By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS
County Extension Director, Extension Educator-Health & Human Services, Purdue Extension Elkhart County

GOSHEN — We all know that our food supply is very plentiful. Access in this part of the country is easy and the stores have so many choices. I am concerned when I hear people say it costs more to eat healthy. This is not true. Eating healthy doesn’t cost more but it takes more work on your part when it comes to having a plan, shopping by the plan, having the family help with food preparation, eating at home, and cooking with food in its original form.

If we could get people to think about eating as being an investment in their health versus convenience, they would understand why MyPlate is the one of the best guides to healthy eating. Keep in mind half your plate is to be vegetables and fruits, a fourth should be grains with half of those being whole grains and the last fourth is protein. You also need the dairy group. The MyPlate website has some great healthy eating tips and resources athttp://www.choosemyplate.gov/healthy-eating-style

I am going to start with the two food groups that we all need to eat more of: vegetables and fruits. How I am going to prepare a food items determines if it needs to be fresh, frozen, canned or dried. The time of the year has much to do with where I buy vegetables and fruits or whether or not I have grown them. In the grocery store it may be fresh produce, frozen or canned. Regardless of where or what you purchase, you have to have a plan of how you are going to use the food and compare prices to find the best buy.

When it comes to fresh produce plan to buy only what you can use before it spoils. If the produce is not going to get used make time to freeze it for future use so you are not wasting your money. Frozen vegetables without added sauces or butter are the best for you and your money. They are as good for you as fresh — sometimes even better — and often will cost less. Watch when frozen vegetables are on sale and plan to buy some ahead to help stretch your food dollars. When buying canned goods, choose fruit canned in 100% fruit juice and vegetables with low sodium, or no salt added.

The largest part of our food dollars is usually spent on the protein foods such as meat, seafood, eggs, beans, peas and nuts. Protein foods are found throughout the entire store. They can be found in the fresh meat case, frozen food section, dairy case, and canned pantry food aisles. Some great low cost choices include beans and peas, such as any kind of dried beans, spilt peas, and lentils. We need to get in the habit of using these good sources of protein for main or side dishes. Beans and peas cost far less than a similar amount of other protein foods. You can also eat healthier and save time and money by skipping the chip, candy and cookie aisles.

To make the most of your protein dollars when shopping for meat always check store sale prices, compare fresh to frozen and also cost per serving. Even though egg price have gone up don’t forget about them. Eggs are easy to prepare and are a great low cost option. Plan to choose lean varieties of all meats. When choosing ground beef make sure it’s lean. The 92 percent lean and 8 percent fat ground meats make the most of your food dollars. Regular burger may be less costly but you will be pouring away all that extra fat so it is money wasted.

I will end this with get in the habit of drinking water instead of buying soda or other sugary drinks. Our tap water is easy on your wallet and has zero calories. A reusable water bottle is a great way to have water with you on the go. So have a plan to eat healthier and making the most of your food dollars.