top of page
Search
    • 6 days ago
    • 2 min read

3 Ideas for cutting back on your summer grocery bill

I can't believe how much the price of food has gone up lately. I made a quick trip to the store last week for a camping trip thinking that I would only spend about 100$. Nope. A few days of groceries cost me $200!

If the cost of groceries is killing you too, here's a few guaranteed ways to make your grocery budget go further.


#1 Drink Water


Cost of a 12 pack of soda: about 8$

Cost of water from the tap: FREE


Soda can be fun treat, but if you drink 1 can every day this summer (90 days), you will spend 60$ a person on soda. For my family of 5, that equates to 300$!


If you are looking to save money on your grocery bill, save soda for special occasions.


Don't buy it every week at the store.



#2 Cut your own watermelon



An average sized watermelon contains about 20 cups of watermelon and costs $4.68

A precut container of watermelon contains 4-6 cups and costs $4.58


Cutting your own watermelon saves SO MUCH MONEY!


This advice holds true for any cut and packaged fruit. If you wash and cut your own fruit you'll save so much money!


Worried that you'll buy a bad melon? Most stores will exchange a bad melon for a good one. If you choose bad watermelon, just ask if you can exchange it, most stores will say yes!





#3 Buy fresh veggies instead of chips


It's a common misconception that junk food costs less than fresh vegetables.


In the image below, notice the cost per ounce of chips.

It ranges from 22 cents/oz to 60 cents/oz





bag of Doritos = 41 cents per ounce.

bag of carrots = 4.9 cents per ounce

cucumbers = 12.3 center per ounce

bag of celery = 7 cents per ounce


Want to cut back on your grocery bill? Buy fruits and vegetables! Not only are they less expensive than chips + treats, but your family isn't going to eat them as fast....so they will last longer.


Save chips for special occasions.


Conclusion:


Simple healthy foods are NOT more expensive than chips and soda If you drink water instead of soda, veggies instead of chips and cut your own fruit, you'll save a ton of money at the store.


Want more idea on how to save money at the grocery store?


Check out these previous blog posts:




Thanks for reading!



















    • Jun 26
    • 3 min read

How to choose a healthier popsicle




It's possible that 50% of my 7 year old body was created from otter pops. I remember slurping up the juice from one otter pop after another after another on hot summer days.


I thought I was making a healthy choice!

I thought popsicles were made from blended fruit and were thus healthy!


Now that I'm a mom, I know better.



Each otter pop has 5 grams of sugar. As a kid, I never ate one pop. On a really hot day I'd eat at least 10. That equates to 50 grams of sugar.


The American Academy of Pediatrics and American Heart Association both recommend limiting added sugar intake to less than 25 grams per day.


50 grams of sugar is way over the daily limit!


Does this mean I never buy popsicles?


Of course not.


Does this mean I set limits on how many my kids eat?


Yes.


It's okay to set limits!


Here are 2 ways to choose healthier popsicles this summer:


#1: Make your kids ask before having a popsicle. I think popsicles are a sometimes food, not a free for all. Try to limit to one per day.


#2: Choose a popsicle that's actually made from blended fruit, and look for one with a lower amount of added sugar. (or make your own, see the end of the blog for more info)


To help you choose a lower sugar variety, here's a list of popsicles and their sugar content. If you enjoy the high sugar varieties, just try to limit how much you eat!


I was disheartened to see that the twin popsicles have so much sugar. I loved breaking those things in half on my kitchen counter as a kid....especially the banana ones!

Twin Pops

$3.00 for 18 popsicles

22 grams of sugar per pop

(limit is 25g/day for kids)



Great Value Freedom Pops

$2.48 for 12

9 grams of sugar per pop

(limit is 25g/day for kids)



Monster Pops

$3.00

16grams of sugar per pop

(limit is 25g/day for kids)


Popsicle

$5.64 for 18

7 grams added sugar per pop

(limit is 25g/day for kids)


Outshine popsicles

$5.64 for 12

9 grams added sugar per pop

(limit is 25g/day for kids)


Otter Pops

$5.88 for 80 popsicles

5 grams added sugar per otter pop

(limit is 25g/day for kids)

Junior Pops

$2.50 for 20

9 grams added sugar per pop

(limit is 25g/day for kids)

Outshine

made with real fruit!

$3.98 for 6 bars (expensive)

still has 14 grams added sugar!

(remember the daily limit is 25 grams)


Helado's MINIs (these are small)

$4.77 for 12

4-9 grams added sugar per pop

(remember the daily limit is 25 grams)


La Michoacana

$7.78 for 12

18-26 grams added sugar per pop (yikes!)

(remember, the daily limit for sugar is 25 grams)


Pace Bars

5.99 for 12

19 grams added sugar per pop

(remember, the daily limit for sugar is 25 grams)


Minion Popsicles

5.99 for 6 (expensive!)

5 grams added sugar per pop (they are tiny)



Mighty Ice Pops

2.89 for 9 pops

20 grams added sugar per pop

(remember the limit is 25 grams of sugar per day)


This isn't a complete list.


I'm not saying that you should or should not buy any of these popsicles.


I just want you to be AWARE of how much sugar is in popsicles, just in case you are like me and thought that they were full of fruit! When you are shopping, take a minute to compare labels and choose an option with less sugar.


Healthy eating is about balance. It's okay to enjoy popsicles, and it's also okay to skip going out for sodas and cookies at swig if you already had a popsicle that day.


Looking for a healthier way to cool down?


Here's a few ideas:



Keep cut watermelon on hand!

  • no added sugars! Fresh fruit is an anytime food at my house!


Make your own popsicles


Banana "nice" cream (no added sugar)


My Favorite Smoothies (no added sugar)!

(you could turn any of these into popsicles, but it's not worth the hassle in my opinion)


Peanut butter green smoothie

Tropical Smoothie

Beet smoothie


Happy summer!


    • Jun 3
    • 1 min read

Another way to get FREE FOOD this summer

Did you know that you can get free food at farmers markets this summer?



If you participate in SNAP, "you can get up to $30 of FREE Utah-grown fruits and veggies - per market day - when using your SNAP (food stamp) EBT Horizon card at participating farmers markets. The program works by matching SNAP benefits, dollar-for-dollar, up to thirty dollars at participating markets."(quote from https://uah.org/get-help/snap-farmers-market)


So if you spend 30$ at the farmers market, you get 30 MORE dollars to spend on fruits and veggies at the farmers market! Think of all the fresh corn, watermelon and basil you could buy with that!!


Fresh cherry season, here we come!



Don't let this opportunity pass you by! Check out this website to find a participating farmers market near you: https://uah.org/get-help/snap-farmers-market


Here's a list of the farmers markets in Salt Lake County, for all counties, click the link above!


Happy Shopping! Next time I'll share my favorite recipes for fresh summer produce!


bottom of page