Eat Frugal and Healthy

How does one manage to lower the cost of each meal they feed their family or themselves if they are living alone or on fixed retirement income

Some Of My Personal Experiences And Guides

I happen to like a small bowl of cereal for breakfast, but I will not buy any name brand because of the cost. I also buy organic because most food preparations are adulterated to some lesser or greater degree and the original real food portion is removed. The store brand organic oatmeal is basic and virtually untouched by processing. These days it costs just a little more than the standard run-of-the-mill store brand but is far better because it is not irradiated. You can visit: http://www.organicconsumers.org/Irrad/irradfact.cfm to learn more about this food process. I serve my oatmeal cold, pouring just 2 oz. into a small bowl along with 2 oz. of milk. I also ad to this 2-3 tablespoons of ground flax seed, a good source of both omega3 oils and fiber. I do not buy the organic flax seed because of the greater cost. I let this mixture sit for at least 10 minutes. By then the milk has been absorbed and the oatmeal has the consistency of cooked.

The important aspect of all this I wish to convey is the cost, which is: approximately, oatmeal= $$.09[organic, store brand], milled flax seed= $.09, milk= $.11[store brand] for a total of $.29 for breakfast, which amounts to $2.03 for one week.

Why Do Most People Shop With Little Efficiency

First of all, probably because they never had to scrimp and pinch every penny and money was never an object of concern. With the economy the way it is today and still some layoffs in the news all of us have to be vigilant as to what we spend. One of the biggest reasons that any family, couple, or single individual has little left after shopping is simply because they buy things they can do without. This can mean many things. Sweets you can do without, but high nutrition foods you can not. People today are highly influenced by television commercials. Their value is mainly to make a profit and more profit. The consumer must choose wisely and likewise be informed of the true value of certain foods. The banana for example is probably the most frugal food you can buy. A medium size banana usually costs about $ .20. It has the contents to help with digestion, blood pressure control, L-tryptophan to help you sleep and a few more important nutrients. I would like to call this "nutrient food value". After all, some so-called foods have no NFV. They might taste real good and look real colorful, but they have no value in the human body except for a quick psychological high.

It certainly does not require any lengthy research on this subject to realize that many shoppers just shop with the taste buds in mind. When I was young the family ate things that weren't very good tasting but they were nutritious and the prices were very low. My mom recently passed on at only 101 years. She never went to a doctor or took prescription drugs.