Healthiest Foods are Crazy Expensive

[type2in NY]

Blackberries: just bought 2 pints $7.00
1 QT Black Diamond Almond Milk $2.69
1 QT chocolate UNSWEETENED soy milk $2.59
21 oz Planters Roasted Almonds $8.99
2 lbs smoked Turkey Breast $16.00

I figure as little as I eat these days it might as well be healthy snacks, when I snack.

[yannah]

my grocery bill is INSANE.

[type2in NY]

my grocery bill is INSANE.

I've gotten by with relatively inexpensive grocery bills as I'm an online guru for shopping items at all the local stores and buying the healthiest food at the best price and we go store, to store, to store.

But certain items are very hard to find and when you do find them they charge through the nose.

[yannah]

I gotta eat.and I gotta eat right.

I foud a store called "Marcs" that I love.
my almond meal is two bucks less there than at the local grocery. it is a discount store with healthy food. pretty excitng.

[type2in NY]

I gotta eat.and I gotta eat right.

I foud a store called "Marcs" that I love.
my almond meal is two bucks less there than at the local grocery. it is a discount store with healthy food. pretty excitng.

Yep. Cool stuff, you are lucky. These stores around here sell piggy food, i swear. Gotta search all over, including the organic farms out in the boonies.

[ShottleBop]

Blackberries: just bought 2 pints $7.00
1 QT Black Diamond Almond Milk $2.69
1 QT chocolate UNSWEETENED soy milk $2.59
21 oz Planters Roasted Almonds $8.99
2 lbs smoked Turkey Breast $16.00

I figure as little as I eat these days it might as well be healthy snacks, when I snack.

No Trader Joe's out your way, I guess. They sell the Almond Breeze brand for $1.99 a quart, and the almonds for a lot less. Costco would sell two pounds of smoked turkey breast for a lot less than $16.

[Penny]

Blackberries: just bought 2 pints $7.00
1 QT Black Diamond Almond Milk $2.69
1 QT chocolate UNSWEETENED soy milk $2.59
21 oz Planters Roasted Almonds $8.99
2 lbs smoked Turkey Breast $16.00

I figure as little as I eat these days it might as well be healthy snacks, when I snack.

Must cost a whole lot more to eat in NY, than Ohio.
I just got a pint of blackberries $2
Soy Slender unsweetened milk $2
1/2 pound almonds $3.00
1 pound of Deli Turkey breast $5.49

I had a terrible experience at my favorite Meijer store, because some guy in another country didn't activate my credit card, almost had me in tears (and that is hard to do).
But, I still got my stuff pretty cheap. :D

[jenb]

I think I must own a berry farm by now, based on the amount of $ I've spent on blackberries and strawberries since I started low(er) carbing. I'm happy to give up pizza, rice, and full-sized tortillas, but "As God is my witness, I will never be without berries again" (even out of season!)

Jen

[type2in NY]

No Trader Joe's out your way, I guess. They sell the Almond Breeze brand for $1.99 a quart, and the almonds for a lot less. Costco would sell two pounds of smoked turkey breast for a lot less than $16.

Theres a Traders Joe's over in Western Mass that my brother goes to. Hes about 40 miles closer to it then I am. For us it is at least 85-90 miles one way. I may be making a trip there, even in Albany (the capital of NY good low carb choices are very limited).

With a good 20% of the state overweight thats a shame.

No Costco that I'm aware of (Off to Google it now).

Looks like Costco is down near NYC + Long Island....this is like 200 miles away, one way:

Costco Locations and Store Hours - New York (http://www.priceviewer.com/costco_locations/New%20York.html)
:T

[jkane13]

Blackberries: just bought 2 pints $7.00
1 QT Black Diamond Almond Milk $2.69
1 QT chocolate UNSWEETENED soy milk $2.59
21 oz Planters Roasted Almonds $8.99
2 lbs smoked Turkey Breast $16.00

I figure as little as I eat these days it might as well be healthy snacks, when I snack.

Healthy? I would not consider those to be healthy in the real world. High markup, "health nut", well heeled marketing type foods yes, but healthy to the normal average American, no.

Find a berry farm and pick your own. That's healthy. Exercise from picking, fresh to eat, and not as expensive.

Almond milk is never cheap. Soy milk is an abomination. I am not going to tell you to drink real cow milk as I understand for you, it might not be healthy, but for most of the population, it is. As for cheap ... ask any dairy farmer how much they get paid for a gallon of milk. Then decide if it is too expensive.

Almonds are not required in a diet. There are many other sources of the same nutrients that are much less expensive.

Turkey may be cheap meat, but smoking it is not cheap. Get a turkey and smoke it your self.

<Rant Mode On>
All this **** lately about how healthy foods cost so much drives me NUTS! When I grew up, healthy eating was found out of our garden and in the no-name cans of food from the local grocery store. It was cheap, and very healthy! For meat, we had a whole cow slaughtered as needed and cut our own meat out of it keeping it in the freezer. We had 3 very large freezers and a very large fruit cellar for the canned fruits which were picked in season.

Today, if you do any really healthy food storage and don't buy the name brand expensive "health nut" foods, you are somehow killing yourself and your family. Grrrrrr! Just not true!
<Rant Mode Off>

I wish that made me feel better, but it doesn't since I know most people still think they have to buy things based on their marketing rather than looking for real world healthy choices.

[ShottleBop]

Yeah, and you had to walk to school every day, 6 miles, through the snow, too.

Not everyone lives near pick-your-own farms, or has a yard in which to garden--or even access to a farmer's market, you know. And you're simply assuming that these are "designer" products, as opposed to what folks can find in a store comfortably close to them.

[type2in NY]

Healthy? I would not consider those to be healthy in the real world. High markup, "health nut", well heeled marketing type foods yes, but healthy to the normal average American, no.

Find a berry farm and pick your own. That's healthy. Exercise from picking, fresh to eat, and not as expensive.

Almond milk is never cheap. Soy milk is an abomination. I am not going to tell you to drink real cow milk as I understand for you, it might not be healthy, but for most of the population, it is. As for cheap ... ask any dairy farmer how much they get paid for a gallon of milk. Then decide if it is too expensive.

Almonds are not required in a diet. There are many other sources of the same nutrients that are much less expensive.

Turkey may be cheap meat, but smoking it is not cheap. Get a turkey and smoke it your self.

<Rant Mode On>
All this **** lately about how healthy foods cost so much drives me NUTS! When I grew up, healthy eating was found out of our garden and in the no-name cans of food from the local grocery store. It was cheap, and very healthy! For meat, we had a whole cow slaughtered as needed and cut our own meat out of it keeping it in the freezer. We had 3 very large freezers and a very large fruit cellar for the canned fruits which were picked in season.

Today, if you do any really healthy food storage and don't buy the name brand expensive "health nut" foods, you are somehow killing yourself and your family. Grrrrrr! Just not true!
<Rant Mode Off>

I wish that made me feel better, but it doesn't since I know most people still think they have to buy things based on their marketing rather than looking for real world healthy choices.

ALL THOSE FOODS ARE AMONG THE HEALTHIEST AVAILABLE....sorry you lack a clue.

[kgm0612]

Do you have a Super Walmart close by? From what I understand, their groceries are much cheaper than the regular super markets, like Stop & Shop.

Also.........CVS has Planter's brand nuts on sale this week at 2 for $7.00. My sister picked me up the NUT'rition (South Beach Diet Mix) consisting of almonds, cashews & macadamias.

Karen

[foxl]

I wish that made me feel better, but it doesn't since I know most people still think they have to buy things based on their marketing rather than looking for real world healthy choices.

Jeff, in this world, TIME is also a commodity. I have MADE soy milk, and indeed it WAS cheaper, but great heavens it was messy and time-consuming, especially clean-up! You also have to factor labor -- not just actual, but potential -- into the making of these products.

And who in h3ll has time to go out ot a pick-ur-own place, especially when you know you are gonna melt out there??? I bet you do not have kids, or if you do, you also have a wife who would secretly like to wring your neck, LOL.

Heck, just try going from purchasing mostly starch products, to buying fresh (and even FROZEN!) veg and fruits. And nuts. And meats. ANYTHING that is not almost all starch and vegetable oil with chemicals for "texture," "flavor" and "preservation," is a lot pricier, I agree.

[inkvisitor]

It is true that a lot of us don't have access to farms and farmers' markets (though for me, in Houston, we have a decent selection of the latter).

I do think that no matter where you are, it is beneficial to buy local and buy unrefined as much as possible.

[patricia52]

Guess you get what you pay for. Junk food just may be what put me in this situation in the first place.
I do try to buy foods that are in season. Luckily, we do have a farmers market here on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I try to shop there when I can remember what day it is. Fresh food does seem to taste better.

[GeishaGirl]

Our grocery bill went up almost double when I started eating closer to nature. I live on Long Island, and while we have some farmers markets, they're at ridiculous times (like Tuesdays at 10am) or in places 50+ miles away. And around here, you can't just GO somewhere, it involves several parkways and side roads and all of them are clogged. So going to a farmers market would cost me about 45 minutes each way.

[inkvisitor]

I am about to move and may have some space for a garden, but I am not too hopeful that what I'll be able to grow won't get eaten up by bugs, etc...but I am going to try!

Also, has anyone had any luck with hydroponic gardening?

[Granny Shanny]

Hey. Simmer down. For years we butchered our own meat - we didn't even pay a butcher to do it, we did it ourselves. For years we gardened and preserved everything we could by canning and freezing. Of course I wish we still had those options, but we don't. Neither do we succumb to the balderdash put out by Madison Avenue (that would be the advertising industry, FYI). Spare us the blanket statements about health nuts, okay?

<Rant Mode On>
All this **** lately about how healthy foods cost so much drives me NUTS! When I grew up, healthy eating was found out of our garden and in the no-name cans of food from the local grocery store. It was cheap, and very healthy! For meat, we had a whole cow slaughtered as needed and cut our own meat out of it keeping it in the freezer. We had 3 very large freezers and a very large fruit cellar for the canned fruits which were picked in season.

Today, if you do any really healthy food storage and don't buy the name brand expensive "health nut" foods, you are somehow killing yourself and your family. Grrrrrr! Just not true!
<Rant Mode Off>

I wish that made me feel better, but it doesn't since I know most people still think they have to buy things based on their marketing rather than looking for real world healthy choices.

[foxl]

Hey. Simmer down. For years we butchered our own meat - we didn't even pay a butcher to do it, we did it ourselves. For years we gardened and preserved everything we could by canning and freezing. Of course I wish we still had those options, but we don't. Neither do we succumb to the balderdash put out by Madison Avenue (that would be the advertising industry, FYI). Spare us the blanket statements about health nuts, okay?

Granny, ROFL, you are such a Missourian! Love ya!

[MCS]

I could pop in here a statement that will get you all laughing. I am originally from Pennsylvania.. As a Young man I ate, Deer, more Deer, Bear, Snapping Turtles, Frog Legs, Grouse, Pheasant, woodcock, Duck, rabbits, fish Lots of fish that we caught, Beaver, and the occasionaly Muskrat when they were in season, taste like squirrel, or maybe chicken not sure now its been awhile. Even tried Raccoon once, once was all I needed to know you are not supposed to eat Raccoon. We picked Cattails ate the tubors, Wild Asparugus and Blackberrys the size of your thumb, Skunk Cabbage and Poke in the spring. All the corn we could pick from the side of the road. Lets not forget about the Carp (fish) Eggs rolled in flour and fried in crisco. Didn't have D problems till I aged on bad food. I guess it was my choice, its just to darn handy, the junk food is.

[Granny Shanny]

Granny, ROFL, you are such a Missourian! Love ya!

Thank you Linda! http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b202/sneezytwo/littlegirlcurtsy.gif

I'm a transplant, but it sure feels like home!

[foxl]

Thank you Linda! http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b202/sneezytwo/littlegirlcurtsy.gif

I'm a transplant, but it sure feels like home!

you fit in for sure -- where'd you come from, again?

[Granny Shanny]

What I wanna know is, did you can those carp after you'd fried the eggs? :D :D :D That's what my family would do - canned the fish in a pressure cooker. Made those wee bones a non-issue - kinda like canned salmon.

I could pop in here a statement that will get you all laughing. I am originally from Pennsylvania.. As a Young man I ate, Deer, more Deer, Bear, Snapping Turtles, Frog Legs, Grouse, Pheasant, woodcock, Duck, rabbits, fish Lots of fish that we caught, Beaver, and the occasionaly Muskrat when they were in season, taste like squirrel, or maybe chicken not sure now its been awhile. Even tried Raccoon once, once was all I needed to know you are not supposed to eat Raccoon. We picked Cattails ate the tubors, Wild Asparugus and Blackberrys the size of your thumb, Skunk Cabbage and Poke in the spring. All the corn we could pick from the side of the road. Lets not forget about the Carp (fish) Eggs rolled in flour and fried in crisco. Didn't have D problems till I aged on bad food. I guess it was my choice, its just to darn handy, the junk food is.

[Granny Shanny]

you fit in for sure -- where'd you come from, again?

I'm a natural born & bred Cornhusker! heh heh heh . . .

Go big RED!

[MCS]

If the carb where to big to eat we boiled them. Used it as cat food.

The others we ate right away or put them in the freezer. Old Pa man showed us a way to scale the carp, filet them, then you cut small criss cross patterns down to the skin to cut up the lateral bones. Walking down memory lane here

[jkane13]

I am married and have an adult and teenage kid. My wife is a wonderful woman who some days would ring my neck, but not over this issue. :T

I didn't walk up hill 6 miles to school. I rode a bus 10 miles to school and 50 miles home. It was a big loop and we were near the end of it.

I did grow up on a farm (yes, a real farm, not a farmette). That might be unfair as a comparison. But I grew up with plenty of city folk who also ate healthy food that was store bought and not name brands or special market items! My best friend was not from a well to do family and had a dozen brothers and sisters. Yet, he ate very healthy and very well every day by eating what was really good for him, not what was marketed as "good for you".

However, everyone seems to have totally missed my point!

First, I never said I still do all of those things! I totally agree that I have chosen a life style that both allows and almost requires me to eat "designer" foods instead of picking it myself.

The point here is I CHOOSE to live this life style so I don't complain about the cost of it. If you want to complain about the cost of Healthy Food (R), and you describe that by calling out special marketing foods, then you get no sympathy from me.

If you want to complain about the cost of a gallon of milk, or a loaf of bread, or a pack of bologna, or a jar of off brand peanut butter, or a can of soup, you will gain traction from me. If you are whining about the cost of almond "milk", or soy milk, or berries sold in a grocery store, or smoked luncheon meat, ... well just keep whining. I will never join you in your crusade.

Sorry for ruffling feathers. This is one of my personal pet peeves! People who listen to the drum beat and drink the kool-aid, then complain because they don't like it.

[foxl]

Jeff -- :D

I agree, to some extent we all have chosen this life. BUT -- some of us have eaten the way we have before, due to miseducation by our own government ... and also to some extent because it is WAY CHEAPER, it was what we could afford.

I have adjusted to our increased grocery bill, don't get me wrong. But I do dislike having to do so. All the cheap **** I used to buy -- pounds and pounds of pasta -- would last me for weeks and cost far less. Maybe I should not have been doing that before, but ... it is a collision, between budget nad nutrition!

I am sure people with less disposable income resent it even more.

[GeishaGirl]

I am sure people with less disposable income resent it even more.

THAT is one of MY pet peeves! In poorer communities, it becomes this horrific cycle -- eat cheap crappy food because it's cheap (rice and beans, anyone?). Gain weight due to all the starchiness. Possibly get type 2 diabetes. Don't find out for years because you can't afford to see a doctor regularly. Get treated for diabetes by a GP instead of a specialist because you can't afford it. Don't test because you can't afford it (Let's see -- minimum testing for type 2 is, what, 3-5 times a day? For a poverty-level family around here -- let's say day-laborers or maids or someone working at McD's -- thats a lot of money... if their doctor even tells them they should be doing that).

The cost of diabetes is so high already -- IF a family has the money to spend seeing doctors or -- gods help them -- getting a foot amputation due to horrible sugars -- how can they have any left to buy good food? And who's educating them? NO ONE.

I WILL NOT turn this into a national health care -- yes-or-no -- thread, but if even professional me is having problems affording good food, what further problems would a poorer family have?

[Granny Shanny]

I still have questions, Jeff . . . since cow's milk isn't an option for some of us trying to curb our skyrocketing BGs, what would you suggest we use? Soy milk and almond milk are quite within safe parameters, but they're expensive. Cow's milk is less expensive, except when it shows up on our glucose meters. So we just do without?

You've delivered a good rant about this, but you haven't provided alternatives (except for [in essence] "shut the h3ll up" . . . :D :D) I already buy whole hams when they go on sale, and slice it myself if we want luncheon meat. I buy lean beef roasts when they go on sale & thin-slice the roasted meat if we want it for luncheon meat (good to have a trusty little slicing machine). I already buy house brands, but produce doesn't come by "house brand". Since gardening is seasonal in Missouri, whence cometh our "berries" during winter?

My aim is not to be antagonistic, but since you feel so strongly about this, you surely have recommendations, and I just wanna hear 'em. Thanks in advance . . . I had very little disposable income to start with, and now - post-D - I have absolutely none.

You are right on, Amanda!

[Real4]

It is true that a lot of us don't have access to farms and farmers' markets (though for me, in Houston, we have a decent selection of the latter).

I do think that no matter where you are, it is beneficial to buy local and buy unrefined as much as possible.

Sounds like you can't wait to get back to the stone age.

Don't worry at the rate the economy is collapsing world-wide, getting other than local food won't be an option too much longer.

And it'll be unrefined (near rotten) often.

[jkane13]

Diabetes makes this much more complicated. No doubt! Water and vitamins will do the same for you as milk. Doesn't satisfy as well, but meets the diabetics needs. Then again, most things about diabetes and food sucks! :mad: I do not drink any of the "milk" substitutes. I drink lot's of water and eat a cheap vitamin every day for the missing things. I get my protein from meat and every now and then peanut butter.

My problem is this spills outside of our little community and is fast becoming a national chant. How poor people are so screwed because food costs so much if it's healthy and health care isn't available to save them from themselves and how they can't afford to go to a gym like others. So on and so forth! I am hearing it from many sources and it frustrates me. I don't deny there are issues we as a society can't hide from, but the blame is not the high cost of food! It's a red herring to keep people from accepting that fat and happy is the easy path, not healthy and sad. We all prefer to be fat and happy and then complain that we like it that way and it should be free for us to continue to be fat and happy!

Rice and Beans are actually quite healthy food! Not for us diabetics, but it did not cause diabetes either. It may have helped, but I am quite convinced if I had kept doing the play outside things I did as a kid I would not be where I am today. If you are poor and can only afford rice and beans (which is one of my favorite dishes) then instead of watching the TV news about how bad it is for you after dinner, go outside and play a little catch in the yard, or chase some cows out to pasture. What ever you need to do to keep the muscles using the starch and sugar as they should. Don't give in to the concept that we all earned, as Americans, the right to sit on the sidelines and complain because we have it so well!

[Granny Shanny]

Thanks for responding. You are indeed a spartan soul. I love my water - we're on a well with sparkling full-of-minerals water which tastes wonderful. But it isn't milk. Whatever you add with it, it isn't milk.

The choice then becomes, natural or synthetic vitamins. Having spent my years trying to provide nutrient-rich meals without the inclusion of supplements, it's a big leap to vitamin pills. Ingesting synthetic chemicals is not what I had in mind. Even "natural" vitamins are required to be only 10% natural. So the soy milk budget redirects to synthetic chemicals . . . yippee! (end of my rant . . . :o :( )

[GretchO]

not to side track the debate, but has anyone tried ALDI's? Kinda Trader Joe-ey price-wise. and you don't have to by a bag of 37 peppers (Sam's Club) when you only need 2, to get the price advantage.

[cyberus]

not to side track the debate, but has anyone tried ALDI's? Kinda Trader Joe-ey price-wise. and you don't have to by a bag of 37 peppers (Sam's Club) when you only need 2, to get the price advantage.

I use both Aldi and Save-a-lot stores as my first stops before heading to the regular stores

[inkvisitor]

So what do you offer as a better solution? Do you own stock in Wal-Mart or something?

Sounds like you can't wait to get back to the stone age.

Don't worry at the rate the economy is collapsing world-wide, getting other than local food won't be an option too much longer.

And it'll be unrefined (near rotten) often.

[cliffmet]

I believe it was that wise old Ben Franklin who said "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". Most of us on this forum are beyond the "prevention" stage, and so far there is no "cure", so all we can do is try our best to "control".
Too bad we didn't know everything we know now about the effects of less than ideal eating habits. Maybe some of us could have prevented or at least delayed the onset of our diabetes (speaking only of Type 2). I grew up in a very poor family and macaroni, beans, potatoes and bread, along with home canned veggies and fruit what what we lived on (back in the 50's and 60's). As an adult, I kept eating a very high carb diet, just fancier carbs. Mostly because i didn't know any better and no one told me it might lead to diabetes. Spending a few more dollars then (An ounce of prevention....) would have beeen so much better than having to deal with the costs of being diabetic now (..a pound of cure).
Perhaps one of the things we can leave to our children and freinds is to help them learn to eat right BEFORE diabetes. That may be just wishful thinking, because my experience has been it is like talking too the wall, but I plan to keep trying.
Cliff

[sarahspins]

As for cheap ... ask any dairy farmer how much they get paid for a gallon of milk. Then decide if it is too expensive.

Agreed.. I support a local dairy farm (<2 miles from my house) because of this.. I buy my milk from the source.. it's raw, it's organic, it's fabulous, and I know that every penny goes to the farmer(s) and not anyone in between :) It's cheaper than buying milk (nevermind organic) from the store too.

[Granny Shanny]

Agreed.. I support a local dairy farm (<2 miles from my house) because of this.. I buy my milk from the source.. it's raw, it's organic, it's fabulous, and I know that every penny goes to the farmer(s) and not anyone in between :) It's cheaper than buying milk (nevermind organic) from the store too.

Plus you can skim off the cream & churn it into heavenly homemade butter! I did that for years!

[Mothernature]

= Soy milk is an abomination. I am not going to tell you to drink real cow milk as I understand for you, it might not be healthy, but for most of the population, it is. As for cheap ... ask any dairy farmer how much they get paid for a gallon of milk. Then decide if it is too expensive.

Soy milk is much healthier than cow milk.


<Rant Mode On>
All this **** lately about how healthy foods cost so much drives me NUTS! When I grew up, healthy eating was found out of our garden and in the no-name cans of food from the local grocery store. It was cheap, and very healthy! For meat, we had a whole cow slaughtered as needed and cut our own meat out of it keeping it in the freezer. We had 3 very large freezers and a very large fruit cellar for the canned fruits which were picked in season.

Today, if you do any really healthy food storage and don't buy the name brand expensive "health nut" foods, you are somehow killing yourself and your family. Grrrrrr! Just not true!
<Rant Mode Off>
[/QUOTE]

Some members here live near the city and/or vegetarian/vegan. I am not sure where you live but eating healthy here after coupons is very expensive.

I can go to the weekend market downtown; it's cheaper for produce but it's about to expire and not organic.

Eating healthy on the east coast is very expensive.

[genie86333]

If you want to complain about the cost of a gallon of milk, or a loaf of bread, or a pack of bologna, or a jar of off brand peanut butter, or a can of soup, you will gain traction from me. If you are whining about the cost of almond "milk", or soy milk, or berries sold in a grocery store, or smoked luncheon meat, ... well just keep whining. I will never join you in your crusade.

A gallon of milk costs too much too, but I won't whine about it, because it's got *too many carbs* compared to that soy milk that you think is a luxury. I bought soy milk yesterday, still too expensive, but at 8 g of carbs per cup (and one of those is fiber) I'll take it rather than the 13 g per cup of regular milk.

For you, milk or a loaf of bread may matter, but for those of us that are low-carbing, the other things do.

Don't join our crusade. We don't care. But remember that the majority of us here like to limit our carbs & face it - low-carb foods are EXPENSIVE.

[jkane13]

Agreed! High Protein / Low Carb foods do tend to be more expensive. That is not the thread title! It says healthy foods are expensive. I am trying to get people to stop using the word "healthy" to describe the "not for normal people" food we as diabetics eat. It is "good for us" as diabetics, but it is not really healthy eating! If we were not diabetic, we would not even consider doing some crazy super low carb diet. We would (or maybe I should say we SHOULD) instead eat a well balanced truly healthy diet!

Don't get me started on the life choice called "vegetarian"! My adult son is one of them, and he eats very cheap. He gets no support from me on that either. His mother goes out of her way for him, but I won't. I like my younger son's t-shirt - "Vegetarian - n, An old Indian word for bad hunter." :D

We will have to simply agree to disagree that soy milk is more "healthy" than cows milk. I drank cows milk since I was 3 months old. And look how I turned out. <noticeable twitch returns> ;)

[GeishaGirl]

Frankly, Jeff, what is "healthy" is a very personal thing. The OP was talking about what was "healthy" for him. I would never dream of drinking almond milk, as it sounds disgusting to me. For instance, like the son you won't support, I was a vegetarian/vegan for a number of years. I couldn't maintain it, as it made me rather ill -- so I don't do it anymore. Yet I know people with Crohns/IBS who will be royally sick if they eat meat -- so they don't, and what is "healthy" for them is unhealthy for me.

As for cows milk -- it is a gestational thing for a COW. The human body was never made to digest it; it's only our versatility as former scavangers that makes it possible. The purpose of cow milk is to turn a 30 pound calf into a 300 pound calf -- how is that healthy for a human? If we were made to digest it, would "lactose intolerance" be so prevalent a condition? How about the fact that every singer knows -- milk produces mucus, which is an AUTOIMMUNE RESPONSE. So it has calcium -- so does spinach and kale. Don't get me wrong -- I eat cheese like it's going out of style. I just can't drink milk, because the idea of putting my lips around a cow's teat is gross, so why would I want what comes out of it?

[foxl]

[QUOTE=jkane13;476998]

Don't get me started on the life choice called "vegetarian"! QUOTE]

Scuse me ... vegetarian CAN be healthy, even for diabetics :D

Please be cautious in posting and keep in mind, you are posting on a very diverse board here. Some posters are vegetarian due to their religious or non-religious beliefs.

Thank you for your consideration!

[Mom22weewuns]

I could pop in here a statement that will get you all laughing. I am originally from Pennsylvania.. As a Young man I ate, Deer, more Deer, Bear, Snapping Turtles, Frog Legs, Grouse, Pheasant, woodcock, Duck, rabbits, fish Lots of fish that we caught, Beaver, and the occasionaly Muskrat when they were in season, taste like squirrel, or maybe chicken not sure now its been awhile. Even tried Raccoon once, once was all I needed to know you are not supposed to eat Raccoon. We picked Cattails ate the tubors, Wild Asparugus and Blackberrys the size of your thumb, Skunk Cabbage and Poke in the spring. All the corn we could pick from the side of the road. Lets not forget about the Carp (fish) Eggs rolled in flour and fried in crisco. Didn't have D problems till I aged on bad food. I guess it was my choice, its just to darn handy, the junk food is.

Good heavens! Where in Pennsylvania did you live? I'm born and raised here in NE Pennsylvania and I've never even had the opportunity to heat half of what you listed! :)

[Mom22weewuns]

Wow. This thread took quite a turn, huh? What it all boils down to is our situations are all completely different. What works for me may not work for anyone else. We all know this. To slam anyone for what they chose to do or need to do for their own health, whether it be adopting a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle versus meat eating or drinking (or not drinking) soy/almond/cow's milk whatever the reason may be, is unfair to say the least. While it is commendible that so many have the ability, skill or time to make your own healthy alternatives for lunchmeats and whatnot or are able to can their own fruits and veggies (can someone please teach me how to can fruits/veggies please?), not everyone has the ability/time/skill to do these things. Not everyone does. Not everyone has the room in their home to accommodate extra freezer or food storage space.

I guess what I'm trying to say is everyone has their reasoning for what they do. It just seems that tempers have really been raised over this topic, and it started out as basically a simple evaluation - eating healthy (or better) foods can be really expensive.

I just didn't want to see anyone else angry over the posts on here. Sorry if I rambled a bit (a lot).

[genie86333]

Agreed! High Protein / Low Carb foods do tend to be more expensive. That is not the thread title! It says healthy foods are expensive.

Good point. I stand corrected. :)

I am trying to get people to stop using the word "healthy" to describe the "not for normal people" food we as diabetics eat. It is "good for us" as diabetics, but it is not really healthy eating! If we were not diabetic, we would not even consider doing some crazy super low carb diet. We would (or maybe I should say we SHOULD) instead eat a well balanced truly healthy diet!

Actually, my ob/gyn suggested the "Protein Power" book (a low carb diet, not quite as strict as Atkins, but still very low carb) to me WAY (over 10 years) before I was diagnosed as diabetic. I didn't follow it at the time because I had barely any $ and as we've agreed low-carb foods are too expensive.

[cyberus]

Wow. This thread took quite a turn, huh? What it all boils down to is our situations are all completely different. What works for me may not work for anyone else. We all know this. To slam anyone for what they chose to do or need to do for their own health, whether it be adopting a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle versus meat eating or drinking (or not drinking) soy/almond/cow's milk whatever the reason may be, is unfair to say the least. While it is commendible that so many have the ability, skill or time to make your own healthy alternatives for lunchmeats and whatnot or are able to can their own fruits and veggies (can someone please teach me how to can fruits/veggies please?), not everyone has the ability/time/skill to do these things. Not everyone does. Not everyone has the room in their home to accommodate extra freezer or food storage space.

I guess what I'm trying to say is everyone has their reasoning for what they do. It just seems that tempers have really been raised over this topic, and it started out as basically a simple evaluation - eating healthy (or better) foods can be really expensive.

I just didn't want to see anyone else angry over the posts on here. Sorry if I rambled a bit (a lot).

Ditto

Well put

[MCS]

Quote:
Originally Posted by MCS
I could pop in here a statement that will get you all laughing. I am originally from Pennsylvania.. As a Young man I ate, Deer, more Deer, Bear, Snapping Turtles, Frog Legs, Grouse, Pheasant, woodcock, Duck, rabbits, fish Lots of fish that we caught, Beaver, and the occasionaly Muskrat when they were in season, taste like squirrel, or maybe chicken not sure now its been awhile. Even tried Raccoon once, once was all I needed to know you are not supposed to eat Raccoon. We picked Cattails ate the tubors, Wild Asparugus and Blackberrys the size of your thumb, Skunk Cabbage and Poke in the spring. All the corn we could pick from the side of the road. Lets not forget about the Carp (fish) Eggs rolled in flour and fried in crisco. Didn't have D problems till I aged on bad food. I guess it was my choice, its just to darn handy, the junk food is.
==============
Good heavens! Where in Pennsylvania did you live? I'm born and raised here in NE Pennsylvania and I've never even had the opportunity to heat half of what you listed!
==============

Western PA, and for those of you from PA, spent most of my childhood on the banks of the Ohio and north of I-80

[foxl]

Western PA, and for those of you from PA, spent most of my childhood on the banks of the Ohio and north of I-80[/QUOTE]

MCS -- anywhere near Bradford? My parents were both born and raised there. Lot of deer hunting, especially!

[MCS]

Bradford, Erie, Pots dam, Tionesta, Oil City, All were with in my reach from Ohioview PA

[foxl]

Bradford, Erie, Pots dam, Tionesta, Oil City, All were with in my reach from Ohioview PA

I once crawled part way across the Kinzua Bridge ... ;)

My grandparents had a summer cottage near Erie.

[MCS]

I once crawled part way across the Kinzua Bridge ... ;)

My grandparents had a summer cottage near Erie.

That is truly Gods country up there, The hair stands up on the back of neck just thinking of the area. Its been a long time since I was there. Kinzu dam, we spent 2 weeks camping along the head waters of the Allegheny River, mostly fishing. We had a house on the banks of the Allegheny in Tionesta and relatives owned a cabin on Oil Creek. Could fish from the deck and drink Iron City beer at the same time. I am getting teary eyed just thinking back.

[foxl]

That is truly Gods country up there, The hair stands up on the back of neck just thinking of the area. Its been a long time since I was there. Kinzu dam, we spent 2 weeks camping along the head waters of the Allegheny River, mostly fishing. We had a house on the banks of the Allegheny in Tionesta and relatives owned a cabin on Oil Creek. Could fish from the deck and drink Iron City beer at the same time. I am getting teary eyed just thinking back.

It is really a beautiful place.

I was kid when the Dam went in and visiting my grandparents, we always had to drive past it. Never got out to look around ... just drive past.

[jkane13]

Organic food is no healthier, study finds ...

Organic food is no healthier, study finds - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090729/sc_nm/us_food_organic_3)

[cummingsea]

I usually only have to worry about my grocery bill 4 month a year, because I work offshore 8 months a year and the company pays, but the bad thing is I have to keep my A1c at 8 or under, if not the U.S.C.G. says I cannot work, and right now I am at 8.7, a month and half ago I was at 11.1.

[knorris]

Soy is bad for your thyroid. The almond stuff is good tho. In Japan where soy comes from the people eat approx 1 tablespoon average a day. Of course in good ole USA if a little is good a lot is best!!! LOL I dont touch soy unless its fermented, soy sauce, or edamme.
IMHO
Karen

[foxl]

Soy is bad for your thyroid. The almond stuff is good tho. In Japan where soy comes from the people eat approx 1 tablespoon average a day. Of course in good ole USA if a little is good a lot is best!!! LOL I dont touch soy unless its fermented, soy sauce, or edamme.
IMHO
Karen

That is questionable, IMHO. Soy if taken with thyroxine MIGHT inhibit its absorption. However, in my 15 yrs on T4, I have foregone it and eaten it, actually drunk soy milk with my T4 pill, and never seen any differences in absorption. YMMV.

But, I have not been able to find any evidence to support that soy is actually damaging to thyroid function.

[lark 27]

I keep telling myself that every purchase of food is more than a meal it's a vote , and I'm trying to improve my voting/eating record. Of course, some voters won't have as many candidates on the ticket (not a local farmer's market, or not one in the winter). At other times it's tough to figure out what is best because one vote might be for high cost/healthy/not sustainable, another might be low cost/not healthy/ sustainable, another might be high cost/healthy/ not sure if sustainable.

We couldn't make the farmers market this weekend so did some produce shopping at the supermarket, and I found myself with the dilemma of paying $2.49 a pound for organic zucchini or about $1.49 for 3 pounds of non-organic. I know back in the day growing up in a farming community, a person would almost paytheir neighbors to take zucchini at the height of the season! This time I went with the vote for the organic zucchini, but other times I go with the less expensive. Also I ask if my vote was correct because I'm still not sure where either zucchini was shipped in from. Anyway here's a quote from a chicken farmer Michael Pollan spoke to that sums up some of what I try to remember when being faced with the need to spend more money on food (and please don't think anyone that I'm trying to be judgmental about anyone else's choices I'm just sharing my mental wanderings on this topic):

"....whenever I hear people say clean food is expensive, I tell them it's actually the cheapest food you can buy. That always gets their attention. Then I explain that, with our food, all of the costs are figured into the price. Society is not bearing the cost of water pollution, of antibiotic resistance, of food-borne illnesses, of crop subsidies, of subsidized oil and water--of all the hidden costs to the environment and the taxpayer that make cheap food seem cheap. No thinking person will tell you they don't care about all that. I tell them the choice is simple: You can buy honestly priced food or you can buy irresponsibly priced food."
...........Michael Pollan........... (http://www.michaelpollan.com/article.php?id=76)