The purpose of the Food Stoic is to seek out the truth of food. That includes continually striving for better food. It’s a common misconception that the costs of eating better food are higher than eating bad food. Not all good food costs more. Moreover, eating better food often involves a choice where to spend your dollars. If you’re eating better, you’re spending less on pre-made food, which costs more.
The benefits of eating better food far outweigh the costs. Good food gifts us better physical and emotional health, increased joy, longevity and a greater sense of community. Moreover, better food improves our environment.
I began this journey with these truths. I understood that my mission to convince others of this would be challenging. Afterall, I owned a bakery where I sold pretty cakes. Where I also learned that because we live in a busy world people crave convenience and will pay for it. Moreover, that experience taught me that most people don’t often think about what is in what they are eating. When they do, they believe that it’s “good enough”. In the ten years I owned the bakery there was only one person that asked me about ingredients other than allergens. We were transparent about our ingredients, perhaps that’s why no one asked. But maybe, also, they really didn’t care.
But now, I’m rising to the challenge of convincing people that it does matter and they should care. A dozen years ago I wanted to serve scratch-made desserts made with good ingredients. Now I want to educate more people about the reason why this matters with everything we eat. Simply, I have experienced the good things that come from cooking at home with better ingredients.
“I Can’t Afford To Eat Better”
Recently I had a conversation with someone about eating better. This person, whom I love and is extremely dear to me, told me that she doesn’t eat better because she can’t afford it. She understands eating better is important, especially since she is a young woman who is a cancer survivor. As we discussed how to eat better she said, “I can’t eat like you.”
Eat like me? “You mean cook your meals?” I asked her. “No, eat organic” she replied. “My insurance pays for my cancer treatment, but it doesn’t pay for good food”.
I thought about that for a long time.
My life is wrapped up in food so when I heard her tell me she wants to eat better but can’t, it upset me. Has our world really come to this point where the cost for cancer treatment is deemed more affordable than good food? Where pharmaceuticals used to fix maladies are valued over good nutrition to prevent them?
It made me aware that there are people who want to eat better but simply don’t know how. Others, like my sister, the person with whom I was speaking, believe that eating better food is not within their budget.
So I decided I need to do better.
I may suggest Organic ingredients because I do feel they are the gold standard. However, I don’t eat Organic everything. I just understand ingredients so I can keep making better choices, albeit within my budget. The whole premise behind the Food Stoic is to help people think more about what they eat. Suggesting Organic is a way to do that.
But so is suggesting a way to do that economically. I typically call it ‘scrappy’, but I happen to be the queen of Frugal.
My parents had little money when I was growing up and there were a lot of nights they had nothing more than popcorn and Kool-Aid in the pantry to feed their children. We learned to fish for our dinner and grow a garden that could supply our food. Our meals were healthy despite not having enough money for luxuries like new gym shoes every year and jeans without holes in them.
That experience helped me get through the first phase of my adulthood when my husband and I were paying for our education and feeding ourselves on a budget. In fact, we fondly recall the meals we made. Chipped Beef on Toast, Tacos and Loaded Baked Potatoes were our staples. Then again during the recession of 2007-09 when we had three children to feed and a lot less money coming in to fund the grocery bill. Fortunately, my kids love vegetables from the garden, pasta and grilled cheese sandwiches.
I understand that when you’re trying to just survive financially, it’s difficult to think about eating better.
But even in hardship, it was all I thought about. Cooking at home with whole foods is not only healthier, it’s cheaper. It’s also the thing that can bring much needed joy at a time that seems so bleak. There is so much comfort in good food. I could afford to make brownies from scratch, even when I couldn’t afford to buy them at the gourmet bakery. My kids got a lot of joy from licking the bowl clean, as you can tell!
So, for my sister who believes that she is prevented from eating better because it costs too much, this is for you baby girl, (and anyone else who wants to eat better but doesn’t think they can afford to).
‘Better Food’ Defined
My goal is to get people to eat better food. That means understanding what you’re eating so you can keep making better choices through better ingredients and cooking at home.
When I use the term “better food” or “better ingredients”, I mean to switch out your current bad or good food for a better and healthier version. I encourage home cooking with real ingredients. Here are my categories of food:
- Bad: Fast Food
- Good: Home-cooked
- Better: Home-cooked using whole foods and real ingredients
- Even Better: Home-cooked, from scratch, using whole foods and better quality ingredients that don’t contain bad components
- Even Better Gold: Home-cooked, from scratch, using Organic whole foods and Organic ingredients
Better food does not contain harmful chemicals, sweeteners or additives. Better also means food that is not highly processed. Processed foods that are mass produced and inexpensive to create often contain the cheapest, most harmful ingredients.
The safest kind of food is certified Organic. That’s the gold standard because it is food grown without chemicals or pesticides. For animal products, the best comes from pasture-raised and fed animals not using hormones or antibiotics. For ingredients like condiments and sauces, the best are those that do not contain harmful sweeteners and additives and are made from organic components.
The goal is to use whole foods (produce, legumes, beans, and grains), along with good proteins and healthy ingredients to cook your own food. Better quality ingredients include healthy fats and healthier sweeteners, sauces and condiments.
This means you buy potatoes instead of frozen french fries; cans of whole tomatoes instead of jars of pasta sauce; eggs instead of prepared scrambles; and pantry staples instead of boxes of pancake or cake mixes. In lieu of frozen dinners you purchase vegetables and meat. Fruit, oats and yogurt become breakfast instead of cereal and frozen waffles.
The target is to stock a kitchen full of ingredients that can be used to make meals. Further, for any convenience items you need, you find healthier versions made with better ingredients.
How to Start Eating Better
It is a step-wise process to eat better. You know what happens to those people who are overweight and make a New Year’s resolution to exercise at the gym every day? By February they typically have thrown in the towel. I’ve done that myself. So this comes with all the weight and authority of my experience: don’t do that with your commitment to eat better food. Don’t set yourself up for failure by jumping all in too quickly. You want to build a healthy lifestyle through slow habit changes.
Start with awareness. Where are you now? Do you not cook at all? Do you buy food in a store and cook your own meals?
If you are cooking at home I think you’re at least at the “good” stage. It’s healthier than fast food. It’s also cheaper than eating out.
The goal is to progress to the even better stages of food as you learn more. Start reading labels. Begin to interpret what’s on the labels to understand what you are eating.
Once you get interested in what you are eating, you will easily learn if your ingredients are just good, or if they can be better. Then slowly you’ll progress towards “gold” for the food that requires it.
The Costs
Eating better does not mean eating Organic. However, Organic food and ingredients do cost more than non-organic ones. There are several reasons for this:
- Organic farming methods tend to be more labor-intensive and require more resources than conventional farming methods. As a result, organic farming may charge higher prices for their products to offset these costs.
- The availability of organic food may vary depending on the region and season, and it may cost more due to limited supply and higher demand.
- Organic food may be transported over longer distances, increasing the cost of transportation and potentially increasing the price.
- Organic farmers must undergo a certification process to ensure their products meet the USDA organic standards. Organic products reflect the cost of this certification process.
Non-organic ingredients are cheaper because they are grown in greater abundance with typical agribusiness farming practices, including the use of pesticides. They are also often grown from genetically modified seeds.
Pesticides and chemicals are shown to cause cancer, chronic disease and disturbances of the body microbiome. The Case for Organic Produce
Processed foods are also cheaper because they are mass produced, and rely on inexpensive and unhealthy ingredients. They are high in calories, and low in fiber, vitamins and minerals. They also contain a lot of unnecessary extra ingredients.
Over time, a diet high in processed foods, which contain added sugars and unhealthy fats, can lead to chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. These diseases can be expensive to treat and may have long-term consequences for your health, including quality of life.
Most health insurance typically covers the cost of treatment for cancer and chronic diseases, but the extent of coverage can vary depending on the insurance you have, if any. There may be out of pocket costs and co-pays. For chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, treatments may require authorizations and may not be covered under most plans. Then there are the risks and unhealthy side effects of the pharmaceuticals used to treat these diseases.
The lifestyle changes, along with the lasting impact of chronic illness, must also be considered as costs of disease. Ask anyone who suffers from cancer or a chronic disease how much it changes your life and consumes your time.
Despite all of the above, eating better simply means to cook more at home with real food. Cooking at home is cheaper than eating out. When you purchase food prepared by others you are paying for the convenience of having others cook for you. Moreover, restaurant owners will pass their costs on to you. This includes the costs of their ingredients, as well as what it costs to run their business. Nonetheless, convenience food does not rank as better food (depending of course on where you are eating!).
Cooking at home with real ingredients is also cheaper than using processed foods. I’ll demonstrate that in the sections below.
The Benefits of Better Food
While better food, including Organic food, may be more expensive upfront, it has health benefits that could save you money in the long run by reducing your risk of chronic diseases associated with exposure to pesticides and other harmful chemicals. Similarly, avoiding the cheap sugars, unhealthy fats, harmful additives and overall poor quality of processed foods will help you to avoid disease.
Although there is no guarantee you will avoid chronic disease or cancer through diet, there is a plethora of research to indicate its helpful benefits. Building a better immune system through better food can also help you battle chronic disease in the future.
Moreover, cooking your own food serves to keep you mentally and emotionally well-balanced. It also creates community and family traditions.
Non-organic farming methods can contribute to soil depletion, pollution, and other environmental issues. The cost of these impacts may not be immediately apparent but can have significant long-term consequences for everyone. Supporting farmers practicing organic farming is the way to encourage its growth, creating a better universe for all of us.
Overall, the cost of better food may appear higher. However, considering the potential health and environmental benefits, the benefits outweigh the costs.
Now that we’ve established the benefits outweigh the costs, the only thing left to do is figure out how we can fit better food into our budget.
How to Eat Better Food on Your Budget
I am going to take the position that making your own food is cheaper, even using better products. While some people, like my dear sister I mentioned above, allege that eating healthier is not an option, I will bet that they are not making all their own food, nor have they compared their budget under both scenarios.
Figuring out the numbers will help you legitimately weigh the costs and benefits without the need to speculate. Further, you will likely find a spot in your budget for buying better food when you know the actual costs.
Why don’t you start with replacing the food most sprayed with chemicals with organic versions? For that list, visit the Environmental Working Group. Every year they put out a “Dirty Dozen” list of the food that is found to contain the most pesticides. http://www.ewg.org Many people spend a small fortune on buying their coffee every morning. If you give up that expensive habit and brew coffee at home you may just find some extra money to spend on cleaner produce.
For your other produce that is not organic you can institute a procedure of cleaning it in a solution of water, baking soda and vinegar to safely wash off the chemicals (or try growing your own at home!)
Similarly, for your grains you can also determine which you eat the most of the dirtiest grains (like corn and oats) and replace them with healthier versions. You may find you can afford to buy Organic Oats, especially if you give up buying processed bags of granola and begin making your own at home.
There are many affordable and nutritious options available for eating better. For example, legumes, beans, whole grains, frozen fruits and vegetables, and lean proteins can be a cost-effective and healthier choice. Planning meals ahead of time, buying in bulk, and using coupons or shopping at farmer’s markets can also help to reduce the costs of a healthy diet.
Not to mention, cooking at home is cheaper than eating out or eating a diet high in ready-made foods. Moreover, using whole ingredients is cheaper than prepared food. If you buy boxes of pancake mix, purchase pantry staples instead. Flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt are often all you need to make your own mixes at home.
Making It Work
One thing that helped me budget better food into our lives was to create a monthly meal plan. It made a huge difference and helped us afford to replace some of our items with Organic versions. I realized that when I pre-planned my meals I knew ahead of time all the ingredients I needed. That cut out buying things I didn’t actually need. It also helped me to buy in bulk, and repurpose ingredients for meals that week. In fact, when I make rice as a side dish one night, I can turn the leftover rice into a healthy stir-fry the next evening by simply adding some veggies and a protein.
Not to mention, planning to make a little extra of each meal means lunch food. Spaghetti night turns into lunch for my boys for the next two or three days. Left-over lettuce turns into a salad for lunch for my daughter and me. Not eating lunch out means more money to spend on better food. You don’t need a lot of food, just the right food.
If you give up one evening of television to create a monthly meal plan, you can use that plan on repeat all year if you want. Even something generic like “Tuesday Taco night, Wednesday Chicken night. . .” will work. We waste a lot of money when we’re hungry and don’t have a plan.
Food is the thing I don’t compromise on. I don’t eat the gold version of everything because I can’t afford it either. However, I’ve learned what is “better” and I go into my purchases with that knowledge. I make my own food, create a meal plan and try to buy in bulk. I purchase Organic for the food most sprayed with chemicals and try to make safer food purchases for the rest of my list.
If I can do this, you can too. You find time for the things important to you. Food is important to us all.
My French Fries Example
Here’s an example of how to go from good to better to even better gold with French Fries.
Bad:
Fast food french fries. By example, McDonald’s lists the following ingredients for it’s fries:
Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (canola Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Natural Beef Flavor [wheat And Milk Derivatives]*), Dextrose, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate (maintain Color), Salt. *natural Beef Flavor Contains Hydrolyzed Wheat And Hydrolyzed Milk As Starting Ingredients.
There are a lot of published articles claiming that this is not the full list of ingredients and that McDonald’s fries actually contain 19 ingredients. That’s part of what makes fast food bad, you never know if you are getting the full list of ingredients.
The reason these french fries are bad is that they are sprayed with pesticides, contain very unhealthy fats, get coated in allergens like wheat and milk, dipped in sugar, contain harmful additives, and are highly processed. They are fried, flash frozen, then fried again at the restaurants. Not only are the ingredients bad, but the process is unhealthy too. Thus, the nature of abundant fast food.
Good:
Frozen French Fries you cook at home. These fries are still highly processed but it’s good that you’re cooking at home! It’s healthier than the golden arches fries that use four kinds of seed oils, beef flavoring, sugar additives, wheat, milk and a harmful leavener.
If you are buying the most popular brand of french fries on the market, they are $5.99 for 32 oz. Here’s that brand’s ingredient list for frozen french fries (the cut that looks like fast food fries):
“Potatoes, Vegetable Oil Blend (Soybean And Cottonseed), Modified Food Starch, Rice Flour, Salt, Dextrin, Cornstarch, Annatto Color, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Dextrose, Leavening (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Xanthan Gum”
What’s bad about this is a harmful seed oil combination, a food color known to trigger IBS symptoms, a sugar additive made from corn, a thickening starch made from corn, and leaveners that harm the immune system.
Why do we need these ingredients in something as simple as french fries?
Better:
Better Frozen Fries. There’s another brand of frozen fries in the same section of the supermarket. It’s a slightly smaller bag but it’s non-GMO, meaning it was produced without genetic modification. It’s $6.49 for 28 oz. Here’s the label:
“Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Contains One Or More Of The Following: High Oleic Canola, Canola, Sunflower), Sea Salt, Apple Juice Concentrate (To Promote Browning), Citric Acid (To Promote Color Retention).”
The seed oil is still not the “best” (but it’s better than soybean and cottonseed) and it contains no other harmful additives.
Even Better:
Even better is whole potatoes. The best potatoes for making french fries are the russets, also known as Idaho potatoes. You can buy a 5 lb bag for $3.99 or you can purchase them individually as well. This is a lot cheaper than the other options.
For my family of four we typically eat 16 oz. of french fries with a meal. That’s about 4 oz each., or the size of a McDonald’s Medium fry. Here’s the cost breakdown from bad to good to better:
- McDonald’s medium fry: $1.79;
- 4 oz of Ore-Ida fries: $.74
- 4 oz of Alexia fries: $.93
- 4oz of Idaho Potatoes: $.19
I typically do baked fries for my family, which is healthier compared to fried in oil. I toss well-washed and dried potatoes with avocado oil, salt and pepper. If you prefer crispier fries, you can also deep fry them on your stovetop in avocado oil. I buy my avocado oil in bulk, along with my salt and pepper, so it’s like adding a few pennies to the amount listed above for the cost.
Even Better Gold:
Organic potatoes are the gold choice. Organic produce is pesticide-free. You can grow them, purchase them from a local farmer’s market or buy them at the supermarket.
If you purchase them from a big box store, they are going to be slightly more money. At my store I can purchase a 3 lb bag of O Organic Russets for $3.99. This would bring my 4 oz serving size up to $.33, which is still cheaper than the frozen fries.
Try this for all of your food.
The Better Conclusion
I am a work in progress.
The conversation I had with my sister made me aware that I need to do better helping people learn how to eat better within a budget.
I hope I’ve demonstrated the misconceptions about the costs of eating better. Sometimes something seems so daunting that we immediately label it as not possible. But eating better is not just possible, it’s also worthy of our time. It does not have to break the budget.
It can be what you want it to be until you’re ready and able to fully dive into it.
The fact that you’ve read this far means you are ready to start dipping your toes in the water, at least.
Someday you’ll get to the point where you want to wipe the slate clean and start over. You’ll throw out everything in your pantry that doesn’t fit your new life. Your refrigerator will get cleaned out. When you go to the store you will find yourself selecting ingredients with confidence. You will be able to comfortably talk about what you eat. Every day will be better than the last.
Most of all, you’ll love making your own food and you will feel so good about what you are eating.
Does this mean you need to give up eating out? Not at all. It means that you’ll think more about what you’re eating and feel better about it. You won’t rely on fast or processed foods. Those will simply become once in a while indulgences rather than daily staples.
Until then, your journey is yours.
For myself, I’m still learning what products I want in my kitchen and every day I learn about new ones. I still hold on to some not so good ones. Mostly because it’s what I am used to. Sometimes because I just don’t know better yet or I can’t yet afford it. But I give myself grace as I navigate this new world. I hope you do the same.
Allow yourself time to learn. I have truly loved learning all these new things and am absolutely amazed by what’s out there now. Knowledge is power.
Enjoy the journey.
