Everyone I know is on a budget and since my company made some salary cuts in the spring I have vowed to brown bag it as often as I can.
Sometimes it’s frustrating to go the natural or organic route when I’m shopping for lunch items, however, because those items aren’t always the cheapest. It sounds like I’m not the only one with this mindset as a recent survey by Hormel found that nearly 39 percent of Americans say their main focus is on buying healthy, well-balanced meals for themselves and their families. However, nearly 74 percent feel the need to cut back on purchasing certain food items, such as all-natural foods and fresh produce, to save money on groceries.
To help families balance eating well with watching their wallets, Hormel Natural Choice has teamed up with Registered Dietitian Patricia M. Bannan to create the “Shop Smart, Live Well: Value Without Compromise” guide to help navigate the grocery aisles and find healthy food items for their families on a budget.
The “Shop Smart, Live Well” guide offers tips on how to:
- Decipher various product claims
- Identify natural products in the supermarket
- Make simple, smart shopping choices
- Trade costly, unhealthy snacks for healthier, more affordable options
- Live the “Shop Smart, Live Well” philosophy both in and out of the supermarket
- Create delicious, all-natural recipes the whole family can enjoy.
The guide includes tips on how to read nutrition labels as well as fun ideas for parents to involve their kids in the grocery shopping process so they can learn about healthy food choices.
Hormel sent me a sampler box of their new Natural Choice line of lunch meats to try. I was skeptical about my 7-year-old, especially, liking them since she is not that fond of sandwiches. However, she loved the Hormel Natural Choice Oven Roasted Turkey. It was gone in two days. I’m kind of excited to have another option for her school lunches I pack this fall since she doesn’t like peanut butter and jelly.
This new line from Hormel has no preservatives, no artificial colors or flavors and no added nitrites or nitrates, and they are priced to be budget friendly. The meats are also gluten free with no MSG added and are low in fat and trans fat free.
