You'd much rather save a few bucks now so that you have the money to pay for the doctor and hospital bills when you have diabetes, right? Save those extra pennies - hospital bills from a heart attack are EXPENSIVE!! Oh, you have insurance?? Well, then that's great!! You can save the money to leave in your will!!!
Yes, healthy food can be a little more expensive - when items are bought individually compared to the crap filled junk that you're used to buying. In reality, it you STOP buying the junk and replace everything with healthier foods that you prepare yourself - GASP!, prepare yourself?? - you'd find your grocery bill to be about the same...if not cheaper.
STOP buying the soda ranging from $2.50 - $5.00 a week. STOP buying the chips, cookies, ice-cream, and sweets ranging from $5 - $20 a week. STOP buying the crappy, pre-packaged frozen meals you just love to fix for you family ranging from $10 - $40 a week...and wow, you just saved a ton of money. START buying whole wheat or multi-grain bread. START buying fat-free or 1% milk and dairy. START buying fresh meats, brown rice, and fresh produce...and WA LA, you just came out even and you've made the leap into healthy eating!! I know, that was very difficult.
Heaven forbid, you start cooking your meals from fresh ingredients. That's just too hard, right? Don't have time to cook? Read yesterday's post...that's just ridiculous. Oh, and let's discuss how much money you spend on fast food.....think about how many times you grab lunch from the drive-thru, or pick up a pizza for the family on the way home. Could probably save just a little money by NOT doing that. Who would of known that you can pack a lunch to take to work, or you could throw some stuff in a crock pot before you leave for work in the morning, and have dinner waiting for you when you come home. That's just too hard, right?
Money is not the issue when it comes to healthy eating - YOU ARE!! It's another one of those excuses that people just love to throw around. No one is asking you to buy the name brand EVERYTHING...it's just replacing the junk with the new. If your washer breaks down, you pretty likely to go and buy a new one. Well, what are you going to do when your heart and other organs break down?? Can't run to Sears for replacements to those. SPEND THE MONEY!! I bet my first born child (sorry, honey) that when you really replace all that crap you're used to buying with healthy, fresh, unprocessed ingredients - you find you break even, if not have a few extra pennies in your pocket when it's all said and done.
Challenge for today. Think about how much stuff you buy that you could do without. Chips, cookies, soda, fast-food etc. Tally that amount up.....shocked?
Till next time. ;)
I couldn't agree with you more! I have to admit that the locally raised beef and chicken I buy at Ozark Natural Foods is quite a bit more expensive, so I simply give my family smaller portions of those items and fill the plates up with veggies and whole grain sides. We're all satisfied at the end of the meal, and I feel better knowing we ate more healthily AND we ate animals that had a better life.
ReplyDeleteAMEN TO THAT!!!!! ITS SO TRUE ITS ACTUALLY A WHOLE LOT CHEAPER TO EAT HEALTHY.........
ReplyDeleteGREAT post today! I've been preaching the gospel of "do it yourself" meals for AGES - I have DIY recipes for everything from skillet meals to pizza, all involving whole grains, low fat dairy products, FRESH VEGGIES AND MEAT. I'll admit that I do use SOME canned - soups, green beans, tomatoes - for convienence, but even still, those are better than buying a Hungry Man or Totinos! I saw a family yesterday in line in front of me and EVERY SINGLE ITEM on their conveyer was FROZEN PRE-PACKAGED - TV dinners, pizzas, chicken nuggets . . . I just wanted to give them a grocery makeover!!
ReplyDeleteChicken nuggets $7
VS
1 lb boneless skinless breasts $4.50
1 C breadcrumbs @ $.50
7 second cooking spray spray @ $.10
Total @$5.10
Which is cheaper?
You go! REAL food is important for everyone, we truly do need to learn how to shop and cook for ourselves. I find that grocery stores typically place REAL food on the perimeter of the store. Just don't go down the aisles! To learn more about REAL food read:
ReplyDelete_In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto_
_Food Rules: An Eater's Manual_
(The above are by M. Pollan)
_Nourishing Traditions_ by Sally Fallon
Joanna - you inspired me today! Here's a blog post in your honor!
ReplyDeletehttp://supermomlosingit.blogspot.com/2010/08/diy-do-it-yourself.html
So happy to hear the positive comments and great tips!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you ver much for the honorary blog post.. It's a great post, and I'm extremely flattered.
I will have to disagree with you hear a little. But healthy eating IS more expensive than buying junk. Here in the UK it is anyway. Sure, you can eat healthier stuff than junk food for less money, but if you follow a 98% clean diet, like I do, and you eat around 8-10 portions of fruit and veg a day, then it is definitely more expensive than unhealthy eating. I don't use this as an excuse though. For me, it is worth it and I just cut back elsewhere.
ReplyDelete