Savings In the Meat Case Help Budget-Conscious Shoppers Add Value to Family Meals In More Ways Than One

Savings In the Meat Case Help Budget-Conscious Shoppers Add Value to Family Meals In More Ways Than One

Food Network Star Dave Lieberman Shares His Secret For Creating Delicious Dishes That Save Time and Money: PORK

DES MOINES, Iowa, Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- As consumers seek to stretch their dollars further, home cooking is enjoying a homecoming. Now more than ever, families are saving money by serving up low-cost meals at home. In fact, according to the "Affordable Meals Survey" conducted by the National Pork Board, 70 percent of Americans say they're eating out less to save money.(1) In addition, 64 percent also note they plan to look for low-cost meal options.(2)

What savvy shoppers may be surprised to learn is that they don't have to sacrifice health and good taste for a good price when it comes to the meat case. Despite a record year of record rising food prices in 2008, pork retail prices rose less than five percent last year(3), making pork one of the most competitive choices in the meat case. Shoppers can feel good about choosing pork to make quality meals without breaking the bank. From pork shoulder to chops to ground pork, there are numerous, affordable options to choose from.

Celebrity chef Dave Lieberman, author of Young and Hungry: Making the Most of Fresh and Affordable Food, says pork is a lean, easy-to-prepare meal option that keeps the pocketbook padded. An expert on making food dollars last, Dave helps families create delicious dishes easily and inexpensively.

"Pork is a staple in my grocery cart because of its great value -- it's versatile so your family won't get bored with the same old dish and it can be healthful too," said Lieberman. "There are so many family-friendly meals you can make with pork, especially if you look for the larger cuts that can really stretch your budget, like shoulder or ground pork."

For healthy, quality protein mealtime solutions, there are six common cuts of pork today that are classified as lean, including pork chops that make a delicious Pork Chop Skillet dish to pork roast for a tasty Moroccan Pork. You also can't go wrong with pork tenderloin which is as lean as skinless chicken breast with less than 3 grams of fat and only 1.02 grams of saturated fat per 3-ounce serving.

"Not only are there a variety of cuts to choose from and multiple ways to cook it up, from kabobs to pork burgers, it's simpler to prepare than you might think," added Lieberman. "Every way you look at it, with pork, you are maximizing your mealtime dollars."

Good Deal, Great Taste Guru

These days, spare change adds up to more than just a drop in the piggy bank -- all savings are important. One of Lieberman's tips challenges Americans to get more for their meal by saving time and money with "cook once, eat twice" recipes. And that doesn't mean eating the same dish twice in a row. With a little planning, one meal's worth of ingredients can create two unique dishes.

Take Lieberman's Italian Sunday Porchetta recipe for starters. It combines pork shoulder and fresh vegetables for a seasonal, hearty meal which can be turned into a Mexican Pork Shoulder Stew (recipes attached) the next day just by adding a few pantry spices.

Or make an extra chop or two, so there will be enough extra to cut up the next day for salads or stews. Lean ground pork also is great choice since it offers a multitude of mealtime options from meatloaf, pork patties and pot pies to a topping for homemade pizzas and a pasta partner.

FREE Online Tools

Across America, pantries are loaded with goodies just waiting to be used. Don't let that food go to waste! TheOtherWhiteMeat.com has several online tools to utilize kitchen staples and prevent mealtime dilemmas. Check out some of the top tools below:

* COMING SOON! Lean Ground Pork Pocket Guide -- Not sure how to get
started with ground pork? Be sure to check out TheOtherWhiteMeat.com in
the coming weeks to download the FREE, must have step-by-step brochure,
"Ground Pork: Deliciously Simple Burgers And So Much More!" It has
answers to all your preparation questions, as well as several budget-
friendly recipe ideas.
* Pantry Pick -- Got a dinner dilemma? Pantry Pick is the solution! Take
any pork cut and pantry ingredients you have on-hand, then match a
recipe using that combination. Menu "blahs" will be banished.
* My Recipe Box -- This handy resource, allows families to save their
favorite Daily Pork recipes in a personal recipe box so they are easily
accessed when it is time to whip up non "blah" meals.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For Lieberman's full recipes, tips, thousand of pork recipes and a complete list of wallet-friendly cuts of pork, visit TheOtherWhiteMeat.com.

(1),(2) The survey was conducted online with a random sample of 1,093 mothers aged 18+ with a child/children in the home -- all members of the Impulse Research proprietary online panel. The Impulse Research proprietary online panel has been carefully selected to closely match US population demographics and the respondents are representative of American women 18+. Research was conducted in December 2008. The overall sampling error for this survey is +/- 3% at the 95% level of confidence.

(3) USDA 2008 monthly average retail pork price.

Source: National Pork Board

CONTACT: Pamela Johnson of Pork Information Bureau, +1-515-223-3528,
pjohnson@pork.org; or Caroline Thomas of Weber Shandwick, +1-312-988-2305,
cathomas@webershandwick.com, for National Pork Board

Web site: http://www.theotherwhitemeat.com/

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