How to Afford Good Food and Weight Loss Meal Plans
The recent economy has had everyone looking for ways to reduce cost and get more for their money.
I have found myself clipping more coupons and scouring the local market advertisements relentlessly to get the best deals.
The biggest place I have tried to not skip on the quality and maintain the quantity is in grocery shopping.
I really want to purchase good quality meals for my family but find the cost of eating right is very high.
It seems the less we do to the food we eat the more expensive it is.
Think about shopping for foods that contain less than five ingredients.
If you filled the cart with just those items it will be lots of colorful fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish, poultry, and lean meats.
And these are the things that cost the most.
Examining the label of many of the food items is pretty disappointing because they contain so little food.
As I understand labeling the largest quantity of a particular ingredient is listed first with the least listed last.
So let's look at bread, light white bread as a matter of fact.
Here are the ingredients from the package: Enriched Wheat Flour [Flour, Barley Malt, Ferrous Sulfate (Iron)B vitamins (Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (B1)Riboflavin (B2)Folic Acid)Water, Wheat Gluten, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Soy Fiber, Cottonseed Fiber, Yeast, contains 2% or less of Wheat Protein Isolate (sulfites)Oat Fiber, Corn Bran, Salt, Dough Conditioners (May Contain: Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Ethoxylated Mono and Diglycerides, Mono and Diglycerides, Datem, Calcium Dioxide, Dicalcium Phosphate and/or Calcium Iodate)Soy Flour, Soybean Oil, Cellulose Gum, Calcium Carbonate, Yeast Nutrient (may Contain: Ammonium Sulfate, Monocalcium Phosphate, Ammonium Phosphate, Ammonium Chloride)Wheat Starch, Cornstarch, Xanthan Gum, Extracts of Malted Barley and Corn Grits, Vinegar, Calcium Sulfate, Enzymes, Natural Flavor (Contains: Soy Protein Isolate, Eggs)Calcium Propionate.
Nutrition information from Zeer.
com.
Average cost is about $2.
00 a loaf and it looks like you may be paying for the chemistry.
Given the right conditions it will last a week on the counter at home.
Now allow me to offer you this recipe for bread that we use at home: Water, white bread flour, a little salt, and some baker's yeast are all I use when making bread at home.
Four simple ingredients and this is a tried and true method and I make it in the bread maker at night while I sleep.
The bread maker is very multipurpose as I also make pizza crust, roll dough, and have tried to actually bake a cake in it.
For the same $2.
00 loaf of bread I can make my own twice and have a much better product that is healthier and my family loves.
How about a nice turkey sandwich? Take a look at the stuff in processed turkey breast: Turkey Breast, Water, Honey, contains 2% or Less of: Salt, Sugar, Sodium Lactate, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Diacetate, Sodium Erythorbate, Sodium Nitrite.
Nutrition information from Zeer.
com.
Last I checked sliced turkey breast at the local deli was about $6.
00 dollars a pound.
Why not just buy two pounds of turkey breast and roast and slice it yourself? Who doesn't like a Thanksgiving turkey sandwich? Now I want to be fair to the lunchmeat industry, I have seen the things they are doing to poultry in the market these days, enhancing their products (i.
e.
, filling them with salt water, preservatives and flavors) so they taste better and look bigger.
Make sure you check the package or by fresh poultry without "enhancement".
The big question comes down to doing the right thing.
Doing the right thing almost always requires two things time and money.
The right thing means we have to invest a little more time or spend more money.
Let me tell you I found a way to afford good food and healthy eating plans.
I began to track every dime spent on food and beverages.
I mean every last cent including the wife and kids.
I was shocked and amazed to say the least.
The big one that gets everyone is the cost of dining out and take-home food.
At the end of one month we discovered over $400.
00 was spent on the convenience of eating out of a bag or a box.
Then the next big horror we discovered was nearly $100.
00 on coffees, snacks, and drinks on the go.
Primarily when fueling up the car, pay at the pump was not an option, fountain drinks are perceived as cheap for the money, but not really seen as cheap to your nutritional value.
So now over the span of one month we can see where a trip to the grocery store is a lot less expensive as we can spend less on the junk and more on real whole foods that are better for us and in the long run our health.
Take the food budget challenge and see just how much you squander on meals of low value in nutrition and high cost to your wallet.
Identifying ways to improve your nutrition will start with making good buying decisions and sticking to a plan.
It will take a little time and effort, but in the long run you will find it easier because it will be a healthy habit and not a chore.
I have found myself clipping more coupons and scouring the local market advertisements relentlessly to get the best deals.
The biggest place I have tried to not skip on the quality and maintain the quantity is in grocery shopping.
I really want to purchase good quality meals for my family but find the cost of eating right is very high.
It seems the less we do to the food we eat the more expensive it is.
Think about shopping for foods that contain less than five ingredients.
If you filled the cart with just those items it will be lots of colorful fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish, poultry, and lean meats.
And these are the things that cost the most.
Examining the label of many of the food items is pretty disappointing because they contain so little food.
As I understand labeling the largest quantity of a particular ingredient is listed first with the least listed last.
So let's look at bread, light white bread as a matter of fact.
Here are the ingredients from the package: Enriched Wheat Flour [Flour, Barley Malt, Ferrous Sulfate (Iron)B vitamins (Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (B1)Riboflavin (B2)Folic Acid)Water, Wheat Gluten, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Soy Fiber, Cottonseed Fiber, Yeast, contains 2% or less of Wheat Protein Isolate (sulfites)Oat Fiber, Corn Bran, Salt, Dough Conditioners (May Contain: Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Ethoxylated Mono and Diglycerides, Mono and Diglycerides, Datem, Calcium Dioxide, Dicalcium Phosphate and/or Calcium Iodate)Soy Flour, Soybean Oil, Cellulose Gum, Calcium Carbonate, Yeast Nutrient (may Contain: Ammonium Sulfate, Monocalcium Phosphate, Ammonium Phosphate, Ammonium Chloride)Wheat Starch, Cornstarch, Xanthan Gum, Extracts of Malted Barley and Corn Grits, Vinegar, Calcium Sulfate, Enzymes, Natural Flavor (Contains: Soy Protein Isolate, Eggs)Calcium Propionate.
Nutrition information from Zeer.
com.
Average cost is about $2.
00 a loaf and it looks like you may be paying for the chemistry.
Given the right conditions it will last a week on the counter at home.
Now allow me to offer you this recipe for bread that we use at home: Water, white bread flour, a little salt, and some baker's yeast are all I use when making bread at home.
Four simple ingredients and this is a tried and true method and I make it in the bread maker at night while I sleep.
The bread maker is very multipurpose as I also make pizza crust, roll dough, and have tried to actually bake a cake in it.
For the same $2.
00 loaf of bread I can make my own twice and have a much better product that is healthier and my family loves.
How about a nice turkey sandwich? Take a look at the stuff in processed turkey breast: Turkey Breast, Water, Honey, contains 2% or Less of: Salt, Sugar, Sodium Lactate, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Diacetate, Sodium Erythorbate, Sodium Nitrite.
Nutrition information from Zeer.
com.
Last I checked sliced turkey breast at the local deli was about $6.
00 dollars a pound.
Why not just buy two pounds of turkey breast and roast and slice it yourself? Who doesn't like a Thanksgiving turkey sandwich? Now I want to be fair to the lunchmeat industry, I have seen the things they are doing to poultry in the market these days, enhancing their products (i.
e.
, filling them with salt water, preservatives and flavors) so they taste better and look bigger.
Make sure you check the package or by fresh poultry without "enhancement".
The big question comes down to doing the right thing.
Doing the right thing almost always requires two things time and money.
The right thing means we have to invest a little more time or spend more money.
Let me tell you I found a way to afford good food and healthy eating plans.
I began to track every dime spent on food and beverages.
I mean every last cent including the wife and kids.
I was shocked and amazed to say the least.
The big one that gets everyone is the cost of dining out and take-home food.
At the end of one month we discovered over $400.
00 was spent on the convenience of eating out of a bag or a box.
Then the next big horror we discovered was nearly $100.
00 on coffees, snacks, and drinks on the go.
Primarily when fueling up the car, pay at the pump was not an option, fountain drinks are perceived as cheap for the money, but not really seen as cheap to your nutritional value.
So now over the span of one month we can see where a trip to the grocery store is a lot less expensive as we can spend less on the junk and more on real whole foods that are better for us and in the long run our health.
Take the food budget challenge and see just how much you squander on meals of low value in nutrition and high cost to your wallet.
Identifying ways to improve your nutrition will start with making good buying decisions and sticking to a plan.
It will take a little time and effort, but in the long run you will find it easier because it will be a healthy habit and not a chore.
Source...