Have you ever groused that you’d like to eat healthy, but that you just can’t afford to do so on a regular basis? Or has someone you know justified eating regularly at McDonald’s, because they can order a filling meal for themselves or their kids for $1?
Healthy food does not have to be expensive food. When one organic red bell pepper from Fresh Direct costs $4, I’d say yes, that’s expensive. When two heritage breed, humanely raised pork chops at the Greenmarket cost $22, I’d say the same.
But these two instances really are exceptions to the rule. Lots of healthy, whole foods can actually be quite cheap:
- A bowl of oatmeal made with Quaker rolled oats costs 17 cents
- Two free-roaming Nature’s Yoke brand eggs for breakfast will run you 48 cents
- One sweet potato costs about 49 cents
- A bunch of kale costs between $1 and $1.50
- A banana costs between 19 and 30 cents
- A serving of dried beans costs about 15 cents
- A serving of brown rice costs about 30 cents
And the fact is that we spend a smaller percentage of our incomes on food than ever before in our nation’s history. We expect cheap food, and, thanks to government subsidies of such crops as industrial corn and soybeans, a lot of junky foods that contain these ingredients (which is just about all of them) are cheaper than they should be.
But remember that in the end, eating cheap junk food ends up costing us more. That weekly run to McDonald’s can lead to weight gain and the need to pay for a personal trainer or weight-loss program. Regularly downing chips, instant ramen noodles, and those 25 cent plastic bottles of fruit drink can lead to wild blood sugar swings and, eventually, perhaps type 2 diabetes. We then have higher health-care costs. Plus, our quality of life suffers.
Consider the money you spend on wholesome foods an investment in your and your family’s health. Better to spend money on green vegetables now than prescription pills like Lipitor later.
