The Skinny on Cheap

In my pursuit of cheap, I noticed certain tradeoffs must be made between various "minimalist" goals.

For example, a paper towel isn't just a handy cleaning implement: it is a resource that gets consumed, and even if I compost it, I can't avoid the impact from producing that paper towel. A tree was cut down with gas guzzling equipment (the tree itself was probably a cash crop planted just for this purpose, so I don't lament it quite so much); some factory processed the pulp; the towels were packaged into a roll, wrapped in plastic and shipped to my local store; etc. Ultimately, how much waste does that paper towel represent, compared to using a cloth dish towel? Which also had to be manufactured, packaged and shipped; which to be cleaned and reused necessitates electricity, water, and laundry detergent (with its corresponding manufacturing process). Which wastes more, the paper towel or the fabric towel? I don't really know.

I've run into a similar conundrum with food. Waste not, want not you think as you "clean up" the scraps of food left on your kids' plates. Someone left out candy your office's designated up-for-grabs spot, and who are you to pass up free food? The company is buying lunch so you splurge on a fancier (and probably higher calorie) dish than usual - after all, it's not your money. All you can eat buffet... free refills on soda... the never ending bread basket... "Super sized" portions that cost almost as little as the "regular"... On the other hand, when you are cutting back on everything else, sometimes you feel like you need a little self-indulgence. How do you live cheap and still eat skinny when there are so many "deals" surrounding food?

Note that I am not talking about the long term cost savings of being a healthy weight - thousands of dollars in medical expenses can be saved by even modest weight loss. I'm looking for more tangible, quickly realized "minimalist" benefits that can encourage Cheapies (starting with myself) to manage their weight.

None of the items below are new, or groundbreaking, as much as I might like to flatter myself on my creativity. They tend to require a little more time, some extra planning, additional forethought, and of course, commitment. But if you weren't committed, you wouldn't have read this far!

1. Eat in. And eat off a smaller plate. The higher ratio of food-amount to plate-surface will help spare you from having “eyes bigger than your stomach” and then forcing yourself to eat everything.
2. Find smaller portions. Some cooking websites have tools to scale back the number of servings a recipes produces; see www.allrecipes.com for example. Find your favorite recipe, adjust the servings and voilá - only cook the amount of food you are actually likely to eat. If you are dead set on dining out, investigate restaurants that offer smaller portions of popular meals. T.G.I. Friday's is one restaurant that offers "Right Portion. Right Price." options on its menu.
3. Eat breakfast. Preferably something with protein.
4. Sneak in some veggies. These will add fiber with a minimum of calories, which will encourage the "full" sensation. I always add corn to a batch of chili; chopped frozen spinach is easily worked into a lot of casseroles.
5. Bake the sweets yourself. Nothing kills a spur-of-the-moment sweet tooth like knowing you'll have to clean up the kitchen afterwards. Don’t know what to make? Here are some ideas, courtesy of Land-O-Lakes.
6. Chew your food to death. Chewing burns calories (at least a few!), and also contributes to the "Hey, I'm full and should stop eating" message from your stomach to your brain.
7. Do not drink calories! Unless it's SEL (Somebody Else's Liquor) or water, it's going to cost you money, and however good the deals are, I guarantee you a Brita pitcher and tap water are cheaper. Additionally, liquid calories are not as filling as food calories, which has been shown to lead to overeating later on. Even artificially sweetened drinks are suspect.
8. Have a garden. Even apartment-dwellers have some options for indoor-produce, and for people with patios, plenty of books and articles describe container-based garden. For the larger outdoors gardens, gardening also serves as a source of exercise.
9. Walk or ride your bike on your errands. Again, nothing new: leaving the car behind will save on gas and burn some calories. And we're not even talking long distances. I have seen people drive their car to a different store in the same strip mall... I might have even done it myself once or twice!
10. Eat lower on the food chain. A pound of fruits and vegetables will almost always cost less than a corresponding pound of chicken or beef (unless you are buying out of season cherries or ground chuck past its prime!). Additionally, the amount of energy needed to produce the produce is probably a lot less, especially if you are buying local crops in season. (Of course, the actual energy cost of one pound of beef depends on who you ask! I didn’t post any links here, because I found so many websites on both sides of the argument.)
11. I was going to stop at 10, but then I thought of one more: Go less processed. The bag of dried beans is nowhere near as pretty - or convenient - as the canned version of the same beans. But you’ll pay less per serving if you are willing to plan ahead to cook the beans yourself. Besides, have you checked the ingredients label? A lot of canned beans have added salt, sugar, and other, mysterious chemicals. I will probably never reach Alyclepal’s zeal for making things from scratch, but every little bit helps!

There - eleven tips of eating cheap and eating thin. I’d love to hear other people’s suggestions!