Food Frustrations!

Today I am frustrated by how expensive healthy food is. It's just wrong!

As a poor college student, I don't have a lot of money to be spending on food. However, I am trying, desperately, to lose some weight. I have been doing Weight Watchers for about 2 months and have lost 10 pounds. They recently changed their plan to be more up to date with today's science. (For more information on Weight Watchers and their plan click here) Their new plan encourages the consumption of more fruits and vegetables and proteins. Their goal is to limit the amount of sodium. Sodium is found in most (if not all) processed foods, so their new idea is to move away from processed and towards more fresh foods. This is a little bit of a change for me. I have not been eating poorly, however I was finding soups and frozen meals were cheaper and less time consuming than cooking everything for myself.

So today I went to the grocery store. I was determined to get healthy foods and really commit to this new program. I made a list of some foods I felt I could easily cook for myself. My emphasis was on fruits and vegetables. I was willing to forget my $25 weekly grocery budget and spend whatever I needed to make good food for myself this week. Surprisingly, the produce didn't seem too expensive. Items were generally priced around the $1 or $2 per pound mark. I was feeling enthusiastic....until I got to the register. Apparently $1-$3 items quickly add up. I ended up spending $40 on 4 bags of groceries.

As I was walking out the door I though, "well hopefully that will last me a while", but then I got to thinking. I had bought one cucumber, one tomato, one bunch on bananas, one bag of grapes, one container of raspberries, one pepper, one bag of salad, .......ONE. I had planned my meals for ONE week worth of meals. Does this mean that I am going to have to spend $40 again next week? I can't afford that!

It's no wonder to me why America has a obesity epidemic! The average American cannot afford to spend that much money on food. So instead, we opt for (seemingly) cheaper fast food or $1.50 bags of chips and pop. An entire family can buy two $5 hot and ready pizzas at Little Ceasars and feed their entire family, or they can spend twice or triple that much to MAKE the pizzas at home with fresh veggies and meats. Our lives are about quantity, not quality. We want the most for the least amount of money. I realize the flaws in this system, however, this is where we live. This is the culture we are stuck in. I can choose to spend my money on fewer quality items but I can't sustain that. Money isn't coming in and I can't live without eating.

Now, for whoever is reading this, I don't want you to think that I am giving up. I am determined to enjoy the food that I purchased today. I am also going to figure out a way to eat better without spending so much money. I'll let you know what I come up with!