Many studies have been done (I can give you a list or you can google it) that show that there seems to be a trend between lower levels of income and higher rates of obesity. So the theory here is that people that once had higher incomes will begin to get heavier as their income gets slashed. The assumption here is that people that ate well (or moderately fine) before will now start turning to McDonald's and macaroni and cheese to fill the belly-void. And that's where the trouble is.
First, don't panic. Our bodies are built to store fat to protect against adversity in it's many forms. Even if your budget is down to $15 a week, you can still make it work...but my advice is to AVOID what I affectionately call "bullshit foods". If you really enjoy a fresh bowl of salad for lunch with some sliced grilled chicken and carrots why would it, all of a sudden,make sense to jump over to McDonald's for a high simple-carb, high cheap-fat, low nutrition meal now that you have less money?
First plan of attack: thoroughly look at what you typically eat during the week.
What are the obvious cut backs that you can make? Maybe changing over from a name brand milk to a store brand? Those few dollars can end up making a difference.
Second: MEASURE!
Yeah maybe it's a pain to start off with but you'll get better at it. Instead of eyeballing how much pasta to make, or how much chicken to serve, measure it! Measure it into the pot and then divide amongst the family accordingly, predetermine how many pieces of chicken each person gets. It will help avoid throwing away that last cup of -insert food item here- because you already planned well enough to save enough for your lunch tomorrow.
Third: Become familiar with new cooking techniques as well as volumetrics to help satiate the urge to chew and to assuage the fear that one isn't eating enough!
It's not just the quantity of the calories you eat, it's the nutritional QUALITY! Your body seeks NUTRITION, not simply calories.
For instance, 1 cup of cooked spaghetti (which is considered one serving)has 221 calories, 8g protein, 2.5g fiber, and 43g carbohydrates. That's alot of simple carbs right there. To get the same amount of calories you'd have to eat more than 5 cups of cooked spinach! But just 1 cup of cooked spinach has 5g of protein (almost as much as the pasta!), 4g fiber (almost twice as much as the pasta), and only 7g of carbs. Not many people will eat all 5 cups and that's okay. Why? Because with the higher quality and quantity of nutrition in the spinach, your body doesn't need the extra calories!
Okay, which can you eat more of faster: carrot sticks or boiled carrot slices? It takes a bit more time to eat the raw carrot, so maybe start steaming your carrots for just a few minutes to warm them. But don't cook them so long that they lose their chew! There, now by eating the less soggy carrots you are taking more time actually eating thereby giving your body time to send out and receive the signal that you are getting full. Voila! You've just eaten less than you would have before, and it was just by cooking less! Easy!
Fourth: Take refuge in your freezer section!
Maybe that sounds odd, but the good for you things that usually hang out in the produce aisle have frozen, nutritionally-similar (sometimes even better) counterparts here. As soon as a veggie or fruit is removed from it's home (stalk, soil or branch) the produce starts to degrade losing valuable nutrients. The fresh produce spends time being shipped and stored, all thewhile losing nutrients while those meant for the freezer get their nutritional value frozen in time. Big BONUS here, frozen veggies/fruits are CHEAP! And they won't spoil in your crisper drawer :) I recently just found a 3lb bag of chopped broccoli for $2.50! That's certainly cheaper than if I bought fresh broccoli for $2.99 a head! Also, places like Costco and even WalMart sell ENORMOUS bags of frozen veggies for an even better discount...good if you have enough freezer space for them.
Lastly: Use your imagination, and start experimenting! Start discovering how you can get alot of flavor out of only a few ingredients!
You don't need 5 courses, or complicated recipes or even recipes with more than 5 ingredients in order to make a meal satisfying! For instance, try this: 2 cups of frozen spinach, 1/2 cup frozen zucchini, 1 sliced carrot, 1 can of tuna, a good squirt of mustard, a shake of red pepper flakes, a dash of garlic powder in your tupperware container. After all morning in the fridge at work and it should only take 1 minute to warm it all in the microwave!
When you're cooking at home think simply also. A can of tomatoes, some diced chicken, a chopped onion, some zucchini, and some seasonings and you can have quite a nice meal on only a few ingredients. You don't need to add cream cheese, or cream of mushroom soup or anything. Simple can go a long way. Start googling recipes and you will find that MOST of them aren't complicated, but PLEASE do not google 'easy' recipes. You will find casseroles filled with zillions of canned fake ingredients, and 'cream of cheese soup recipes'. Gross. Think finer-taste and you'll find the simple ingredients, you'll just have to discover new uses for old spices!
Enjoy!!
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