Healthy Eating Is Too Expensive...

SATURDAY, JUNE 18TH, 2011

Open Class 9:00am

Stretching Class 10:00am

Foothill Volleyball 11:00am

Read this post I found on "CAVEMomma!". I literally hear this excuse at least once a day.

HEALTHY EATING IS TOO EXPENSIVE :(

This is a touchy subject I meet every day. How are we supposed to feed our family healthy food? It’s sooooo expensive to eat like that..I always wonder: how much of that is what you’ve heard, and accepted, and how much is research? Most people see the price of organics and just say “too much” and move on to the Hamburger Helper and Cola aisles. Oi Vey. Our bodies and our children deserve better.

As most of you are aware, I have children, so we feed a family of six. I own a cleaning company. Not a stock brokerage, a cleaning company. Our family doesn’t believe in debt, so we save every penny and buy only what we need and can afford in cash. I tell you all of that to tell you this: I feed this family the same way I feed myself. It’s not “mom’s on a diet, this is my food, you eat that garbage”. My passion is teaching children habits that they’ll take with them into the future. It’s about spending a little more now, if needed, to not pay huge healthcare costs. Our immune systems are better than 95% of all our peers, and our future is not going to be full of medication and dr. visits. It’ll be full of outdoor playtime. Because we make great choices now.

I went to the grocery store this weekend, just after a debate on Facebook about the so-called “high cost” of feeding a family healthy food. I walked around the store looking at all the processed crap that I literally haven’t laid eyes on in quite some time. I was expecting to have a real fight on my hands. I don’t. One pound of bananas was 54 cents (on sale, normally .69). Frosted Flakes were 3.99 per box. Free range organic eggs were 2.69 per dozen. (Frosted flakes surges blood sugar, and leaves kids hungry in about an hour. Eggs have healthy protein, fats, and vitamins to fuel the brain, and leaves kids and adults satiated for hours.) Sweet potatoes were $1 each for HUGE potatoes (I fed three of us on ONE tonight.) Organic Romaine was 3.99 for a pack of 3 stalks, and Organic baby spinach was 4.19 for a giant box. Conversely, One Digiorno Pizza and cookies in a box (enough to feed 2-3 of most of us) was $8.19 Um, gross. I got a whole Pork Tenderloin (fed 6) for 7.99. I bought 24 distilled waters for 2.99. How much was that 12 pack of coke again? I made a crockpot full of pulled port tenderloin, sweet potatoes, and fresh picked green beans for $11.89 this evening. There are enough leftovers for David and I to have for lunch tomorrow. That’s 2 meals for $11.89. But the poor kids!!! Yeah, cuz their poor little pancreas and livers are screaming “I need a pop tart! Chicken nuggets too!” Not likely.

I made a salad today for the two of us from 1/2 organic romaine stalk, a handful of spinach, organic tomato, avocado, and olive oil with half a chicken breast. In my estimation, it cost about 5.00 for lunch for the two of us. I challenge you to take $5 to your local fast food restaurant and attempt to feed two people…then also factor in those blood pressure pills you’re going to be on after eating like that for a week. I used to feed my family the same ”cheap” grocery store food. When I switched to Primal, I spent a bunch. Then I realized that I had to simply plan better. So, after making a meal plan (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks) for 7 days, I set out for the grocery store. I spent exactly $11 more than the budget we’d set before, that I had been keeping with the sugar-filled, processed, gluten-laden, JUNK. While standing in line, I got up the courage to ask the lady in front of me how many people she was buying groceries for. She said 2, herself and her husband, and that her grandbaby comes over twice a week. She had the usual: Soda, bread, hamburger, buns, Cereal, yogurt, spaghetti sauce and noodles, mac and cheese, etc.I asked if it was for the whole week, and she said yes, do you think it’s enough? (insert bitten tongue here)…Her total for 2 people + 1/2 was $89.94. WTFREAK?? My total for the week for 6 people was $129. .This is where I also decided to make a couple of sacrifices in other areas to make up for the extra $11…Because this ‘temple’ and my children are worth it. Every. time.

Coach Justin
PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com