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Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,016,954 times
Reputation: 36027
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marlow
What is unhealthy about some pork in a pot of beans? It's high in sodium, but it's not particularly high in calories or fat.
Red meat isn't very healthy which is one of the reasons why I don't eat much of it. I have no issues with a little pork here and there but I would not even pretend that it is a healthy option.
"Red meat isn't very healthy" is a pretty broad statement. But in any case, I maintain that pot of beans cooked with some ham and onions and served with a slice of cornbread and a pat of real butter is cheap, tasty and nutritious.
If I were really that broke, I'd for damn sure be hitting up a couple McDoubles from the dollar menu rather than go on a peasant starch regimen like a lot of you are recommending. At least I'd be full. And instead of cooking, I could be looking for a job.
Don't you think a pound of hamburger and burger buns would take you farther than one trip to McD's??? I could make a few meals on 5 bucks..........and look for a job
A good meal is some beans, ham and yellow onion with some spices dropped into a slow cooker for 4-6 hours. Add some corn bread and you have a solid meal that is cheap and far below the calories of most "instant meals". Not only that, but you will have left overs for several days.
Love this meal.......funny people think this is only a meal if your poor. I fix this on cold days.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chatteress
Red meat isn't very healthy which is one of the reasons why I don't eat much of it. I have no issues with a little pork here and there but I would not even pretend that it is a healthy option.
I was reading an article in the LV Review Journal about how there is a new study (linked above) that the USDA did to counter a study done by some university that said that Junk food was cheaper than healthy food. I've seen this myth thrown about on here when it comes to food stamp threads and such and I could never understand how anyone could claim this. NOW I understand.
Evidently the University of Washington did a study in 2010 that came out with this rediculous idea that junk food was cheaper. How they came to this conclusion should totally discredit their science department though. They based this "fact" on price per CALORIE! So of course all junk food is going to be cheaper by this ratio. Junk food has tons of calories and even the more expensive junk food that you get in a restaurant would be cheaper. LOL! But the reality of things is completely different.
I didn't need any study to tell me that junk food is way more expensive than healthy food... All you have to do is grocery shop and make comparisons in prices and what you get for your money...or even how much of what you buy it takes to fill you up and for how long it keeps you going.
Eating healthy has ALWAYS been cheaper than junk food. Anyone should have been able to see that. The ONLY reason that more people don't eat healthy isn't the price, it's the convenience of junk food.
Not totally true either way. It depends on how you classify various foods and how much time you are willing to put into preparation. Yes, you can eat beans as an example or eggs which are two very healthy foods for cheaper than any junk foods, but if you if you consider many who eat junk foods buy things like the nothing barritos for instance, at the grocery store, they are cheap as well as a lot of other junk foods. Eating healthy and cheap takes knowledge and time...Fresh produce is healthy as we all know, but certainly is pricey for many, depending on what produce you get..?Quality cereals are expensive, so is cheese, milk, and meats, except for hot dogs. They are junk food, but very inexpensive and how about cheap bread, made from refined flour and air. It is what many live on, but good quality bread is $3 to $6 a loaf. We could debate this and never come up with a clear answer. All studies are geared to prove something or are slanted.
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.
There is exactly what I am talking about. It is very possible to eat healthy and still stay within a budget but it takes work..
Red meat isn't very healthy which is one of the reasons why I don't eat much of it. I have no issues with a little pork here and there but I would not even pretend that it is a healthy option.
Really, what is healthy for one person isn't neccesarily healthy for another. Someone with heart problems should stay away from the sodium... someone with diabeties should stay away from grains and carbs. If you gain weight in your belly, stay away from carbs & sugars and then the protiens and fats are better for you.
There is no "this is always healthy for everyone", there are things that are less healthy for everyone... highly processed foods are always less healthy than natural, made from scratch foods.
But other than that, everyone's body is different and we all have our own health issues that we need to pay attention to and find the diet (not weight loss program, but actual DIET) that fits our bodies best.
Not totally true either way. It depends on how you classify various foods and how much time you are willing to put into preparation. Yes, you can eat beans as an example or eggs which are two very healthy foods for cheaper than any junk foods, but if you if you consider many who eat junk foods buy things like the nothing barritos for instance, at the grocery store, they are cheap as well as a lot of other junk foods. Eating healthy and cheap takes knowledge and time...Fresh produce is healthy as we all know, but certainly is pricey for many, depending on what produce you get..?Quality cereals are expensive, so is cheese, milk, and meats, except for hot dogs. They are junk food, but very inexpensive and how about cheap bread, made from refined flour and air. It is what many live on, but good quality bread is $3 to $6 a loaf. We could debate this and never come up with a clear answer. All studies are geared to prove something or are slanted.
Nita
The bolded are the only two things I agree with you on. It is mostly lack of knowledge, unwillingness to work or learn to cook, and wanting things "easy" that keep the poor from eating healthy. NOT the expense, because although you can find cheap crap to buy, you cannot make full meals of top ramen. When you break down a full meal that I can make on less that $4 for a family of 4, I"m paying less than $1 per meal (main dish with at least 2 sides, & sometimes a dessert) per person. And that's not if I go REALLY cheap! That's generally just my average everyday meal. I can get more expensive if I want to also, with organic stuff and expensive meats & cheeses... but I rarely want to do that even when I can afford to. heh.
Both sides of the issue are guilty of over simplification. There's more to it than just dollars and cents. You'd probably have to try out being poor with a family for a while to understand.
The answer to the problem is probably education. People need to be taught to shop on a budget and make appetizing meals. Use of spices and condiments. Time management. How to cook once or twice a week and have food all week long. Older children need to be taught to cook simple meals. Survival skills everyone needs to make it through tough times. Everyone over the age of 12 should know how to make a great pot of rice and beans that will last all week if that's all you have.
There are times when convenience is a necessity. Let's say you have 2 jobs and 3 kids at home. The oldest watches the younger ones till you get home. When you finally get home, dog tired from 2 low pay physical jobs, you have to worry about dinner, lunches, homework, baths, laundry, housework, and getting the kids to bed at a reasonable hour. Reality dictates you will reach for the box of nutritionally worthless mac n 'cheese'. Quick, no fighting, and everyone will eat the stuff.
Economics dictate you stock up whenever you have the money. Boxes of junk foods last forever. Anything fresh deteriorates quickly and becomes quite expensive if you have to throw away part of it. You don't have time or money to shop every day and you can't afford food that spoils.
Next comes the kid factor. Have you ever tried to get a kid to eat a plate of lentils? Most kids want the pizza and Happy Meals they think everyone else is eating and they would literally rather starve than eat the lentils. And they will tell everyone they know that there is no food at home. Hello? Social Services? Child Welfare? Poor people live in fear of these folks. Next try to get that kid to sit down at lunch in the cafeteria with that plate of lentils. That's gonna happen never.
What can we do to make Billy eat the lentils? You can't. He has been bombarded since birth by huge advertising campaigns that told him what to like. And by omission, what foods to hate. Not too many advertising dollars are spent extolling the virtues of lentils. That plate of lentils just doesn't have the eye appeal of a pizza or Happy Meal.
Little Billy can usually scrounge up enough change to get something off the dollar menu. Or the huge turbo burrito at the local convenience store. And they don't have anything there that's healthy and cheap that he will eat and voluntarily spend his limited funds. Good thing Billy doesn't want lentils. He wouldn't find any at 7-11.
So what's changed? Why can't we live cheap and eat well? Mom is missing and many times Dad too. Remember Mom? That person who stayed home all day and made delicious food from scratch for almost nothing? Maybe she even kept a garden and canned/preserved. She kept the house and put up pots of soups and stews. Maybe even made her own bread. Baked cookies even. Perhaps she sewed your clothes. She managed the household and pinched every penny until it screamed for mercy. Economics forced Mom out of the kitchen and into the workforce. The feminist movement helped it along as well. Today the poor folks who need Mom are least likely to be able to afford to have a Mom. Today's moms need a Mom the most.
We all need to relearn some Mom skills we have forgotten or never knew. We need to be able to do more in the kitchen than turn on the microwave.
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