Tuesday, June 30, 2015

F*ck Gwyneth Paltrow



Ok, I'll give her a break, I mean, at least she TRIED to see what it's like to be poor and eat healthy. Thing is, is that its really NOT that expensive to eat well. When you cut out meat, dairy, and oils-you are saving a SIGNIFICANT amount of money, as frankly those are the most expensive items. The cost of meat these days is outrageous. As discussed before, hamburger runs about 7.00 a package, and you are able to get two gianormous chicken breast for about 8.00 as well.

You have noticed that, right, just how huge chicken breasts are coming now? Yeah that ain't natural. Back in the day, they were half the size of that naturally. I've heard that they give the chickens some sort of hormone so by a certain age, they are already big enough to slaughter to eat.....so instead of waiting for them to mature, they throw them into chicken puberty and kill them much sooner than usual. If you think of just all the fast food chicken places and corporate restaurant chains alone-the demand is so great that yes, they had to think of some way to keep up with it. It's pretty gross.

So let's say you're mindful of all that so you want to get chicken that is 'free range' or you want to get beef that is 'grass fed.' You can even go so far as to get beef where the cows have been massaged and shit and basically given a room at the Hilton. Allegedly the 'relaxed' and pampered cow dies peacefully in slaughter and due to all that bovine bliss, the meat is 'tenderized' by some sort of happiness enzyme, netting you a much better piece of meat. For half of your paycheck.

In other words-if you want QUALITY meat you will really pay out the behind for it and if you are willing to buy the cheaper cuts- and tenderize them by stewing or slow cooking or marinating-you're still paying a lot and now compromising your health integrity.

Never mind the conditions for the animals that are disgusting. I like animals but I'm not driven to fight for them like some of my friends are. I'm glad there are people like that because someone has to do it, but I'm a human rights person first and foremost. That said, it really is terrible what we do to animals in order to eat them and since we don't NEED to eat them, regardless of what them Paleo diet people say-it's just better to go meatless for ethical as well as health reasons. I get it however, that we are a culture indoctrinated with meat eating and in certain states, like Kansas, Texas-I think it's blasphemy to suggest meat-less eating unless it Lent and it's Friday.

That said, oil is also expensive, a medium bottle of Olive Oil runs folks about 10.00. You can find some on sale for about 8 usually, but brand quality and the type of OO matters so of course, it can be a gamble finding a decent cheap one (sorta like wine.) When you get into more 'exotic' oils, even the now ubiquitous coconut oil, you are still looking at 10 bucks a jar or bottle. If the theory is that you replace all other fats with the oils to cook with, drizzle with, roast with, dressing with, saute with-then a jar isn't going to last very long.

Then the cost of milk seems to fluctuate like gasoline, and cheese is not cheap by any means. You might find a '10 for 10' yogurt deal, but 1.00 for a tiny container of yogurt still seems steep to me. All told, even butter runs about 5.00 for 4 quarters so when you add up the cost of just these 3 'staples'-you're running up a pretty high grocery bill. This is why Hamburger Helper being a cheap dinner choice is a misnomer, sure, the HH is cheap, but the hamburger, butter and milk as mentioned before is not.

These are just staples, not including side dishes or snacky foods, another American addiction. Last time I was at Aldi's, it should just be called "house of chips and crackers." The largest selection of snack items I've seen in ages, but that's pretty universal at most grocery stores it seems. Snacks are not cheap either, that is if you want to eat snacks that are even remotely healthy. 

So, what do we have pictured above? Almost an entire week's worth of fruit, for starters. It's suggested for optimal health that people eat 3 to 4 pieces of fruit a day. Here there are strawberries, blueberries, a mango, a bunch of bananas, cherries, a bag of honey crisp apples and a cantaloupe. Munch a few strawberries while Facebooking, add blueberries to oatmeal, eat an apple, have some cantaloupe pieces....some mango thrown in with some spicy black beans and rice makes for an exotic Caribbean kind of dish that is really yummy....with all of this, you're pretty good on fruit for at least 5 days.

Meanwhile, there's a tub of roasted red pepper hummus, some queso fresco and some corn tortillas (made with no oil.) I have the cheese as only a garnish for some mushroom tacos I was making (yes, will post recipe) but for those who are vegetarian and eating dairy, you can melt some right in the tortillas. Also smear some hummus on the tortilla and add some of this cucumber.

I was running low on chick peas (incidentally, you can make your own hummus with those) so I stocked up but any 3 cans of beans cost the same. Add a bag of rice and you have a couple meals out of that.

Now, I'm not suggesting this is a week's worth of food. But, this food cost $20.18 at Aldi's. Usually, blueberries and cherries are one of the most expensive fruits. Sure, look for stuff on sale and freeze-I do it with strawberries and blueberries all the time, just lay on a cookie sheet, stick in freezer then throw in a freezer safe baggie-but the point is, you have a lot of fruit and for 20.00 you can have enough veggies and stuff to have a week's worth of meals. Basically, you can eat and feed a family of 4 for 50.00 a week and not starve and not feel deprived.

Farmer's markets are weird. Some are really expensive because they are pretentious and it's more social thing, believe it or not. If you are lucky like me, you can drive on a country road and stop at a real farm with a real farm stand. I live not too far from the Wisconsin border and so that's what I do and there I am able to get organic, fresh garden produce significantly cheaper than either the grocery store or in-town farmer's markets. 

One has to conquer the psychology of food in our culture which is "ALOT." The typical restaurant meal is really the size for 3 meals, which is why many people need to-go boxes or they want to split an entree. We have learned to 'super size' and we equate 'bigger is better' with our foods the same way we do our homes and vehicles.  Add to that the subconscious remembering our parents pushing us to finish everything on our plates ("there's starving kids in China") that we feel the need to continue to eat, even when our hunger has been satisfied.

We need to lose that mentality. You do NOT need to have a jillion choices of snacks each week, or have a dozen frozen entrees and pizzas and quick 'nukeable' meals and soups and such. And once you get really good at all this natural eating, you learn to freeze from the big bowls and pots of stews and soups and rice thingys, so then you now have your own stock-pile of convenient frozen meals to take to work or after a hard day at work. We will get there. For now, just be relieved to know you don't have to shop at "whole paycheck" in order to eat healthy and you don't have to take a second mortgage out on your house, either.

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