The cost of food is up.

Our weight may be up and needs to come down. Or maybe we just need to eat more healthfully, but are feeling squeezed by food prices.

How do we rationalize the two? How can we eat healthfully, lose weight, but still save money (or at least not overspend) at the grocery store?

I've been cooking for over 40 years, and most of that time I've had to be careful about what I eat.  So I'm going to share my top ten tips for eating a healthy diet on a budget.

If you don't plan, you'll find yourself going to the store several times a week and spending far more than you intended, or eating out a lot (neither health nor budget friendly) or throwing away that good food you bought "with the best intentions" at the beginning of the week that became soft, flabby and completely unappealilng by the end of the week. (Yes, I've been there with you)

How much money do you plan to spend on food? Will this be a week? A month? What's reasonable for your budget?  .

The USDA (link below) offers some idea of food plans for different ages and family groupings (including singles) in thrifty, low-cost, moderate and liberal ranges, by week and by month, if you are looking for a starting point to set a food budget.

And remember, these numbers are just for food. Not paper towels, not laundry soap, not baby diapers, and doesn't include food for pets, so you'll also need to take that into account.

Next, get a copy of the sale papers from your local groceries and plan your menus around what's on sale. I've given you a link to the Sundaysaver site, which will give you links to your grocers sale papers. I also put links directly to the sale papers in my local area in my Igoogle home page, so that might be a good tip for you too if you use a starting home page.

Check the sales prices of MEATS and FISH (assuming you are an omnivore) first.  This is where most of the money goes.  Check PRODUCE prices next (that's the next highest expenditure).  Where does the rest of the budget go?  For the average American, it goes into junk food, processed food, special 'diet' food and sweet and salty snacks.  Get those off your table.  I'll show you some substitutions.

A simple rule to remember is the rule of three:

Make sure each meal includes a protein, a carbohydrate (the healthy ones, please!), and a vegetable (or multiple vegetables) or fruit. Add dairy or calcium fortified soy milk as appropriate for your age (children, teens and women over 50 get 3 servings a day; everybody else gets 2), and fats (again, the good ones!) in very limited quantities. Keep sugar use to a minimum ... and that means HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) found in most processed, boxed and packaged foods as well.

To stay within a budget, soups, stews and casseroles become your very best choices. You can put a lot of bean, legume and grain foods into those and meat (which is the most expensive grocery purchase) takes a backseat, not a starring role. And yes, it is still possible to lose weight eating foods that are heavy on the grains or the beans. The key there is portion control and mindful eating... and it's not that hard, because it's far easiser to stop with a cup of filling, fiber-rich stew than one that isn't.

Some good inexpensive sources of proteins are

• Eggs - why not an veggie omelet for dinner?
• Tofu - Baked, broiled, marinated or stir fried, tofu is delicious. It's the rare person who enjoys plain tofu, so learn how to cook it well.
  
• Legumes and beans - lentils, peas and beans can be cooked thousands of delicious ways. Lentils can often successfully be substituted for ground meat, or augment a smaller amount of ground meat. Three bean chili is just as delicious as chili full of fatty ground beef (more so, for a lot of people)
• TVP - Stands for texturized vegetable protein, a soy product in crumbles that can stand in for ground beef. The kind that is already packaged and seasoned and "looks" like ground beef is pricier than bulk dried TVP, which you can easily reconstitute and season yourself.
  
• Cottage Cheese can be used in many ways other than a plain bowl with a topping of pineapple.

To save money on meat or fish protein:

• Learn to cut up and debone a chicken yourself. A whole chicken will often sell for under $1 a pound compared to $4 or more a pound for skinless boneless chicken breast. And, you can use the bones for soup - another meal!
• Round steak, both top and bottom, often go on sale and can be cooked in a multitude of delicious ways.
• Grind your own beef, turkey or chicken from a large piece of meat. Buying it ground means you're paying more for processing than for the actual food itself (unless it's on a deeply discounted sale).
• If you have the space, invest in a chest freezer. We bought one new for under $200 and it has paid for itself over and over again. When meat goes on sale (my grocery often sells large pork loins for under $2 a lb. We can get 4 meals out of $8 worth of pork). Check Craigslist for people moving and getting rid of freezers to get a freezer deal.
  

It's important to serve whole grains versus refined processed grains (whole wheat pasta versus regular pasta, brown rice versus white rice, for example) because you get more nutrition bang for your buck, and they are more filling due to the fiber (AND the water they are cooked in and continue to hold). Don't be fooled by all the breads, crackers, and yes, even cookies and cereals out there that say "made from whole grains". That's just marketing. Check the fiber AND the FULL ingredients lists (you know, the stuff in the really small type on a label) for yourself. After all, even birthday cake started as a whole grain! It could truthfully be said it was "made from whole grains" .... but do you really think it provides as much nutrition as brown rice or bulgur?

Don't be afraid to experiment with grains you are not familiar with. They are cheap, especially if you buy in bulk. If you like grain food in general (and I have never met anybody who hasn't), you'll find a grain (or two) that you love. Have a wheat sensitivity? No problem. Try barley or quinoa.

Foods to buy: Whole wheat pasta. Brown rice. Oatmeal, regular or old fashioned. Barley. Quinoa. Bulgur. Buckwheat (Kasha). Cornmeal for polenta. Farro. Grano. Kamut. Millet. Spelt. Rye. Teff. Triticale. Popcorn (kernels in a bag to airpop, not microwave popcorn)

Foods to avoid: Regular pasta. White rice. Oatmeal sawdust packed in an envelope with sugar and chemical flavorings. Premade polenta in a log. Microwave popcorn. Any bread or crereal product heavily advertised as "made from whole grains". Be a smart consumer and check that for yourself.

Rule 1: Buy in season. I'll give you a link to find out what's in season in YOUR area.

Rule 2: Buy local produce. If it's grown locally, it will be fresher and cheaper than the stuff that is imported from other countries, or has spent more time in trucks and distribution centers than on the shelf. I'll give you a link to find out where to buy local produce as well. To buy locally, you mostly have to skip the grocery store.

Rule 3: Buy what's on sale. If you;'re stuck going to the chain grocery, plan around what produce is on sale, and use plenty of it in your menu. Cabbage on sale this week? make sure to include cabbage salad and stuffed cabbage on your menu.

Rule 4: Get out of the grocery store and try shopping alternatives. If you live near an Aldi's, check out the produce there. I can't speak to the quality nationwide, but for me locally the produce is fresh and VERY cheap. It's not a big assortment, but it's fresh. And cheap. Very. Recently I bought a package of three heads of romaine for less than $2. A bag of limes for a dollar. A big carton of fresh mushrooms for half the price of my grocery stores. A package of eight roma tomatoes for under $2. You cannot beat those prices.

If you live near a farmer's market (and I mean a state or regional one) you can score big savings there too. And for those of you who have never stepped foot in a Hispanic or Asian grocery, pull up your big person pants and go. The best, perfect red pears I ever had came from an ethnic grocery. And .... they were cheap. Plus, you'll find all kinds of amazing fruits and vegetables you never heard of ... and they are inexpensive enough to give them a try in your menu to see if you like them or not. You may find some new favorites.

Rule 5: Keep in mind that frozen vegetables can be just as nutritious as fresh. Sometimes even more so... they were flash frozen very soon after harvesting, instead of sitting in shipping and distribution. Skip the vegetables with the sauces (make your own), the steamer bags and other marketing inducements to get you to buy ... they just add to the cost. Go for the chopped broccoli, the leaf spinach, the peas, the carrots, et cetera. At my grocer every few weeks they put the "plain" frozen vegetables on sale 10 for 10. Stock up and put them in your chest freezer you got from Craiglist. Vacuum pack them first to prevent freezer burn, and you don't need a pricey vacuum sealer for that either. The Reynolds handheld sealer works like a champ.

Rule 6: When buying frozen fruits, make sure they are not packed with sugar. Read those fine-print labels. Bring a magnifying glass if your eyes are aging. Frozen fruits can be used in smoothies, turned into baked fruit desserts topped with yogurt, or turned into fruit coulis (sauces) to top other fresh fruits in season to add interest and nutrition (raspberry coulis on sliced bananas, anyone?)

Rule 7: Except for tomato products and canned beans, avoid canned vegetables whenever possible. Yes, they are cheap, and fundamentally nutritious, but they are also full of sodium, flabby, and tasteless for the most part. There are a bazllion people in this world who think they hate vegetables, because they were raised on canned vegetables. Canned asparagus is the saddest vegetable in the world. And peas are supposed to be green, not chartreuse.

Rule 8: Grow your own! Even an apartment dweller can grow fresh herbs in a sunny window. If you have a balcony or patio, even better; grow cherry tomatoes and miniature peppers. And if you have a patch of ground, the sky is the limit. Freeze your excess bounty.

The final rule: Use lots of fruits and vegetables in your menus and meal choices. They are the only place you are going to get certain  vitamins, minerals, antixodants and phytochemicals to keep your body happily ticking along. They are also a calorie bargain and very filling due to the fiber.

Herbs and spices make the difference in whether food is plain and boring or interesting and flavorful.

But creating a fullfledged herb and spice cabinet can get spendy. But not if you know this little tip.

You can buy base herbs and spices at the dollar store (99 cent store, bargain store, whatever you want to call it). You can create a basic set of herbs and spices for around $10, and then add to it as you go.

And just like with everything else I've mentioned, buy the basics, not the blends. You can make your own spice blends, and have the benefit of making them with more or fewer ingredients that YOU particularly like.

Don't forget about fresh flavorings as well:  garlic and ginger.  Garlic bulbs are cheap and fresh garlic in 9000 times better than dried or minced in a jar.  A knob of fresh ginger is also significantly more flavorful than dried ginger, and can be used in multiple ways, including making a ginger tea.

Okay, I know not everybody does dairy, and that's ok. For those that do, here are my tips for dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt)

1. Instant nonfat powdered milk. Before you go "YUCK" and stop reading, stay with me a minute. It's better than it was in years past. When mixed and chilled overnight, it has a fresher flavor. You can also mix it with fresh milk to extend your milk purchase and the fresh milk flavor will overpower any "dry milk" flavor you think you taste, but you end up with twice as much milk. You can also use the reconstituted dry in cooking and nobody will know the difference.

2. Ever notice that fat free cheese is not only more expensive, but that it rarely goes on sale? Get out your magnifying lens and read the label, too. Ok, NOW you can say YUCK. My recommendation: Use full flavored, regular cheese, use less of it, less often. Think of cheese as a flavoring, not a main food event. Really, nobody needs cheese every day on everything, especially if you are watching your weight! Feta cheese is a naturally low fat cheese with a lot of flavor. I don't know about you, but for me, cheese is where I refuse to sacrifice quality for quantity.

3. Just say no to preflavored yogurt. Read the labels again and it's time for another YUCK! Just buy a big carton of plain nonfat yogurt, and add chopped fresh fruit or a nice fruit puree made from overripe fresh fruit, frozen fruit (add it frozen and it will create it's own "sauce" as it defrosts),extracts, whatever type of sweetener you prefer, SO much healthier, SO much tastier and SO much cheaper. You can also use plain yogurt in place of sour cream in many recipes. You can even make yogurt "cheese" by draining the yogurt overnight and then adding sweet or savory additions to use as a dip or spread. Keep the whey (the stuff that drained off) there is a lot of nutrition in it. Add it to soup or smoothies.

When you are eating healthfully and watching your weight, snacks become really important. Did you know that most extra calories are taken in with snacks?

There are appropriate and inappropriate use of snacks. An appropriate use of a snack would be because you are hungry between meals. I mean stomach hungry, not mouth hungry or bored hungry or stressed hungry. Really hungry. Don't eat a snack just because you want one, or are used to having one at a certain time a day (although we could all use a healthy snack around midafternoon when our energy starts to flag)

What do you think will serve both you and your budget better? Some celery sticks with herb-seasoned yogurt cheese or hummus, or a bag of potato chips out of the vending machine? A hardboiled egg or a handful of cookies? Brown bag popcorn or the microwave stuff? (read the labels for the yuck factor) Your own freshly flavored yogurt snack or a sugarfree fatfree ice cream bar? Yes, you CAN get used to eating real food instead of junk! Over time, you come to prefer it.

The best "diet drink" is water. Add a slice of lemon, orange, lime or even cucumber to it for flavor. Iced tea (made from teabags) is also a cheap, healthy drink (full of antixodants). There is nothing better than a tall glass of iced tea with lemon and mint on a hot day. Beats any diet soda I've ever had.

And for a real treat, make a hot tea latte. Earl Gray or Vanilla Ropibos tea lattes have been big sellers at a high priced coffee shop lately. You can make your own for pennies and they are just as delicious.

There is an entire megamillion dollar food business built around selling you special "diet" foods that the marketing departments work overtime to make you think you need.

You don't.

They are expensive compared to real food, they contain all kinds of preservatives, fake fibers, faux sweeteners, and give you a false sense of security ... it's "diet" how can it bad for me? Did you know that a lot of people who depend heavily on "diet" foods tend to either stay fat, or put fat they've lost back on? That's because they either assume they can overeat the "diet" foods, or when they stop "dieting", they never learned how to eat and enjoy real food.

Yes, they are convenient. But with a little work on your part, you can have that grab and go convenience.

Instead of buying frozen entrees, make your own. Most throwaway container manufacturers make divided containers where you can add your own entree and your own vegetable. Every time you cook, make a little extra, and make up an entree. Freeze, label, and then when you need a grab and go, you have plenty. Without the yuck factor or the expense. If you're ambitious, you can even closely replicate some of your favorites.

Make your own "100 calorie packs". It's preferable from both a budget and health standpoint if you make them from fresh fruits and vegetables (do you have any idea how much of those you can have for 100 calories?? It's way more than a half dozen little bitty cookies) but if you need something that won't go bad to keep in the pantry, at the very least buy your own least objectionable munchies and bag them up in snack size plastic bags. A pretzel and peanut mix. Popcorn. Make miniature oatmeal cookies with healthy ingredients and pop those in a bag, if cookies are what you must have.

And I've already shown you alternatives to fatfree cheese, candy flavored yogurts and diet drinks.

I've referred to some of these already, but I'll list them all here for you. Your money will go farther and you will often find fresher and more health- and diet-friendly choices outside of your local grocery store.

1. Aldi- Great selection of produce, I've seen milk for under $2 a gallon, and some of the canned goods like tuna, canned mushrooms, diced tomatoes and tomato sauce are a huge bargain. The thin frozen green beans are exactly like the ones that Trader Joes sells, only they are a little cheaper. That's because one Aldi brother owns Aldi's, and one owns Trader Joes.

2. Trader Joes - Hidden among the pricier choices are plenty of deals, especially in the produce and frozen departments. Bags of flashfrozen chicken breasts. Frozen dover sole for 4.99 a lb. Yes, I like fresh fish much better myself, but not when it costs twice as much for half as much. Many of the produce choices are less costly than at the grocer. Do your homework and be savvy TJ's shopper.

3. State Farmers Markets have the best deals going, it's local, it's fresh, and it doesn't always have to be bought in bulk to achieve savings. Local farmers markets often have great buys too.

4. Ethnic groceries - I am lucky to live in an area with lots of Hispanic, Asian, Indian and Middle Eastern markets within a 20 mile radius. I have never been disappointed by my purchases in any of them. Fabulous produce, great meats, one of the markets has fresh fish tanks, you choose the fish, and they will kill, clean and fillet it for you. Healthy and cheap. You may see a lot of things you are not familiar with and you may not speak the language (or be able to read the labels), but focus on whole foods and the cash spends the same and it's worth the trip.

5. Online shopping. Particularly if your grocer thinks a whole grain is a box of Uncle Ben's, you can buy just about any whole grain online and have it delivered to your door.

6. Angel Food Ministries. You don't need to be broke to use them, it's a food buying co-op. You may need to find somebody else who likes the breaded patties and hot dogs, but you'll benefit from the chicken, the fish, the beef, the eggs, and the produce boxes.

7. The dollar store for herbs and spices, and a few things like soy sauce, canned tomato sauce.

If you know of other places to buy healthy, inexpensive food, be sure to post a comment!