Nutritionist and cookbook author Leanne Ely runs a website, www.savingdinner.com, that offers downloadable weekly dinner menus and shopping lists. We spoke with her about how to save money at dinnertime -- and why dinnertime matters.
Q Given the "Saving Dinner" emphasis on meal planning, I'm guessing that's your first tip for saving money on food.
A Absolutely. There's nowhere else in your family budget that you can save such substantial money. You can turn off lights and save a little on electricity; you can air-dry your laundry to cut down on the dryer. But if you want to save substantial cash? Start planning your meals.
Q What if you've never done that? Where do you start?
A First of all, know what is inexpensive. For example, it is inexpensive to eat beans. It is really inexpensive to eat dried beans. So, OK, every week I'm going to incorporate some kind of a dried bean thing.
Q OK. What next?
A Get fresh vegetables that are on sale. I always take advantage of "buy one get one free." Broccoli this week -- I'll use all the broccoli. Steam it, peel the stems, slice them up into little discs for stir-fry and soups.
Q What if there's no good fresh produce?
