Budget Minded Healthy Eaters

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-31-2006
Budget Minded Healthy Eaters
4
Sat, 03-03-2007 - 8:23am

I've definately noticed some discussions on here recently about how expensive eating healthy seems when you first get started. This article was highlighted on ivillage this morning and I thought I would share with my friends here on the board.

http://healthysteps.health.ivillage.com/everydaylife/eathealthywithoutbreakingbank.cfm

Hope everyone is having a grand weekend!

Colleen

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-08-2006
Sat, 03-03-2007 - 9:19am

Colleen,
Thanks for this - I refuse to believe that eating healthy costs more than eating junk -

Pre this journey, I had most of my meals either out or as take-out - so when I began buying things to prepare at home, my grocery bills seemed huge - but I realized that my 'walking around money' lasted longer because I wasn't spending $5-10 each night on dinner or grabiing that muffin most mornings...

I think if we tracked what we really spend on stuff we eat - the grocery store, but also the restaurant meals, the quick coffee and muffins, the snacks that we eat on the go - we'd see that unhealthy eating lightens the wallet while adding the pounds.

I am NOT saying that women shouldn't work outside the home, but I do think that one contributing factor to the obesity epedemic is that women are no longer home all day focusing on creative ways to provide healthy, delicious meals to their families. Cooking and baking used to be seen as very important skills for women, accomplishments even, and so people ate a lot less processed food - my mother thought people who bought cookies at the store were just too lazy to make their own! When we were 'liberated' to the work force, home cooking was somewhat replaced with fast food and convenience, and I think that younger people are frequently not even given the chance to learn how to cook healthy-so have to rely on others to supply their food. All choices have trade-offs, but I'm not sure we saw this one coming...

I always 'knew' how to cook, but it seemed like a lot of work to cook for just me - its only in the past six months that I am making an effort to cook for myself three or four times a week, and I am having a lot of fun with it - I even make dinner for a friend once a week and the praise and admiration from him is very motivating - but what is kind of sad is that I think it is the only 'real' meal he eats all week...

So, thanks for pointing us to ideas for eating healthier on the cheap.

(And I know your husband cooks for your family-if I'd found one of those, maybe I'd have signed on the dotted line ans walked down the aisle!! because I love to eat even more than I like to cook!)

Happy weekend!
SJ
225-169-135

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-06-2006
Tue, 03-06-2007 - 3:37am
Colleen, thanks for the article. I've been practicing some of the things mentioned and I do feel I'm saving more than when I ate not-so-healthy food.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-06-2006
Tue, 03-06-2007 - 4:05am

SJ I think you're up to something here.


First off, I'm one of those young working

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-08-2006
Tue, 03-06-2007 - 10:01pm

Mary,
It's great that you are 'multi-tasking' - cooking and bonding with Mark at the same time. My sister-in-law often says 'Excuse if there are eggshells in the cake-I had a LOT of help' and I know she and my nephew spent a fun time in the kitchen.

Again speaking from my VAST inexperience (I was a child once, if never a parent) I think kids love doing anything with their parents - its the attention, not the activity, that matters - and even though it makes any task take only three times as long with 'help', I truly believe the benefits are awesome...

Happy cooking!
SJ
225-169-135