Consuming
Thoughts
by
Fay Strickler
Penn State Extension
Home Economist for
Berks Co.
Food costs can take up a large
part of the family budget. While
food is a necessity, often steps
can be taken to decrease the food
budget without sacrificing taste
and nutrition. Here are a few
suggestions to plan low-cost
meals.
Evaluate family food choices.
Do you rely on convenience
foods, often eat meals away from
home, or frequently choose gour
met or specialty foods? Each of
these habits can inflate the
money spent on food.
Foods prepared from scratch
are cheaper then their conven
ience counterparts. (Notable ex
ceptions are orange juice and
pancake and cake mixes.) When
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you choose a convenience food,
you are paying for the food, the
labor of the person preparing it,
and packaging. How many con
venience foods could you replace
with made-from-scratch ver
sions?
Similar to convenience foods,
the price of foods eaten away
form home contains hidden labor
and “atmosphere” costs. If fami
ly members frequently choose
meals at restaurants, cafeterias,
or fast food joints, you may want
to reconsider these habits.
While gourmet and specialty
foods can add excitement and va
riety to your meals, they can also
add dollars to the checkout tape.
Plain food may have to be the
backbone of your menus for a
while.
Watch the meat portions.
Meat, fish and poultry are often
the most expensive items on the
dinner plate. Many Americans
also eat larger portions of these
foods than is recommended. A
total of 5 to 7 ounces of meat,
poultry and fish per day provide
all the protein needed by an
adult. Growing teenagers need a
little more and children need less.
Your dinner plate should be
filled with more vegetables and
starch foods (rice, noodles, pasta)
than meat. Here are some portion
sizes to help you estimate your
protein intake. 1 egg = 1 ounce;
l A cup tuna = 1 ounce; 2 table
spoons peanut butter = 1 ounce; 1
slice prepackage luncheon meat
= 1 ounce. A piece of meat, poul
try or fish the size of a deck of
cards = 3 ounces. If you eat
smaller portions you’ll also con
sume less fat and calories.
Plan your meals. By planning
meals (try to plan at least the
main meal), you can take advan
tage of grocery specials on meat,
better utilize the food in your
cupboards, and reduce the stress
of deciding what to prepare each
Supervise Child’s Internet Usage
LEESPORT (Berks Co.)
The Internet has become a staple
for many of today’s teens. Chat
ting on-line has replaced tele
phone conversations.
Unfortunately, along with all
of its great benefits, there are
some negatives to the use of the
Internet. Some adolescents are
actually becoming addicted to the
Lancaster Farmin'
day. Also plan one meal to eat
leftovers. Any food that is thrown
out because of spoilage wastes
money.
If your family despises leftover
vegetables, place a jar or plastic
container in the freezer to hold
the leftover bits. When the con
tainer is full, make soup! Buy in
bulk and cut your own. If you
have a wholesale store nearby, or
if your supermarket carries bulk
foods, you can often save by buy
ing large quantities.
Another potential savings lie in
cutting your own meat and poul
try. A top or bottom beef round
can be purchased at many super
markets and cut at home into
roasts steaks and stew meat. A
whole chicken can be divided
into legs, breasts, and cook the
back, etc for soup.
Meat, poultry and fish: Along
with checking the price per
pound, consider the amount of
waste from bone and gristle. Also
remember that although products
such as hot dogs and cold cuts
seem inexpensive, they contain
large amounts of fat and sodium
which may not be a wise nutri
tional choice.
So, choose foods wisely and
save in 2003!
Internet.
Many parents do not under
stand how computers work nor
do they take the time to supervise
their children’s use of it. Parental
advisories are available for many
other forms of entertainment for
children, such as video games,
compact discs and movies. There
is no such advisory when chil
dren are left
to use the In
ternet on
their own. It
is completely
unregulated.
This makes
l, Saturday, January 4, 2003-B7
Warning:
This E-Mail’s
A Hoax
LEESPORT (Berks Co.)
We all get them those
e-mail warnings passed
along by friends about
computer viruses, health
issues, and a host of other
topics. So how can you tell
if they’re legitimate?
Clues can alert you to
hoaxes. Vague technical
language and instructions
to send the message to ev
eryone in your address
book are two of them.
You don’t have to guess.
A number of sites can help
you separate fact from fic
tion, including http://
hoaxbusters.
ciac.org, maintained by the
Computer Incident Advi
sory Capability Office at
the U.S. Department of
Energy. Antivirus software
firms also list hoaxes. Be
fore you pass along the
next “urban legend,” check
first.
it especially important for par
ents to supervise their children in
their use of the Internet.
How can you tell if the Intern
et may be a problem for your
child? Here are some warning
signs you will want to be aware
of:
• Do they spend an excessive
amount of time on-line?
• Are they staying up late on
the computer and having a hard
time getting up in the momipg?
• Have their grades dropped?
• Do they insist on privacy
when they use the computer?
• Are your long distance
charges higher than
usual?
• Does your teen re
ceive personal gifts and
mail from people you do
not know?
For some great ideas
to help your family with
the Internet, request free
booklet. Protecting Your
Children on the Intern
et. Contact your local
Penn State Extension of
fice.