Recession Pounds - Eating Right on a Budget

As Jacki pointed out yesterday, it's pretty unusual to find a coupon for bananas or lettuce or Granny Smith apples.

Eating well doesn't have to burn up all of your fun money, but it does take careful planning. On the other hand, eating cheap is a no-brainer ... just walk down any of the inside aisles of the grocery store and you'll find mac and cheese, frozen pizza, and all manner of prepared foods at bargain basement prices.

Experts worry that as incomes fall and stress levels rise, people may turn to these less expensive and less nutritious foods to save money. But that shift comes with a price ... a rise in obesity.

As Diet-Blog points out, 200 calories of peppers cost $3.23, while 200 calories of potato chips only costs $0.33. While that's a pretty big gap, consider how many peppers you'd have to eat to reach that many calories ... a bellyful, for sure, while 200 calories of chips isn't much more than a handful.

In any case, if it's time to cut costs, experts say resist the urge to turn to those high fat, high cal, and high sodium comfort foods. "The answer lies in affordable but nutrient-rich foods such as ground beef, beans, milk, nuts, cheese, carrots, potatoes, canned tomatoes, soups, and rice," says Adam Drewnowski, an expert in nutrition at the University of Washington.

In other words, be choosy about how you stretch that food dollar to avoid putting on recession pounds. Has the economy changed your diet? How are you eating right without overspending?