Economic woes = fake food?

[ORChick]

Just read this article today - http://www.foodrenegade.com/do-economic-woes-fake-food/ - and have to say that I agree with the author, with a few caveats. I do believe that cooking form scratch and buying in bulk are the cheaper way to go, but will also add that it isn't that easy. 25# of beans or rice or wheat is certainly cheaper by the pound, but (as I have noticed while starting this $35/week challenge) getting the wherewithall together to actually make that initial purchase is hard. Its easy to say that one should buy pastured, grass fed beef by the side, but harder to do in practice if your assets are limited.
What is your opinion on this?

 

[Cindlady2]

A few ways you can go about it... the hardest is to save a bit (like $10 a week) to buy a larger item. This means really cutting back and living rather poorly until you can build your stocks. You can "barrow" from yourself or someone to build you stocks then live off them while paying back. You can barter for whatever you can, you must have some skills or items you can offer. Even see if you can help work someones garden for some of the harvest. See if you can go in with other people and split bulk items... you all save and it's not a big hardship for anyone. I'm sure others have ideas too.

 

[Denim Deb]

That's just it, the initial outlay of the money in order to buy the good stuff. I'd love to be able to buy a side of beef as well as half a pig, but the cost is what stops me. However, I'm going to be doing the $35.00 challenge, and think that I'll actually spend less, so I'm hoping to be able to get at least a quarter of each animal in the fall.

 

[FarmerChick]

I agree OR.

any 'organic' or bulk buying or healthier foods can be alot more expensive.

people can only stretch a dollar so far. and that dollar isn't worth much right now.

it is a catch 22 that people can work around sometimes, other times it is the cheapo food on the plate to get by.

 

[Denim Deb]

Part of the problem too,is if both mom and dad work, it's much easier to open a can or box to cook dinner then to make something. After all, if you work 8 hours, and that doesn't include your lunch break, then have to drive home thru rush hour traffic, do you really feel like cooking? And while the solution would seem to be to do the cooking on the weekend, then freeze it, if you throw a couple of kids into the mix that have sports all weekend long, there goes that time as well.

 

[FarmerChick]

that is so true Deb. after a long day at work trying to make ends meet the thought of cooking scratch stinks
I know!
A day can fly by and in the end we are nuttin' but pooped!

 

[Wannabefree]

I used to hold back a few dollars a week of the allotted grocery money, and let it pile up, for the bigger things we wanted later. If you just hold back a couple dollars, you can pretty well not even miss it really. It's a sacrifice of maybe two nights a week of eating really really cheap, like bologna sandwich no cheese or milk and cornbread cheap. There are really inexpensive real food choices that won't break the bank, they're just simple, and fast and easy. Maybe we should make a list of quick healthy budget friendly dinners for those of us who are trying the food budget? If someone wants to start a thread I would contribute ideas to it, and folks could consult the list for ideas in a pinch. I think it'd be helpful.

 

[Bettacreek]

I agree, that'd definately help! When I was in school, I definately didn't do a whole lot of cooking. If I did, it was mostly boxed crap. After going through 8+ hours of clinicals or school, then getting the kids, doing homework and quizzes, there was basically no time for meals.

 

[moolie]

I think the issue for most people is the time commitment, rather than the actual monetary cost of eating healthy. It is cheaper to buy real food, BUT it really does take an effort, as many said above, when you come home from a long day at work and then need to make dinner. I currently work from home, although I'm out to see clients quite often, but when I worked outside the home I really had to budget my TIME in order to be organized for meals. I would (and still do) stay up late to do bulk freezer cooking so that I had meals that could go from freezer to oven to dinner table in half-an-hour to 45 minutes.

But a lot of people also don't know HOW to cook anymore.

They were brought up on the convenience foods we're talking about and have no experience with the whole chicken written about in the article--they just recognize chicken parts neatly pre-cut and packaged. They've never eaten pork chops/roasts/hams with a bone in them so have never had to navigate eating around the bone, let alone making broth with it, so they buy cartons of fake (msg laden) broth when they do need it for a recipe. They don't peel carrots because you can buy them pre-peeled (and slimy), and now McCain is even advertising frozen peeled potatoes that you just steam in the bag then mash for dinner so they don't even have to peel potatoes anymore! Salads come ready to go all bagged up with packets of dressing inside. There are even pre-cooked roasts at the grocery store for heaven's sake! Not to mention the canned soups and pastas and boxed macaroni dinners and spam that have been around forever.

I think the growing "clean eating" and "locavore" movements will bring more people toward eating better food and learning "new" skills like how to cook and bake, but there will always be people who don't have the time, let alone the money, to eat better. And the food industry isn't doing anyone any favours by continually coming out with new and better ways to avoid actually cooking anything.

I count myself fortunate that I was brought up by a stay-at-home Mom who did it all (gardening, cooking, baking, canning) and that I learned many of the older skills from my frugal Grandmothers.

 

[FarmerChick]

I count myself fortunate that I was brought up by a stay-at-home Mom who did it all (gardening, cooking, baking, canning) and that I learned many of the older skills from my frugal Grandmothers.

that was me but mom didn't can or preserve...but did every other mom thing. mom being home is priceless. one reason I quit work when kiddo was born.

I saw my brothers kids being shipped and shuttled to daycare at 5:30 am and home a 6 pm. insanity.
while they are 'kinda no worse for wear' I know they didn't get what my kid is getting....a real home life from birth. I truly think it adds to the value of a childhood.
I am super fortunate it did turn out this way for our family, of course we make it work tho too