The cost of Healthy Eating?

[LimeSlice]

That's just day to day life all over the world. In Palestine they call lentil's poor man's meat. The reason that there is such a rich vegetarian tradition in so many cuisines is because meat has traditionally been expensive and saved for special occasions. The unusual scenario both globally and historically is living in a society that most people expect to eat meat at most meals.
And not just meat but the best meat. A society in which large parts of an animal are rejected as just being too yucky is really a historical anomaly.

I think this is a really important issue that isn't given anywhere near the thought it deserves.

We live in what we perceive t be an affluent country, when in reality, not everyone can have the same access to the best of everything all the time, as they simply cannot afford it.

My husband's family all still tell the story of The Best Mash and Gravy Ever as being The Best Meal We Ever Ate. MIL made mash, and left over gravy for dinner one night. Because she was a single mother, and that is literally all they had left and she had no money to buy anything else. So 3 adolescent boys at mash and gravy for dinner and they all still remember that meal as the best thing ever.

Being poor doesn't mean you should *only* have access to highly processed and **** foods, but it does mean that you can't eat meat 7 nights a week, and you may just have to look at how MUCH you are all consuming and decide if you really do NEED to eat so much at every meal.

We take food for granted, and given the current global situation, and our own economic situations here at home, perhaps is time we truly re-evaluated how we look at food?

[lady_neon]

I grew up in an area very similar. And I know how the food pyramid works. But it doesn't go into detail about food options. It doesn't tell you that whole grain bread is the best alternative. It doesn't tell you that commercialised cereal actually isnt very healthy. Bread, cereals, rice & pasta's are the base of the food pyramid. So 'should' be eaten the most. I'm not so sure the food pyramid is as accurate as it could be?

I don't remember school going into that sort of detail either.

And again, we all know fruits & veg are healthier, but we don'tthink in great detail about how they're served. Some options aren't all that healthy in the end.

Good point. I guess I've always been a natural sort of person so eaing food closer to its natural state comes easily to me.

What BD said is true, about creativity. But again it does come back down to laziness for some part... Why get creative when you can buy a jar of Chicken Tonight for $2.50?

Food manufacturers have a lot to answer for. I do think there needs to be much stricter guidelines on the amount they advertise. Coco Pops commercials running conveniently during children's program hours and what not.