Food pricing is through the roof. We offer eight practical tips for reducing diabetes food costs.
Introduction
I have always been interested in food and saving money. Going to university - a long time ago - I lived on food costs of $30 per month—the same meal every day; chicken stew with rice. A treat was a twenty-five-cent hamburger.
Those days have long gone, but what I learned during those frugal years has served me well in my diabetic research to eat healthy while finding foods that will lower my blood sugar at a “reasonable cost.”
Diabetes snuck up on me. I had no idea and am the first in our family to be affected. My doctor gave me two options and said, "you choose."
Road # 1: Do not bother about the impacts and have a short life
Road # 2: Start living a different way of life to have a long quality of life, living with diabetes.
My choice was Road # 2. Since that decision, I have been studying to learn about living with diabetes. I have gone through many frustrations, trying foods that have spiked my glucose readings, swollen my feet, and given me many other challenges.
My goal is to help you on your journey to a better quality of life, living with diabetes. I have learned much and want to share my practical knowledge and tips with you. There is no point in the two of us making the same mistakes.
I hope you find this helpful information. Please get in touch with me at wayne@damndiabetes.ca with your questions, comments, or queries. Also, please consider signing up for our newsletter; shortly, we will announce our new YouTube Channel. You can also find us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
Now, onto a few things we can do together to bring down diabetes food costs.
Diabetes Food Costs – Some Practical Suggestions
Have you ever gone to Costco to buy a few things and come out with your shopping cart full?
Costco is a prime example of an organization that "helps you" buy more than you want or need.
Think about how much that last Costco shopping trip cost. Ours was enough to make a grown man cry. And, listening to the experts, the prices will only continue to worsen. Consider trying some of these suggestions that may help you lower your diabetes food costs
Tip # 1 - Make a list. Santa has one and checks it twice. Do you have one? Shopping without a list at Costco or anywhere can significantly impact food costs. We constantly fight impulse buying, and a list gives us the best chance to slap that back.
My recommendation? Have a pen and a pad of paper on the fridge or elsewhere in the kitchen to provide easy access to making a list. Thinking, “I will remember” - sorry, does not work.
Tip # 2 -Don't just throw things in the fridge or freezer. You spent a fortune on food, and now is the time to protect that investment.
Putting the food in the fridge and freezer, as much as possible, organize them by expiry date. Break things down into manageable packages and write the expiry date on the container. This way, you will have visual clues of when you might have food going to waste.
Tip # 3 - Go shopping later. Your fridge and freezer work just as well half-full compared to full. Some may say that a full fridge uses less energy per Kg of food stored. That may be true, but on the flip side, there is the issue of food wastage by always keeping the fridge and freezer filled to the brim.
We typically make our major shopping trips when our supplies are down to less than 1/4 full.
Tip # 4 –Do not plan to the “Nth Degree.” So many good intentions go to waste because of exhaustion from too much diabetes meal planning.
After a few tries, one can become an "expert" at instantaneous planning. You may change your mind about what to eat at the last minute, or maybe a friend pops over unexpectedly for a coffee and ends up staying for dinner. Conditions are constantly changing, and so does the food you may want to eat. So much for planning.
My recommendation: ditch the detailed planning and take a generalist approach. After a few tries with planning and supermarket visits, you will get the hang of it.
Tip # 5 - Bake your bread. Recently, I got "thrown down on the beach or under the bus" by suggesting that people with diabetes might want to eat bread. Sacrilegious, some would say. It is each person's choice what they eat, and I am certainly not one to tell anyone what they cannot do or what they can or cannot eat.
In my case, I have a very high protein, low carb bread that I developed, and I can safely eat two slices without any impact. What can be better than fresh homemade bread?
Tip # 6 - Kick out the processed food. Packaged meats, wieners, processed turkey, and the list can go on, are no longer welcomed in our home. We buy full turkey breasts and whole hams to cook at home. The cost is lower, and I know what I am putting into my mouth.
Tip # 7 –Do not shop on an empty stomach. An empty stomach increases impulse buying. You will be looking at all that food through a desire for something to eat. Impulse buying will have you hooked.
Tip # 8 - Make your Yogurt. That is if you eat yogurt. I do, and I love making my own. Homemade yogurt is 4-5 times less expensive than buying it in the store, and you know what is going into it. We purchased a Brod and Taylor Folding Proofer & Slow Cooker, Multi-Cooker, Yogurt Maker, Chocolate Melter, Bread Proofing Oven, and Fermenter, which works exceedingly well. It is spot on when it comes to the right temperature for making yogurt.
Brod and Taylor Folding Proofer & Slow Cooker
In our home, we have our pot use down to three pots: the Brod and Taylor Folding Proofer and Slow Cooker, an instant pot and an air fryer. Three pots and that is just about it.
Conclusion
Having diabetes, one has two choices: a short life or a quality of life living with diabetes. I quickly decided on the quality of life and got on with my diabetes research to discover what I could and could not eat.
I have learned a lot along the way and want to help you reach the quality of life you wish. There are always things we can do to improve our lives, such as how we shop and treat the environment.
There is no sense in the two of us making the same mistakes. If you have questions, comments, or queries about anything diabetes, please feel free to reach out directly to me. And please subscribe to our newsletter and soon-to-be-up-and-running YouTube Channel. You can also find us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
Best wishes...
Wayne Drury has been diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. He was frustrated with the lack of usable information on the treatment of diabetes and how to lower blood sugar effectively. His passion now, using all he has found with diabetes research, is helping others on a path to a better quality of life.
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