Healthy Eating

One thing that I have consistently noticed, and been intrigued by, is the way that environmental education ties in with so many other basic and important things that we need to be paying attention to in our lives. One major topic that falls under this integrating of topics is healthy eating and nutrition. Eating fresh fruits and veggies is not only better for our health and nutrition, but can also be healthy for the environment, too.

As processed foods seem to be enveloped in more and more plastic wrappings, more and more of those wrappings are ending up in landfills. And as food distributors keep finding ways to process and package the same old food in new and exciting ways, our health could be suffering. The less fruits and vegetables are cooked, packaged, processed, and preserved, the more vitamins and nutrients are available for our bodies to absorb when we eat these things. That makes sense. Eating a tomato right off the vine (or after you wash it, of course) has many more vitamins and minerals than the tomato sauce that has been reheated in your frozen TV dinner. But processed foods sure do seem to be a lot less expensive than their fresher alternatives.

As gas prices increased to record levels over the summer, and here in Salt Lake they still remain high compared to the national average, the prices of food increased as well. But for all of us searching for the fresh and healthy foods while still remaining on budget, there are some interesting insights I found in an article I found entitled The 20 Healthiest Foods for Under $1. I learned some important information from this article ranging from things I knew about, like oatmeal and potatoes, to things I'd never thought of, like pumpkin seeds. I think I might have to bypass the suggestion about the sardines...we'll see. What are some of the ways that you combat healthy eating with rising food costs?