Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Why Obesity is On the Rise

We took the kids to the grocery store this weekend.  We seem to always go as a family, even though afterwards I wonder why I don't just go by myself.  Ah well, the kids love it!

We saw these for $4.99 per quart:


and these for $1.50 with a coupon taped to every package for $1.00 off...making them only $0.50:
Guess which one the kids wanted?

These:


Guess which ones we bought?

These:




Now, I have to say, we did buy green apples, red apples, oranges, grapes, blackberries, a pineapple, bananas, and blueberries.  So the kids are not lacking for fresh fruit.  But still, what a pity that you can buy such crappy food so cheaply, and the healthy choices cost so much. 

It's an American shame.

9 comments:

  1. this is so true about food costs.

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  2. yep, i totally agree. but i am thinking if i didn't buy as much junk food as i did we could def. afford to spend that much on strawberries that are actually good for us.

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  3. Yes, I have to agree . . . I do not even bother with coupons. After months of trying to use them, I realized I was saving money, but buying more junk food than I ever had before.

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  4. You are so right!
    Get those kids a garden soon. :)

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  5. It drives me bonkers sometimes trying to stay in budget grocery shopping. Most of the time it is difficult because we love fresh fruit and GOOD food or rather REAL food and that is what we eat a lot of. I think it's a conspiracy of sorts and I'm only half kidding. :)

    I think another problem is how we view sweets and consume them. Growing up our "dessert" with meals was fresh fruit. (I grew up on a Mediterranean diet) and we just didn't eat sweets unless it was someone's birthday or a holiday.

    I agree about the coupon comment. A lot of food coupons are for crappy things that are pre-made/ processed or just junk food. I think the coupons we get the most out of are the ones for yogurt! :)

    Strawberries...yum. Hope you're feeling good and baby is doing well!

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  6. I agree! And it's also why we try (and the operative word is try) to eat seasonally. Those same strawberries in June are practically free at our supermarket. They are selling them 2/2.00. Of course, that means winter's selections just stink -- especially if places like FL have had a bad winter like the one they're having now. The oranges are just sad looking.

    And I don't use coupons much either because I never buy the stuff they are for. (except diapers -- we always need diapers! ;)

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  7. I know the feeling. I hae been watching my grocery bill more carefully and realized that I regularly spend at least $15 in the produce section alone, and I don't come home with all that much, and that is buying whatever is on sale for the week.
    We are buying a share in a co-op this summer to hopefully decrease the rising cost in our prduce bill.

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  8. Exactly! Although I do use coupons at our grocery store because it sometimes IS what makes those healthy things affordable. Today, we bought blueberries, which usually is very pricey here, but with the coupon, they were so much more reasonable (too bad they had a limit, though!).

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  9. I stopped taking the kids to the supermarket or WM with me for 2 reasons:

    1. The sleazy magazines in the checkout line. Take a good, hard look at them. The pictures are bad enough, but my 6 & 7 year olds are beginning to read and you've seen the inappropriate 4" tall headlines right at their eye level.

    2. I would allow them a box of those character gummy bears for good behavior. In the beginning, it was harmless. But it degenerated into fighting over which kind (I'm not buying 3 separate boxes, call me cheap), and tearing them open in the van and eating them *all* on the way home. I would purposely "forget" which aisle they were in, then the girls memorized they were in aisle 7 and I was dead! :)

    I'm sure I'll start bringing them back again, but those marketing people know what they're doing! :(

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