[caption id="attachment_4259" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Fresh vegetables"]
[/caption]Carol Forsloff - Food costs are thought to interfere with proper nutrition but experts tell
us it’s possible to have a healthy diet and now break one’s personal
bank. So here is information and some tips to help folks stay the
course in a healthy way of eating, and be thrifty at the same time.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Economic Research Service tells
us that in 2011 the cost of the recommended amount of fruit and
vegetables is $2 to $2.50 daily.
The first major recommendation for healthy eating is to fill one’s plate half with fruits and vegetables.
"We all know how important fruits and vegetables are to a healthy diet, yet
most Americans don't eat enough of them," said Elizabeth Pivonka,
Ph.D., R.D., president and CEO of Produce for Better Health Foundation
(PBH), the nonprofit organization, in partnership with CDC, behind the
Fruits & Veggies—More Matters® national public health initiative.
"Eating fruits and vegetables is a sound investment in long-term health.
The notion that they are too expensive is just an excuse for some
people. Fruits and vegetables are literally the cheapest form of health
insurance you can buy!"
2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans advise us tofill half our plates
with fruits and vegetables at each meal and snack. This new USDA
research shows that this can be done easily and affordably . These
findings are consistent with a Produce Marketing Association (PMA) study
done last year. PMA's study concentrated only on fresh fruits and
vegetables but found the same level of easy affordability with the
lowest average price for nine servings of fresh fruits and vegetable per
day in the East region at $2.08, while the South was the highest at
$2.30 for nine servings of fresh fruits and vegetables per day.
Furthermore,
according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Expenditures
Survey, the average two person household spends $6,308 on food. Filling
half the plate with fruits and vegetables for this two person household
would only cost 29 percent of their food budget. That means you can
fill half your plate (and your grocery cart) for only about a quarter of
your food budget.
Pivonka says that Fruits & Veggies—More Matters has a wide array oftips for eating healthy on a budget
and advice for eating more fruits and vegetables while limiting sodium,
added sugars, and solid fats, just the goals recommended by the new
dietary guidelines. On their website,www.FruitsAndVeggiesMoreMatters.org, you'll find a page detailing somekey highlights from the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and suggestions onfilling half your plate
with fruits and vegetables. There is also a database of over 1,000
recipes, many of which can be made in 30 minutes or less, and aVideo Center that features videos about fruit and vegetables selection, storage, and preparation.
