{"id":1624,"date":"2008-10-11T08:00:07","date_gmt":"2008-10-11T13:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/?p=1624"},"modified":"2008-10-11T13:08:24","modified_gmt":"2008-10-11T18:08:24","slug":"guest-blog-living-on-a-shoe-string-while-dieting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/10\/guest-blog-living-on-a-shoe-string-while-dieting\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Blog: Living on a Shoe String While Dieting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Ranae from Ranesheart.com joins us as a guest blogger today. <\/em><a title=\"Ranaesheart.com Home Page\" href=\"http:\/\/Ranaesheart.com\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Ranaesheart.com<\/em><\/a><em> was born as the result of a life-changing weight loss and the commitment to &#8220;pay it forward&#8221; in helping others achieve the same success. This site is dedicated to helping people transition to a healthier lifestyle by implementing nutritional food choices, moderate exercise, positive self-talk and surrounding themselves with the support of friends, family and Internet social networks, such as <\/em><em>MedHelp.org, <\/em><em>an online health community that provides medical information and support.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In these economically challenged times, the competition for our food dollars is fierce.\u00a0 In addition, with large corporation failures, Wall Street tumbling and foreclosures at record highs, there is an ever increasing need for us to tighten our belts and be frugal with our food budgets.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/PostURL\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1625 alignright\" title=\"shoestring_budget\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/shoestring_budget.jpg\" alt=\"Living on a Shoestring\" width=\"223\" height=\"233\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here are some suggestions on how to live on a shoestring and make wise choices while pinching pennies:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Visit your farmer\u2019s market or street side stand to purchase the freshest fruits and vegetables of the season.\u00a0 The further you get into the growing season, the more plentiful the produce and the greater value you can find.<\/li>\n<li>Check out the frozen fruits and vegetables; sometimes they are less expensive than their fresh counterparts.<\/li>\n<li>Watch the weekly ads at your local supermarket and plan your menu around those items.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t get the paper showing you the advertisements, you can usually obtain a copy at the courtesy counter.<\/li>\n<li>Managers also have many in-store specials.\u00a0 Here are a few to watch for:<br \/>\n&#8211; Take a stroll to the meat department and watch for items priced to sell quickly.\u00a0 Just use them quickly or pop them in the freezer and they\u2019ll be ready to use when you are!<br \/>\n&#8211; Scope out the produce department as markdowns are made when items reach the ready-to-eat stage.<!--more--><br \/>\n&#8211; Stores that have their own bakery typically have an area designated to sell day-old items.\u00a0 This is an excellent time to buy some whole wheat, 7-grain or rye breads.\u00a0 Don\u2019t forget that you can store them in the refrigerator, which makes them last longer<br \/>\n&#8211; Quite a few deli departments roast chickens and have them ready to eat.\u00a0 Near the end of the day, you can find them marked down for a quick sale as they will not hold them over for tomorrow.\u00a0 You can take it home; put it in the refrigerator and use for sandwiches, a meal, or in place of cooked or canned chicken in many recipes.<\/li>\n<li>Drink water and plenty of it.\u00a0 Not only is it very good for you, but it save lots of money!<\/li>\n<li>Buy foods in bulk packaging, divide into portions and freeze or store the remainder for future use.\u00a0 Items are usually less expensive when purchased this way.<\/li>\n<li>Avoid most processed foods as they are usually more expensive and not as healthy as cooking the natural ingredients yourself.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t go to the grocery store hungry!\u00a0 It\u2019s too easy to buy too much and be tempted by foods better left at the store.<\/li>\n<li>Consider buying store brands or shopping at discount grocery stores.\u00a0 Many generic items taste just as good and are less expensive than the pricier national brands.<br \/>\nPack your lunch and avoid the temptation of fast food, increased calories and high prices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Living on a shoestring is not only possible; it is what must be done if we are to diet successfully in this economy.\u00a0 The old saying, \u201cWhere there\u2019s a will, there\u2019s a way!\u201d has never been truer than now.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Guest Blog Series:<\/strong> Look for the following badge on your favorite health sites to see if they have been a featured guest blogger on <\/em><a title=\"diet reviews\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>DietsInReview.com<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a style=\"margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 120px; height: 60px;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/images\/featured_blogger.gif\" alt=\"Diets in Review - Weight Loss and Health Blog\" \/><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>See other posts in the <\/em><a title=\"diet blog\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/category\/guest-blog\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Guest Blog series<\/em><\/a><em>. If you would like to apply to be featured as a guest blogger, please <\/em><a title=\"guest blog\" href=\"mailto:help@dietsinreview.com?subject=guest%20blogger%20application\" target=\"_blank\"><em>contact us<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ranae from Ranesheart.com joins us as a guest blogger today. Ranaesheart.com was born as the result of a life-changing weight loss and the commitment to &#8220;pay it forward&#8221; in helping others achieve the same success. This site is dedicated to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/10\/guest-blog-living-on-a-shoe-string-while-dieting\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[127,157,23,31,522],"class_list":["post-1624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fitness","tag-budget","tag-diets","tag-guest-blog","tag-health-news","tag-supermarket"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/85"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1624"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1748,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1624\/revisions\/1748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}