Higher food costs are making all of us tighten our belts. Here are six tips to save money on your next trip to the grocery store.

• Plan meals for a week with the grocery store circular using sale items to make your menus. Also, visit your favorite grocery's Web site and surf for more sales and download coupons. Planning meals for the week saves gas money by cutting down on grocery store trips.

Saving Dough Tips from CouponMom.com's Stephanie Nelson 31 ways to save More money-saving ideas Have a question of general interest? E-mail Chris Rosenbloom Fit to Eat columns Get out of rut: Try new fruits and vegetables  Three questions: Organic produce, iron and iodine, and tryptophan  Setting the record straight on some food myths         More Fit to Eat • Chris Rosenbloom, Ph.D., R.D., is a member of the nutrition faculty in the College of Health and Human Sciences at Georgia State University Related: • Carolyn O'Neil: Think of add-ons as accessories  Good links: • Evening Edge • AJC Food & Drink • AJC Health Channel • Diet and Nutrition headlines, resources • Atlanta Restaurant reviews and search • Low fat/ heart healthy recipes • Search recipes

• Consider adopting meatless meals a couple of days each week. To get needed protein, use more beans — the vegetable with muscle. Beans have more protein than any other vegetable. Try them in place of ground beef in tacos or chili and mash beans for dips and spreads.

• Stop buying chicken tenders and make your own by slicing chicken breasts into strips. Buy family packs of skinless, boneless chicken when on sale, and when you get home repackage in smaller portions in freezer storage bags.

• Use private label brands. Private labels are of excellent quality and cost considerably less than national brands.

• Skip the chips and other snack foods — these are not only expensive but add unwanted calories, fat and sodium. In the summer, pick up seasonal fruit and cut it up for snacks. Everyone loves a juicy watermelon slice or a melon wedge.

• Although we love the convenience of bagged salads and prewashed vegetables, it is much cheaper to buy lettuce and whole vegetables and chop them yourself. Stop at a roadside stand or visit a farmers market to get high quality produce and a great price.