Consumers are watching what they spend on food, but that doesn't mean they have to lose out on nutrition, region health experts say.

And the same recession that is socking Northwest Indiana pocketbooks may be prompting a return to the traditional family dinner hour as more consumers prepare meals at home to save money.

Heading to the grocery store armed with coupons and a list planned around store sales can help cut costs and ensure healthy foods stay on the menu, one Hoosier nutrition specialist says.

"A lot of it is reading the ads and looking ahead at what's available," said Jacquelynn O'Palka, chairwoman of the Nutrition and Dietetics Department at Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis.

Citrus fruits are peaking now, making oranges, grapefruits and tangerines good buys, she said.

"Lettuce is expensive now, but cabbage and apples aren't, so plan a salad of apples and celery," O'Palka said. "In some ways, it might be beneficial for all of us."

Parents could cook with their children more and call on grandmothers for their cooking expertise, O'Palka said.

"We may have to stay home and enjoy each other," O'Palka said. "It might be good for our waistlines."

At the Olson household in Valparaiso, the family estimates that making dinner from scratch can save between $10 and $15 per meal versus dining out.

John and Susie Olson and their children, boy and girl twins, age 9, and a 16-year-old daughter, dine together nearly every evening in their Valparaiso home.

Everyone pitches in to prepare, cook and clean up meals, and made-from-scratch dinners are common -- and cost effective, Susie Olson said.

"I would rather cut up a chicken breast and make chicken nuggets" than head to a fast-food restaurant where feeding a family of five can cost $20 to $25, Susie Olson said. The former customer service manager for Wal-Mart and her husband, store manager at the WiseWay on U.S. 30 in Valparaiso, said they budget about $200 a week for groceries.

To cut costs, they buy bulk items, such as a whole pork loin that can be cut up into chops.

Economizing might mean getting back to the basics for some consumers, Porter hospital system registered dietician Jan Yudt said.

"It could mean cooking a bag of plain brown rice instead a box of Rice-a-Roni," Yudt said. "It means encouraging cooking from scratch, taking control of food yourself rather than giving it over to a manufacturer."

There's little doubt consumer food buying habits have shifted as the nation heads deeper into a recession, said Richard Feinberg, a researcher with the Purdue University Retail Institute.

"People are being careful about what they buy, as they should be," Feinberg said.

Consumers are putting necessities in their shopping baskets and leaving out luxuries, Feinberg said.