Last week we asked you to think of the value of your health. I challenged you to consider cost in terms of food.
When people say healthy eating is expensive, I don’t believe it. The USDA studied the cost of produce per serving in 2004. Obviously prices have change some since then but here’s what they found:
“Among the 154 forms of fruits and vegetables we priced, more than half were estimated to cost 25 cents or less per serving. Consumers can meet the recommendations of three servings of fruits and four servings of vegetables daily for 64 cents.”
Why do we struggle then? Because it’s easier to buy the $.99 menu item at a drive-up then it is to buy a $1.89 pound of broccoli and prepare it for a sit-down meal.
Let’s really do the math. A pound of broccoli provides four servings of veggies. A whole rotisserie chicken is about $7 and also serves 4. For a $1.29 you can buy a box of organic, whole wheat pasta, and for a song you can brew some iced green tea. So here’s the shakedown on dinner per person in a family of four:
- Broccoli $.48 27 Cals, 0.3g fat, 2.6g fiber, 5.6g carbs, 1.5g protein
- Chicken $1.75 266 Cals, 10.6g fat, 0g fiber, 0g carbs, 40g protein
- Noodles $.33 210 cals, 1.5g fat, 5g fiber, 41g carbs, 7g protein
- Green Tea $.25 0 cals (brewed from a bag)
- Total Cost: $2.81 per person
- Total Nutrition: 503 cals, 12.4g fat, 7.6g fiber, 46.6g carbs, 47g protein
Can you get a meal at Burger King for that? A Whopper Value Meal (with a small coke and small fires) looks like this:
- Total cost: $3.99 per person
- Total Nutrition: 1200 cals, 55g fat, 0g fiber, 151g carbs, 32g protein
Compared side by side (home meal on the left, BK on the Right, the difference at the far right):
- Price: $2.81 vs $3.99 = $1.18
- Calories: 503 vs 1200 = 697
- Fat: 12.4g vs 55g = 42.6g
- Fiber: 7.6g vs 0g = 7.6g
- Carbs: 46.6g vs 151g = 104.4g
- Protein: 47g vs 32g = 15g
(sorry for the lack of tabs, I couldn’t figure that out in WordPress)
Additional nutritional bonuses:
Whole grain pasta has more B and E vitamins than the white flour bun and the fries. The added burden of the white flour and the coke on your blood sugar is harsh. The fat in the chicken is considered “good fat” and beneficial to your brain. The fat in the BK meal is mostly saturated and bad for your arteries. Finally, depending on how the chicken is prepared, the sodium in the BK meal is quite high.
So for fewer calories, more fiber, better protein, better fats (and a lot less of them), lots of vitamins and minerals, and less money, you really can feel like a million bucks.
Shoot, you could even add a pat of butter to your noodles and the fat content would go up 4g with 36 added calories. Or how about some garlic simmered in olive oil and a little sprinkle of parmesan cheese, better yet.
So, in this case, eating healthy isn’t expensive. Furthermore, we always say, when we cook a meal we put the love in it; plus, what about the conversations around the dinner table? What’s the value of all that? Wait for it… Priceless.
Bon appetite!
You in Your Workplace:
Meal planning can be quite helpful to those who are struggling with healthy eating. Recipes are great but they need to be simple — 30 minutes tops and few ingredients. Helping them envision a full meal saves them the thinking part as well. One step further is a shopping list. A great resource for this is “Think Light!” a healthy eating plan with menus and grocery lists. Also check out Texas Agrilife Healthy living “Dinner Tonight” videos.
See you on the springy PATH Ahead