Low-Cost, Low-Calorie, Dieting on a Budget

Most of us do this on a daily basis without even realizing it. I regularly use reconstituted milk instead of fresh milk for both cooking and drinking. Powdered milk is less expensive yet it gives the same results. When I use it I haven't reduced the quality of my finished products at all; I've just saved money. If I used only fresh milk for cooking and drinking then I would be spending money that could be put to better use elsewhere in my budget. Instead I use the lowest-cost alternative, in this case powdered milk, and pocket the savings. Assuming I use 3 gallons of milk a week, and fresh milk is $3.50 a gallon, then I save $308 a year by using powdered milk instead of fresh.

Another basic substitution is using margarine instead of butter. This saves about $3 a pound. If I just used a pound a week it would add up to $156 a year. If I normally used 2 pounds of butter a week and switched to margarine instead, it would save $312 a year. Not all of us are willing to use margarine instead of butter, but the example is still valid. These two substitutions alone add up to over $600 a year that I can spend on more pressing needs, while still supplying my family with wholesome, nutritious foods that will contribute to their good health instead of taking away from it. Imagine all of the other easy substitutions that can be made and the amount of savings that they will provide. Just using this one strategy anyone can save thousands a year, and it's not even that hard.

Choosing store-brands over name brands is probably one of the simplest changes we can make. Ninety-nice percent of the time store-brands cost less per ounce than their name-brand competition. Name brands must spend a fortune on advertising to keep consumers hooked on their products. Advertising costs money. A lot of money, and we know who pays for it don't we? It's us, the consumer. So not only are we paying more for the name brand products we buy, but we are actually rewarding the corporations by paying them for brain washing us into buying their products in the first place. It absolutely boggles the mind.

"Yes Mr. Corporation Man and Ms. Corporation Woman, I like it when you brain wash my children and I with subliminal messages on television commercials and in flashy print ads. To show you my appreciation, I want to give you more of our hard earned cash so that you can keep doing it to us, and to others too."

To me, this is the definition of insanity. The only reason to buy a name-brand product is because it is so good, and so wonderful that absolutely nothing else in the whole entire world can compare with it. When a product is that good, it might be worth it. Then again it may just be a luxury item that we shouldn't be buying anyway, no matter how good it is. A Rolls Royce is a wonderful thing to own, but it is purely a luxury item and doesn't have a place in my everyday budget.

Which brings me back to my point. For my budget, I almost always choose the store-brand. When I started doing this years ago, I was a little embarrassed. I worried about what the check-out people would think of me. Would they know how poor I was and how ashamed I was of my poverty? Would they be able to see through my store-brand-filled-cart into my bathroom where I was washing laundry by hand because I couldn't afford the laundry mat. Would they know that I was using homemade sanitary napkins because I couldn't afford the disposable ones or that I was drinking powdered milk instead of fresh? Shame has a way of trapping us into negative thinking that isn't even true.

First off, the check-out people see all kinds. They don't know if I'm buying store-brands because I'm well off and know there isn't any difference, or if I'm doing it because that's all I can afford. If I am clean and well-groomed at the check-out then they will not assume I am a poverty case. Secondly, check-out clerks do not have crystal balls and they cannot see things in me that I'm ashamed of. And if there are things I'm ashamed of, then I need to get on a message board, or find a good friend and spill every single detail of everything that I am embarrassed about financially. Getting it out gets rid of the shame and lubricates the tracks so I can get on with my life.

If you find that you are able to make the switch to store-brand items then you will realize significant savings on every grocery receipt. If your regular store doesn't offer store-brands, then find another one that does. There is so much savings to be had, that you really owe it to yourself to investigate this option with utter thoroughness.

Below I've listed a few other standard substitutions. They should enable you to make the best use of the items you already have around the house. Not all of the substituions will be within your comfort zone, and that's okay. Just use the ones that are.

For This Item

You May Use This Instead

1 whole egg

2 egg-whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute or 4 teaspoons dry egg-white plus 1/4 cup water. In baking only, 2-tablespoons light or regular mayonnaise can replace 1 egg, do not try to use it for more than 1 though, it doesn't work so well.

1oz Unsweetened Chocolate Square

3 tablespoons of unsweetened carob or cocoa plus 1 tablespoon of extra fat like oil or shortening, margarine or butter. If the recipe already has 1/2-cup of fat or more, then you probably won't even need to add any extra.

1 cup buttermilk or yogurt or sourmilk in baking

First put a splash of vinegar into a measuring cup, about 1-tablespoon is enough. Then add liquid milk up to the 1 cup line. Stir and allow the mixture to sit until it curdles. Use as directed. This will not work for dips or beverages but is perfect for baking.

Heavy Cream

Evaporated Whole Milk. In candy, baking, soups, sauces, casseroles and main dishes you can use evaporated whole milk instead of light or heavy cream. For whipping, evaporated milk must be very cold, icy in fact. Then it will whip with same ease as cream.

Sour Cream

Plain Nonfat Yogurt is the perfect replacement for sourcream. It can be used in dips, dressings, baking, main dishes; almost anywhere you would usually use sour cream.

Boneless Chicken Breasts

Use Chicken thighs instead. Thighs only have one bone and it is easy to remove. Simply yank it out with sturdy fingers. They may be used in any recipe calling for chicken cutlets. Be sure to snip away all visible fat and remove the skin before cooking.

Fresh Fish Fillets

Frozen fillets are usually much cheaper than fresh. Most types of fish are completely interchangeable. Don't get stuck thinking you can only use X fish in a recipe. Find a less expensive type and use it instead. You'll be pleased with the results.

Fancy Pasta Shapes

Any type of pasta can be used in a recipe. If you need macaroni and only have spaghetti then break it up into smaller lengths and use it instead. Fancy pasta shapes always cost more than the basics: macaroni, spaghetti & egg noodles. Instead of fettucini or ziti use spaghetti or noodles. Instead of rotini or rigatoni use macaroni. Lasagna noodles are handy to keep around, but a thin layer of cooked macaroni can replace it in a pinch.

Instant Rice

Instead of instant, use homecooked brown rice or cooked converted rice. I hate instant rice and I don't use recipes that call for it. If you must have a replacement then use cooked rice in twice the amount called for and reduce the liquid by half. Better yet, avoid recipes using instant rice all together.

Fresh basil or oregano or other fresh herbs

Instead use fresh parsley plus enough of the dried version of the herb to give it flavor. For example, if a recipe calls for 1/4 cup fresh basil then use 1 tablespoon dry basil and 1/4 cup fresh parsley. The parsley will give you the green bulk while the dried herb will give you the flavor you are after. Since dried herbs are more concentrated than fresh you usually only need 1/4 to 1/3 of the fresh version you are replacing.

Thinly sliced steak or cubed stew meat in a recipe

Use an equal amount of ground beef or ground turkey instead. It won't be quite as fancy, but it will still be good. Stews, stroganoff, stir-fries and the like turn out just as good with ground meat as they do with thinly sliced or prepared stew meat.

Substitutions take a little imagination. A recipe may call for green onions but since you only have regular onions you substitute them instead. The dish still turns out the way it should and no one is the wiser. Except you, who were on the ball enough to use what you had instead of being trapped in a recipe like a straight jacket. Really, recipes are just guides. The way I do it is this, after I decide which dish I'd like to prepare I look up several versions of it and compare them all together. All of the recipes will call for certain ingredients and then they will all differ at certain points too. The places where they differ show us where we have a bit of lee-way for substitution.

Asparagus can be replaced with fresh or frozen broccoli, which is cheap year round. Regular cabbage can replace red cabbage or Chinese cabbage. Green peppers are cheaper than red or yellow peppers and do the same thing in recipes. Zucchini and yellow squash are interchangeable. Frozen peas and green beans are interchangeable in most recipes. Use whichever one you have on hand. Whole-wheat flour and white flour can switch for one another in a pinch. White sugar and brown sugar are interchangeable in most cases. Or make your own brown sugar with white sugar and a little molasses if you prefer. Mushrooms can be left out of many recipes, or you can use canned instead of fresh when the canned variety is cheaper. Canned peaches or pears can replace the fresh version when needed. Plumped up raisins can be used instead of grapes. Raisins can replace most dried fruits in baking and salads. Think about what the food adds to a recipe. Is it used for color, flavor, texture? Will another similar food do the same thing in it's place? If you put your mind to it, you'll probably come up many good ideas. Use the ones you find here as a spring board to invent your own.