Posted on 07/05/2007 6:00:55 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
For students living on ramen noodles or people in low-wage, time-consuming jobs, folks who are down on their luck or living on fixed incomes, healthy eating may seem too expensive.
Nutritionists say, however, that's a false perception. Healthy eating, in fact, is cheaper. The cost of expensive eating often isn't the food, it's the bells and whistles of trendy packaging.
"You pay for convenience," says Amy Moore, a dietitian at St. Louis University. "What it takes is planning and sometimes a little investment."
That means eating more fresh food from low-cost stores and farmers markets, watching store sales and using store coupons. The nutrition gurus, from the United States Department of Agriculture to the American Dietetic Association, say healthy diets should be built around vegetables, grains and fruits, not meat and prepared foods — the biggest expense on grocery bills.
Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, lived on $3 a day (to prove a point about food stamps) for a week and ended up eating mostly salads and lentil soup. She repeated that planning was the key.
"I learned how to shop. It gives you great insight on what it is to live on a fixed budget for your food," she said. "Most people who get food stamps are working poor."
She spent 2 1/2 hours planning and shopping at one store for the food for a week, which included reading grocery store ads for bargains.
"As one who doesn't eat a lot of carbs, I found it difficult to live on $3 a day," she said. "You can buy fresh fruits and vegetables, but you have to know how to cook."
PUBLIC ASSISTANCE
Dorian Jones, dietitian and counselor for People's Health Centers, says low-income families must learn to use money wisely.
(Excerpt) Read more at stltoday.com ...
“If not for deaths or serious illnesses requiring liver transplants from E-coli, I might agree.”
Serious incidences of Salmonella & E-coli contamination most often occur in pasturized milk. It is not unusual, when raw milk is blamed for illness caused by such contaminants, that the carrier was not the milk, but some other food item. There is published data comparing raw vs pasturized - more disease is the result of contamination in pasturized milk.
I would be interested in the sources for the comment you made that implies raw milk to be the source of the E-coli contamination.
And btw, acetaminophen (Tylenol) based pain relievers are responsible for more destroyed livers than E-coli contaminated food stuffs.
Once upon a time, I had a full size, upright freezer. I had it stuffed with day old baked goods, and this little freezer compartment on the fridge is driving me nuts! Not only can I not stock up on sale items, there isn’t much room for ice cube trays. The ice maker doesn’t work, so I stash bags of frozen veggies in there.
This particular refrigerator comes with the house, but I have my own that is stored in the garage(which has no electricity), with an equally dinky freezer compartment.
I think I have enough room in the laundry room to squeeze in a small freezer. Upright or chest makes no difference to me. I like to make big batches of soup and chili, and use freezer bags to stash for later on in the month.
It would be great to have enough ice on hand. I want to test that “chocolate shake” recipe on the hillbilly housewife site, but I need ice. I’d also like to make real fruit smoothies, and try my hand at homemade fruit sherbet. Weren’t you the one who posted that website a couple of months ago? I love looking through it!
Thank you for your post. I have seen people on food stamps who traded some of them for cash - the brokers were right outside of the food stamp office in plain sight, I might add. Unlike a lot of people on this board probably think, most of the mothers getting cash for stamps are using the cash to buy shoes, diapers, clothes, pay for bus trips to look for work, etc.
I had stamps when my late husband was on Veteran’s benefits for school and later, as a lawyer, I had many clients on food stamps. It seems that you get way too many food stamps and not enough cash. Years ago I had clients with small kids (who weren’t eating much) getting almost $500 a month in food aid and about another $500 in cash. If they weren’t on Section 8, they were using most of that cash for rent. Too bad if you needed tampons or cough syrup.
We can talk about welfare cheats, the system, self reliance and all of that all day, but for right now, there are people on stamps and many of them need them. They also need a bit of cash and unless I see someone buying drugs with the money (you had those too, I’m not blind), I’m going to cut them a little slack. But only for a while, after 6 months or so, unless you are disabled or elderly, whatever problem you had should be resolved and you need to go out there and get a job.
I don't know about E-Coli contamination in raw dairy products, but acetaminophen is the most toxic crap to ever hit the shelves! To scare parents into buying this junk, Reyes syndrome was pounded into our heads. This occurred right around the time I had my first baby, 27 yrs ago.
Someone also posted an article here on FR, regarding a preservative used in soda pop causing liver damage, especially when combined with high doses of Vitamin C. Ooops. Did all three at the same time for years. I was addicted to Diet Coke, gulped down mega loads of Vitamin C to ward off colds, and handfuls of generic Excederin for neck and back pain. Now these a-hole doctors think I'm Ted Kennedy :( I need to find that article and print it out. The medical profession may be in bed with the Tylenol pushers, but they can't deny scientific research about preservatives in soda pop.
As far as raw dairy goes, if you like it, use it. If you don't trust it, get pasteurized products.
Did you know that if you collect SSDI, you are not eligible for food stamps? If I am not mistaken, that also applies to regular SSI for the elderly.
cheap, yes--but how healthy? someone else said to use egg noodles... i don't think those are healthy... i have found that when you eat a good portion of vegetables and grain (especially brown rice--okay, i cook it in low sodium chicken broth, otherwise it's hard to eat, in my opinion) you fill up and will not need as much meat... 1/2 a chicken breast instead of a whole chicken breast... that stretches the meat out for another meal...
People have been worked over badly with respect to what is healthy. Remember there is no such thing as “junk food”, only junk diets. Even the lowly potato chip has lots of minerals, calories, and B vitamins.
if one is serious about being poor.
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If I am not really serious about being poor will I become rich?
We have a 40 dollar electric bill. We conserve like crazy.
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Some on FR see the possession of a computer and an internet connection as proof of two things:
1. Anyone who has a computer is automatically wealthy.
2. Even the poorest are living in luxury compared to a couple of generations back.
Actually a computer is now a cheap form of entertainment, an internet connection is cheaper than even one family trip to the movies every month now.
How do you manage a forty dollar electric bill? That would help me a lot!
yes--and when i tell my husband this about the potato chip, he will be thrilled... almost as thrilled as he was when he learned about the health benefits of dark chocolate!
how do you know this? i think some mothers are doing this, but not most mothers who receive food stamps... i volunteer at a local Pregnancy Resource Center, and i'm not seeing this...
I know this because I was a lawyer with clients on food stamps, I know it because I saw women exchanging stamps on the street for cash, which they then used to buy non-food items.
The setups in Philly outside of the offices where people obtained foodstamps were like a circus. There was the guy with cash, another sellin sides of beef, which could be obtaned for cash, many others selling clothing, bookbags, odds & ends for children and women’s clothing, sunglasses, makeup, etc. This all took place out on the street with no intervention from the police. It was a real eyeopener to me. This may not happen everywhere, and now that there is the ‘credit card’ system, it may have stopped, but I saw it in Philly in the early 90s.
After I posted that, I realized how silly that sounds.
Somebody once said, though, “It’s no sin to be poor, but it might be if you stay that way”; or something like that.
I was hoping to someday be able to use my computer and work from home. Unfortunately, not only am I now slower than cold molasses, but my spelling and grammar is weird.
Because of the package deal from Verizon, we pay 14.95 a month for the DSL. We have to have dish, because no one can get reception here. Just basic stuff. We really can’t afford the gas to get to town, plus a meal out, then tack on movie tickets on top of it. Luckily, there haven’t been too many movies worth seeing :)
What really burned me up(many people actually), was there was a “dollar movie” theater in Victorville. Rumor has it that Cinemark and AMC made the owners of this theater a very good offer. The movies were 6 months old, but you sure couldn’t beat the frosty air conditioning in summer :)
If you meet certain guidelines, you can qualify for rate reductions for your phone, gas, and electric.
We get them, but we still conserve out of habit. Our climate allows us to use a swamp cooler, rather than air conditioning. The house is 110 voltage, and our dryer is 220, so I hang the clothes on the line. That’s only a problem in winter, when the clothes freeze. Our two(gasp-yes two!) televisions are 19 inch models, with no bells or whistles. It’s all we need. The fridge is old, and runs a lot. We have a slightly newer model(maybe 20 yrs old)stored in the garage. I’m thinking of swapping out the fridges. Our heating system, stove, and water heater run on natural gas. We get buried in the wintertime with the heating bill, though. 100.00 is a lot of money for us.
I think air conditioning runs up the electric bill the most. My aunt and I were talking a couple of weeks ago, and she broke down and turned on her unit. She developed asmtha and needs to run the air. I told her to call her electric company and get a form for assistance. She is in her 70’s, and maybe a doctor’s note would help. Lots of humidity where she lives. I hope she looks into it.
I hope there are some tips you can use to save a buck or two. Oh yeah, we use the lowest wattage bulbs we can get away with.
“Oatmeal with DILL? Are you SERIOUS?”
You bet! With a little cheese, it’s as hearty and tasty as it gets!
Thank you and marking this thread.
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