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I can buy a whole lot of Top Ramen for the same price as one pound of tomatoes or a bag of carrots.
I can buy an 8 pack of hot dogs for a lot cheaper than I can putting together a salad.
I consider Top Ramen and hot dogs to be junk food.
They are junk food, and maybe you're shopping in the wrong markets then? Because for the money you use you're getting more than what you pay for with healthy foods.
I know that a lot of people don't know how to shop at a grocery store... and to get the best prices you aren't going to go to one store for everything.... like I keep saying junk food is way more convenient than healthy food, but it's definitely NOT cheaper!
I've said that here on this board numerous times when people have said obesity is because the poor can't afford healthy food.
Bananas are 59 cents a pound
Apples .99-1.29 per pound on sale.
Chicken $2.00-$4.00 per pound, depending on whether its on sale.
Doritos - $4.29 for 11.5 ounces, so about $5 per pound.
Cokes- $1.50 per 2 liter so $3.00 for approx. a gallon
Milk- $2.89 gallon
So you can buy a pound of bananas, pound of chicken and gallon of milk for cheaper than one bag of Doritos and 2 cokes.
Life is about choices. If someone isn't where they want to be financially, physically, etc., they should examine their own choices rather than making excuses.
One of my coworkers, a single mother, complains loudly, on an almost daily basis that she cannot afford to feed her 3 year old twins anything except junk food. She said she feeds them either a box of mac and cheese or hot dogs every single day, with potato chips, the only food she can afford for them.
Now the punch line is that she is a two pack a day smoker........how many fruits and veggies could she afford to buy if she gave up smoking?
I'm sorry, but you're completely 100% wrong on all of the above, except that healthier foods are less convenient than junk food. I've been poor, DIRT poor, almost living out of my car poor, and junk food was NEVER inexpensive enough to warrant buying it, even with coupons. Not only is it not cheaper, but it doesn't last as long either or feed as many people. The ONLY thing junk food has going for it is that it doesn't take as long to go from buying it to eating it.
Bingo!
Knowing how to cook and prepare food is far cheaper than buying the quick junk food.
Heck, I can make a 1 week supply of beef vegetable soup for two people that is very healthy and costs around 30 dollars the first time (for spices, base, etc..) and then only around 15 dollars the next 3-4 times you make it.
As you said, if you want it quick, no effort, in your mouth soon after it is out of the package, then junk food has that bonus, but it is beyond expensive to live like that (and extremely fatty, high calorie, and has poor nutritional value).
One of my coworkers, a single mother, complains loudly, on an almost daily basis that she cannot afford to feed her 3 year old twins anything except junk food. She said she feeds them either a box of mac and cheese or hot dogs every single day, with potato chips, the only food she can afford for them.
Now the punch line is that she is a two pack a day smoker........how many fruits and veggies could she afford to buy if she gave up smoking?
Have her make this:
Vegetable Beef Soup (for large container)
Ingredients
1. Half-stock Celery (leaves and all)
--a. Cut into bite size pieces.
2. Four whole carrots
--a. Cut up into slices
3. 1 Yellow Onion
--a. Diced (semi-large chunks)
4. Potatoes
--a. 4 medium size
--b. Peel and dice semi-large 10-15 pieces per potato.
5. Cabbage half-head
--a. Cut like potato (squares)
6. Canned Tomatoes
--a. Any type (stewed, diced, with other) (3 cans reg size, less if bigger can)
--b. Possibly 4 as need.
7. Beef Base
--a. Superior Touch: Better than bullion.
----i. 3 heaping spoonfuls
8. Black pepper
--a. Season to taste (add at start, season later)
9. Salt (use Zesty in place of)
--a. Season to taste
10. Fresh Minced Garlic
--a. 2-3 tablespoons (more to taste if need)
11. Pappy’s Seasoning Blend
--a. For soup, meat, fish, poultry.
--b. Season as garlic and pepper
12. Kitchen Bouquet
--a. Browning and seasoning sauce.
--b. About a tablespoon.
Prep
1. Cut all vegetables and put them in the pot.
2. Cut cabbage and set it aside.
3. Put in canned tomatoes (juice and all)
4. At this point can add kidney beans, pinto beans, etc…
5. Fill with water two inches above vegetables
6. Add Beef base
7. Add Pepper
8. Garlic
9. Seasoning salt
10. Pappy’s Seasoning blend
11. Kitchen Bouquet
Cooking
1. Turn on and bring to a boil.
2. Turn down to simmer and put a lid on.
a. Very light simmer (not a boil)
b. Stir occasionally
3. Cook for 30 mins
--a. Look if needs more water
--b. Taste if needs more beef flavor and add base if need.
--c. Taste for more seasoning
4. Continue to cook until vegetables are soft.
--(test carrot for indication)
--a. Roughly 30-40 more minutes (roughly 1 hour total start-finish)
5. When near, turn up heat a bit bringing it near to a boil.
6. Add Cabbage and stir in.
7. Take off heat, cover it and let it sit for 15 mins.
That is extremely cheap and if you buy your spices and the like in bulk, it is even cheaper. You can mix up the type of vegetables put in as well.
Heck, you can even cut corners as well. For instance, you don't need the browning sauce, it is merely to make it look dark in color (to look like beef soup). It won't change the taste (though I prefer using it myself).
Also, you can mix it up and use chicken broth instead using only celery, carrots, maybe some corn. Then pick up a bit of chicken and make chicken vegetable soup, or chicken and rice, etc...
Eh, I bought a box of Kashi cereal recently. Super healthy stuff. I think it cost about $4... compared to about $3 for a box of Cocoa Pebbles which are just sugar and simple carbs.
You could probably buy a box of Quaker Oats for less than $2.
You could probably buy a box of Quaker Oats for less than $2.
i buy plain quaker rolled oats for 73.5 cents per pound. boneless skinless chicken breast for 1.49 per pound.
healthy food only costs more than junk food when you buy it at places like whole foods or you pay for a brand that advertises as healthy but its really no better than cookie crisp. the primary thing people need to do is eat less. never listen to an overweight person when it comes to healthy eating.
Healthier food is cheaper, but it takes time to get it, store it, prepare it and clean up after preparing it. I completely understand why a single working parent would prefer to drive through McDonald's than go home after work and cook a real meal and clean up.
However, if we're talking about obesity, even if junk food were cheaper, people are still eating too much of it. Eight packs of ramen noodles and a package of hot dogs should make 8 meals. I suspect that many people eat that in 2 or 3 meals. If you were to eat a pack of ramen and a hot dog, throw in some carrots and an apple or orange, you'd have a fairly decent meal, although it would be high in fat and sodium. But eating that for lunch or dinner every day wouldn't make you fat. If you topped it off with a bag of chips and a liter of Coke every day, you'd most likely be consuming too many calories and would start to put on weight.
Healthier food is cheaper, but it takes time to get it, store it, prepare it and clean up after preparing it. I completely understand why a single working parent would prefer to drive through McDonald's than go home after work and cook a real meal and clean up.
And there are ways to make this easier as well. For instance, I spend every Sunday after shopping making the meals for the week. For things that can not be made right then, I prep everything into containers so making it is fast and simple. Also, you pick meal plans that are simplistic and not complicated processes. All of this can be done with a little bit of planning even for the busiest of people.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marlow
However, if we're talking about obesity, even if junk food were cheaper, people are still eating too much of it. Eight packs of ramen noodles and a package of hot dogs should make 8 meals. I suspect that many people eat that in 2 or 3 meals. If you were to eat a pack of ramen and a hot dog, throw in some carrots and an apple or orange, you'd have a fairly decent meal, although it would be high in fat and sodium. But eating that for lunch or dinner every day wouldn't make you fat. If you topped it off with a bag of chips and a liter of Coke every day, you'd most likely be consuming too many calories and would start to put on weight.
See, my issue is not that people "choose" to be such, rather that they KNOW they are choosing this. It is the excuses that bother me as they attempt to escape the responsibility of their choices. Past that, if they want to eat, get fat, etc... more power to them, it is their "choice".
Calories in a packet of ramen: 380
hot dog 149
15 baby carrots 60
orange 45
Total 634 (not unreasonable for one of three meals in a day)
Adding in a 12 oz. coke 143
Serving of Kraft M&C 340
Total 1,117 (way too many calories for one of three meals in a day)
You could also save money by buying regular carrots rather than baby carrots.
My point is that being poor is not an excuse for being obese. You can eat cheaply and get fairly decent nutrition without spending a ton of money. You don't have to be eating organic baby spring greens and artisan goat cheese to be well nourished and a healthy weight.
Ingredients
1. Half-stock Celery (leaves and all)
--a. Cut into bite size pieces.
2. Four whole carrots
--a. Cut up into slices
3. 1 Yellow Onion
--a. Diced (semi-large chunks)
4. Potatoes
--a. 4 medium size
--b. Peel and dice semi-large 10-15 pieces per potato.
5. Cabbage half-head
--a. Cut like potato (squares)
6. Canned Tomatoes
--a. Any type (stewed, diced, with other) (3 cans reg size, less if bigger can)
--b. Possibly 4 as need.
7. Beef Base
--a. Superior Touch: Better than bullion.
----i. 3 heaping spoonfuls
8. Black pepper
--a. Season to taste (add at start, season later)
9. Salt (use Zesty in place of)
--a. Season to taste
10. Fresh Minced Garlic
--a. 2-3 tablespoons (more to taste if need)
11. Pappy’s Seasoning Blend
--a. For soup, meat, fish, poultry.
--b. Season as garlic and pepper
12. Kitchen Bouquet
--a. Browning and seasoning sauce.
--b. About a tablespoon.
Prep
1. Cut all vegetables and put them in the pot.
2. Cut cabbage and set it aside.
3. Put in canned tomatoes (juice and all)
4. At this point can add kidney beans, pinto beans, etc…
5. Fill with water two inches above vegetables
6. Add Beef base
7. Add Pepper
8. Garlic
9. Seasoning salt
10. Pappy’s Seasoning blend
11. Kitchen Bouquet
Cooking
1. Turn on and bring to a boil.
2. Turn down to simmer and put a lid on.
a. Very light simmer (not a boil)
b. Stir occasionally
3. Cook for 30 mins
--a. Look if needs more water
--b. Taste if needs more beef flavor and add base if need.
--c. Taste for more seasoning
4. Continue to cook until vegetables are soft.
--(test carrot for indication)
--a. Roughly 30-40 more minutes (roughly 1 hour total start-finish)
5. When near, turn up heat a bit bringing it near to a boil.
6. Add Cabbage and stir in.
7. Take off heat, cover it and let it sit for 15 mins.
That is extremely cheap and if you buy your spices and the like in bulk, it is even cheaper. You can mix up the type of vegetables put in as well.
Heck, you can even cut corners as well. For instance, you don't need the browning sauce, it is merely to make it look dark in color (to look like beef soup). It won't change the taste (though I prefer using it myself).
Also, you can mix it up and use chicken broth instead using only celery, carrots, maybe some corn. Then pick up a bit of chicken and make chicken vegetable soup, or chicken and rice, etc...
sounds delicious. I'd make it. But this mother is LAZY, obviously. She will look at this recipe and whine, "OH NO< i don't have TIME for that much work!" The idea that junk food is cheaper is just an excuse that the lazy poor use to justify not getting off their behinds and cooking for crying out loud. Hello??? Beans and rice, pasta with vegetables, not that difficult people.
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