I think eating healthfully on a budget is very possible, money-wise. But I think the trap we fall into is with time, not money. If there is time to buy fresh produce and wash, chop and prepare it; if there is time to buy, sort, soak and cook dried beans instead of using canned; if there is time to prepare meat, veggies or pasta instead of buying frozen food, then eating on a budget is very feasible.
But for people who rely on convenience foods because time is short, the price goes up. If you buy organic frozen veggies, they cost more. If you buy packaged salad greens, they cost more. Anything that's prepackaged, pre-chopped or pre-sliced runs up the total. And of course eating out is much more expensive than eating at home, unless you're driving through a fast food restaurant, which means your nutrition takes a hit even if the budget doesn't.
And when you count the time factor, it also takes time to plan the meals, write the grocery list of ingredients, and make sure you use the food before it spoils once you have it home. I love to cook and I love to grocery-shop, and I wish I had the time to do it well. But I usually don't.
The fact that our stores are now filled with deli counters that have dinner to go, produce departments filled with chunks of chopped watermelon and cantaloupe in plastic containers, and baguettes at the checkout stand is evidence of how strapped for time we all are. In some ways, solving the time issue might solve the budget issue for itself.
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I think eating healthfully on a budget is very possible, money-wise. But I think the trap we fall into is with time, not money. If there is time to buy fresh produce and wash, chop and prepare it; if there is time to buy, sort, soak and cook dried beans instead of using canned; if there is time to prepare meat, veggies or pasta instead of buying frozen food, then eating on a budget is very feasible.
But for people who rely on convenience foods because time is short, the price goes up. If you buy organic frozen veggies, they cost more. If you buy packaged salad greens, they cost more. Anything that's prepackaged, pre-chopped or pre-sliced runs up the total. And of course eating out is much more expensive than eating at home, unless you're driving through a fast food restaurant, which means your nutrition takes a hit even if the budget doesn't.
And when you count the time factor, it also takes time to plan the meals, write the grocery list of ingredients, and make sure you use the food before it spoils once you have it home. I love to cook and I love to grocery-shop, and I wish I had the time to do it well. But I usually don't.
The fact that our stores are now filled with deli counters that have dinner to go, produce departments filled with chunks of chopped watermelon and cantaloupe in plastic containers, and baguettes at the checkout stand is evidence of how strapped for time we all are. In some ways, solving the time issue might solve the budget issue for itself.
May 14, 2009 - 9:12amThis Comment
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