Thank you for including numbers. I'm so sick of articles that claim that eating healthy has to be expensive. I can buy a 10 pound bag of potatoes for $4. A 5 pound bag of carrots for $3. A package of chicken parts at $2 a pound. 5 heads of romaine lettuce for $4. Butter/oil/spices that last more than a month - another $10. That right there is a whole week's worth of food for ~$25, which someone could easily spend on a few fast food "meals." Other options like rice + curry or rice/beans/tortillas+ veggies are even cheaper. And I live in Los Angeles, not a place especially known for its low cost of living. I simply refuse to not eat real food. I buy food from the outer aisles of a grocery store, that's my huge secret.
Other people will say it's TIME. What else do I have to do with my time that is more important that I'm so busy I can't stick a pan of meat & vegetables in the oven and rinse a head of lettuce and chop it up? I spend ~30 minutes cooking dinner, and that's at a leisurely pace. It would take me at least that long to drive to a fast food place, wait in line, and come back home. If the average person is watching 4 hours of TV a day, surely they can spare half an hour to make themselves real food.
I suppose I was lucky that I was raised by poor Depression-Era parents who knew how to stretch a dollar - but this is not rocket science. I'm no chef. My meals are not exciting or hyperpalatable - just simple healthy food.
Thank you for including numbers. I'm so sick of articles that claim that eating healthy has to be expensive. I can buy a 10 pound bag of potatoes for $4. A 5 pound bag of carrots for $3. A package of chicken parts at $2 a pound. 5 heads of romaine lettuce for $4. Butter/oil/spices that last more than a month - another $10. That right there is a whole week's worth of food for ~$25, which someone could easily spend on a few fast food "meals." Other options like rice + curry or rice/beans/tortillas+ veggies are even cheaper. And I live in Los Angeles, not a place especially known for its low cost of living. I simply refuse to not eat real food. I buy food from the outer aisles of a grocery store, that's my huge secret.
Other people will say it's TIME. What else do I have to do with my time that is more important that I'm so busy I can't stick a pan of meat & vegetables in the oven and rinse a head of lettuce and chop it up? I spend ~30 minutes cooking dinner, and that's at a leisurely pace. It would take me at least that long to drive to a fast food place, wait in line, and come back home. If the average person is watching 4 hours of TV a day, surely they can spare half an hour to make themselves real food.
I suppose I was lucky that I was raised by poor Depression-Era parents who knew how to stretch a dollar - but this is not rocket science. I'm no chef. My meals are not exciting or hyperpalatable - just simple healthy food.
Live Well and Prosper.