Ever take a look at what you eat? No seriously, read the labels. Scary, ain’t it. I’ve been a pretty clean eater for quite some time now but a cancer diagnosis made me really examine what I was doing, not only for myself but also for my family. It was time to clean up a little more but it’s not so simple.
I have one kid in braces who cannot and will not eat anything that may possibly break a bracket, the other one is finicky but loves his snacks and then the third one (a.k.a the husband) loves his diet soda but has managed to change his diet very recently as well. Did I mention that I eat very little meat (though I do love fish) and keep my dairy to just what’s in my coffee? This makes for stealth like planning each time I run out to the market.
Couple the above parameters with my being hyper vigilant to stay away from the Monsanto umbrella. I could spend easily over an hour at the market reading and looking up brands. Not that food shopping is fun, but this made it truly suck ass. But I am on a mission to feed my household better foods and less chemicals.
While on vacation, my friend mentioned Aldi’s in almost every conversation. She loves it. I think most people do but I had an awful experience at one and vowed to never ever go back. She changed my mind. I was willing to give it another shot, with the husband in tow.
When we came back from vacation, off to a NEW Aldi my husband and I trekked. Well, we are totally hooked. I am singing their praises as well. I am a perimeter shopper at the stores by nature because I avoid processed foods. Aldi’s makes it easy. It’s not huge, not overwhelming and makes it easy and fast to get in and out. No hassle. Bonus is that I can bag own stuff, which I prefer.
We buy mainly produce, meats and some canned goods. Meats and produce are easily 50-60% less than my local market. That makes for a nice savings and I feel good about what I am getting. However, the amount fluctuates on a weekly basis, depending on what we have going on and the occasional splurge. I have averaged it out over the past few weeks and am content.
According to USA Today, for a family of four it can cost:
$146 per week for a thrifty food plan (36.50pp/wk or 1.74pp/meal)
$191 per week for a low cost food plan (47.75pp/wk or 2.27/meal)
$239 per week for a moderate cost food plan (59.75pp/wk or 2.85/meal)
$289 per week for a liberal food plan (72.25pp/wk or 3.44/meal)
This includes snacks and beverages.
“The USDA uses national food intake data and grocery price information to calculate different costs for a healthy diet at home…” 2013 data. Obviously these values are higher now but I couldn't find those numbers to share.
We were slightly above the national average for thrifty before we switched markets. I actually thought we spent too much! Now we are significantly below but eating so much better. Win-win, right? I won’t say what our weekly average is but I took a good hard look at what we purchased this week and there was room for improvement. Some frozen pierogis made it home that we definitely don’t need but my soon to be 14 year old is a bottomless pit and won’t eat junk food. Soccer season starts up again and I know how the nights play out here after practice and games!! I don’t mind spending for fruits and veggies and good sources of protein though.
One of the things I have learned on this crazy cancer and chemotherapy journey is the cleaner I ate, the better I felt. My husband has joined in on this way of eating (aside from diet soda) and he’s noticing the same thing. He feels better, more energized and has started dropping some poundage with no effort. I’m working on eliminating dairy from my own diet as best I can. I have a weakness for ice cream and yogurt but can easily replace those. A few tablespoons of cream in my daily coffee isn’t a huge deal though. I’ve looked for lean meats that are grass fed, organic, free range, antibiotic and hormone free for the guys here. I would like to see them having more meat free days...all in due time!
Walking through most markets, I notice that the junk food and processed stuff is a hell of a lot cheaper than cooking from scratch. Well, ain’t that a slap in the face?! We, as a society, need to change that. It sucks. Like really sucks. Same thing with fast food, the yummy unhealthy stuff (I do love me a Big Mac) is cheaper than a salad. Eating healthy is no easy task, ever…especially with kids.
Where do you all fall in this range? What things can you tweak to make life healthier? Why do you chose to shop where you do? Seriously, I'd love to hear other view points! Honestly, I made these changes not to help save the planet but mainly to save my own ass. Cancer will scare the shit out of you!!! Let's take care of our bodies...after all, we only get one!
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