At the grocery store...

livnlite

I don't get the connection of how you associate being healthy to taking less meds. A diet high in nitrates and the crap that makes up the majority of store bought pizzas will kick your azz later in life. Not to mention, teach your children some very poor eating habits. Heart disease, diabetes etc can be developed and directly linked to diet and lifestyle...including eating pizza and drinking a lot of soda on a regular basis.

A diet that is THAT high in fat (and nitrates, sodium and all the other 'additives in store bought pizza) .. is not healthy. Neither is a lack of fresh vegetables and fruit. If you need to feed your family on a budget, why not try to make a hearty homemade soup (for instance) as an alternative to pizza? Vegetables and broth, with some chicken or beef for stock. Hearty, healthy and very inexpensive. A full pot could feed four for days! You can even freeze it and offer it on a weekly rotation. Same with homemade spaghetti sauce with homemade tomato salsa .. again, hearty, inexpensive and packed with nutrients, not to mention low in fat and sodium.

I remember the days when we were in the same boat. Can't say we didn't buy the occasional pizza ... but that would never be considered as regular 'meal' .. THAT was only a treat, on rare occasions. I learned to feed my family on a budget. It's amazing what you can come up with very little effort.

i know a lot of over weight people who have lost weight and no longer need to take certain meds (high blood pressure, insulin, etc) - i brought it up because of the comment about healthy eating vs medical costs. we dont have medical costs due to our lifestyle, so theres no savings there. i cant take the $20 id be spending on meds, and buy fresh vegetables.
my kids dont drink soda on a regular basis. its a treat once a week mayyybe. and i drink it even less.
soups are tricky in my house because my kids arent big fans of lentils or beans of any sort, so to make a soup with enough veggies to be filling without using beans or lentils would take just about all of my produce box for the week.
we normally do make home made salsa when we have the urge for tacos or chips and dip.. and i do prefer making home made spaghetti sauce using my grandmothers recipe. i do what i can with what i have. i love cooking fresh from scratch at home, but some times its fast food or pizza and im sick of people telling my im killing my children with such things. theyre both healthy and active and their dr tells me all the time to keep doing what im doing, because theyre the two of the healthiest kids he sees.
my point is, food is not the same price every where, and not all cities have farmers markets year round. i enjoy cooking healthy and get frustrated with how expensive it can be here in western washington. and i dont even buy all organic/free range/grass fed whatever.

I know, I feel your pain. It's a struggle, of course.

I see so many people claim that they have healthy eating habits, but find their diet primarily comprises of high fat or high salt intake because they order out so much. Granted, there are "healthier" choices even when choosing pizza. A vegitarian selection for instance is better than a high processed meat selection. "Healthier" choices is not the same as 'healthy'.

The cost of living is, very much, relative to where you live. Healthier choices can also involve the localtiy in which you live (IE: City vs rural). Many choices to ponder. All you can do .. is your best with what you've got to work with.

livnlite

I don't understand the whole "eating healthy is more expensive than regular food" deal. Can somebody explain it to me? Because I just spent $6.03 on a 12-pack of Coke when I can get water from my tap for free. And ordering a pizza costs 10 dollars and could barely feed a family of four, when I can make us dinner for 6 dollars.
So yeah, can somebody explain this to me? Because maybe I'm just stupid...

I hope you're not suggesting that Coke and Pizza are 'eating healthy'.

You should probably go back and read it again.

You're right .. I completely misread that one! MY Bad! Ooops! Sorry Poster!