This guest post is in response to a question I had for Brenda, the meal planning expert. Brenda is a mom, freelance writer and self-taught meal planner. Her blog, Meal Planning Magic, provides ideas on how to get organized in the kitchen, save a little money, eat healthier (and family friendly) and have a little fun along the way. She shares free weekly sample meal plans, cookbook reviews, forms for keeping it all straight, ideas, and inspiration!

The message seems to be everywhere. If you want to save money, eat healthier and feed your family right, you need to plan your meals before you head to the store. It seems so simple. Just grab your calendar, a few cookbooks or recipe box and your grocery list and you’re on your way, right?

Not so fast. There are a number of factors to consider when choosing the when, where and how of meal planning. By answering these 6 questions, you’ll discover whether your meal planning efforts are flourishing or failing (and how to change things).

1. Is the extra work worth the cost saving? First ask yourself, is cost savings on a particular item worth it to drive out of the way to purchase it? Is walking an option or do you have to get in a car to go to a preferred store?

Do the math and you may find that making a special trip may not be so good for your budget. Sometimes simplifying the process can make a big difference.

2. Does it fit your lifestyle and preferences? Coupon clippers and sale shoppers can save a lot of money on items they may normally purchase, however others find that whole process time-consuming and cumbersome. Still, some people like to buy what’s new or different no matter the price while others are impulse buyers willing to change their menu based on in-store samples.

Figure out how you like to shop and make that part of the process. All of this can work into your meal planning if you know and understand your style.

3. How close are the grocery stores? Does a trip to the grocery store require a day’s outing to the next town or are your options just minutes away?

The key is to shop in a way that fits the options that surround you. If you live in a small town, being efficient when you shop is key because if you forget it, it may be a few weeks before you can go back to get it. But if you are walking distance to a store, last minute visits may not be a big deal.

4. What’s my ability to store food? Consider your storage space before you start stocking up on items. If you have ample pantry and freezer space, shopping at a wholesale club may be worth it to you. If the luxury of storage is not yours, more frequent trips to the store work better.

5. Do I really have to sacrifice health for budget? The decision is not so black and white, but often items that are less expensive are not always the healthiest. There is a perceived notion that healthier foods cost more.

For many, the bottom line is what drives their grocery shopping. While others may be willing to pay a little more for higher quality ingredients that are also produced locally and are sustainable.

The good news: these days more food producers are taking note of public demand and are providing healthy foods that are also budget friendly.

6. Am I using my time wisely? When it comes to food shopping, it may seem as though you’re running all over town going from the traditional grocery store to the farmer’s market to the organic grocery store to the wholesale club. It’s enough to make you feel like you’re running in circles!

It doesn’t have to be this way. Check your farmer’s market website for updates or get on their email list so you’ll know what types of items and vendors will be at the market each week. And then decide if you really need to go each week. Additionally, consider starting a co-op with some friends or neighbors where you take turns going to the market or store each week. This works especially well for wholesale clubs that may not be conveniently located.

Meal planning really can be an easy way to help you get good tasting, healthy food on the table for your family. It just takes a little thinking ahead to get you started and before you know it, you won’t remember any other way!

So tell me, what is the biggest barrier you face when it comes to meal planning?

In part 3 of this series we talked about planning a weeks’ worth of healthy meals to save time. But I think the most challenging part of the whole meal planning process is translating that plan into a readable grocery list — getting all the food you need and storing that food in an organized fashion.

I have been known, on occasion, to forget an ingredient or two and not discover it until it’s too late. My husband comes home, I cry, and he’s off to El Pollo Loco. Not fun.

Learning what leads to those bad weeks has helped me figure out what’s needed to make this process run smoothly. And I care because the better job I do meal planning and shopping, the better my whole week goes, and the less time I spend running back to the grocery store. So without further ado, here are some tips on how to maximize efficiency when grocery shopping:

1. Healthy Grocery Checklist: I’ve been using a pad of blank paper to write my grocery list on. The problem with this is food is listed randomly on the paper. So when I’m in the store, I’m more likely to miss something or have to backtrack to another department (not a good thing with kids in tow!).

So I devised a printable grocery list that also contains helpful nutrition tips. The idea is to hang it on your fridge and check off items as they run low so there are no fun surprises later. Then finish filling it out before your big shopping trip. This dowload is only available to subscribers so sign up today.

2. An organized kitchen: I often write about my lack of organization skills. But I know that having an organized kitchen is key to minimizing mistakes. Because when it comes time to write up your grocery list, you need to check and see if there’s anything you need. And if you have a pantry or fridge that looks like mine, that’s going to make life difficult (see “before” picture of cereal pantry below).

(I often blame my disorganized fridge on its small size but that’s just an excuse –even though a bigger fridge would help….)

To show you I’m serious about getting organized, I decided to revamp my food storage areas. So I cleaned out the pantry and fridge, labeling everything so even my husband knows where things go. I have decided to give it a touch up each week so it stays nice all week long. This blog is helping me to become accountable!

Before

After

After (sorry, accidently deleted the before pic)

3. Designate which ingredients are meal/recipe items: After figuring out which everyday items you need, you’ll have to list ingredients needed for your meals/recipes. I either highlight or circle them so they stand out from the other grocery items.

Why?

Because if you like how the week turns out, you can use the meal planning chart and grocery list again. Simply save the “good” weeks and soon you’ll have a collection to pull from. I’ve done this a couple of times and it was a lifesaver, especially for those super-busy weeks.

4. Going to The Grocery Store:I wish that there was one grocery store that had it all. I seem to need three of them (Trader Joe’s, Vons or Ralphs, Whole Foods), make that four if you count the farmer’s market. But going to each of them weekly is not realistic for a busy mom like me. So here’s what I do:

As I said in 5 Secrets to the Perfect Weekly Meal Plan, every Sunday is my big trip to get the bulk of groceries for the week. I do this big trip solo, during the kids nap, but sometimes my daughter will come with me if I do it earlier in the day.

I first go to Trader Joes and get all I can there and then head to the Ralphs next door to get the things Trader Joe’s doesn’t have. I usually have to go grocery shopping again sometime before the following weekend to get more fruits and veggies and little items for the weekend. This would also be the time I try and go to a farmers’ market, but I’m not always successful.

I also try to make it to Whole Foods once a month because there isn’t one near me. Whole Foods has some items the other stores don’t have like homemade baby food and frozen food items for kids (they have salmon fish sticks that are pretty good — too bad Anna won’t touch them!). I almost forgot about Costco. Luckily my husband works close to it so he gets the bulk items as we need them.

So what do you do? Any master grocery plan or do you just wing it? Do you think my fridge is small?

Next: 12 Tips for Getting Meals on the Table Fast.

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You’re in the grocery store selecting food for your family and you see a product claiming to have a certain nutrition benefit. Are you confused by it? Skeptical? Not sure exactly what the claim means?

Join the club.

Having worked in the food industry, I know what’s behind popular food claims. And while I don’t necessarily fault food companies, who basically follow the FDA’s lead, I do think that consumers aren’t always getting what they think they are getting.

Here are 5 nutrition claims that I believe lead consumers to believe something that just isn’t so.

1) All Natural: According to a recent survey of over 1000 consumers, products labeled “natural” were considered more eco-friendly than those labeled “organic.” Basically, people trust the “natural” label more than the “organic” one.

The truth is that there are FDA regulations for the use of the word “organic” in product labeling and advertising and none for “natural” (see organic posts for more details on buying organic). The FDA has not officially defined the term “natural.” In fact, they stick to their 1993 policy: “FDA has not established a formal definition for the term ‘natural’, however the agency has not objected to the use of the term on food labels provided it is used in a manner that is truthful and not misleading and the product does not contain added color, artificial flavors, or synthetic substances.”

So just because a product says it’s “all natural” doesn’t mean it’s more nutritious than any other item. For example, cookies and baked goods contain “natural” sugar and white flour. Your best bet is to check the ingredient line to see what’s actually in the product. “Natural” really doesn’t tell you much.

2) Trans-fat Free: If trans-fat were a celebrity, it would never work in Hollywood again. Its negative publicity and health recommendations coupled with newer mandatory labeling on packages (starting in 2006) has consumers concerned. So when consumers see a “trans-fat free” food label, they feel good about buying it.

What consumers may not know is that most food companies have worked trans-fats out of their products so virtually all packaged goods are trans-fat free. Most often trans-fat is being replaced with saturated fat making the product only marginally better. It’s also important to remember that the FDA allows a trans-fat free claim if a product contains less than 0.5g of trans-fat. So check the ingredient line for key words like “hydrogenated vegetable oil” if you want to stay 100% clear of trans-fats.

3. Made with/good source of: I touched on what a “good source” means in my post about Juicy Juice claims. Basically, when you see that a product claims that it is a “good source” of a specific nutrient you know it contains at least 10% of the Daily Value. If it’s a type of ingredient like whole grains, (the claim is “made with whole grains”) it usually contains at least 10% of the Daily Recommended Value per serving. For example, the packaging on Nutri Grain waffles says that they are made with 5 grams of whole grains. If a consumer doesn’t know this, they might think the waffle is a whole grain product when it’s not. Instead it contains about 1/3rd of a whole grain serving.

Look for the Whole Grains Council’s whole grain stamp which means the product has at least 1/2 a serving of whole grains. The stamp has the grams listed on it (see right).

4. Contains omega-3 fatty acids: If you’ve been reading my posts you already know there are two very different kinds of omega-3 fatty acids. Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) that comes from plant products like flax, walnuts and canola oil and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) that come mainly from marine sources like salmon and tuna. While ALA is beneficial for heart health, DHA and EPA provide a multitude of benefits including optimal brain development for children. If someone buys a product claiming to contain omega-3 fatty acids, they might think they are getting all of the beneficial fat that they need when the product really only contains ALA.

So check the label to see if there is DHA in the product. You can also check the ingredient line to see what type of omega-3 fatty acid it is. For more on this topic see What Most Parents Don’t Know About Omega-3 Fatty Acids.

5. No added sugars: Someone buying a product with the claim “no added sugars” might think they are getting a product that doesn’t contain sugar. What the claim really means is that no sugar or sugar-like ingredients are added during processing. If someone desires a product without sugar they should keep their eyes peeled for the “sugar-free” claim which means the product has less than 0.5g of sugar per serving.

Once you understand what nutrition claims really mean, they can actually help you choose food that you want for your family.

Confused about a specific food claim? Leave a comment or submit it through contact us.

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In these tough economic times, many of us are looking for ways to cut spending. My family has already made sacrifices for me to stay at home but there was one aspect of our budget we hadn’t touched: our grocery bill. I admit to being oblivious to the price of food – and because I was buying mostly organic produce and dairy products – our monthly food bills kept gaining momentum.

I originally decided to buy organic fruits and vegetables because there are questions about the effects of pesticides on babies’ and children’s growing immune and nervous systems. And compared to other food products, fresh fruits and vegetables contain much of the pesticides people consume.

But as I did more research, I found smarter, more cost effective ways to shop for organic produce.

Not all produce is created equal. According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), some conventional produce contains higher levels of pesticides and chemical residues than others. This list shows you when produce is worth the price of organic and when you might want to consider going conventional. 

In general, produce with thick skins that are only eaten after peeling, like avocados, tends to be lower in chemicals than produce with thinner skins. The top 5 offenders are peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery and nectarines while the “cleanest” produce includes onions, avocados, sweet corn, pineapples and mangos.

According to the EWG, people who eat 12 of the most contaminated fruits and vegetables end up consuming 10 different pesticides daily, on average, compared to just under 2 in the 15 least-contaminated produce items.

Try out Your Local Farmers’ Market. Finding the right Farmers’ Market is like winning the food lottery. You save money as well as getting to know your local farmers. And even though not all the farmers have certified organic produce, most farm without the use pesticides. All you have to do is ask.

Another perk is the Farmers’ Market is an ideal outing for kids. It gets them outside and involved in choosing—and tasting—produce. Here are lists of Farmers’ Markets in San Diego and Los Angeles.

Get Organic Deals. If you look for deals, you will find them. Stores like Whole Foods are offering coupons on their organic produce. Take advantage of companies helping you save money!

And stores like Trader Joes always offer lower prices. Try some of their frozen organic fruits and veggies at reduced prices.

We’ll talk much more about buying organic in the coming weeks. The next blog post on buying organic will discuss the pros and cons of buying organic dairy and meat products. And if you haven’t already, Subscribe to Raise Healthy Eaters by email or our RSS feed on the homepage.