Families that want to find a way to eat a more healthy diet without breaking the bank should rethink how they use meat. Last week Adrienne of The Rich Life on a Budget, one of my readers and blogger friends, commented on my post about the expense of healthy eating. She pointed out that one of the major food expenses is meat and that if we treat meat as a side dish or condiment rather than as the main focus of the meal, we can eat much more healthfully and much more inexpensively. Adrienne said that shifting the focus to grains and vegetables is a healthful and inexpensive way to eat. According to this article on MSN, "Americans are obsessed with protein, but it's the one nutrient we actually get too much of." Since we're getting too much of it, cutting down on meat consumption seems to be one of the best ways to save money.
Processed snack foods are also an unhealthy way to bust your budget. Shona of LALA dex press, another of my blogger friends, commented that reaching for the real food rather than the processed imitation one is another way to save money and your health. She says that apples are a much better snack than "Juicy Juice." The above MSN article also pointed out that "the most inexpensive snacks are also some of the healthiest." Foods like raisins, popcorn (not the microwave type), carrot sticks, pretzels, cheese, and bananas are much healthier and cheaper than a box of those prepackaged "100 calorie" snack foods where you are paying for empty calories and a lot of packaging and advertising.
(Photo Sources: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/835858 and http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1303029)
2 comments:
Hi Cherie,
Thanks for the mention. We have been so very conditioned to think we must have a big hunk of meat every night - or even for every meal - that we don't consider other options. We don't have to pick between being a vegetarian or not - we can simply increase our vegetable, fruit and grain intake while decreasing our protein (meat) for a less expensive grocery bill and a healthier body.
I tried going vegetarian for 30 days and I was bored to tears by the end. I like certain meats and fish and don't want to give them up entirely but I also don't want to spend loads of cash on buying it. So why not have just a little and make it the highest quality meats I can afford (organic, free-range, hormone free, etc.)
Now, if I could just get my husband to not make meat the star of the show every night....must work on that :)
Great post....got me thinking. Again.
Adrienne, vegetarianism isn't for everyone - although I wish it were. :) My husband has essentially become one as he is now aware of the horrendous conditions the factory animals live and die in. Except for fish and seafood, he will only eat meat he has raised or hunted himself.
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