. For this bread, it's pretty hefty bread. So you're getting quite a bit of whole grains. You're paying 14.1 cents per ounce."

And read the nutrition labels on the packages too.

Toby Morris: "If you just compare the labels, generic brands are often as good."

Often times store brands such as Safeway's Lucerne are less expensive than brand names. Take advantage of club card discounts, especially if you shop consistently at the same chain.

Morris' grocery list included snacks and desserts, and probably enough leftovers to last into the next week.

The grand total --$192.

That's less than $30 a day for three complete meals. You can see Morris' entire healthy menu by clicking here.

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