Hey, Fattie: Fresh fruits and vegetables cost 10 times more than junk food

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waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,143
10
81
Blu counter tops? Interesting. o_O

Yeah, a bigger kitchen with more storage will be one of the big things on my list if/when I finally move.

KT

yes blue. the previous owner had the kitchen done right before we moved in (like a year). she asked told the person doing it to get whatever was cheap. so blue counter tops....

if i wasn't having the basement redone i would redo the kitchen.
 

spidey07

No Lifer
Aug 4, 2000
65,469
5
76
well said. its amazing the ignorance shown by people posting in this thread. i don't think they know what being poor really means. either that or they buy everything with their credit card and living the "dream"

One can feed their family pretty well with just food stamps/WIC.

Cooking and nutrition classes should be mandatory to get food aid.
 

QueBert

Lifer
Jan 6, 2002
22,553
834
126
it may be more expensive if you are eating crappy hungryman dinners every night but by no means is it expensive but eating healthy can be done much more cheaply than any fast food which is consumed more lower income people in the first place so that point is pretty moot

I can get 2,000 calories worth of fast food for about 2 bucks, 2,000 calories of healthy food will cost more. So by "much more cheaply" you mean more money right?
 

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,908
2,141
126
It is true, good foods cost several times that of bad foods, but you make up the savings in health care :)
 

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,357
8,446
126
The problem is poor families who have to decide if a few pounds of regular ground beef and a box of hamburger helper ($5) or a balanced meal with lots of fresh vegetables ($15) is possible for their family. Got many, the vegetables are not.

ground beef is at least 2 dollars and can easily be 3 or 4. dried legumes are pennies a pound, rice is pennies a pound, onion is under a dollar a pound, a lb of canned tomatoes is a bit more than a buck. add some spices and seasoning and you've got a complete meal for cheaper than just the beef in the shitty hamburger helper, that can feed more people, and is rather healthy.

lrn2cook
 

QueBert

Lifer
Jan 6, 2002
22,553
834
126
ground beef is at least 2 dollars and can easily be 3 or 4. dried legumes are pennies a pound, rice is pennies a pound, onion is under a dollar a pound, a lb of canned tomatoes is a bit more than a buck. add some spices and seasoning and you've got a complete meal for cheaper than just the beef in the shitty hamburger helper, that can feed more people, and is rather healthy.

lrn2cook

rice onions and tomatoes? That's a side dish, it sure as hell wouldn't fill up anyone I know.
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,143
10
81
One can feed their family pretty well with just food stamps/WIC.

Cooking and nutrition classes should be mandatory to get food aid.

i agree. personally i think cooking nutrition classes should be mandatory for high school kids.

It used to be people learned to cook at home. Far to many are not learning that skill.

you can stretch money out as far and still eat healthy. but hamburger helper is easy and takes no skill.
 

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,418
1,599
126
rice onions and tomatoes? That's a side dish, it sure as hell wouldn't fill up anyone I know.

the great part about cheap shit is you can eat a lot of it and it's still cheap.
 

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,357
8,446
126
rice onions and tomatoes? That's a side dish, it sure as hell wouldn't fill up anyone I know.

it's chana masala. it's delicious.

if you're choosing between eating shit for $5 or eating a complete healthy meal for $5 then maybe you shouldn't spend 60% of your budget on meat.
 

Adul

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
32,999
44
91
danny.tangtam.com
I eat very healthily on ~ $3/day. You can give anyone a 2500 calorie diet on $100 a month, you just have to learn to cook. Also, I have meat for 2 meals, generally (some meals are excellent and meatless).

Here's a hint, potatoes are cheap.

as is rice :)
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
80,287
17,079
136
One can feed their family pretty well with just food stamps/WIC.

Cooking and nutrition classes should be mandatory to get food aid.

I dunno. I had plenty of cooking and nutrition in jr and sr high. I still eat bad. Guess I'm a lazy bastard. Dont like to cook so I eat simple pre-packaged meals a lot. They are full of sodium and fat and ultra-processed starch & sugar.

Been trying really hard to get into tuna and green veggies.
 

RapidSnail

Diamond Member
Apr 28, 2006
4,257
0
0
I can't believe people think potatoes are "bad for you." Only in a first world country where people don't exercise and are otherwise lazy would a natural product which has been consumed for centuries on end with no ill effects be considered wasteful.
 

Paladin3

Diamond Member
Mar 5, 2004
4,933
877
126
I'm making beef stew tonight for our family of four. All these prices are from memory during my last shopping trip.

2 lbs. of hormone free chuck roast @ $2.98/lb (-$2 off coupon) = $3.96
3 lbs. potatoes @ $.99/10 lbs = $0.30
1 lb carrots @ $.68/lb
1 med. onion @ $0.54/lb = ~$.40
1 lb bag of mixed frozen vegetables = $0.69
1 can low sodium beef stock @ $0.88
spices = ~$0.25

Total = $7.16

That will fill us all up for not a lot of cash, is better than fast/junk food, and there will be plenty left over. I could add some more potatoes and carrots for almost nothing and stretch it much farther. If I add a simple green salad to the meal it will up the price by maybe $2.50 at the most.

Avoiding junk food and eating cheap is more about smart shopping. When you do things like buy whole chickens on sale for $.79/lb, roast them, then cook the leftover bird down for stock or soup or chicken and dumplings, your food dollar goes a long way and you eat just fine. You might still get fat though.
 

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,418
1,599
126
I'm making beef stew tonight for our family of four. All these prices are from memory during my last shopping trip.

2 lbs. of hormone free chuck roast @ $2.98/lb (-$2 off coupon) = $3.96
3 lbs. potatoes @ $.99/10 lbs = $0.30
1 lb carrots @ $.68/lb
1 med. onion @ $0.54/lb = ~$.40
1 lb bag of mixed frozen vegetables = $0.69
1 can beef stock @ $0.88
spices = ~$0.25

Total = $7.16

That will fill us all up for not a lot of cash, is better than fast/junk food, and there will be plenty left over. I could add some more potatoes and carrots for almost nothing and stretch it much farther. If I add a simple green salad to the meal it will up the price by maybe $2.50 at the most.

Avoiding junk food and eating cheap is more about smart shopping. When you do things like buy whole chickens on sale for $.79/lb, roast them, then cook the leftover bird down for stock or soup or chicken and dumplings, your food dollar goes a long way and you eat just fine. You might still get fat though.

all of that requires work. If I'm doing all that cooking, how can I find time to bitch about the price of healthy food online?
 

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
126
You can get those same nutrients from much healthier sources. Not to mention the fact that 99% of those nutrients are located in the skin of the potato, which everybody throws away.

The inside of a potato (the part that everyone eats) is nothing but simple carbs.

So in conclusion, no, potatoes are not "very good for you".

No, "potatoes are not very good for" the idiot pansies who throw the skin away. I would NEVER do that and always eat my potato skins. It may add a bitter flavor, but it is FLAVOR and potatoes that aren't seasoned and fried to be unhealthy regardless are flavorLESS without it. Even if there's no additional nutritional benefit, I also make fun of the pansies who pussyfoot around the end-pieces of a loaf of sliced sandwich bread and I buy wheat for the same reason (at least it has a flavor that isn't "bleach").
 

bfdd

Lifer
Feb 3, 2007
13,312
1
0
ground beef is at least 2 dollars and can easily be 3 or 4. dried legumes are pennies a pound, rice is pennies a pound, onion is under a dollar a pound, a lb of canned tomatoes is a bit more than a buck. add some spices and seasoning and you've got a complete meal for cheaper than just the beef in the shitty hamburger helper, that can feed more people, and is rather healthy.

lrn2cook

you do know that legumes is like a general term for certain types of beans right? what are you talking about?

PS - check out food.com you can build menu's and print out shopping lists based on those menus.
 

KeithTalent

Elite Member | Administrator | No Lifer
Administrator
Nov 30, 2005
50,231
117
116
The whole poor argument is complete bullshit. We were extremely poor when I was a kid; my Mom was solo with me and she was on financial aid for a good chunk of my youth (6-13) as she was trying to re-train for entering the job force and she was always able to cook real food, with actual vegetables and meat and even made me lunch every day (I'd come home at lunch because I was close enough and because school lunch was too expensive).

I don't really care if you eat shit food, but be honest about it and say it's because you are lazy or even just because you like the taste of it, don't cry poverty when it is very obviously doable on small budgets and with limited time.

Arggh, so angry about stupid nonsense like this. Take some god damned responsibility and take care of yourselves and, more importantly your kids.

KT
 

Ballatician

Golden Member
Dec 6, 2007
1,985
0
0
I eat very healthily on ~ $3/day. You can give anyone a 2500 calorie diet on $100 a month, you just have to learn to cook. Also, I have meat for 2 meals, generally (some meals are excellent and meatless).

Here's a hint, potatoes are cheap.

care to share some recipes?

Hmm, I don't have a fryer, but I could fire up a pot of oil. You stick with Russets?

KT

what kind of oil, vegetable or something else?
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
man we subsidize the shit out of the farming industry and the best they can offer us is 10 times what it costs to turn that same shit into junk food? lol we have created huge flaws in our nation.

Farmer Zeke gotz to get paid to affurd his F4500 Kingus Khan edition.
 

KeithTalent

Elite Member | Administrator | No Lifer
Administrator
Nov 30, 2005
50,231
117
116
what kind of oil, vegetable or something else?

Something with a high smoke point. Canola oil is fine, or anything along those line. No fruity oils or anything that would burn below 350ish.

KT
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
19
81
Costco

$20 50lb bag rice
$20 50lb bag beans

Have a nice month.
 

spidey07

No Lifer
Aug 4, 2000
65,469
5
76
Costco

$20 50lb bag rice
$20 50lb bag beans

Have a nice month.

Add bacon, add variety of fish/shrimp/cheap beef cuts, add some veggies = 50 bucks.

Eat well for under 100 bucks a month. When I was dirt fucking poor rice and chicken necks were my meals. Add generic canned mushroom soup and you've got a tasty meal.
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
19
81
well said. its amazing the ignorance shown by people posting in this thread. i don't think they know what being poor really means. either that or they buy everything with their credit card and living the "dream"

That's probably true, but also true is poor people are poor because they are ignorant about money as a rule and are spend thrifts. Eat out, eat packaged trash, and otherwise dont save. I could make money on Food stamps. See above post.