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The Magic of Getting More Food for Less Money, or Calculating the Cost of Protein (L-O-N-G)

WARNING! MATH ALERT!

In our food budgets, protein sources cost the most—the higher the protein value, the higher the cost. Meat, for example, contains all essential amino acids in one food, and can (for our purposes) be considered a convenience food. Meats are complete proteins. Meats are also the most expensive of the protein lot.

I’m not advocating vegetarianism by any means, but I do want you to know how expensive meat is in comparison to other forms of protein. In these hard times, it’s important to know what you’re getting for your dollar. Here are some examples of how much 100 grams of protein in different forms can cost:

Lentils: $1.12/lb. (green lentils)*
Cost per gram of protein: .01 raw, .03 cooked
Cost of protein per 100 grams: $1.08 raw, $3.11 cooked
(*my health food store’s non-organic bulk 25-lb. bag price)

The math: first, we use 100 grams of protein as the serving size (close to 1/2 cup). Then we find the item we’re going to calculate for, and look the protein content in the nutrition label (or in this case, I used the USDA Nutrition Database). Then we calculate the TOTAL PROTEIN of the item.

Step 1: Raw or cooked protein grams per 100 grams/serving X serving size in ounces = total protein

Cooked lentils: 9 (protein grams per 100-gram serving) X 4 (serving size in ounces) = 36 (total protein)

Step 2: Price per lb. divided by total protein = cost per gram

Cooked lentils: $1.12 (from above) divided by 36 (total protein) = .03111 (protein cost per gram)

Step 3: Cost per gram X 100 = cost per 100 grams, or cost of protein per serving (about 4 ounces, ½ cup)

Cooked lentils: .03111 (cost of protein per gram) X 100 (serving size in grams) = $3.11

The protein cost of a serving of cooked lentils = $3.11

How much are we paying for lentil protein BEFORE cooking? Well, we have to get some data.

Price of raw lentils: $1.12/lb.
*Protein content of 100 grams of raw lentils: 26 grams
Serving size: 4 oz.

*From USDA nutrition database

Raw lentils: 26 (protein grams per 100-gram serving) X 4 (serving size in ounces) = 104 (total protein)

Raw lentils: $1.12/lb. (price) divided by 104 (total protein) = .0107 (cost per gram)

Raw lentils: .0107 (cost per gram) X 100 = $1.08 (protein cost per 100 grams)

The protein cost of a portion of raw lentils is $1.08

Let’s compare the cost of a serving of lentils vs. cost of the protein in that same serving:

Lentils: $1.12/lb.
Cost pert serving: .28 (Cost per pound divided by 4 oz. or ½ cup serving)
Protein cost per serving (raw): $1.08
Protein cost per serving (cooked): $3.11

For our .28, we’re getting $1.08 worth of protein per serving raw, or $3.11 cooked. Since we must cook lentils to eat them, we take $3.11 and subtract .28, leaving us with a $2.83 savings.

$3.11 (cooked lentil protein cost per serving) - .28 (cost per serving) = $2.83 (savings)


Just for fun, let’s look at meat. I’ll use my recent Sam’s Club purchase as an example:

Whole pork loin, raw: $1.99/lb.
Serving size: 4 oz. (will cook down to 3 oz.)
Protein gram per serving: 21

21 (raw protein grams/serving) X 4 (serving size in ounces) = 84 (total protein grams per serving)

$1.99 (price per lb.) divided by 84 (total protein grams) =.0237 (cost per gram)

.0237 (cost per gram) X 100 = $2.37 (cost of100 grams of raw pork loin protein)

Now for cooked pork loin:

29 (cooked protein grams/serving) X 4 (serving size in ounces) = 116 (total protein grams per serving)

$1.99 (price per lb.) divided by 116 (total protein grams) = .0172 (cost per gram of protein)

.0172 X 100 = $1.72 (cost of 100 grams of cooked pork loin protein)

Here, it looks like somehow the protein content rises when the pork is cooked, and you gain 8 grams of protein/serving. You also lose .65 in the cost of protein/serving ($2.37 raw vs. $1.72 cooked)

But then compare the cost of the contents of a cooked pork loin serving vs. just the protein in a serving: A pound of meat = 16 oz., and we only need 3 (4 raw) oz/serving (or 100 grams), so a serving of raw pork actually only costs .50.

$1.99 (price per pound) divided by 4 (ounces in raw serving) = .50 (cost per serving)

So for .50, we’re getting $2.37 worth of raw pork protein per serving, or $1.72 worth of cooked pork protein per serving. Since we eat pork cooked, the savings of a serving of protein-laden pork would be $1.22.

$1.72 (cost of protein per cooked pork serving) - .50 (cost of pork serving) = $1.22

I guess the object here would be to obtain the highest (densest) amount of proteins at the lowest possible price, or to try to find protein sources that can be eaten raw (to minimize loss). In the meantime, you can savor the savings by buying lowest cost-per-serving, highest protein-per-serving foods WITHOUT A COUPON OR REBATE. As you can see, the savings from lentil protein above ($2.83/serving) is much cheaper than the pork protein ($1.22/serving) by almost 1 2/3 dollar per serving.

For the record, vegetable proteins are cheaper than animal proteins, but you have to eat many more vegetables to get the same amount of proteins as you would meat. This is why herbivore animals graze so much, and why whales must consume tons of krill—this is what it takes to get adequate proteins in their diet.

This also explains the magic of how you can actually end up with more food volume in your diet while spending very little. This is also why you can consider meat a convenience food--it's a convenient source of protein, but costly.

Let's compare:
Cooked Pork .50/cost per serving, and $1.72 protein cost/serving

Cooked lentils: .28/cost per serving, and $3.11 protein cost/serving

Since lentils must be combined with grains to make a complete protein, let's throw some rice into the mix:

Brown rice: .85/lb. (courtesy of my health food store's bulk catalog), 3 grams of protein per serving, and a 1/2 cup (or 100 grams) serving size.

3 protein grams (cooked) X 4 ounces = 12 grams total protein

.85 (price per lb.) divided by 12 (grams of total protein) = .0708

.0708 (cost per gram) X 100 = $7.08 (protein cost per 100 grams)

.85/lb. divided by 4 (number of servings per lb.) = .21 (cost per serving)

$7.08 (cost of protein per serving) - .21 (cost per serving) = $6.87 (protein cost savings)

One serving of a lentil/rice mix (1/2 cup each) yields 12 grams of protein at a cost of .49, while a serving of pork yields 29 grams of protein at a cost of .50--a serving of cooked pork is 3 oz. (4 oz. raw), while the lentil/rice mix is 8 oz. for roughly the same cost per serving, or 2 2/3 times the amount of food for the same cost per serving. This is called Volumetrics, or the science of filling up on fewer foods without sacrificing nutrition.

So, for .50 worth of cooked pork, you're only getting $1.72 worth of protein. By comparison, it only takes .28 worth of cooked lentils and .21 of cooked brown rice to get $10.19 worth of protein. Which is the better buy?

If you're looking for convenient protein, meat wins. If you're looking to fill up and save money, the rice and lentils win. Your pork dollar only stretches 3.44 times ($1.72 divided by .50), while your rice/lentil dollar stretches 20.80 times ($10.19 divided by .49).

Posted by Cute at 11:38 PM

Labels: financial (non-tax), food purchases, health