Be a Smart Shopper, Save Your Food Dollars By Kara Neloms, Lauderdale County Agent Assistant

There is a place in town that keeps people coming back for more. No, it's not the gas station or the mall, but the grocery store. Some people visit the supermarket two or three times a week and some even more. According to the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), the average family spends $91 on groceries each week and visits grocery stores 2.2 times per week, picking up items that seem impossible to live without, while spending an enormous amount of money each month.

To curtail costs, consider planning meals and menus in advance and making a grocery list. This will not only help you save money on your grocery bill, but you will save time and transportation costs as well. Other smart shopping tips include:

• Keeping a notebook in the kitchen to list foods you need.
• Looking in cupboards and in the refrigerator to see what foods are available.
• Planning a meatless dinner once a week using dried beans, eggs, or peanut butter as a main dish.
• Planning your shopping to take advantage of weekly and seasonal specials such as double or triple coupon days.
• Shopping when the grocery store isn't crowded and when you're not in a hurry.
• Buying store brands or generic items when their taste and quality suit your needs.
• Purchasing food at low-cost outlets such as discount bread stores, farmers' market, food cooperatives, or warehouse food stores.
• Growing your own herbs, fruits and vegetables and canning, freezing and drying some of them for future use.
• Wasting less by using leftovers.

For more information on money management or ways to save your shopping dollar, contact the local county office of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. And don't forget to try out the healthy and nutritious recipe listed below. It's a dish full of ingredients you probably already have on your shopping list.

Quick Beef Casserole

1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup of onion, chopped
1 cup of celery, chopped
1 cup of green pepper, cubed
3-1/2 cup of tomatoes, diced
1/4 teaspoon of seasoning salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 cup of frozen peas
2 small carrots, diced
1 cup of uncooked rice
2 cups of water

1. In skillet, brown ground beef and drain of fat.
2. Add rest of ingredients. Mix well
3. Cook over medium heat and cover skillet until boiling.
4. Reduce to low heat and simmer 35 minutes. Serve hot.

*Drain the fat from the cooked beef to lower the amount of fat and calories.
Yield: 8 servings
Serving size: 1-1/3 cups

References

Aetna Intelihealth. Healthful recipes: Quick beef casserole. Healthy Lifestyle: Nutrition. Retrieved March 29, 2004.

Food Market Institute. (2002). Supermarket facts: Industry overview 2002. Facts and Figures. Retrieved March 29, 2004.

Turner, Joe. (October 1999). 101 ways to save money. Alabama Cooperative Extension System, HE-562. Retrieved March 29, 2004.