Here is a health food tip not a lot of gurus talk about these days… Healthy eating costs more money at the store. There it is. I said it. If you go to the grocery store to buy healthy food, your grocery receipt will be higher than if you bought non healthy food. And if you go to a health food store, your bill will almost certainly be higher than if you went to a regular grocery store, no matter what you buy.
Healthy meals are simply more expensive than processed meals. Even if your primary source of groceries is your local farmers market, and all your meals are home cooked, you are expending time preparing that meal that you would not have spent if it had come out of a bag or a box, and all time is worth something. “But,” you say, “the time I spend preparing that meal is important time I get to spend with my family. So it is worth it to me to do it.”
Exactly.
There is more value to healthy eating than simply monetary. You cannot put a price tag on better tasting food, or the satisfying sensation of having made a successful meal from scratch. And you certainly cannot put a price tag on quality family time, or teaching your children to eat healthy.
And in fact, you CAN put a price tag on the health benefits of eating better. Processed grains, high fructose corn syrup, additives, preservatives, MSG and partially hydrogenated anything are leading causes of obesity, diabetes, cancers, lethargy and a host of other ailments. Feeling sluggish and logy after a meal can affect your exercise habits, your sleeping habits and your eating habits for the rest of the day.
With every trip to the grocery store, you get decide where to spend your health dollars. You can either spend a lot of money later on when unhealthy eating habits take their toll on your body and mind, or you can spend just a little bit more now, buying healthy food that tastes better anyway, infusing your day with more energy, and sharing those delicious energizing meals with the people you love.