Families eat healthier in the face of economic downturn

AUSSIE families appear to be cooking more meals at home, cutting back on take away and eating healthier in the face of the economic downturn, a new survey has found.

Research on the shopping habits of 1500 consumers by Heinz shows that in addition to cutting back on take away and eating out, one third has started a vegetable patch in the last six months, almost 90 per cent are making a conscious effort to reduce food waste and 28 per cent are avoiding snacks like biscuits and ice cream.

The Heinz survey also found:

• Families are cooking more vegetarian meals;
• Consumers are adding baked beans, vegetables and lentils to make meat dishes go further; and
• 90 per cent of consumers are preparing meals that can be spread across more than one mealtime.

The survey analysed how the cooking and shopping habits of Australian families have changed in the last three months due to the economic downturn.

Reflecting the trend away from take-away and eating out, grocery budgets have either increased (40 per cent of respondents) or remained level (36 per cent) with only 14 per cent reporting that their budgets had decreased.

Heinz General Manager, Marketing, Melissa Jones said that the results show families are generally changing their shopping and cooking routines in the face of tougher economic times.

While the family food budget has remained largely intact, what is happening is a reappraisal of the household shopping list," Ms Jones said.

"Shoppers are eating more vegetables and making a conscious effort to reduce waste. Discretionary items are being dropped altogether or made at home and certain brands are only being bought when on special with the shopping destination being determined by what's on special," she said.

The results also reveal some not-so-gloomy approaches to saving money - one idea was to "stop inviting the mother in law over for dinner, since she is on a diet but always wants seconds and dessert!"

Other tips included:

• Replace one quarter of the meat with mashed cooked beans or lentils.
• Get a couple of chickens to provide eggs. They are cheap to feed and eat all left-overs.
• Make up new names for cheap meals. A new name often creates a new favourite especially with kids.
• Share shopping and cooking with friends.
• Keep a list of what's in your freezer so nothing gets forgotten or wasted.

This month's Australian's Woman's Weekly magazine includes a bonus Heinz Healthy Value Cookbook. All the recipes are designed to feed a family of 4 for under $10 per meal. The full survey results, selected hints/tips and a copy of the Heinz Healthy Value Cookbook are available for download.