On this episode of the Healthy Family Project Podcast, Jackie Vega returns to share tons of dietitian tips to shop healthy on a budget. Families are feeling the rising cost of food and these tips cover lots of ground from shopping your pantry and taking advantage of sales to repurposing leftovers and maximizing your refrigerator space to reduce food waste.

Healthy Family Project Podcast Episode 78

It’s hard to ignore the rising costs of food, gas, and basic household items. Families are feeling the burden of inflation especially when it comes to grocery bills. Jackie Vega joined us to share tons of money-saving tips, dinner hacks, how to repurpose leftovers and tips for shopping your pantry.

As a dietitian, Jackie works with tons of clients who are looking to add more nutritious meals to their rotations while having to keep budget top of mind. She’s helped hundreds of families find that sweet spot that allows them to stay within their monthly allotted budget for food without sacrificing nutritious ingredients.

Healthy Family Project Episode 78

These how to shop healthy on a budget tips shared during this episode can go a long to maximizing your monthly budget while still enjoying your family’s favorite dinners and ingredients. Jackie shared a lot of hacks that also cut down on food waste, ultimately saving you money and reducing your carbon footprint. 

Shop healthy on a budget

Jackie and Amanda also shared some key fridge organization tips. While a stocked refrigerator might look nice and seem ideal, it’s so easy to forget about leftovers or neglect your produce bin and end up with lots of food waste. With a few tweaks to your shopping habits, easy adjustments to your menu and making saving a team effort, there’s lots you can do to make the most of your grocery haul and cut your grocery bill. 

About Our Guest, Jackie Vega

Jackie is a registered dietitian, ACE-certified personal trainer, wife, and mom of two. She is the founder of the Wellness Solution where she offers guidance to her clients on all things health and fitness.

Jackie recently launched the Busy Moms Kitchen podcast where she invites you into her kitchen to listen in on conversations about life as busy moms, reaching health and fitness goals and other things that only you and your girlfriends will understand.

Listen to Dietitian Tips to Shop Healthy on a Budget

What We Cover:

Want to skip straight to a hot topic? See timestamps below. But of course, we recommend listening all the way through to get all the great tips and tricks!

  • 2:25 welcome back, Jackie!
  • 4:57 how to save on your grocery bill 
  • 7:57 Jackie’s top 3 ideas for cutting food costs
  • 16:50 Refrigerator organization tips
  • 19:21 How to maximize your budget  
  • 21:26 how to make saving a family effort 
  • 23:27 how to think in bulk
  • 26:02 Meal planning 
  • 28:26 themed dinner nights 
  • 33:16 loyalty programs 

Other Podcast Episodes to Check Out:

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Healthy Family Project Podcast

Conversations covering hot topics in the world of health, food and family with a dose of fun. Helping families ease their way into a new fresh and healthy world.

Be on the lookout for new bi-weekly episodes and don’t forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcasting site. If you like an episode, make sure to leave a rating and comment.

If you are interested in being a guest on the Healthy Family Project podcast, contact amanda@healthyfamilyproject.com with your topic idea for consideration.

Transcript for Episode 78

This transcript was produced by Otter.Ai. Please forgive any misspellings and grammatical errors.

Episode 78: Tips From A Dietitian On How To Shop Healthy On A Budget

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Welcome to the Healthy Family Project Podcast covering the hot topics in the world of health,

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food, and family with a dose of fun.

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Welcome to the Healthy Family Project Podcast.

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Today we are talking with Jackie Vega of JackieVega.com and the Wellness Solution.

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Jackie is actually the guest of our current most popular episode, episode 69, which we

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talk about tips for better sleep for your family.

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So if you have not had a chance to listen to that episode, please go back and do so.

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It is a must listen episode because I think we could all use a little more sleep.

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Okay, so Jackie is back.

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Why?

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Because we love her no-nonsense, real-world approach to things, which is why we thought

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this topic would be perfect for her to talk about saving money in the grocery store.

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We are all facing cost increases across the board in different areas of our monthly spends,

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so hoping that she can give us a little guidance today.

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I know she will, to talk about how we can save.

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We’re covering the top and most simple, that’s important to note, tips for anyone trying

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to save money right now at the grocery store.

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Don’t forget to join the Healthy Family Project podcast Facebook group.

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We like to continue the conversations from the podcast over there, and Jackie is actually

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a part of that group, so you can even ask her questions directly.

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We are Healthy Family Project on all of the social outlets.

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If you are looking for more inspiration and lifestyle tips, hacks, or you can go to HealthyFamilyProject.com.

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And now let’s jump in with Jackie.

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So grocery costs have skyrocketed and we have all been hit with some added expenses, craziness

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going to the grocery store these days, or just everything really.

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So today we have Jackie Vega, who is back with us to talk about being able to shop for

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the foods we want and need without breaking the bank.

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Most of our listeners know Jackie from past episodes, but I would like to welcome Jackie.

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And why don’t you give a little intro about yourself and why this conversation is relevant

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in your life before we jump in.

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Well, thank you, Amanda.

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I’m always happy to be back.

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This is my, I feel like it’s home speaking with your audience.

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So I’ve been a registered dietitian since 2013, I believe was when I had my registration

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all finished and I was official.

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And for many years I worked with super healthy kids and focusing on pediatrics and meal planning

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and families in general.

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And recently throughout the past, I want to say three years now, I’ve been working in

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substance use disorder through rehabilitation, nutrition, basically, and just helping people

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to budget and meal planning and everything revolving around the frustrations that a lot

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of us are going through now with prices increasing and getting the run around.

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We sit down at the dinner table and you’re talking over with your spouse or significant

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other and trying to figure out how can we start to save money.

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And a lot of my, I really pride in the experience that I have in meal planning and helping people

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who pretty much have any goal and helping them to realize that if you start with a good

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basic meal plan, you can really reach any goals, whether it’s health, fitness and budget.

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Awesome.

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You’re always doing wonderful things.

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So it’s great to have you back.

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All right.

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So let’s cut to the chase here.

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Prices out this week showed, I think it was something like an 8.5% inflation rate.

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So the average family can expect to see something more than $300 is what I read and added expensive

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just for basic needs each month.

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So that’s a lot to add.

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And I think this cost increase could really make or break some decisions we’re making,

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especially in the grocery store.

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So that’s a big spend for a family each week.

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And so I know you have a lot of experience in this area.

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Let’s jump in and hear what are your tips to still eat healthy, but stay within a budget.

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Yeah.

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And I can say personally that our grocery bill every week, I’m probably spending anywhere

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between honestly, $75 to about $120, $130 more.

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And I understand that for some people that may be, they may think, wait, but I can’t

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even spend that much a week.

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So it’s definitely a privilege in that respect.

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But I have seen the increases and I am someone who will go in the grocery store because of

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the clients that I work with.

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They need to be on a budget.

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And I will specifically look at the prices and I’ve seen huge increases in your staples

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like eggs and milk and breads and pastas and even in the produce section.

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So the farmers are definitely seeing a huge, I know, I think it was yesterday on the news,

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the farmers were talking about how everything that’s going on around them, the increase

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has to come from somewhere.

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They have to get their money back somehow.

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So unfortunately, it is going to go to us.

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Right.

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I mean, it’s just to touch on that, it boils down to the fuel for the tractor, the cost

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of fuel, they have to pay their workers more so that they can afford to live and keep their

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team and workers and everybody in order.

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So it does trickle down to the cost of goods.

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It’s important to recognize like, oh, we didn’t, we’re just raising prices because we feel

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like it like there is a there is that cycle that kind of flows through, unfortunately,

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for real.

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Yeah, we there’s this one main road that I think it actually starts up in Orlando and

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runs well, through Boca and like South Florida and stuff.

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And a large portion of that road is agriculture.

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And one thing that I noticed when we first started driving down there to take my daughter

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to school was peril farms.

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I’m sure you’re familiar with that.

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Yes.

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Yes.

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Yeah.

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So they’re right there.

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And they have these buses that actually ship.

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I don’t know if that sounds like the right word, but it will go I don’t know where they

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pick up the people who work there.

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But they’ll they’ll bring them in by buses.

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And I don’t know if that was implemented during COVID before I don’t know when but it’s just

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probably economical for them because they’re helping to decrease the costs that are incurred

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with their employees actually coming to work.

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So I’m sure that is just has now become more of a an important factor in their costs themselves.

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So but okay, so I have three ideas in general of and I don’t want to say it’s easy.

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Definitely not easy to budget, especially when you’re dealing with families.

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But I want to try and keep my ideas simple.

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So the first thing that I’m pretty sure everybody hears but even I need to be reminded to shop

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your pantry and fridge or freezer.

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Many many times I’ll go into my pantry and I will forget oh I have this possum.

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Oh there’s still the soups here or I have these taco shells or things that I forgot

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that I had that I keep buying every week and there’s just no need for it.

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And speaking of the whole taco thing, when I look in my refrigerator, every week we always

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have taco Tuesday.

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So this is just one example that I use.

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So Tuesday, today, Thursday, recording on Thursday.

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Yesterday we had part of the leftovers from taco Tuesday.

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And with that I actually used the leftover meat and just made a meat sauce.

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Granted there’s there wasn’t like a ton of meat in it, which is totally fine with me.

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But that’s just a way that I use it.

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I pulled out some marinara sauce and some pasta or there was a salad in refrigerator

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and just use that leftover meat.

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And then speaking of the sauce, every almost every week we will grill pizza and I make

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the sauce for the pizza and we don’t use all of it.

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So I actually stick it in muffin tins and I put the muffin tin in the freezer and then

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after it freezes I just pop out the sauce and I stick it in the freezer bag.

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So anytime I need the sauce for pretty much anything, that’s how I that’s just another

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way that I save.

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I love that.

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I love that hack.

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That is really cool.

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I’m gonna have to start doing that.

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Yeah, and the sauce is so simple.

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I don’t I mean, I think this would be a really budget talk to I use these I don’t I know

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I’m gonna spell them wrong.

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San Marzano tomatoes.

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Yes, you’re correct.

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They’re everywhere.

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So there’s two I know there’s like two or three different brands that I’ll see and they’re

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just peeled inside the can out by the I think it’s a 32 ounce can and pop that 32 ounce

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can in a bowl with about a teaspoon to two teaspoons of olive oil and a little bit of

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sea salt and then I mush it with my hands.

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And I read this online when I was trying to figure out how to make sauce for pizza to

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make it more authentic.

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And the person that I was reading their blog post they said that to use your hands so that

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you don’t instead of putting it in a blender because you put it in a blender it will break

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the seeds and that can cause the sauce to turn bitter.

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Oh, wow.

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Okay.

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So yeah, and you can do like a little bit of basil and oregano that kind of thing too.

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But I have found that if I over season, it just it just isn’t the same, you know, period

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and a for pizza or anything else you get the seasonings from other ingredients.

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So yeah, so that’s what I do for my sauces.

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That is a great that’s totally a great tip.

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I think that there’s a lot of things.

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I mean, I think there’s a very few things that you can’t freeze.

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You know, so if you have leftovers, or if you’re making muffs, blueberry muffins, or

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if you’re doing like for us, we do a lot of empanadas.

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So if you can make extra, you know, of course, if you can buy something in bulk, I guess

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that’s, you know, cost savings to make something in bulk and freeze half of it.

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So you have that.

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So that’s that hits a couple like stress free points for me, I’m saving money at the grocery

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store, and I’m not stressed on a busy weeknight where I can just pull those freezer, you know,

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saves out and defrost those that saves me some stress too.

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Exactly, exactly.

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The other thing that I’ll do because I’m big on adding all types of different vegetables

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when it comes to tacos.

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So any of the leftovers, I will chop them all up and do egg muffins.

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I don’t even know if that’s what people call them now.

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You know what I’m talking about?

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I do put like, I don’t know how many eggs in a bowl whisk them together toss them whatever

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seasonings you want maybe a little bit cheese, you know, if you’re vegan, put in the nutritional

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yeast in there.

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Oh, yes, I love the leftover veggies.

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Yeah, toss them in the muffin tin again.

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Thank you muffin tins.

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I know I was gonna say today’s podcast is sponsored by muffin tin.

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And then bake them and those freeze easy to have a few of them for you know, breakfast

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or whatever that day and then toss them in the freezer and you have them.

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So that and then the other way that a couple nights ago that I shopped my pantry and this

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was this is even after groceries.

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My husband’s like, Oh, are you going to go to the store and get a rotisserie because

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that’s almost always our go to that if I don’t feel like cooking or I’ve supposedly and I

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say quote, run out of food, which I never run out of food.

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I’m going to go to store.

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I mean, for like, and it’s like, what this privilege problem?

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Can you please not tell me that we’ve run out of food?

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Right?

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I know.

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Because that is just no, no, no, no, no, you have not run out of food probably ever.

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But he’ll want me to go to get the rotisserie and maybe a salad or something.

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So instead of doing that, I was like, look, there’s some fettuccine in there, boil up

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some fettuccine.

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I know I have some frozen shrimp and then I put a little bit of butter in a pan, sauteed

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it with some minced garlic.

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It didn’t have an onion because you know, I think what’s that dish I’m trying to think

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of when it’s shrimp and pasta and it’s like a, I don’t know what it’s called.

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Anyways, I know someone will hear this and say, we know where I know.

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And it’s escaping right now too.

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Normally, yeah, normally you use onion with it too.

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So I didn’t have that, but that was fine.

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And that’s, that’s what he had.

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And then I always have frozen vegetables too.

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So and then just toss some frozen vegetables in the microwave.

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So I think that is huge.

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When we are either at the end of the week and we’re trying to rummage to figure out

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what are we going to cook because I still am not going to buy groceries until tomorrow

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or over the weekend.

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See what you have.

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There’s always going to be something that you can put together, even if it’s something

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canned or it is a leftover that’s going with something that you wouldn’t have thought to

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go with.

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Like, I don’t know.

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Maybe the shrimp that we cooked the other night that there was a little bit of leftover

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putting in a taco wrap or I had a client tell me that the other day.

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He’s like, Hey, any leftovers I have, I’m always making sure that I have any different wraps.

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I toss those in there a little bit of cheese and there’s my dinner.

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That’s amazing.

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Talk about not wasting food.

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Yeah, that’s important.

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Yeah, I love shopping the pantry.

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I think, like you said, just this week, I shopped my pantry before I shopped when grocery

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shopping last week.

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I feel like I did a good job this week.

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And I looked and I was like, Oh, I just kept buying these things when they were BOGO or

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there was a sale.

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And so why do I have so many different kinds of pasta in here?

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And like, what can I do with it?

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So let me plan next week’s meals, not that we’re going to have pasta every night, but

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like, what can I do with this?

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And I had some rice and I had a couple of different canned things that I had some diced

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tomatoes or some heart of palm, whatever I found.

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And I’m like, okay, I’m going to take, look at these things and then decide what I’m going

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to have for dinner next week instead of the opposite, where I plan my dinner and buy everything

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and then just have extra in the pantry.

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Yeah.

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I mean, I’ve done that before too.

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And then next thing, you know, I’m going into another week of trying to get groceries and

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I’m thinking, why is there no space for me in the refrigerator?

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Like it’s ridiculous.

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I like to have white space.

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So I need to last thing I want is a stuffed refrigerator.

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I just, I let me tell you nothing.

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And believe me, everybody knows I love fruits and vegetables, but I cannot stand when those

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drawers are so jam packed that like, and it, especially like it’s annoying to me, but for

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my kids, like forget it.

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Like do I think they’re going to go in there and look for the baby carrot seat?

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No, they’re going to go to the pantry or somewhere else.

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And so that’s why I often, you know, put things, I mean, it’s an extra step, but put things

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into, um, you know, the Pyrex bowls or whatever and put them up where they can be seen and

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just leave my other lettuce.

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I totally do that.

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And also with any leftovers, any leftovers, don’t throw them in the back of the refrigerator.

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They will not be in.

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No, they won’t be always front and center front and center for sure.

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And I would say last week, something else I did when I was, cause I do, I was proud

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of myself this week.

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Cause I’m like, I, there’s other things I want to spend my money on.

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I love to travel and I kept thinking in my head.

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So if you’re like not thinking, Oh, I don’t want a meal plan.

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This is like too stressful or too hard or whatever.

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Think about what you’d rather spend your money on.

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This is what helped me.

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And I’m like, I’m going to think about what I would, I would rather take a trip with my

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family.

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So you know, if I continue to spend $120 extra or whatever it might be a week at the grocery

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store, I will not be able to take that trip.

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So that really the kind of that motivation behind it, that thinking, which I sometimes

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have to trick myself like that, but yeah.

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So thinking that way.

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So I also, and I, I shop at a couple of different grocery stores, but my go-to is Publix here

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because it’s right on my street.

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And I know different grocery stores have different sales every week, but shopping the sales,

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like looking at everything’s a digital, like, and they really make it easy for you to digest.

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So to look at like for a Publix, for instance, things are on BOGO every week.

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So I really looked at the BOGOs and said, what meals can I make out of these BOGOs?

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Or I looked like blackberries, you know, right now are a great price because it’s Florida.

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I don’t know.

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I don’t know.

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I don’t, I know it’s Florida blueberry season, so I don’t want to speak out of turn on the

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blackberries, but I know blackberries are really great price right now.

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Blueberries are a great price because they’re in season.

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So I kind of looked at all of those things and said, you know what?

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I am going to go in this direction and build my week around the sales.

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I looked at the pantry and then those, you know, fruits and vegetables and the BOGO.

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And I felt like I was pretty excited whenever I, I checked out and felt like, you know what,

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I think I made a dent.

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I needed someone to cheer for me.

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I should ask the cashiers are always probably like, who are you?

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Because I, in my mind, I will look at this, we’re getting on a tangent like usual, but

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I will look at the conveyor belt, whatever, with the groceries on it.

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And in my mind, I will then pick a number.

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Like I play a game, like I’m on like the prices, right?

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Or something or supermarket sweep.

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You do?

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Okay.

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So I’m not alone.

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So in my mind, I’ll say like 164 32.

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And then I try to get as close.

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Like I’m just, I wait to see, oh my gosh, I can’t reveal any more about my insanity.

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We got to get back on track.

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Yeah, no, I’ve actually done that with my kids before, just so that they’re aware of

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the fact that food is just not magically appearing in the house.

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That’s actually right.

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And that’s actually good.

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So this took us somewhere.

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I think that is important too, to have your whole family.

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Like this doesn’t just lay on the shoulders of the mom or the dad, you know, not one person,

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your whole family has to really understand like, Hey, like we just don’t throw away food.

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Like that, you know, like not forcing anyone to eat anything they don’t, you know, in that

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way, but just understanding like, Oh, Hey, you know, that like this stuff that you just

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left in your lunchbox and brought home and we have to throw it away.

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It’s like, you know, just really understanding that it’s important at all times, but right

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now facing the price increases we’re facing, I think it’s an all hands on deck situation.

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And I just talked about even we had a notice that our electric bill would be going up due

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to the cost of fuel.

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And you know, so I talked to everybody and like, guys, turn off the TVs, turn off the

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lights.

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Like here’s why, like this is, you know, a real thing.

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So definitely involve your family and any of these processes that you’re going through

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when you’re trying to save.

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I’m sorry.

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Exactly.

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And that’s like, no, well, and even with leftovers, cause I know I’ve, I’ve come across

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many families who are say, my husband doesn’t like leftovers or my kids don’t like leftovers.

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We need to help them understand that this is life.

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Like this is, this is where we’re at right now.

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And we need to figure out, okay, this isn’t the leftover that leftover that you like.

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Help me when I’m trying to decide what we are going to eat or you go in to the pantry.

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Like I’m sure little kids would love this.

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Hey, let’s play store, go into the pantry and, and pick out what you’re going to buy.

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You know, I don’t know.

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I like that idea.

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Or even like go in and make a list.

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Like my daughter, my younger daughter is a list maker.

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Like I feel like even her at 11 would go and like make me a list.

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Yeah.

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Totally getting the families involved and especially the significant other who’s not

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typically in charge and charge.

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I don’t, you know, you know what I mean?

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00:22:49,080 –> 00:22:54,760

Who’s typically not the one who takes initiative to do the grocery shopping, right?

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Right.

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Make sure that person is, is involved in those decisions too.

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So, okay.

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So shopping pantry, fridge and freezer.

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I think that’s, I think that’s probably a huge, huge step in the right direction, even

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if that’s all anybody ever did.

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The next thing that I would say to do is to think in bulk.

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Like you had already mentioned that.

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And for me, when I think in bulk, it’s not only purchasing, it’s also preparation.

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So like when we were talking about with the sauces, you know, making a sauce and that

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technically that’s, that is making it in bulk.

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So you’re using something now and you have something for later purchasing in bulk.

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If you have the ability to have like a Costco or Sam’s types of membership or if you have

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a friend, cause for the longest time I didn’t have those.

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So I would just go with a friend.

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And quite honestly, it’s kind of like, it’s fun because you get to go with your friend.

356

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Right.

357

00:23:54,360 –> 00:23:55,360

Yeah.

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And I’ve also seen and heard from in the past, people will buy things at like Walmart.

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And I know that Target has some different items that are a little bit bulkier in size,

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you know, rice, quinoa, flowers, sugars, things like that, that you know are shelf stable

361

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and you know that you’re actually going to use.

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So I’m always baking, so I will get larger containers of flour and sugar and different

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things like that.

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Cause I know it’s not going to go to waste.

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And then preparing in bulk baked goods, making different grains.

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If you’re going to cook the grains, whether or not you think you’re going to use that

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much totally fine.

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Cause you can just freeze it.

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Anything else that I do when it comes to the bulk aspect, if the container of whether it’s

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ground turkey or ground beef for my tacos, tip, you know, usually I’ll get something

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that’s on sale.

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And I know I’m not going to use that full amount because I usually only use for a family

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of four, like a pound of the meat.

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The rest of it, I’ll take that and shape it into burgers and just wrap it in foil and

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put it in a freezer bag.

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And then the next time that we’re grilling, I usually have four to six burgers already

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made.

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So that’s something else that I do too, so that I don’t waste it.

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Cause otherwise it could potentially be that leftover meat that just goes to the back of

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the refrigerator and then it’s just thrown away.

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So thinking in bulk.

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And then the third way that is tried and proven, I don’t know what that whole saying is, a

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proven method of saving money is meal planning.

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I don’t know.

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I can’t even remember even growing up, walking into a grocery store without some sort of

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a list in hand that is not just a list.

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It also has those ideas in mind as to what I’m going to make.

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And for, I don’t know, eight or nine years working with super healthy kids, it was a

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game changer for many families that I worked with.

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Had they not had the meal plan with a grocery list, there would be food waste.

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Meal planning sometimes seems intimidating to people.

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I do it now, so I wish this didn’t seem intimidating.

393

00:26:36,360 –> 00:26:39,760

I wish that this didn’t seem like, oh, I have a job.

394

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I’m like always working and I’m always doing like shuttling the kids and this and that.

395

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Like I don’t need another thing on my plate, but I will say even just the most simple plan,

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two meals, you know, like start somewhere and just say, I’m going to plan for this next

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week and then I think you’ll start to see that it’ll turn into something that just becomes

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part of your week and part of what you do.

399

00:27:06,240 –> 00:27:09,040

Yeah, totally that.

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00:27:09,040 –> 00:27:14,680

And I know you guys have a, I’m sure more than one, but I know I’ve seen blog posts

401

00:27:14,680 –> 00:27:16,200

that talk about the whole meal planning.

402

00:27:16,200 –> 00:27:17,200

Yes.

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00:27:17,200 –> 00:27:20,200

And that’s what I’ve done since day one of working with super healthy kids.

404

00:27:20,200 –> 00:27:25,420

And now with all the clients that I’ve worked with in my clinics, it’s just starting simple.

405

00:27:25,420 –> 00:27:28,440

I always say start out with just one breakfast.

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I mean, for some people it may, that may cause a little bit of anxiety because they’re thinking,

407

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but I thought I was supposed to have this variety.

408

00:27:35,840 –> 00:27:43,040

Yeah, but starting small in a big change, like sitting down and meal planning, that’s

409

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the best way to do it.

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Just one, one breakfast, one, maybe two lunches.

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00:27:48,360 –> 00:27:53,780

I know when, you know, with having kids, um, my son, typically there’s two different types

412

00:27:53,780 –> 00:27:57,880

of lunches that he likes and my daughter, she’ll just do whatever’s leftover.

413

00:27:57,880 –> 00:28:00,580

So hers are always different.

414

00:28:00,580 –> 00:28:07,320

So that would be where I would say, get the kids involved as far as what, um, what they

415

00:28:07,320 –> 00:28:08,560

want to bring to school.

416

00:28:08,560 –> 00:28:14,520

So those will be your one or two lunches and then dinners, maybe two or three at best.

417

00:28:14,520 –> 00:28:19,960

And the simplest way I’ve found when it comes to planning for dinners is to have those theme

418

00:28:19,960 –> 00:28:20,960

nights.

419

00:28:20,960 –> 00:28:25,880

So, um, Monday for me is always a meatless Monday.

420

00:28:25,880 –> 00:28:31,600

Tuesday’s always been taco Tuesday, Wednesday through the years of planning for super healthy

421

00:28:31,600 –> 00:28:32,600

kids.

422

00:28:32,600 –> 00:28:36,480

It was usually like Italian or like an Asian flare type of dish.

423

00:28:36,480 –> 00:28:39,480

Thursdays ended up being a crock pot or instant pot.

424

00:28:39,480 –> 00:28:41,680

Friday was pizza or fish.

425

00:28:41,680 –> 00:28:47,920

Um, Saturday tends to be, depending on what the season was, either soup or salads.

426

00:28:47,920 –> 00:28:50,920

Um, and Sundays was the leftover day.

427

00:28:50,920 –> 00:28:55,000

So just choose two or three of those themes that your family’s going to like and just

428

00:28:55,000 –> 00:29:00,320

plan those meals and call it a day because you probably will have leftovers to go from.

429

00:29:00,320 –> 00:29:05,320

And then you can just go into your pantry and fridge and see, well, you can just pull

430

00:29:05,320 –> 00:29:07,440

from and pull together.

431

00:29:07,440 –> 00:29:11,400

Yeah, I, I just like the themes I need.

432

00:29:11,400 –> 00:29:15,560

I feel like I used to do more themes more like kind of regular, and you probably need

433

00:29:15,560 –> 00:29:16,560

to get back to that.

434

00:29:16,560 –> 00:29:20,960

Because I think that would help in the meal planning too, to kind of just know.

435

00:29:20,960 –> 00:29:26,560

And I, because I, I grew up, my brother and sister were so picky and I was not.

436

00:29:26,560 –> 00:29:31,540

And I always felt like I was at like the hands of their, you know, I was at their mercy because

437

00:29:31,540 –> 00:29:33,000

they like nothing.

438

00:29:33,000 –> 00:29:42,560

So therefore I also, my meals were very much the same, but we did the days of the week.

439

00:29:42,560 –> 00:29:46,360

Um, every week we had the same thing Monday through Friday.

440

00:29:46,360 –> 00:29:49,920

I mean, we didn’t even have, it wasn’t struggling to sound so sad.

441

00:29:49,920 –> 00:29:56,320

It was, it was a joyous time, but, um, we had, we ate the same thing Monday through

442

00:29:56,320 –> 00:29:58,880

Friday every single week.

443

00:29:58,880 –> 00:30:02,880

I mean, sometimes there was a little bit of veering off, but not much.

444

00:30:02,880 –> 00:30:08,680

And, but it was, my parents both worked and it was like sure fire that my, and you know,

445

00:30:08,680 –> 00:30:09,880

we didn’t have a lot of money.

446

00:30:09,880 –> 00:30:14,260

So it was guaranteed that my brother and sister were going to eat those things.

447

00:30:14,260 –> 00:30:16,400

And so that’s what we ate.

448

00:30:16,400 –> 00:30:17,400

So I get it.

449

00:30:17,400 –> 00:30:18,400

But yeah.

450

00:30:18,400 –> 00:30:26,520

And to that respect though, and this has just been since day one of, of working with clients

451

00:30:26,520 –> 00:30:32,080

and again, with Super Healthy Kids, I’ve, I’ve had faced many families where they’ll

452

00:30:32,080 –> 00:30:34,680

say, I can’t serve the same thing.

453

00:30:34,680 –> 00:30:40,240

Like I can’t, you know, they’ll cut, they would come to us for these blown out meal

454

00:30:40,240 –> 00:30:45,840

plans of something different every day, every meal and snack.

455

00:30:45,840 –> 00:30:52,600

And I had to help them to understand that you can choose from this week, this dinner

456

00:30:52,600 –> 00:30:57,040

that you like and that week, that one, and you can put those together and you can serve

457

00:30:57,040 –> 00:31:00,920

that same thing every day for months on end.

458

00:31:00,920 –> 00:31:05,560

If that’s what’s going to help you to bring your family to the table and have the discussions

459

00:31:05,560 –> 00:31:06,560

that you want to have.

460

00:31:06,560 –> 00:31:09,920

And that’s what, that’s what they’re going to remember.

461

00:31:09,920 –> 00:31:16,400

When the kids get older and that’s, you know, and you also know exactly how much money you’re

462

00:31:16,400 –> 00:31:19,280

going to spend every week because you know, those are going to be the same things, you

463

00:31:19,280 –> 00:31:20,280

know?

464

00:31:20,280 –> 00:31:22,480

So yeah, you’re working on a budget, you know?

465

00:31:22,480 –> 00:31:27,520

And honestly, which my family always, they’re like, we just had family dinner last night.

466

00:31:27,520 –> 00:31:28,680

Why do we have to sit together?

467

00:31:28,680 –> 00:31:29,680

You know?

468

00:31:29,680 –> 00:31:32,960

And I’m like, guys, come on.

469

00:31:32,960 –> 00:31:35,400

Like I’m sorry that that was so painful for you.

470

00:31:35,400 –> 00:31:38,360

But with my family, we sat down.

471

00:31:38,360 –> 00:31:43,400

I mean, granted we would have, you know, as we got older and more involved in sports and

472

00:31:43,400 –> 00:31:47,720

cheerleading and dance and all kinds of activities, it got a little crazier.

473

00:31:47,720 –> 00:31:52,920

But I really feel like my mom would just like adjust the time where we ate.

474

00:31:52,920 –> 00:31:59,220

But we really all sat down together and talked and had dinner together.

475

00:31:59,220 –> 00:32:06,000

And I think that’s why it’s always been so important to me, no matter what we eat, that,

476

00:32:06,000 –> 00:32:11,700

you know, we are making sure and now I’m like, I pretty much demand at least like two to

477

00:32:11,700 –> 00:32:13,960

three times a week we sit down as a family.

478

00:32:13,960 –> 00:32:15,680

So they love that.

479

00:32:15,680 –> 00:32:16,680

Yeah.

480

00:32:16,680 –> 00:32:18,280

Yeah, that’s true.

481

00:32:18,280 –> 00:32:23,960

And the more the more times that we get to sit down and chat as a family, I think the

482

00:32:23,960 –> 00:32:30,000

stresses that we’re all dealing with as parents and caregivers with just inflation alone,

483

00:32:30,000 –> 00:32:36,440

like it’s going to help to calm us down, even if it’s just for 30 minutes, cortisol levels

484

00:32:36,440 –> 00:32:40,480

will start to lower a little bit, you know, our body is going to thank us.

485

00:32:40,480 –> 00:32:43,320

So it all just, I don’t know.

486

00:32:43,320 –> 00:32:50,480

That’s why I just love food and dealing with this world of dietetics and meals and families

487

00:32:50,480 –> 00:32:51,480

and all that.

488

00:32:51,480 –> 00:32:53,180

So for sure.

489

00:32:53,180 –> 00:32:58,960

And I will just say one last thing before we close out, like I’ve been because I’ve

490

00:32:58,960 –> 00:33:01,520

been thinking a lot, like I said, I want to go on that trip.

491

00:33:01,520 –> 00:33:03,360

I motivated myself.

492

00:33:03,360 –> 00:33:06,160

I’m saving.

493

00:33:06,160 –> 00:33:10,000

I think actually I have like maybe I have two more things.

494

00:33:10,000 –> 00:33:11,440

So loyalty programs.

495

00:33:11,440 –> 00:33:14,120

I know sometimes people are like, oh, it’s like annoying.

496

00:33:14,120 –> 00:33:15,640

Got to give them my phone number.

497

00:33:15,640 –> 00:33:18,440

They’re tracking my spend, whatever it might be.

498

00:33:18,440 –> 00:33:19,440

That’s fine.

499

00:33:19,440 –> 00:33:20,720

If you don’t want to do it, don’t do it.

500

00:33:20,720 –> 00:33:28,540

But I know that most grocery stores do have loyalty programs in some way, shape or form

501

00:33:28,540 –> 00:33:31,800

or even, you know, like gas stations or whatever it might be.

502

00:33:31,800 –> 00:33:36,640

But I would say just take the extra couple extra seconds to take a look at some of those

503

00:33:36,640 –> 00:33:39,640

loyalty programs because it will add up.

504

00:33:39,640 –> 00:33:46,440

You know, I feel like I’ve saved here and there, you know, $5 a year, $3 there, but

505

00:33:46,440 –> 00:33:47,440

it will add up.

506

00:33:47,440 –> 00:33:52,520

So I would say don’t disregard those loyalty programs if you’re not already signed up for

507

00:33:52,520 –> 00:33:53,520

those.

508

00:33:53,520 –> 00:34:00,720

Another thing I did this week was really look at the grocery that they received when I got

509

00:34:00,720 –> 00:34:08,240

home and what were the big ticket items on there and kind of thought like, are these

510

00:34:08,240 –> 00:34:10,720

necessary?

511

00:34:10,720 –> 00:34:15,440

Not saying like, you know, don’t buy this thing that your family loves and you’re able

512

00:34:15,440 –> 00:34:16,440

to afford it.

513

00:34:16,440 –> 00:34:17,520

So, you know, whatever.

514

00:34:17,520 –> 00:34:23,440

But I just thought, you know what, I just want to be mindful of looking at like, you

515

00:34:23,440 –> 00:34:29,640

know, is this granola bar like maybe I need to adjust this and look at a different brand

516

00:34:29,640 –> 00:34:36,120

and see if I can find something that’s comparable, but maybe I need to make a swap there, you

517

00:34:36,120 –> 00:34:37,120

know.

518

00:34:37,120 –> 00:34:44,520

So I think there’s definitely some things that the price jump is crazy, you know, a

519

00:34:44,520 –> 00:34:48,740

over a dollar or $2 more for some things.

520

00:34:48,740 –> 00:34:53,820

So I would say take a look at those things and find out even if just for now while we’re

521

00:34:53,820 –> 00:35:02,440

going through this period of hopefully it’s a period of cost increases and maybe you’re

522

00:35:02,440 –> 00:35:06,720

just really thinking like, is this, you know, can I swap this or is this something that

523

00:35:06,720 –> 00:35:09,640

we really need or are we really using this, you know?

524

00:35:09,640 –> 00:35:14,480

So yeah, I’m all, please, I will check back in with everyone and let you know if I’m

525

00:35:14,480 –> 00:35:18,120

still able to keep this up next week.

526

00:35:18,120 –> 00:35:21,040

But I told myself I’m saving for the next trip.

527

00:35:21,040 –> 00:35:24,340

So here we go.

528

00:35:24,340 –> 00:35:26,440

Anything else you can think of before we close?

529

00:35:26,440 –> 00:35:27,440

I know.

530

00:35:27,440 –> 00:35:28,440

Before we close.

531

00:35:28,440 –> 00:35:38,200

No, I feel like we’ve talked about a lot of stuff, but on to the loyalty things at the

532

00:35:38,200 –> 00:35:45,200

grocery stores, the only one that I’ve ever used is Ibotta, I-B-O-T-T-A, and honestly,

533

00:35:45,200 –> 00:35:49,880

the last year I wasn’t using it and I want to start using it again because girl, I would

534

00:35:49,880 –> 00:35:56,240

some very quickly I would get $20 vouchers and I would just put them into Amazon.

535

00:35:56,240 –> 00:35:57,240

Yeah.

536

00:35:57,240 –> 00:35:59,400

The kids wanted something on Amazon.

537

00:35:59,400 –> 00:36:03,200

I’m like, yep, I’ve got that actually because I saved money on our groceries.

538

00:36:03,200 –> 00:36:04,200

Right.

539

00:36:04,200 –> 00:36:05,200

Or even like Christmas gifts.

540

00:36:05,200 –> 00:36:09,200

I mean, it’s never too early to start throwing a little bit.

541

00:36:09,200 –> 00:36:10,200

Yeah.

542

00:36:10,200 –> 00:36:19,640

I use, well, so again, dotting this down on next episode, the best loyalty programs and

543

00:36:19,640 –> 00:36:26,560

we can, I use Fetch, which I like Ibotta, but Fetch actually you take a picture of your

544

00:36:26,560 –> 00:36:32,240

receipt, it scans your receipt and then it gives you your points.

545

00:36:32,240 –> 00:36:39,000

I think I had like a $10 Starbucks gift card that I was able to use a couple of weeks ago

546

00:36:39,000 –> 00:36:43,800

from doing that, which I was pretty excited because I felt like that was good, but I also

547

00:36:43,800 –> 00:36:51,200

do I don’t know if you shop at Publix, but Publix has, and like I said, I feel like almost

548

00:36:51,200 –> 00:36:59,840

every grocery store probably has their own form of loyalty, but with Publix, you set

549

00:36:59,840 –> 00:37:04,720

up your account, you do your phone number, and then I’ll plug my phone number in at the

550

00:37:04,720 –> 00:37:16,240

checkout and then some weeks they’ll give you like $5 off of $75 or $3 off of $50.

551

00:37:16,240 –> 00:37:22,440

And so those will just kind of automatically hit whenever I check out, which is lovely.

552

00:37:22,440 –> 00:37:24,520

So you’ll have to do that if you don’t.

553

00:37:24,520 –> 00:37:25,520

You know what?

554

00:37:25,520 –> 00:37:29,440

I do shop at Publix like almost all the time and I’ve never done that.

555

00:37:29,440 –> 00:37:30,440

Yes.

556

00:37:30,440 –> 00:37:32,520

So that’s a hot tip.

557

00:37:32,520 –> 00:37:33,520

Yep.

558

00:37:33,520 –> 00:37:35,680

And you can do your digital coupons too.

559

00:37:35,680 –> 00:37:39,800

Your digital coupons, clip those in the app.

560

00:37:39,800 –> 00:37:43,440

And then when you check out, I just clip all of them.

561

00:37:43,440 –> 00:37:46,720

I’m like, click, click, click, click, click, click, because who knows?

562

00:37:46,720 –> 00:37:49,760

Like I might buy all these things.

563

00:37:49,760 –> 00:37:50,760

I might not.

564

00:37:50,760 –> 00:37:51,760

And you can clip.

565

00:37:51,760 –> 00:37:52,880

There’s no limit to what you can clip.

566

00:37:52,880 –> 00:37:55,700

So I just clip all the digital coupons.

567

00:37:55,700 –> 00:38:00,280

And then I like, again, apparently I have this issue with the checkout, but I like to

568

00:38:00,280 –> 00:38:03,600

see when I check out and like, oh, look at me.

569

00:38:03,600 –> 00:38:04,600

Good job.

570

00:38:04,600 –> 00:38:05,600

I’m saving.

571

00:38:05,600 –> 00:38:09,520

So anyway, those are my final words.

572

00:38:09,520 –> 00:38:12,120

Well, thank you for joining us again today.

573

00:38:12,120 –> 00:38:13,600

You’re welcome.

574

00:38:13,600 –> 00:38:16,120

Thank you for inviting me.

575

00:38:16,120 –> 00:38:17,120

Yes.

576

00:38:17,120 –> 00:38:18,120

It’s great to have you back.

577

00:38:18,120 –> 00:38:22,720

We were talking before we got on and we’ll link up to, we have lots of resources, so

578

00:38:22,720 –> 00:38:28,180

we will link up to meal planners, we’ll link up to long lasting fruits and vegetables.

579

00:38:28,180 –> 00:38:37,280

We have tons of content on healthyfamilyproject.com and then any of Jackie’s links that she has.

580

00:38:37,280 –> 00:38:43,960

So you can check out the show notes for all of those links to, you know, to get more information.

581

00:38:43,960 –> 00:38:47,440

But thank you, Jackie, so much for joining us today.

582

00:38:47,440 –> 00:38:48,900

Thank you.

583

00:38:48,900 –> 00:38:50,180

Great episode today.

584

00:38:50,180 –> 00:38:52,120

Thank you so much for joining us.

585

00:38:52,120 –> 00:38:54,140

We love to hear your feedback.

586

00:38:54,140 –> 00:38:58,280

Please leave a comment or a review, or you can get in touch with us directly through

587

00:38:58,280 –> 00:39:02,080

the website, healthyfamilyproject.com.

588

00:39:02,080 –> 00:39:09,200

And also please leave a rating and help us continue to create a healthier generation.

589

00:39:09,200 –> 00:39:15,640

If you want to find me direct, I’m in the Facebook group, Healthy Family Project.

590

00:39:15,640 –> 00:39:18,840

You can also find me on Instagram as Amanda M. Kiefer.

591

00:39:18,840 –> 00:39:24,760

And you can find Healthy Family Project on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok,

592

00:39:24,760 –> 00:39:25,880

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593

00:39:25,880 –> 00:39:26,880

Be sure to subscribe.

594

00:39:26,880 –> 00:39:27,880

Talk soon.

595

00:39:27,880 –> 00:39:49,880

Thank you.