tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post4521897282496145239..comments2024-03-22T00:35:19.082-07:00Comments on Casual Kitchen: “Learn to Live on Lentils…”Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02388302796031288076noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post-51634405219883411672016-04-14T10:33:22.651-07:002016-04-14T10:33:22.651-07:00Interesting thoughts Marcia, thank you for sharing...Interesting thoughts Marcia, thank you for sharing. <br /><br />I think there's a difference between saying something *can* be true versus saying something is *always* true. I'm not saying you are saying this, but this was what I'm pushing back against with the study and the article I'm criticizing above. <br /><br />But to your point, certain types of diets can, in general, cost more than others. We've discussed here at CK in the post <a href="http://casualkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/09/does-wheat-belly-eating-always-cost-more.html" rel="nofollow">Does Wheat Belly Eating Always Cost More?</a> that the Wheat Belly diet was just such an example of a diet that, in general, costs more. <br /><br />Except (and here's the important part) there were *still* many examples of ways to lower the cost of even this diet, and readers of that post shared several helpful and creative examples in the comments. <br /><br />So, while I agree with you, I still want to make clear that "Can be" more expensive doesn't mean "Is always" more expensive. It's an important distinction that helps unlock peoples' creativity in finding ways to maximize health and save money at the same time. <br /><br />DKDanielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02388302796031288076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post-66644823970176548422016-04-13T09:46:02.181-07:002016-04-13T09:46:02.181-07:00I guess it depends. It's a sliding scale you ...I guess it depends. It's a sliding scale you know, so ... what is your baseline? And what are your requirements?<br /><br />You can start by the USDA "Cost of Eating at Home", for example and their four levels.<br />You can compare the SAD to a healthier diet<br />You can compare processed food to cooking<br />You can compare eating out to cooking.<br /><br />Eating healthfully *will* be more expensive, sometimes, depending on what you are comparing it TO.<br /><br />For me, a mid-40's woman, eating healthfully (for weight loss and weight control) requires more fruits, more vegetables, more proteins, and fewer carbs. So, all else being the same - meaning - I was cooking from scratch before and still am - it's more expensive.<br /><br />Eating 2 servings of carbs, 6 veg, 2 fruit, and 4 lean protein is more expensive than the carb-heavy diet you'd find in the government website, or by eating vegetarian. Lean protein is more expensive than carbs. Lentils are cheap (and I do eat them), but I cannot eat as many as I'd like.<br /><br />Vegetables are not cheap either. Even eating the cheap vegetables. (I don't garden). I eat approximately 3 lbs of produce a day. I have a family of 4. That comes out to, approximately 9-10 pounds of produce a day. (It's a little less, as my kids eat lunch and snacks at school/ daycare. But vacation was eye-opening!)<br /><br />And then you have to look at the environmental aspect. There have been multiple studies showing that eating with a thought towards the environment - local, organic, grass fed, free range - is better (both health and planet). That is certainly more expensive than the rest. So, eating from a CSA or the farmer's market is more expensive than produce from the dollar store. However, as it's fresh, it's more nutritious.<br /><br />Over the last decade or so, my grocery costs have fluctuated with family size and type of eating and time. When I was focused on losing weight, they were high. My energy was on the health and calorie level of the food (more produce and protein) and less on cost. As I moved back towards controlling cost, I found that it took a lot more time (shopping at mulitple stores, more prep work), and it was harder to maintain weight loss (for example, gradually switching over to more beans and less meat resulted in a few pounds of weight regained).<br /><br />I'm trying to find the right balance.<br /><br />In any event, for many people, eating healthfully *is* more expensive. I lost my baby weight on a program called "21 Day Fix" by Beachbody. It's not magic, it's macros. But the beauty is its simplicity (I tried for years to develop my own "exchange" program like it.) I am on a message board with 40,000 people, and new people all the time trying to navigate the switch. It's a HUGE shock to many, as their costs go way up. For some of them, it's just going to take practice to figure out how to bring down costs by bulk buying, shopping around, etc.<br /><br />However, for others, simply going from a high carb diet to one that focuses on produce and lean protein - results in a large increase in their food budget. And while shopping around will bring it down, it will NEVER be as low as their prior processed food diet.Marciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13984899661746845414noreply@blogger.com