I've found that we are spending more on meat, but less on cookies, crackers, cereal and the like. After all, a box of cookies is more expensive than a pound of cheese! When I balance what we are buying with what we no longer buy, we do just about the same. And we are eating so much better.

Some of my favorite cost cutters:

*frozen berries instead of fresh. So much cheaper, keep longer, and just as good on yogurt, cream cheese, low carb ice cream, or even by themselves.

*Meat stretching can be done without macaroni or potatoes. I've found turnips to be tastier than potatoes for stews & pot roast. Prosciutto is expensive, but when you serve it with a cantalope, it's a meal. Meats and cheese work great on salads and are so healthy and filling.

*I tend to buy the Atkins bars, but use them as meal replacements when I'm eating lunch at my desk or for a on-the-go breakfast. Used this way, it is cheaper or as cheap as a meal I can pick up at a store.

*Go over your grocery receipt and see where the high ticket items are, and if they are worth it. My first impressions were wrong...the stuff I was paying the most for turned out to be things I really did want, because I was buying quality things that would yield several servings. Plain yogurt I berry and splenda for myself was cheaper than buying several single serving ones, for instance.

*And yes, look at the front end/back end equation. It's more expensive to live on meat and vegetables than it is to live on boxed mac & cheese. Front end, that is. On the back end, have you priced statin drugs and diabetes supplies? Not to mention the doctor bills?