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Couldyouuse an extra $50 or $100 next week? If you get moti- vated, there's a big chance you can slash your fam- ily's food bill by $50 a week with- out sacrificing health and nutri- tion. And that will be tax- free cash you have in your hand ... not money that re- quires more overtime or a garage sale before you can get your hands on it. Notice I said "food" bill, not grocery tab. Un- less you're keeping care- ful track of your spending, you might not know just how much is being sucked out for restaurants, fast food, school and business lunches, coffee shops and on and on. There's not one single way to reduce food costs significantly and consis- tently. It has to be a com- bination of strategies: buy right, eat out less, and cook at home more. Coupons. These days shopping with coupons re- quires more than clipping them from the Sunday pa- per. You can still do that, but you need to know how to grab digital coupons, too. Even with the explo- sion of ways to add cou- pons to your grocery dol- lars, lots of people don't do it because it's just not their thing. Or they don't have the right information or know-how. Two great resources to get you up to speed: 5DollarDinners. com and TheGroceryG- ame.com. Shop Aldi. Aldi is an in- ternational, limited as- sortment discount retailer, specializing in private-la- bel (store brand), high- quality products. Aldi prices are so low it's like having a double coupon on everything. I find the quality of Aldi products to be extraordi- nary. Instead of manag- ing 25,000 different items like a mega-supermarket, Aldi has just 700 includ- ing produce and frozen meat, 90 percent of which are Aldi private label. Still, you should be able to buy at least 70 percent of your weekly grocery needs at Aldi. Think seasonal. We know that fresh fruits and vegetables are neces- sary for a healthy diet — five servings a day for op- timal health. Pound for pound, fresh produce can be much cheaper than fast food, chips, cookies, candy, soda pop or pre-packaged, pre-processed convenience items. There is a catch though. You have to buy what's in season. How do you know? Look around the produce department. If it's $4.99 a pound, chances are good that it's not in season. When apples are 2 pounds for $.99, bananas $.49 a pound and red- flame seedless grapes $1.77 a pound (just took those numbers off my shopping list), you know they're in season. There are always bar- gains in the produce de- partment. Adjust your tastes and expectations to fit them. Know your prices. Devise some kind of system that will let you become in- timately familiar with the shelf price and sale price of food items you buy on a regular basis. It might be a small notebook you carry, a spreadsheet you maintain in your computer or app on your smartphone. Mar- keting campaigns take ad- vantage of the ignorance of the buying public. You need to be smart enough to know a real deal when you see it and also detect a counterfeit. It's difficult to find the humor in a sign that announces "Two for $2" unless you know the regular price is $.89 each. Set limits. Based on what you learn from knowing your prices, de- termine the per unit price above which you will not spend. For instance, I've learned I don't have to spend more than $2 for a box of cereal. It's not al- ways available at that price — but when it is, I stock up to last until the next time. My personal limit for boneless skinless chicken breasts is $2.79 a pound. Sometimes I get it for less, but won't pay more; $3.50 for 100 oz. liquid laundry detergent, $1.50 for 16 oz. salad dressing and so on. For the record, I typically count on coupons paired with sale prices to get these prices. However, re- ally great sales can net re- ally low prices, too. Control portions. Dr. Dean Edell of radio fame and the author of "Eat, Drink and Be Merry" says the healthiest diet is not one that is low-fat or high- carb. The healthiest way to eat is to eat less — small amounts of a large va- riety of foods. It's hard work for our bodies to di- gest and convert food. Dr. Edell maintains that we wear our bodies out pre- maturely when we over eat. You can learn what constitutes a "portion" on the package label. A single portion of breakfast cereal is 4 ounces. Tomorrow morning measure out cup. Get prepared for that sin- gle serving to look a little puny. Chances are great that you've been having seconds and thirds. Hint: Rather than serving din- ner family style (passing the food around the table), try restaurant style where the food is "plated" in the kitchen. Now the cook controls portion sizes — a great first step to revers- ing over consumption. Get creative. If you set your mind to it, you will be amazed how many ways you can prepare rice or how you can stretch a pound of ground beef to feed a group. Use up the items in your refrigerator before dipping into your stockpile or buying a new supply. Wouldyouliketosend a tip to Mary? You can email her at mary@every- daycheapskate.com. EVERYDAYCHEAPSKATE Slashingyourfoodbill Mary Hunt Around 100 walkers turned out Sept. 20 for The Big Walk, a fundraiser for PATH, which operates a winter shelter for the homeless. Along with an anony- mous $5,000 match, the event raised enough funds to support the shelter for about half of the Nov. 1 to April 30 season. Allene Dering, vice pres- ident of the board of direc- tors, says the group will continue to raise funds until it has enough to get through the whole season. Additional donations to help fund the entire season can be sent to PATH at P.O. Box 315, Red Bluff, 96080. Various awards were presented during the walk based on funds raised by those participating. The Presbyterians won the "Walk in Their Shoes" plaque. Soroptimist Interna- tional of Red Bluff won the "Sierra Walking Stick," which was only $10 more that the Sun- rise Rotary. That was a tight race, going back and forth during the morning. The Tehama County De- partment of Education won "The Rescue Stick." The Daily News re- ceived a water bottle of Jelly Beans. Clifford, a longtime friend of PATH, and one of the shelter success sto- ries, won the water bot- tle filled with Halloween candy. This is his third year of walking for PATH, and he does it all on his own without a team. PATH Ev en t pr oc ee ds t o fu nd ha lf o f sh el te r se as on COURTESYPHOTO Walkers participate in The Big Walk, a PATH fundraiser, Sept. 20. Altacal Audubon will of- fer the following programs and field trips in October. All activities are free of cost unless otherwise indi- cated and open to the pub- lic. If you have any ques- tions or want information about specific activities, call Wayland Augur at 530- 519-4724 or send an email to wba@acm.org. Program "Reflections of a Natu- ralist" — NorCal Natural- ist Journal and Calendar. Presented by Scott Hu- ber, Altacal past president, 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20, Chico Creek Nature Center. Scott Huber began jour- naling in 1979 while on a three month trek in New Zealand. Since that time he has kept a field jour- nal of almost every ma- jor adventure he has un- dertaken. With the in- troduction of computer based blogging Scott be- gan journaling electron- ically, beginning with a three week bird-watch- ing trip to Nome Alaska in 2008. While working at the Big Chico Creek Eco- logical Reserves from 2011 through 2014, Scott used Facebook to record his ob- servations. Through the years Scott has found that a paper field journal enables him to take quick notes on what he's seen, allowing him to expand those notes into longer-form recollec- tions and stories upon re- turning home. The presentation will include the reading of es- says from The NorCal Nat- uralist Journal and Calen- dar as well as a photo slide- show accompanied by the stories behind many of the photos. Signed copies of the journal will be available to purchase at the end of the meeting. Field Trips Monterey seabird trip, Oct. 4-5 We will be joining John Sterling and Todd Easterla out of Monterey to try our luck on a Monterey Sea- bird Trip. Our last trip on August 24 turned up some amazing birds, including 5 species of Shearwater, Po- marine and Parisitic Jae- gers, Red-necked and Red Phalarope, Black-footed Albatross and many other great birds that you will only be able to see miles off the coast. Orcas, whales and dolphins will also be searched for. They have far-and-away the best boat captain in the region, Richard Ter- nullo; an amazing natu- ralist with a degree in bi- ology and several decades of experience in Monterey Bay. His knack for getting the boat aligned in the wa- ter to allow the best looks at birds and marine mam- mals is legendary. All trips feature excellent, knowl- edgeable, highly-experi- enced and friendly leaders. Read about their trip lead- ers at montereyseabirds. com/SeabirdTripLeaders. htm. We will be driving down on Saturday and will be camping so make sure to bring appropriate attire and gear. We will be re- turning Sunday, after the trip is completed. The price is $130 per person and goes from 7:30 a.m. -3 p.m. This trip is limited occupancy, so if interested, please contact immediately. Matt Forster, findforster@yahoo. com, 619-347-2269 Chico Oxidation Ponds Wildlife Sanctuary, Oct. 26 We will get a personal and upclose view of the winter waterfowl mi- gration at the Oxidation Ponds Wildlife Sanctuary at the Waste Water Treat- ment Plant, west of Chico. We'll have a first had look at the returning birds from Alaska and Canada, North- ern Pintail, Mallard, Cin- namon Teal, Green-winged and Blue-winged Teal and possibly some unexpected migrants. The walk is un- der 2 miles and about 3 hours. For shorter, you can walk out to the viewing blind. The walk is flat and pretty easy going. Meet at the Oxidation Pond parking area at 3 p.m. Afternoon keeps the sun at our back. We should be back to the lot by 6 p.m. To get to the Oxidation Ponds, go west on W. 5th St. from Hwy 32 in Chico. Follow W. 5th St., which becomes Chico River Road, for 3.9 miles. The wildlife viewing parking area is 300 yards past the main entrance to the water treatment plant, on the left. Bring binocu- lars, spotting scopes, water, walking shoes and proper clothing for the expected weather conditions. There is a chemical toilet on the way out to the viewing area. Rain cancels. Mat- thew Forster, findforster@ yahoo.com. TO DO Altacal Audubon outings planned for October Today REDBLUFF Al-Anon: noon, Presbyte- rian Church, Jefferson and Hickory Alcohol, Anger and Abuse Group: Call for group time and location, 528-0226 Community Dance: 7-10 p.m., Westside Grange, 20794Walnut St. Emblem club dinner: 5:30 p.m., Elks Lodge, 355Gilm- ore Road Nurturing Parenting Dads Program: 10a.m. to noon, 1860Walnut St. #D, Shasta Room, call Keith at 527- 8491, ext. 3012 Nurturing Skills for Teen Parents: 9-10a.m., 1900 Walnut St., 527-8491, ext. 3012 PAL Martial Arts Wom- en's Self Defense: 5:30- 6:30p.m., 1005Vista Way, Ste. C, 840-0345 Penny Bingo: 9:30a.m., Community Center, 1500S. Jackson St. Red Bluff Kiwanis: noon, Elks Lodge Red Bluff Derby Girls open tryouts and prac- tice: 6:30p.m., Tyler Jelly building at Tehama District Fairgrounds Team Kid: 5:30p.m., First Southern Baptist Church, 585Kimball Road, 527- 5083 TeenScreen Mental Health Appointments: 10a.m. to 2p.m., free by appointment, Youth Em- powerment Services, 1900 Walnut St., 527-8491, Ext. 3012 Tehama AIDS Consor- tium: 5p.m. committee meeting, 5:30p.m. public meeting, St. Elizabeth Home Health Care: 1425Vista Way, 527-6824 Tehama County Drug and Alcohol Advisory Board Meeting: 6p.m., 1850 Walnut St., Ste. G, 527- 7893 Tehama County Educa- tion Foundation: 7:30a.m., Department of Education, 1135Lincoln St. Tehama County Library story time: 9:30a.m., 645 Madison St. 527-0604 Tehama County Peace Officers Association: 5:30 p.m., M&M Ranch House Tehama County Technical Advisory Committee: 9 a.m., Board of Supervisors Chambers Tehama Shooters Associ- ation: 6:30p.m., Red Bluff Community Center. CALENDAR PARTICIPANTSMUSTWEARCOSTUMES FOR MORE INFO CONTACT TROY AT 528-8656 TEHAMA FAMILY FITNESS CENTER 2498 S. MAIN ST. RED BLUFF CA. 96080 Registration is 8:30-9:30 @ TFFC EVENT STARTS @ 10 SCHEDULEYOUR MAMMOGRAM Like Your Life Depends on it. Joinus Wednesday, October 29, 6- 8pm, at the St.Elizabeth Imaging Center in Red Bluff, for our second annual Breast Assured event. Advance registration is recommended. Call today to schedule a mammogram and reserve your free spot at our event: 888.628.1948. visit redbluff.mercy.org www.lassenmedial.com RedBluff 2450 Sister Mary Columba Drive (530) 527-0414 Red Bluff & Cottonwood Locations 9am-1pm • October4th • October 18th • November 1st • November 15th LASSEN MEDICAL FLU SHOT CLINICS Lassenmedical.com Cottonwood 20833 Long Branch Drive (530) 347-3418 Regular Haircut $ 2 00 off KWIK KUTS FamilyHairSalon 1064 South Main St., Red Bluff • 529-3540 ANY RETAIL PRODUCT 20 % off withanychemicalserviceof $50 ormore Notgoodwithotheroffers Expires 9/30/14 With coupon Reg. $13.95 LIFESTYLES » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, October 1, 2014 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A5