A possible conversation from 1954:
Wow, Mary, you can afford to buy TV dinners? I wish James made enough to buy those. I guess I'll have to stick with cooking from scratch.
Now, fast-forward 60 years to 2014:
Wow, Kimmy, you can afford fresh produce to cook from scratch? I wish Rick made enough for that. I guess we will have to keep eating our $1.25 frozen dinners.
There is no denying that food prices have been on the rise, and the biggest rise has been in the meat and produce sections.
While shopping the other day, I was shocked when I got three (THREE) compliments on the ratio of fresh to processed foods in my cart and one comment (to the girls) about how great a mommy they had for getting so many fresh fruits and veggies for them (that they love). Now, I'm not writing this to brag, I didn't even know these ladies, they stopped me to say these things! These comments really got me thinking about how food is viewed today.
It seems as though everyone is talking about obesity in the last few years. It is so bad (according to Mrs. Obama) that there are several doctors around the country who are recommending their obese patients take part in "dietary counseling". This basically means that they are being told how to eat healthful foods. That's great and eating real foods is the best way (in my unprofessional opinion) to lose weight. I've lost 35 lbs in the last year mostly by eating "real" foods. But the problem is that the majority of obesity is among those with lower incomes. Why is that a problem? Because, it is cheaper to buy processed "fake" foods than it is to buy fresh "real" foods!
As an example of my point, here is a cost breakdown of that shopping trip:
"Fake" foods (1/2 the cart, a rare occasion that I have this much): $100.81
"Real" foods (1/2 the cart): $215.10
