A Government nutritionist has proved that it is possible to eat healthily on the poverty line — so long as you're prepared to plan.

Last month, The Royal Gazette conducted an experiment to see whether a cash-strapped person could exist on about $8 a day, the amount allocated for food in the Island's official Low Income Threshold (LIT) study.

As reported last week, this reporter survived on the budget but failed to meet all nutritional needs due to the high costs of fruit, vegetables and proteins.

This week we sat down with Government Public Health Nutritionist Mellonie Furbert to see whether a nutritious diet can be attained on the poverty line.

And the first step proved to be planning. Ms Furbert set up meals using many of the same items as in the original experiment: cereal or eggs for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and rice and chicken for dinner. But, in order to meet nutritional needs she added more vegetables, in the form of tomato juice; calcium, by adding yogurt; and protein, through regular servings of beans.

The next step was a trip to MarketPlace in Hamilton, where Ms Furbert made small choices that allowed each dollar to stretch a little further.

She cut food costs by picking up frozen vegetables instead of fresh ones, and packaged coleslaw and shredded carrots, instead of their more expensive counterparts.

She put back a jar of tomato sauce for $2.19 and a carton of milk for $2.50 and picked up a canned version of sauce for just over a dollar and some condensed milk for $1.59.

It was the little changes (such as picking up a large bag of frozen chicken for $7.19, instead of small package of boneless, skinless chicken breast for $7.17) that made a big difference during the shopping trip.

Health Promotion Coordinator Jennifer Attride-Stirling also believes a balanced diet is possible on the LIT, but says it requires a major shift in the public's understanding of what constitutes good eating.

"In theory all people should be able to eat a healthy, balanced diet on $8.77 a day – if they know what to buy, give themselves time to buy it and time to prepare it," said Dr. Attride-Stirling. However, this diet is not going to include convenience foods, supersize portions or junk food, she explained.

"It is our job to ensure that people can live healthily, without excess," she said. "However as a population we are accustomed to excess. Sixty-four per cent of our population is overweight or obese – that tells us that people are consuming more calories than they need.

"Another reason why people see the $8.77 figure as unfeasible is because we are accustomed to eating a lot more than we need to. We're used to having big portions and those big portions are more than they need."

All-in-all, Dr. Attride-Stirling believes people need to be re-educated when it comes to how much food we consume.

She stresses that the LIT is a poverty line and isn't supposed to allow for luxury items — but if individuals are properly equipped they should be able to build a sensible diet on this budget.

"Once we look at portion sizes and rule out convenience foods and luxury items your food bill is going to come right down," she said.

• At the time of The Royal Gazette's experiment Government's study on the 2007 Low Income Threshold allocated $8.19 a day for food, however, due to a rise in inflation the LIT has increased to $8.77 a day.