Dear readers. Yes, there are residents out there who are thinking very carefully about the kind of food they buy and how much they spend. I asked for feedback on the saving on food article of July 12 and received several very thoughtful responses. I thank them for their responses, anonymously, and present their comments below. They've given me a writing mini-vacation this week.

Unfortunately, CupMatch is upon us. Everyone has a tendency during a holiday to fall off the wagon. If you do, read the tips below and next Monday, get yourself back in gear and move forward to a healthier less expensive lifestyle.

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Reader 1: Six, now almost seven years ago when I worked with you, you said medical insurance premiums and health costs would become overwhelmingly high. That I retained and tried to come to grips with both then and afterwards.

I had been working on managing my money more efficiently, since I'd not felt as responsible as I should be for my own financial well-being. With time, I learned some investment skills, and I have watched as the biggest growing financial concern of middle-aged people is, as you predicted, all about medical issues.

Expenditures on food, utilities, etc. was not nearly as much of an issue, but now that we have to watch our spending due to financially challenging times, those of us who have had to learn new tasks well into adulthood are sometimes fortunate enough to be able to draw upon lessons learned from the frugalities of earlier years.

Saving money on food expenditures is quite easy if one puts the emphasis on eating healthily, because the basic ingredients of nutritionally sound meals are not costly. Livening up those meals requires some imagination, but this is just another challenge. If we eat well we stand a better chance of staying healthy so this is a matter that deserves some time and consideration.

I have acquired lots of 'tips' that I am happy to pass on to your readers via you and your column. We will work on that great idea!

• Legumes are good source of the right kind of carbs - (slow release) and an excellent way to get fibre. They contain protein too, plus they are inexpensive.

• Where possible, whole grains, including the protein rich quinoa and different types of bran are added into everything I cook. They add texture, flavour, and nutrition and when stored properly have good shelf life.

• Reduced fat cheese and eggs (with some yolks removed for those with cholesterol issues) can make a nutritious brunch, lunch, or dinner. Fresh veges (fridge-tired or otherwise) added to a quiche or frittata make another elegant meal.

• The less expensive vegetables such as cabbage, green peppers, celery, and squashes make good salad ingredients and great soups.

• Lower-priced fruits - apples, pears, and dried plums - can be served with good bread and a high quality olive oil for dipping on the side. Now, there's a meal.

I like to serve food that is very economical to put together with a small amount of a luxury item to 'lift' the whole meal. It does not have to be prime rib; the addition of a good olive oil or a modest piece of wonderful cheese are examples of this.

Anything in season is a better buy. For the treats, home-made date bars and oatmeal raisin cookies contain healthful, yet inexpensive ingredients.

If I told you what I spend on food for myself and one child, you probably wouldn't think it possible, so I won't go there in detail. Occasionally even, we enjoy a bag of chips or a pizza, but we buy the healthier versions even though they are more expensive. This is not an everyday event.

We can control food costs by simply trying to eat in a more healthy way. Correct portion size is also very important and both save money. My food expenditure over one month is one of my lowest outlays. Your prediction about medical insurance was absolutely true; it is increasing in cost every year. But, I spend $200 LESS each month on food than on my medical insurance premium.

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Reader 2: I enjoyed your article very much. We have recently changed the way that we eat as a family because my husband needed to reduce his cholesterol or else go on medication. We are a large family and we have all made the change (with the exception of things like milk that the kids can have, but my husband chooses soy milk, for example) simply because it was unrealistic to cook two different kinds of meals regularly and because I wanted the kids to learn to make wise choices.

Previously, I had considered us to be healthful eaters, but more and more I found that I was choosing speed and ease to get the task done. Things I would not normally buy were on my shelves and becoming increasingly "normal".

We have moved to whole grains, legumes, fish and poultry (reserving beef for once a month only), lots of vegetables and fruit, very limited sugar, and NO high fructose corn syrup!

We discovered that it is not only avoiding the foods that add no nutritional value to your system but also conscientiously choosing the correct foods in order to get what our bodies really need.

The result has been that my husband took off 50 points from his cholesterol count, 35 pounds off his waistline and decreased his percentage of body fat by 10 percent (he only had 25 percent to begin with).

We have also reduced our cravings for sugar as we no longer have anything more than ONE sweet treat per day (no foods with any sugar). This may mean only one cookie per day and no sugar in anything else (except maybe the few grammes found in peanut butter).

The kids are bombarded by treats and snacks at every kid gathering there is, from church groups to choir to sporting events, but they now know that they need to choose only one of the snacks offered. They know which snacks to leave behind as they may not measure up to be a good enough treat and they might prefer the cookie they can get at home after dinner! This also means leaving the juice behind as it is generally made up of sugar.

The downside to all this and the point of my writing this to you is that with all the healthy eating my grocery bill has increased! I am not buying ANY processed food. We have two poultry meals, three legume meals and two fish meals per week. I bake my own bread and make everything from scratch.

I would love to see healthy foods subsidised somehow and taxes increased on the foods that are of no good use to anyone. Not only would families get a financial break, but they could be healthier, incurring less medical expenses related to unhealthy eating... obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc.

Thanks for reading - I just wanted to voice my two cents!

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So, readers, if these families can do it, so can you. And while reader two lamented the higher cost of 'good' food, the long-term effect is they have a better chance of remaining healthy and active with a better quality of life. Any more readers want to send their feedback?

Martha Harris Myron CPA -NH1929, CFP® -67184 (US licences) TEP - Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She is a Senior Wealth Manager at Argus Financial Ltd., specialising in comprehensive financial solutions and investment advisory services for individual private clients and their families, business owners, endowments and trusts. DirectLine: 294-5709 Confidential e-mail can be directed to mmyron@argusfinancial.bm The article expresses the opinion of the author alone. Under no circumstances is the content of this article to be taken as specific individual investment advice, nor as a recommendation to buy/ sell any investment product. The Editor of The Royal Gazette has final right of approval over headlines, content, and length/brevity of article.