Ironic: The food people typically characterize as “junk” costs considerably more than fresh and healthy food. “Junk” food may be nearly worthless nutritionally, but it comes at a very high price—for your family’s health, for your family’s budget, and for the environment. Expand the purchasing power in your food budget and contribute substantially to your family’s health by buying food fresh and preparing meals from scratch.
In general, processed and packaged foods cost at least 50% more than their raw ingredients, because you must pay for extra ingredients, plus processing, packaging, and transportation. For simple proof, compare the price of heat-and-serve macaroni and cheese with the cost of macaroni…and cheese. Because a full bag of pasta and a respectable chunk of cheese may cost more than the little cardboard box, you may have to level the playing field by calculating the cost-per-serving. When all the digits tumble into place, though, the raw ingredients will beat the processed stuff by a country mile.
Similarly, the more your food is processed, the less nutritional value it has, and the bigger its carbon footprint. All that cooking, dehydrating, canning, wrapping, and shipping sucks-up water and energy, and it pumps pollutants into the air. Even if the food processor adds no chemicals to the water used for cooking a can of vegetables, the super-heated water still taxes the environment, promoting growth of algae and inhibiting growth of fish and other wildlife. Buying the very same vegetable fresh from your local grower reduces your item’s carbon footprint by nearly 80%, and it often saves 80% on the purchase price too.
Two ways to make the case
Southern California consumer advocate Jamie Jenkins recently illustrated the point two different ways. First, analyzing her family’s regular weekly menu, Jenkins quickly discovered that the family’s diet and the traditional “food pyramid” had little in common beyond the fact that both dealt with food. “Like just about every other North American family, we eat way too many fats and carbohydrates, and we spend way too much money on packaged and processed foods,” Jenkins confessed. Recognizing that she was a victim of American tradition, Jenkins saw that she always served a starchy side dish with the daily dinner entrée. “Way too many calories for way too little nutrition,” Jenkins admitted.
The economical solution: A sudden and decisive spike in vegetable consumption. As summer produce arrives at the market, prices tumble and nutrients soar. Instead of potatoes, Jenkins stocked-up on fresh broccoli, carrots, peas, and string beans. The price for locally grown avocados fell to four for $1(US), so she splurged on them, too. Jenkins also went crazy for salad ingredients, adding romaine lettuce and red cabbage to the old standard iceberg lettuce, loading-up on tomatoes, radishes, and fresh mushrooms. Closing the deal, she elected to mix her own olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Result: she cut the grocery budget by 15% while feeding her family a much better balanced diet.
Second, Jenkins proved what most moms already know: Fast food costs a fortune. Calculating that the standard drive-through fare costs her family $35(US) per drive, yielding five cheeseburgers, five orders of French fries, and five “medium” soft drinks, Jenkins tested how much more she could get from the same $35(US) if she made everything herself. The basic fast-food meal cost only $12(US) when she prepared the food herself. For $35(US), Jenkins discovered she could prepare twenty very low fat cheeseburgers, more than one dozen servings of French fries cooked with no trans-fats, and she could upgrade the soft drinks to ice cream milk shakes, adding a healthy salad to the menu with fresh fruit for dessert. Experiment concluded, “I rest my case,” Jenkins beamed.
For a healthy and clinically proven alternative to dieting, consider Medifast. Use a Medifast coupon code for discounts.