Fresh vs. Fast Food
Sunday, April 25, 2010 at 2:34 PM | Dena Harris Blair and I went grocery shopping Saturday afternoon. A young girl, maybe 24-ish, was working the register.
"I should eat like you guys," she said as she swiped kale, tomatoes, and our cartload of fresh fruits and veggies over the scanner bar. "All I eat is fast food."
"Oh, don't do that!" I blurted out. Realizing how that sounded I added, "You're way too young to get sucked into such bad habits. That stuff is terrible for you."
She shrugged. "I go to school and work here," she said. "It's just easier."
A mom in line behind us chimed in. "I'd eat healthy but with three kids, you just can't do it. Each of them has to have their special treats."
"Oh, I get that," said, pointing to the bag of M&M's I'd thrown in my cart. "I'm all about the occasional treat."
"Well, you just can't eat healthy and afford it," she insisted. She seemed adamant that I understand her cart full of blue jello and purple cereal boxes was not her fault.
I wanted to say that our grocery bill has dropped--dramatically--ever since we laid off the packaged goods and starting eating more plants, but I let it go. I disagree that it's more expensive to eat healthy. It's only more expensive if you buy the healthy stuff and don't stop buying the junk. Then, yes, you've added to your bill.
If anything, the argument that would hold more weight is that it's hard to change a family's eating habits. You can't make the change from feeding them Hamburger Helper to mustard greens overnight. Plus, it does take more time to prepare fresh food vs. dumping a box of processed mac-n-cheese into some water.
It bothers me that people feel healthy food is so far out of their reach. I get it, because we ate unhealthy for years. We think. The other week we tried to remember just what the heck we had eaten for the first ten years of our marriage. We ate a lot of Pasta-roni and canned corn and ate out 2-3x/week. I think a lot of "cereal for dinner" took place as well. But we largely drew a blank.
The trick is to start small. Vow to plan and prepare a healthy dinner just one or two times a week. Get comfortable with some recipes. I know the newness of cooking and using ingredients I wasn't familiar with was offputting for me at first. And I'm sure it's even harder if you're trying to please a kids' palate. But it CAN be done and it IS affordable.
And necessary. As the sallow complexion, dull eyes, and listless demeanor of the check-out girl who started the conversation in the first place attests to. It's hard to be alert and perky on a diet filled with salt, fat, and grease.
18 Comments | Email | Print | Share | tagged affordable healthy eating, buying fresh produce, eating healthy in cooking 
Reader Comments (18)
That drives me crazy. It's just priorities and convenience.
it is all about what we choose to pursue.
I blame it on the loss of home ec class. Few kids in the past couple decades or so have been taught how to cook or manage a pantry. It is possible to afford and enjoy "real" food—and find it at your average grocery store and not just budget-busting Earth Whole Faire Foods—as long as you (a) know what to do with it, and (b) know how to shop smart (another thing people aren't taught anymore). It's not an instinct, though; people have to learn these things.
While we're at it, people don't know how to wrangle tools and fix their own stuff anymore, thanks to the demise of shop class. Of course, my high school (in the early '80, no less!) didn't allow girls to take shop class, but that's a whole 'nother thing.
/soapbox
I certainly understand the difficulty of pleasing everyone when there are lots of little mouths running around. It's because of those little mouths though that I really try to make healthy meals and choices for them. Yes it takes a little more time and energy to do it, but it is certainly worth it in the end. If people just make 1 or 2 small changes gradually they can get there. Plus they will see how they save money in the long run. By being able to reuse ingredients for multiple meals and having leftovers as well, you definitley save money there. There are so many sites, magazines, books, etc. that really try to help make easy, healthy, kid-friendly meals today too that it is much easier for the home cook. I think we are all becoming more aware of healthy eating now and hopefully that will help rub off on the young ones. They're the first generation that aren't expected to live as long as their parents did :(
I've never really understood why it is that this myth abounds that eating healthy is unaffordable. I suspect it's to do with having to prepare food from scratch and not really being sure how...... Either way I've never found it expensive to eat healthy.
When I was a kid I ate what I was given. And that never included purple jello.
Tamara & Kim - I agree. It is about priorities. It's worrisome that healthy eating is NOT a priority for so many people.
Iris - I never thought about the home ec thing, but you may be right. Also, we mirror what we see. If a kid watches mom/dad toss chips and frozen pizza in the grocery cart week after week, guess what they'll eat as an adult? (I can't say anything about fixing my own stuff though - I'm horribly inept. But you've motivated me to try... it may be like cooking, I just have to start small and build confidence.)
Nicole - I thought of you when writing this post b/c I know you always eat healthy and have 2 young boys who will eat just about anything because they've been brought up with learning to try new foods. And you're right, there are a million cookbooks or free recipes online people can try.
Rachel - I think kids control their parents these days. If a kid says, "I'm not eating that," the parent caves and gives them what they want instead of saying, "Too bad. That's what's for dinner."
Great post Dena, I feel the same way you do and often get in to debates with my friends and family about how it really isn't more expensive to eat healthy. Yes, organic vegetables and grass-fed meat are more expensive but overall if you buy less packaged food and reduce portions overall (which most people should do) then you will end up saving money in the long run. Not to mention the money you will save in health care costs if you're living an overall healthier lifestyle.
You (and you readers) might be interested in checking out www.thewholegang.org They are doing a "30 day food revolution" inspired by the show that was on recently. Starting today they will be featuring a different blogger to share their views on changing your eating habits to eating more fresh, whole foods.
Great post my friend......Ya know, its the little things that will turn into big things over time. Now take my mom.....I was a youngster before it was cool to eat healthy but I guess my mom was before her time. Instead of a freezer full of popcicles we had bowls of frozen grapes for a cool snack....instead of tons of salt she used lots of lemon and lime juice with herbs, she packed our lunch everyday and I still tease her that she is the only person I know that can put a balanced meal in a brown paper bag. Always carrot or celery sticks with peanut butter and ALWAYS a piece of fruit. 40 years later I still practice alot of what she taught me. No dont get me wrong...I do love some ice cream...... but I run for ice cream!
I think a nutrition class should be required for all high school students. Doctors don't even have to take nutrition classes!
Tam - Thanks for the heads-up on the website. I'll check it out.
Kay - Maybe your mom should teach the nutrition courses Connie is talking about. =) It amazes me how many people still don't realize that "enriched" food is almost always extra bad, as it means they took away 99% of the good stuff and maybe added 1-2% of it back in. Enriched bread is BAD for you, people. B-A-D.
Guess what? You can have your cake and eat it too! Eating healthy does not have to be time consuming. You don't have to learn new recipes. You don't have to spend hours chopping veggies. You don't even have to learn to like new foods! How is this possible? You eat your favorite FRUITS. You peel a banana and eat it. Repeat 5 times and you have yourself a meal. It's that simple. FAST, and CONVENIENT, and the healthiest diet, the diet intended for our species.
Dear Low-fat Raw Foodist - I checked out your site. I've never heard of the 80/10/10 diet but I'm going to do some reading and check it out. Thanks for commenting.
I agree with you, Dena, as well as others, that cooking from scratch doesn't need to take longer. In fact, I can whip up a darn good meal a lot faster than most take-out. But I do think it costs more to buy high quality, fresh ingredients, especially if you go organic. It saddens me to hear your story, but this is the reality with a lot of young folks, as well as low income families. I did some marketing research last year on this very topic, and there are some families with such limited budgets for grocery items, buying the most healthy ingredients isn't an option.
And to your comment above, two weeks ago I made a vegetable stir fry for dinner. My six year old looked at it and said, "Yuk! I'm not eating that." And I said, "Oh yes you are!" He did. And he loved it (even the onions after I got him to try those). Parents do cave too easily.
It is easy to judge the actions of others when you have resources and the leisure time to comment on what other people are doing. Fresh fruits and vegetables are a luxury many people cannot afford. Have any of you ever been in a situation where you had to feed a family of 5 on less than $65.00 per week? Have any of you ever been in a situation when you had to work 2 full-time jobs to make ends meet? What is true for you is not true for everyone.
I am fan of the TV show, Biggest Loser. It's more than inspiring. It holds a mirror up to each face in America. I'm not a vegetarian, and I don't always do the best I can, but I do watch the fat, sugar, and salt. I quit buying "boxed" food a few years ago. I even do my own baking these days, just because I know what's in it. I'll never be stick thin, but I earnstly try every day to get a little more healthier. It's meeting the little goals that encourage me to go forward. So thanks for this inspiring post, Dena. It's why you can now say, "I ran the Boston Marathon!" When you're 70 and look back, you will have so many great memories of those mountain peaks you conquered. And it seems to me--eating the right foods was one of the best things you did, that got you there. You're my hero, in so many ways. Blessings to you and yours.
Dena, allow me to answer the REALIST. The post just above mine. I have been where you are, and worse. Eating healthy when you're barely hanging on, is the last thing you think about at the end of the day. I still don't have the luxury of buying what it takes to eat 100% healthy. But I can tell you, it's one small step at a time. Just one step. Make one healthy meal every two weeks or every week, if you can. Plan it. Just one. Or buy grapes for the kids, instead of those cheap cookies. It costs more, yes, but it's just that one thing that can start your ball rolling. I know the discouragment, the drop in your heart when you read posts like Dena's and you only wish you could do what she does. But living longer, keeping down doctor and hospital bills, takes an effort. And with you, my friend, it's starting small. Buy fruit and vegetables in season, learn how to can and freeze them, have your children help you or your spouse or other family members. I know, when can you do that, working two jobs? You gather your family together, have a meeting, tell them what you want to do, and you develop a plan. Everybody contributes. Life is not easy. But eating right does help. GOD BLESS YOU, and your family.
Kind of struck a nerve here, Dena. You are such a good motivator, writer, researcher that you should do something with this. Obviously a lot of America is interested.
Dena,
Have you seen http://www.foodnsport.com ? There is also a forum at Vegsource where Dr. Graham moderates daily, he will answer any questions you have. I bet he'd love to work with you, as a well-known athlete! :) also google Michael Arnstein, He is a fruitarian marathon runner, best time 2:30