Eat Less- But Eat Better

That is my new mantra. Not in a "going on a diet" way, but more in a not constantly trying to keep my shelves and cupboards stuffed full of food kind of way. It is a philosophy that I have actually had for quite some time now, but have never been able to put it so eloquently. Those who know me (family and close friends) often find me silly or preachy- perhaps because I have not been able to put it clearly before.

This article from gourmet.com, "The Price is Wrong," is everything I already new, supplemented with a few hard facts that I didn't know, put into very strong and inspiring words. I love this quote, "We pride ourselves on having the cheapest food in the world. It’s almost viewed as a right. But the notion of all you can eat—quantity over quality—is now starting to change. Eat less, but eat better—it’s a cultural shift."

Why is it that we Americans- with Costco, the "grocery game," double coupons, etc. are so darned proud of ourselves when we come home with pounds and pounds of prepackaged food for the very least that we could spend? Ok, I know that's not fair. I, too, get very excited on finding a deal. It's thrilling to pay less for something that it was originally priced at. But is the thrill really worth stocking your shelves full of six gigantic bottles of ranch dressing that are full of fillers, artificial ingredients, and preservatives?

I am going to venture to say that perhaps (generally speaking, of course) the more bags of groceries you come with per trip, the unhealthier you are eating. Think about it- if a family of three regularly brings home eight bags of groceries there's no way they could be eating mostly fresh and healthy foods, simply because if all those bags were filled with fresh foods they would spoil before they could be eaten. Of course, there is the exception of those raw foods people who literally need to eat eleven pounds of fruits or veggies a day just to keep their calorie intake high enough to sustain themselves. I suppose they must take home a lot of bags of groceries.