Did you know it’s recommended that we spend 40% of our food expenses on fresh foods and the typical American only spends 20%? Coming from a background of limited finances, we ate a lot of cheap food. Unfortunately I learned a lot of bad habits from that lifestyle, which is slow and difficult to correct. And even then, I don’t even think I will fully correct them, just consciously choose better food.
Part of the difficulty people have with eating healthy is they think it costs more. Fortunately they are wrong. Recently I made a healthy and easy dinner for $3.5o, not per serving, total for 3-4 servings. I make a stir-fry mix of vegetables and noodles (egg or flour noodles, broccoli, snow peas, carrots, zucchini, and stir-fry sauce). I was shocked at the check-out stand when it was only $3.50.
Today’s NPR story confirms my experience. If you can justify $4-6 for a latte, you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables.
Of course, these foods are not as convenient at packaged food which stays fresh for a long time and transports easy. It takes a little more planning to wash and cut these foods. To prevent fruit from going bad, I will clean, cut and then freeze fruit that I won’t finish and then use the frozen fruits in my morning smoothie. Soups and stir-fry are a great way to use a variety of veggies hanging out in the refrigerator.
