34 OUR COMMUNITY — 2023
HEALTH CARE IN DANVILLE The economics of eating healthy
BY JENNIFER BAILEY
Inflation impacting grocery shopping is taking its toll on everyone . Jean Land , a registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist , diabetes education program coordinator with Carle , says eating healthy is affordable , and they see a variety of people to help with diabetes education , weight management , high cholesterol and other issues .
She said usually a person will have a referral from their physician and meet with a registered dietician to make a personalized meal plan .
Other support is offered , such as through diabetes and other support groups . More information can be found at the website carle . org .
For busy families and with increasing costs for meals , planning ahead is important , and making enough for leftovers , which means not cooking every night , Land said .
Registered dietician and certified diabetes care and education specialist jean Land .
Crock pot meals are good for busy families , to be ready when needed , and help with different work shifts .
She said the whole family can be involved in meal planning and preparing , such as teens cutting up fresh fruit and vegetables as part of meals .
She said having items washed and cut up and ready to go too in the refrigerator for snacks , means teens are more likely to grab them for snacks .
Land said when grocery shopping , important things to look for on labels are serving sizes , such as with total sodium and saturated fat and sugars and sugar substitutes , and to be careful with portion sizes .
“ Increased cost of food is always a concern ” Land said .
She said people can try to gauge how much fresh fruit and vegetables they ’ ll use and not over purchase .
She said shopping for fresh fruit and vegetables when they are in season offers better prices . Frozen fruits and vegetables also can be purchased as needed and won ’ t go bad .
Buying meat in bulk and freezing it , can save money too .
Land said grocery stores discount items with sell by dates that are coming up sooner . The food can be used immediately at home , at a cost savings of 25-30 percent in some cases , she said .
Snacking can be healthy , too , such as including apples and peanut butter and yogurt .
Land said after-school snacks for children shouldn ’ t be full meals a couple hours before dinner .
“ Be mindful of what you ’ re snacking on ,” she said .
For breakfast , planning and getting up on time is important .
“ Ideally have breakfast within two hours of when you wake up . It fuels your body for the rest of the day ,” Land said .
There should be about 4-5 hours between meals to constantly fuel the body . A snack in the afternoon , such as a fruit and protein , can help if it will be more than six hours between meals .
Land said those needing budget-friendly recipe ideas can go to the websites eatright . org and diabetesfoodhub . org .
34 OUR COMMUNITY — 2023