How to take a bite from your food bill

ORLANDO, Fla. — Put your grocery budget on a diet and still eat well — it can be done.

"On Wednesday, I look for the ads and plan my weekend shopping and clip coupons," said Tara Gidus, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

Planning meals around sales, she said, saves money.

While U.S. shoppers increasingly pay more for the convenience of prepared foods, it sometimes takes only five or 10 minutes to do the prep work for something like a salad, as opposed to buying it pre-chopped and mixed in a bag.

Ready-made, one-serving drinks are another product you can avoid to cut costs, she said, with the added benefit of reducing the amount of plastic headed for the landfill.

Her top choice among foods that deliver the most bang for the buck: beans, either dry or canned.

Beans are full of nutritional benefits, she noted, and they're inexpensive.

Oatmeal is second on her list of nutritious, bargain foods, at a cost of about 11 cents a bowl — if you cook it yourself (the instant variety costs more).

"The biggest food cost is food waste," Gidus said. "Only buy what you will eat, and things that you will eat — people have the intention of eating things, like carrots, and they rot in the drawer."

Glinder Stephens, director of the Orange County (Fla.) Extension Service, says grocery stores tend to put the most-expensive foods at eye level, so look for bargains above and below.

Also, don't go to the supermarket hungry; plan ahead and make a list; but be flexible enough to substitute items if you find things on sale. Generic brands are a bargain, she said, only if the family will eat them.