Eating Healthy is Expensive!

“Eating healthy is expensive, especially in a small town where not many people are doing it. You know you're in trouble when 200 yards of shelving are dedicated to bunny bread!
But, I'm willing to pay the price. I even bought organic milk and eggs this time around which are new to this area. The way I see it, the more people who support healthy foods the cheaper they will become. Hopefully!
Anyway, it just made me wonder how many people forego healthy food because of the cost. Especially if they have a lot of little mouths to feed. It is sad really.”

“You should try eating a gluten free (no wheat) diet. Almost none of the alternative foods are cheap.”

“I used to buy the free range eggs but can no longer afford too. Same with the organic produce. I get some from my garden but our reduced budget won't allow the pricier produce and staples. I still buy whole wheat flour and bread and baking mix though, those don't cost too much more than white.”

“you can eat healthy without buying organic foods. Lots of fresh veggies and fruits, ground turkey is good.

This is a good site by the American Heart Association. Some good receipes

http://www.deliciousdecisions.org/”

“Thats exactly what I'm talking about Sass. It is really sad. I'm lucky enough to live in a rural area. We have a farmers market a couple times a month where I can buy local produce at a very low price. The farmers put melon, corn and tomato stands right in front of the turn to Walmart : )”

“Yeah but you get way more nutrients from organic Ewker. It's an established fact. Organic free range eggs are lower in bad cholestrol and way higher in nutrients.

We still load up on fruits and veggies. We're fortunate to have this local market that buys up all the seconds from the big market downtown and sells them for dirt cheap. If you eat your produce quickly, or shop often it's a great place. Birch and I have nicknamed the place Elis Island because of the huge variety of nationalities that shop there. They have every type of produce known to man, stuff you'd never find at Krogers. It's cool but it's not organic.
last edited: 6/14/05 11:45:41 AM”

“It's expensive here in the city, too, John. I've seen that too in the past....”

“Bunny Bread??

Too funny, is that white/Cotton Bread??

When I hit the check out there is very rarely any soda pop, chip snacks, snack cakes or anything with sugar/corn sweetner or hydrogenated oils in my basket.

It's all good but not organic, unless I go to Trader Joe's.
last edited: 6/14/05 11:46:12 AM”

“We raised a few chickens when I was growing up. The diff in those eggs and the ones in the store was like two diff foods. Color, consistency and flavor were all diff.”

“This is why I make an attempt each year at gardening.”

“I know what ya mean John, it's kinda like wild sex compared to the civilized kind.
last edited: 6/14/05 11:51:08 AM”

“Same here MarkO. I think we have more junk in our house at the moment than ever before due to all the crap sugary, fatty treats Birch bought for his race and then didn't eat.”

“LOL at MarkO!”

“So who's this "Healthy" person and why haven't I seen them posting before?”

“I hope you're not talking about me Nigal? I've been around since 02”

“good job buying organic milk & eggs!! just think of all the growth horomones you're not ingesting, and all the extra vitamins you are! i think it's 100% worth it to buy organic everything (speaking for myself)...if organic strawberries are expensive, then i just buy apples instead. regular strawberries are one of the most poisonous things you can buy, pesticide-wise.

i don't mind paying a little extra for organic, because i think all food should be organic. i'd rather poison myself and the environment as little as possible.

where i live, there are two large organic grocery stores within 2 miles of each other, so there's a good deal of compeition; also i have a wide variety of organics to choose from. lots of people don't have that, so i totally understand why not everyone can do this. i hate the thought of ever moving somewhere where i had to buy "normal" grocery store food!

also, i just read in Organic Style (magazine) how bad high fructose corn syrup is for you, so now i REALLY don't ever eat that (not that i did much before). it's really sick how many foods contain that ingredient...like salad dressings, bbq sauce, breads...in addition to the obvious like soda.”

“I'm lucky where I live. We call it terroir - locally grown food. We have several people offering only organic vegetables, veal, beef, lamb and goat. My buddy and I will be raising 36 chickens on organic feed-no injections. We'll split 50-50.

Free range chicken and eggs are available in local IGA's, et c. and local, wild products - including fiddlehead ferns right now, are also available.

I've been eating a Mediterranean diet more and more over the last five years. Right now I have a chicken leg marinating in olive oile, lemon juice and oregano and garlic. I'll grill it with a kebob of (Italian) tomato, green pepper, onion and mushrooms basted with olive oil served on jasmin bhasmati rice pilau with almonds.

I use my barbequeue at least five times a week year round.”

“Eating healthy to me is not going organic. It means to prepare your own food and not buy prepared or packaged foods and fresh produce, not canned.

It also means making healthy choices on how you build your meal with a good amount of veggies and less animal protein, and go low sodium and fat. If you are a bean eater, that's a big plus.

This Dr. Weil who is into nutrition said wheat bread is not good enough. You need to eat bread with a lot of whole grains in it.”

“There was a piece on NPR the other day about organic farmers. Some of them are doing quite well and others are converting. Right now there is more demand than supply for milk, but it takes a minimum of 5 years to convert a farm to organic.
I realize some of this is just a fad, like the low carb thing, but I hope it sticks.”

“I'm not sure how much it helps, but you are always supposed to rinse your veggies.”

“that's true that eating healthy has a lot to do with not eating packaged goods, but just by shopping at an organic foods store, your choice of packaged foods is extremely limited; most are whole foods.

also, rinsing veggies doesn't remove pesticides, because they're all through the entire thing, for the most part. i read a story about how a professor told her class to smell her breath (minty fresh!) at the beginning of class; then she dumped out a whole jar of minced garlic on the floor and taught the whole class while standing in it. by the end of class, her breath smelled like she'd eaten a whole head of garlic. i know pesticides are different from garlic, but that illustrates the point.”

“I hear Gremlin will even deliver chickens to your mailbox. 8D”

“lipstick, i think that is true about bread. I eat a lot of multigrain breads and I buy the ones made from scratch at a local deli instead of pre-packaged.

And I am def not saying that eating healthy means eating organic. I see organic as bonus to eating healthy to begin with.”

“Wholefoods is the answer, yum!”

“I hear that cockatiel eggs are good.”

“Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, lyra??

Bethesda, non??”

“Whole Foods, yep!! and MOM's...My Organic Market. both in Rockville. i don't really go to Whole Foods, because they're always crowded and that makes me want to murder people. MOM's is never what i would consider crowded, even on the weekends. AND they're 100% organic, none of this 75% or whatever Whole Foods is.
;-)

now Trader Joe's in Bethesda on a weekend, i would really have to be cruisin' for a bruisin' to do that!!
last edited: 6/14/05 1:50:26 PM”

“Yearround, there is always at least several fresh produce items available from my garden.

My wife would like to have chickens and they would be great for the free range eggs, bug control and fertilizer but I try to no longer knaw them bones.

One new trend is farmers entering contracts with folks near and far to ship (UPS) a weekly package of fresh produce (whatever the season allows) and this system is more efficient in terms of fuel consumption than large stores and produce stands and saves the buyer the shopping time.”

“Ah, Rockville!!!

I was a letter carrier out of the Pike Station(20852) on Rollins Avenue many moons ago.

"...they're always crowded and that makes me want to murder people."
You should be a letter carrier!”

“The French who are renouned for eating rich foods live longer than other northern Europeans. Longevity is reduced as one moves north in Europe.

I believe this is because the French eat natural and fresh foods. GMO's are not yet permitted in Europe, BTW.

Red wine is also good for you.

I watched a (French) documentary on the people of Crete, the longest lived in Europe. It was about this farmer who got up with the sun and wandered through the fields with his donkey, had salad and wine at lunch, wandered throught the fields with his donkey, ate grilled lamb or fish with rice and fresh vegetables (and wine) and the wandered into the village taverna to drink ouzo and play dominoes till dark.

IMO, you could eat McDo's garbage and live forever with a lifestyle like that. Add a healthy diet and you'll never die.”

“Well sure they live a long time there, they're pickled!”

“Pickled's good.”

“I sincerely hope that Europeans hold out against that GMO crap.”

“I use only olive oil and/or butter.

I try to eat fish at least once a week.

At our gorcery store I buy whole wheat bread made with oilve oil.

Canada will ban trans fats (hydrogenated vegetable oils - margarine) next year.

Oh yeah, beer's good too - especially the dark brown stuff - yum.”

“I definitely agree on the organic free range eggs, and on the milk as well. A friend gave me eggs from her chickens once and I was blown away by the difference. Studies show that organic milk and eggs have more omega-3s and other good things. Generally I have tried to cut back on processed foods. Some of this was really helpful, for example: not buying a bottle of soda pay for the upgrade from cheapo eggs to free-range. Getting chicking cut up fresh chicken instead of barcue wings, can pay for the difference between regular and organic milk.

I'm hoping that by Fall, I'll be filling the refrigerator with better stuff than I am now.

Late in his life, grandfather complained most about two changes in this country. First and foremost was that so many businesses stayed open on Sundays, but a close second was how hard it was for find good free-range eggs.”

“Thinkbubelz & I have tried to stay away from MSG and its hidden sources (carrageenan, autolyze yeast extract, natural ____flavoring, etc.) after out friend told us of her sensitivity... However, it's hard to stay away from soy products, since that's in a lot of asian cuisine...

Lately, we usually buy the organic free-range eggs and milk at Whole Foods...

Although we don't always buy organic produce, because of the expense, we have tried to stay away from the packaged foods and to cook our own foods at home.. (not always possible, but we try as much as possible.)

I had my first experience with a truly awesome pie crust at Whole Foods this spring-- I used to get "pet ritz" pie shells, but the whole foods one was simply incredible-- not made with any hydrogenated fats... by far more delicious than even some home made crusts...

2 weeks ago, we got a great deal at Kohl's They had the George Foreman Grill and roaster together for only $79.... :-) (the bigger grill) Well worth the money... We've made 2 chickens and a roasted lamb (all from whole foods.) on there... (and have it for the week.) The fat drips off and since I'm making it at home, I know what herbs and seasonings I'm adding (Thinkbubelz is sensitive to onions.... and I don't like not knowning whether MSG is being added to the chicken from the grocery stores.)

We cooked up about 3 lbs of veggies on the grill-- so flavorful and awesome rolled up in an organic tortilla... :-)”

“Eating healthy isn't nearly as expenive as not eating healthy.

Consider the financial costs of doctor bills and time off work. Consider the mental health costs.”

“It does cost more to avoid the heavily processed foods. But its worth it.”

“This has been great discussion. It is nice to see so many people checking in on the healthy food side, but I guess that's to be expected from this group. Pedxing I have come to some of the same conclusions. I've given up some things i didn't need or that were bad for me in order to justify spending more on a healthy diet.
Since my divorce I have spent far less money on eating out, movies, vacations etc and much more on camping/backpacing gear, a new mountain bike etc. My next investment will be a canoe or kayak. I plan on making this a permanent lifestyle change and anyone who wants to be close with me from now on will have to be interested in teh same things or at least tolerant of my passions.”

“This Dr. Weil who is into nutrition said wheat bread is not good enough. You need to eat bread with a lot of whole grains in it.”
lipstick hiker

Hence the whole wheat bread.


Pedxing, very true about cutting up your own birds and skipping the soda. But there are plenty of folks out there, myself included who already do stuff like that and still can't pay $2.99 per dozen free range organic eggs and $2.89 for a 1/2 gallon of organic milk. It's not in the budget. I think that's kinda what IJ's asking about.”

“Sass, have you tried Soy milk. I got it once to try out and liked it. The vanilla flavored Soy milk on cereal is good.”

“Eating healthy isn't nearly as expenive as not eating healthy.

I hate to admit it but I agree with myself.”

“I love eatting healthy but it seems here in the midwest it isnt done that much. And the stores that do carry organic- healthy bunny food stuff are too expensive...I have an awesome veggi garden now so that should help a lot. I at least always try to go for the whole grains and whole wheat breads but some weeks are tighter then others- like this week it is white bread and cheap lunch meat (what the heck is it made of???)”

“Lyra - Eastern market is a great place to go too, they're gettingmore organic stuff here.

America does seem to be catching up with the organic produce thing. Still seems to be limited in the number of people who care though.

Taste is also a big factor is buying organic. Stuff tastes like it should do.”

“just a casusal observation”

“I wish we had a good (affordable) fish monger around here...

I love to here you talk about long term lifestyle cahnges IJ, that IMO is the key to good health, not weight lose in and of itself but as a byproduct of healthy good livin...”

“If eating healthy is expensive. You aren't eating healthy.”

“thats true....when I was single, 20 bucks would feed me for 2 weeks and it would be healthy stuff (organic foods, no meat)

Feeding mike who loves his lunch meat, bread...etc...we scrape by with 50 dollars a week in groceries and my food is certainly not as good. But then again, the price of the stuff I like is almost double out here then where I used to live where I would get all my fruits/veggis from the farmers directly and get soy milk/cheese and the other stuff at the wild oats or trader joes.”

“Eating well doesn't have to be expensive-it is a matter of buying well-finding what products that are organic are better, and what you can skim by on. It is not buying convience products, it is shopping in bulk at Co-op's or at healthy food stores. Grow a garden, make friends and trade with people who grow other items :-)

Pinkbubble...hate to say it, carragean is seaweed ;-) Also a name that applies to Irish Moss. Carragean is used to thicken products (think like gelatin thickening). It is commonly used in commercial puddings.”

“Gremlin... d d d did yyou say G G Goat?

opinion... If organic farms were subsidized like regular farms, the good food would be just as if not more inexpensive. The draw back would be the occassional lack of product due to bug infestations and such.”