It's too expensive to eat healthy??...here's how to learn to make it affordable & GREAT

Alright, so there's a fascinating article from the Denver Post (Spoiled system: Eating healthier comes with a price for families) and its pretty straight forward in discussing "what" the problem is...I want to help you figure out "HOW" to solve the problem...but before we do that, lets summarize "what" the problem is:

• "We've made the unhealthy choice the rational choice," said Merrick Weaver, who, as executive director of Partnership for Healthy Communities, works to improve nutrition among lower-income families in Commerce City....In short, "You can buy more calories for your dollar if you buy bad foods," Weaver said.

• Between 1995 and 2009, the U.S. Department of Agriculture handed out $245 billion in subsidies to farmers...the payments come through a variety of programs that insure against catastrophic weather, set price floors and offer incentives for growing certain crops — and not growing others....And the fruit and vegetable growers?..."They don't get direct subsidies," said David DeGennaro, legislative and policy analyst for the Environmental Working Group...."It's always been that way, ever since the subsidies structure took shape in the '30s and '40s," DeGennaro said.

• ...fruit- and vegetable-growers — who are eligible for some, but not all, USDA programs — haven't so much missed out as they haven't asked to participate....Fruit and vegetable producers aren't unified the way corn growers are, and some even view other produce growers as competition, DeGennaro said.

• If all 309 million Americans suddenly decided to live by [USDA nutritional recommendations], we'd quickly run out of fruits and vegetables..."the U.S. food system supplies 24 percent fewer servings per person than the five daily vegetable servings recommended for a standard 2,000 calorie diet."

• If Americans suddenly started gobbling twice as many fruits and vegetables, "growers wouldn't ignore that. They'd plow up what they have and plant more tomatoes, and spinach, etc.", however; if growers of wheat or corn who get subsidies suddenly switched to zucchini or lettuce, they would face financial penalty, under current subsidy rules.

So if that's the problem, the "answer" to be healthy is to be creative and savvy with your food budgets:

• Have a plan to use fruits FIRST vs. buying fruits and then figuring out what to do with them when you get home. Have a plan and places like Costco can save you money when you buy in bulk (i.e. purchasing 8 pints of strawberries for $6 in Costco vs. $3 to $4/pint!!!)
• Purchase fruits and vegetables on sale in your local markets and cook them immediately / package them as soon as you get home for use the next day.
• Vegetables that freeze well for me are dense vegetables, such as Broccoli, Cauliflower, and diced Bell Peppers, Carrots. Or, purchasing frozen vegetables can be a cost savings alternative, such as peas, corn, broccoli. NOTE: Fresh is better than Frozen, but if Fresh is too expensive, go for it with the frozen.
• Strawberries, blueberries, and pineapple freeze very well. Besides, they make great snacks on a hot day or are perfect fillers for smoothies (strawberry, blueberry, soy milk and vanilla protein powder of your choice - INSTANT BREAKFAST!)
• Grocery stores now sell packages of spinach which can go a long way to adding healthy nutrients instantly (Trader Joe's sells a package $2.00 that has 8 servings of spinach). Spinach is more versatile than lettuce because you can eat them raw in a salad, or add them to a saute' dish at the last minute for vibrant color and vitamins.
• Zucchini is a very versatile dish and works great in Italian and French and Greek dishes. A great dish is to cut zucchini into "penne shapes" and saute with dried organo and olive oil and penne pasta is a hearty dish that goes a very long way while getting your serving of vegetables - a 10 inch by 1 inch diameter zucchini is equal to 2 servings of vegetables. Asian markets sell a package of 6 for about $2.00 and Trader Joes sells a package of 4 to 5 organic zucchini for about $2.50.
  
• Melons are great ways to purchase value sized fruits. If you seed and peel the melons yourself, one large melon can provide up to 12 servings of fruits. Purchase your melons at Costco or your favorite market - get the most dense melon for its size.
  
• And if you can get to a farmer's market, you money can go a long way when you purchase fruits and vegetables that are in season (purchase 3 extra large leeks for $4 vs. 2 small leeks for $2 in the stores). Know what fruits and vegetables are in season in your area and plan your meals around that produce to get the most bang for your dollar!

Being creative and savvy means being determined to find a solution to find ways to infuse more health into your diet without paying unnecessary premiums for fruits and vegetables. If you can make a difference with government policies, by all means, please pursue them to make positive change. But if you can't make an impact on prices for fruits and vegetables, learn produce seasonality, make a plan to prepare meals with fruits and vegetables, and continue make fruits and vegetables apart of your diet.

So the people who can save us from obesity are...???

The following article puts a "fun spin" on the battle between "Health officials vs. Processed Foods/ Fast Food Officials" (Why Activists Alone Can't Stop Obesity). Here's what we know:

• Healthcare officials (doctors, nutritionists, medical researchers, etc.) are saying we need to reduce intake of processed foods and foods scientifically proven to be unhealthy
• Fast food industry officials are trying to market their previously labeled "good for you" foods as "we've made changes to the foods and now they're good for you" foods
• Processed foods industry officials are fighting regulators for the amount of salt they put in foods because they won't taste good, even though the amount of salt they have put in a small snack bag is roughly half the amount recommended by the FDA

But what we don't know and is still unclear to us - "who do we listen to and how do we get healthy???"

The end of the article states:

...So is there anyone left who can make a serious dent in obesity? Can consumers be the ones who step up? Tune in next time...

The writer asks "who can save ourselves"....say this statement again...."WHO - CAN - SAVE - OURSELVES???"...Ourselves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take the best from both sides and make it your own information to make your "informed" decisions. Learn about the ingredients in your foods / cook your own foods so you know what is in the foods you're eating / read the labels of the processed foods (the ingredient at the top of the list is the one that is most abundant in that package) / understand what the nutrition information on the labels do for your body (carbohydrates, sugar, fats, fiber, protein, etc.). What's my point?

We as a society is looking to one group or entity to tell us what to do to be healthy. This mentality is what got us in trouble, because we "only listened" to the fast food / processed food industry feed us information that you need more convenience to have a great life. And this mentality has produced an obesity epidemic and the highest rates of diabetes and heart disease in our nations history. But if we listen to the healthcare group completely, we get a lot of data and graphs and information that we don't understand and get turned off before we get to the part that tells us, "eat this vs. not that" or we get caught up in trying to challenge a billion dollar industry to make changes to their fast food conveniences.

The REAL ANSWER is to depend on information from both to make informed choices and depend on OURSELVES to make our lives healthier. If we wait for someone to tell us what to do, we will be unhealthy, in the hospital, and living a miserable life. But if we take the initiative to take back our own health and do what we have to do to listen to healthcare officials and while having the taste we get from convenience foods we can strike a balance for what we need to do for a great life.

Here are some great links to check out more information to make informed decisions for taking responsibility for your own health:

1. First lady to chefs: "It's got to be a collaboration"
2. New Data Prompt Renewed Calls for Public-Health Initiative to Cut Salt in US Diet
3. Type 2 diabetes called 'public health humiliation'
4. 40 Desserts That Can Kill You
5. Japan, Seeking Trim Waists, Measures Millions

Why do snacks have to have "guilt" associated with it???

So here's this article from USA Today about "Baby carrots take on junk food with hip marketing campaign." This article basically is saying that carrot growers are launching a marketing campaign to try to create "news" for baby carrots the same way junk food producers have been hyping their products. Sounds like a great idea, right? I think it's a great idea!..Why?:

• Your using the same approach with kids to make the baby carrots fun
• Your using fun packaging to get the kids thinking "fun + carrots = good"
• The carrot industry is learning to "if you can't beat them, join them" regarding the marketing campaign is concerned.

What troubles me, however, is the comment at the end of the article, which like anything else, is the last impression you have when reading this article:

Consultant Kate Newlin says she wants to like the idea. She loves the fact that carrots are the color of Cheetos and make the crunch of Doritos. But she says she is not quite buying the premise of carrots mimicking junk food. "The guilt is missing," says Newlin, author of Passion Brands. "I don't think Frito-Lay will be trembling."

An "expert on this subject" is saying, "you need to have "guilt" to market junk food." And the whole point of this article is that the baby carrot growers are "using the marketing strategy" of the junk food producers by making carrots fun and approachable for kids. And as parents, "whatever you have to do to get your kids to eat their vegetables" is what goes through the minds almost every day. And if it doesn't cost too much or make that much of a difference, parents are looking for any angle to get more fruits and vegetables into their children's diets. I know, my nephew refuses to eat carrots, but if you make it fun and exciting, he miraculously changes his stance and tries it. We need to make food fun for kids and I applaud the baby carrot producers for making this attempt.

Only time will tell if it works. But lets take the "spirit" of the baby carrot producers and "make food fun for kids" so they try the foods. Of course, the best quality foods are always best, but I guarantee you, organic carrots at a farmer's market taste a whole lot better than packaged "carrots" (no offense baby carrot producers!). The reason is because it's fresh and its grown to be a "carrot" instead of a mass-producing commodity. So here's what I suggest - take your children (yourself, while you're at it!), and go to the farmer's market and look for some carrots. Talk to the farmer and ask them to tell you about their carrots and taste them. You'll love the crunch; after a while, you'll love the sweetness; and then your body will thank you because the vitamins will make it strong and try to shed some fat for you from the fiber you're giving it. And that's just eating them raw!...Here are some ideas for getting more carrots into your diet and even having your kids try them too:

• Apple-Carrot Sauce (Stewed apples and shredded carrots, add a cinnamon stick, add lemon juice, agave, and some water; slowly stew the mixture until very soft, to bring out the natural sugars in both the apples and carrots; then put them in a blender and now you have apple-carrot sauce!)
• Roasted Carrots with balsamic vinegar (cut your carrots into bite size pieces, then boil some water and then place the carrot pieces in until they are fork tender; strain them and then allow the heat to steam themselves dry; place them in a bowl, 2 pinches each of salt & pepper, olive oil to coat, fresh rosemary or thyme or oregano, drizzle balsamic vinegar; roast in 400-degree oven for about 20 to 25 minutes - the sugars in the carrots will get sweet, the balsamic vinegar will get sweet; the herbs will create an aroma that will make everything wonderful)
• Carrot and Zucchini salad (using a vegetable peeler, peel around the cores of 2 medium carrots and 1 medium zucchini - discard the cores, add a handful of arugula, some dried cranberries, blue or feta cheese (or pitted olives if you don't like cheese), juice of one lemon and a drizzle of olive oil. Pinch of salt and pepper, toss with your hands, and voila!)
• And of course, Carrot cake - Jameson Style:

Citrus Olive Oil Carrot Cakes

Serves 6 to 8 @ 3 oz portions

Dry Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup spelt flour
• 1 Tbsp ground coriander
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Wet Ingredients

• 1 cup light olive oil
• 1 cup light agave nectar
• zest and juice of 2 medium oranges
• 1 medium carrot, finely grated
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp Harvey's Sherry or Grand Marnier

1. Preheat your oven to 400-degrees. Spray your muffin mold / cupcake mold with non-stick spray.
2. Mix your dry ingredients and make sure to whisk any lumps. Mix spices thoroughly in flour mixture. Set Aside
3. In a small bowl, zest and juice the two oranges. Grate you carrots and put into orange juice/zest mixture. Set aside
4. In a large mixing bowl, add olive oil and with a whisk, mix the agave, vanilla extract and sherry.
5. Slowly add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the liquid and mix until just incorporated (do not over mix). Add 1/3 of the orange-carrot mixture and lightly mix. Repeat flour / orange-carrot mixture until everything is mixed together.
6. Spoon / Piping Bag / Pour batter into your molds and bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until the tops are golden and a crust is starting to form. Using a toothpick, poke the center - if it comes out clean, remove from the oven. If the toothpick comes out moist, turn off the oven and leave the cakes inside with the oven door closed for another 2 to 3 minutes or until the toothpick method comes out clean.
7. Remove from the oven and allow the cakes to cool slightly before you take them out of the molds. You want the cakes to cool and set otherwise, you could break the cakes while removing them from the molds.
8. Allow the cakes to cool on a baking rack.
   

Aren't we forgetting something???...Learn how to cook!

So when i talk to people about their health and nutrition, almost everyone knows:

1. I need to be healthy
2. I need to eat healthier foods
3. I need to lose weight

But the real issue is the inevitable statement that comes next:

"...HOW do I become healthy, HOW do I eat healthier foods; HOW do I eat and have a meal plan to lose weight..."

And looking at this article, "30 Ways in 30 Days to Stretch your Fruit & Vegetable Budget", from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), it's the "How" that is really missing... Lets take a look at the Top 5 of this list:

1. Calculate an appropriate Healthy Food Budget for your family...this step indicates "What" and fortunately, provides a website to show us "How"
2. Cook enough for several meals and freeze leftovers...How????
3. Create a meal plan for the week that uses similar fruits and vegetables prepared in different ways...How????
4. Buy fruits and vegetables in season at farmers markets...What fruits & vegetable are in season???
5. Grow your own vegetables. Invest a little in seeds to get a lot of vegetables in return...The CDC provides a link on "growing vegetables" but it doesn't provide "practical applications" of growing vegetables...How do I grow vegetables in an apartment???...Which vegetables are easy to grow???

What's my point???...We have almost every "healthy authority" telling us we need to be healthy; we need to eat healthy; we need to get fresh foods; we need to do better with our food. And they even provide recipes for those who do not know what to eat. But there are very few resources from these healthy authorities on "HOW" to eat healthy or in more plain terms "How to cook"...and that's the problem...almost everyone I talk looks at cooking as novelty, or a special skill, or a gift, when it really is about making an attempt to prepare foods we like and practicing those attempts until we get the flavor we want while providing the health and nutrition we already know we need...so in my opinion, the first rule to better stretch our budgets and incorporate more fruits and vegetables into our lives:

"...Take a beginning cooking class, read beginner cookbooks, learn from people who do know how to cook, watch Food Network or the Cooking Channel..."

After you've made the initial effort to learn How to Cook, allow me to offer my help on "HOW" to be healthy with the CDC Guide to "30 Ways in 30 Days to Stretch your Fruit & Vegetable Budget":

1. 5 ways to develop a meal plan from the Iowa State University Extension (ISUE): http://www.extension.iastate.edu/foodsavings/mealplanning/thriftyweeklymenus.htm
2. If you're single, prepare meals for 2 servings...most recipes are made for 4 servings, so simply cut the recipe in half and reduce the times for cooking by 25% (i.e. instead of 10 minutes, cook for 7 1/2 minutes)
3. Here's a link/pdf for a 5-day meal planner from ISUE: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/NR/rdonlyres/A5F9EC88-4D97-4964-89F6-D9C0EF59D601/0/fivedayplanningworksheet.pdf
4. This is a great resource to learn about fruits and vegetable seasonality charts: http://www.cuesa.org/seasonality/
5. And here's one website for indoor gardening for possible rosemary, thyme, & tomatoes for indoor growing: http://www.ehow.com/way_5167248_tips-indoor-gardening.html
   

Make an investment in your health by learning how to cook...take a class, pick up a bargain cook book at your nearest bookstore (by the way, my best cook books were reduced priced / bargain priced), and grab some of your friends who also want to cook and make it into a party...whatever you do, start cooking, and then go and do the other things you need to do be healthy and have a GREAT life!