Going Into Hock to Eat Unhealthy?

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I have never paid much attention to food prices really. A minor squabble here and there and maybe a whine about the prices of food, but as I got into trying to figure out a market for my Lamb, I really started to look at food costs. Our food bill per week hoovers in the 80-100 buck range. Now keep in mind Alyson eats 90% organic food, while we eat healthy fruits and veggies, but 90% conventional (or non-organic food). Not bad really.

So then I started snooping and seeing what the prices of other peoples grocery bills were. An interesting thing emerged from my crude food price scan. The people that ate a lot of junk food, pre-processed foods and pre-made "ready to eat frozen dinners and stuff", had grocery bills in the 150-180 dollar range. Now maybe that should not be surprising, but I noticed something else. Alyson NEVER sees her DR, at least not because of being sick. She just does not get sick. Its not hard to fathom that those people with high grocery bills more then likely have high health care costs as well.

With all the problems I have had with my heart and my seizures I got a pretty good appreciation for the cost of modern health care. Adding to that is a grocery bill that is quite a bit higher then mine,and you really have to wonder...

What is the TRUE cost of good food?

I know in a recent study the USDA tested a modern city (Hartford CT) and mapped out one square mile. In that one square mile there was 14 places that served food, and only 1 that served fresh fruits and veggies. When they interviewed the store owner he said that even being the only one, he had a hard time competing with the fast food restaurants and stuff, and thus served fried food to his customers too. The elderly were the ones buying the fresh produce.

So where am I going with all this? Well I am wondering what the true cost of good nutritious food really is? At the same time what is the availability of this good food, and will people buy it even if they can get it? More importantly, what do the people of Family Woodworking think of the foods they eat? Can many of you get access to organic food, naturally grown foods, or have plenty of local farm stand foods, or is it hard to find anything other then fast food? The reason I ask is, a recent study said Maine had the highest availability to organic food, and it is probably true. For every conventional food, in the rack next to it is a locally grown organic variety, and this is at the big supermarket. I might have it good, but does anyone else?
 
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What is the TRUE cost of good food?

That depends on the individuals interpretation of what good food is. For as long as I can remember I have heard people want cheap food.....just the other day one of my roofing crew asked me if it was cheaper to grow pork or just go the supermarket and buy it ready to eat.

The answer is that it is cheaper to go to the supermarket and buy your food, but it will never equal the taste of your own grown food.

I try to eat healthy, I grow a large garden, we put away food from the garden, I grow chickens to eat and some to lay eggs, I grow my own pork....wife wants me to raise a beef (nope...done enough of that, I'll buy from my friend instead) Point is I grow what I can, but I still go to the fast food joints cause they are convienient, not because I want to. I generally am working near town so it is closer than coming home.

I'm not organic by any means....I think organic is misunderstood by a lot of folks who think natural is organic....but I try to grow my own food and I do it without growth hormones just good quality feed.....I like to think I am better off for it.
 
INothing personal Travis but their is no way I mean no way I am ever eating lamb again.:rofl::rofl::rofl:

I have to agree with Chuck that if I NEVER see another lamb chop, it will be too soon. I've eaten lamb once in my life, over 40 years ago, and if all lamb tastes like those chops tasted, I'll pass. Every time I think about that meal, I can almost taste that lamb again. It was not good.
 
Wow, There must be something about lamb that turns some people off, I guess. :eek:

Not sure if they've ever tasted properly prepared lamb, or if they actually had mutton. (I've never had mutton, so I don't know).

I love a good should blade lamb chop marinated in olive oil, sliced onions, garlic, salt and pepper. Grilled it tastes great.

But then again, I'm a hunter (Birds mostly) and actually like the gamey wild flavor of wild ducks and pheasants and quail and chukar.

I like to garden and cook, and just put away our final batch of tomatoes and Jalapenos. I'm actually thinking of trying some of the jalapeno jelly I made as a glaze on some lamb chops this week....

We don't eat much pre-processed food, but that's because I like to cook. To me, convenience foods aren't satisfying. My job is related to computers, so I don't get much tangible proof that I've accomplished anything at the end of the day. Cooking and wood working helps me to get that feeling of accomplishment that my day job doesn't provide.
 
We've got a couple of local farm markets. Some of the stuff is organic, most is not. For the most part, simply washing the veggies and fruit takes care of the non-organic stuff.

Been thinking about doing a garden this next spring though. Dont think anyone in the neighborhood has one, so will probably stir the pot a little with the city folk. Might just do it as a raised bed rather than tearing up the sod though.
 
Travis,
i generally don't do the food shopping in our house, but my wife and i do try to keep simple with food - buying ingredients instead of prepared foods. We live in the city, but do grow some of our own food and share quite a bit with various neighbors - no chemicals used. We also have the benefit of a huge farmers market (open all year) pretty close to the house. A lot of the produce, meats, and cheeses are not local, but you can get organic if you want, and shopping there is a good deal cheaper than at the grocery stores. We also have a smaller organic farmers market in our neighborhood during the warmer months. Organic meat really does taste different than the typical "off-the-shelf" stuff. It's pennies more per pound.
We've been looking for a good source for organic milk. It's available here, but is really expensive (around $8 per gallon) at the grocery stores. We still buy it, but not all the time.
Standard stuff we pick up at Aldi's (baking ingredients, cereals, etc.). Our food bill for the 4 of us is about the same as yours.
We've also got a bunch of small sausage shops in the Italian neighborhood next to us. These really are old family owned small places. Wednesdays and thursdays are the typical "packing" days in those places. Great good stuff. I like my salsizza and capicola - just can't have it too often.
paulh
 
We try yo eat healthy but end up just eating what's available. I just bought a side of beef from a friend and it's organically raised. I got it because it is the best tasting beef I've had and the cost was good. We also get some of our milk organic, from a local farm. My garden was a near disaster this year. Mostly from neglect.

We plan on putting 10-15 deer in the freezer or canned this year. That's double the normal number but I got orders to "kill as many 'corn rats' as possible". I'm also thinking about trying to stock up on salmon soon.

We used to raise chickens for eggs and meat but found it wasn't worth the money sunk into feed to be worth it. I could make a case for having another go of it if I can grow my own feed.

In the end, food pretty much just disappears around the "hoard of locusts" that pass for my kids. Most food decisions are $ driven. You really don't want to know what we spend on food in a month.
 
Interesting stuff guys, though I must say I was NOT trying to peddle Lamb. In fact I could raise 1300 lambs a year and get rid of every one. The market in the USA is pretty good. In fact 50% of Lamb has to be imported to keep up with demand.

Nancy: You cannot judge the nasty old mutton of 40 years ago with the Lamb of today, but that is a different thread :)

Its good to hear some natural and organic food is available to a lot of people out there. I do admit we don't have a garden at this house. We still get plenty of food from people that do,and its not uncommon in mid-august to lock your car when at the store because well-meaning neighbors will fill it full of garden veggies. We call it getting "zukinied".

Organic has its place and we do buy it for Alyson, but at the same time as a farm we are not organic. This is in regards to the sheep, the corn and the hay ground. For starters is almost impossible to raise sheep organically because of the parasites they get because of the grazing they do so close to the ground. It takes chemical dewormers to rid them of that.

I still think there is a difference in home raised livestock, even if its not grass fed only,which is a big rage here. As I type this the sheep are eating on corn, green chopped alfalfa and fresh grass. Of course all of it was raised within ¼ mile of where the sheep are spending their days. Its a ratio that my sheep nutritionist and I came up with, which means they are healthy. In my opinion, an animal that is healthy and non-stressed is the best tasting.

If you are laughing about the sheep nutritionist, you should be. My sheep have their hay,corn and green chop tested at a lab and then analyzed by a sheep nutritionist for content. I use corn because it has lots of energy (sugar) which mixes well with protein from the alfalfa green chop and hay. Trace minerals get mixed in with their daily feed like selenium, molybdenum and sodium. It costs money but ultimately they are getting what they need. The real question is not why, but why many of us do not have a nutritionist analyzing what we eat.
 
Nancy: You cannot judge the nasty old mutton of 40 years ago with the Lamb of today, but that is a different thread :)

Here's the funny part, Travis. I can remember when I was a teenager and went with my grandparents to visit some distant relative, and they had a mutton roast on the table for Sunday dinner and I truly enjoyed it. I have to believe that the lamb chops that were fed to me 40-plus years ago were probably bad--maybe a little "dated." All I know is that they turned me away from lamb in a big way---for all these years. If I knew where to get some good lamb--roast, preferably--I'd probably try it again and who knows, I'd probably like it, since I eat just about anything that won't bite back!!
 
I'm not big on processed foods. Thats not to say I don't eat them but I try to avoid them.

Fast food? UGHHHHH if I'm really really hungry. Sad part is it cost's me as much to eat at wendys as it would if I just went in to a restaurant and sat down and had my food brought to me.

Groceries? Most of our expense there is in staples.
Pork, Eggs, chicken,Milk All come from my brother (Certified organic)
Beef either comes from his neighbor, (Certified organic)
or we buy a half from one of the local guys, his isn't certified organic but its all grass fed and he doesn't use any chemicals, he just has never gotten certified. And yes I'm sold on grass fed beef. Cows where not meant to be fed grains.

A lot of our staples come from
Frankferd Farms
cereals, Some juices,
Flour, Like the 7 grain, barley, spelt, (you haven't lived till you have head bread made with spelt flour) And Mar makes a lot of bread!!! In fact I can't remember the last time we bought a loaf of bread.
Buckwheat pancake mix. Corn meal and corn flour (oh though this year I'm getting my own corn ground)

Whole grains I'll buy barley, spelts and oats, then run them through the rolling mill. for hot cereal

We get most of our spices from them also

Vegggies all get raised here, there is much canning and freezing I'm working on getting more of our own fruits.
Jellies, lets see Mar put up, Strawberry, plum, peach, pear, blueberry, and tomato this year. She had 85 jars when she was done. And it won't make it till next year.

Am I going to live longer eating this way? maybe, maybe not. But I'm darn sure eating good!!
 
Recent article about my current town of residence; one large area had a 10 to 1 ratio of fast food and "Stop-n-Rob" markets vs. 'real' restaurants and grocery stores.
 
I think one mistake people make about cooking is that they see exotic recipes with all sorts of weird expensive ingredients. If you follow those recipes, then it's expensive eating.

But the dishes you are trying to make are generally peasant food in some part of the world, made from cheap local ingredients, and using what is in season.

My style of cooking is to grab whats cheap at the supermarket and stock up on spices and sauces to make it tasty and veges, pasta or rice to pad out a full meal. Even a leathery old chunk of stewing beef is 'melt in your mouth' after 8 hours in the slow cooker and a handfull of veges and spices makes for a tasty meal. Substitute fish, pork, chicken, ostrich or even Lamb. ;)

BTW, lamb and mutton is great if it's cooked right. Lamb should be nice and tender, mutton needs longer slower cooking, but has more flavour. A leg of mutton cooked in a local Hangi (Earth Oven) is a real treat :D

Ian
 
I'm married to someone who doesn't know how to cook beyond warming soup in the microwave. I honestly don't think she could scramble an egg. She can boil one. I've seen it. She just has no desire to learn to cook. Her mom didn't cook much either...made it out to be a horrible chore that must be endured, not enjoyed. She's also pretty picky about what she eats. She likes veggies to a certain extent, but a pretty limited range. (Better than me, though.) Meat is real hit or miss. No fish or seafood at all. The only beef I've seen her really like is in beef stew. She loves bacon, but ham grosses her out. Feeding her is like feeding a spoiled kid. :rolleyes: (She's never been poor and had to live on Ramen noodles and apple sandwiches. I have.)

LOML would starve if it wasn't for takeout food (salads mostly), microwave dinners, or my cooking. We work pretty different schedules from each other, so we don't eat together during the week very often.

I'm an OK cook, but tend to only make time to do it on the weekends, when I can feed both of us. Some evenings I'll grill myself a steak and make some form of potatoes/pasta and veggies. The rest of the week I'm usually eating something processed, either take-out food or microwave dinners. I do try to select healthier items as much as I can. I don't like a wide range of veggies, but I do try to make sure I get some in one form or another. I'm fortunate to have a metabolism that burns like a furnace, so I've never had to count calories, except when I've needed to gain weight. (My wife hates that about me.)
 
I've generally liked lamb. Though I had some once that was probably better classed as mutton. My dad used to tell me that when in the U.S. Army mutton day was the most dreaded meal day of the week.

I had bear a few times and thought it was not fit for dog food. Years later I was helping a friend work on a pond and he invited me to stay for dinner. Being hungry it was agreeable. I was skerrd stiff to learn that he had thrown a bear roast in the crock pot. I was amazed at how good it was and did a little research to find out why. It turns out that care after the kill is of supreme importance when producing good tasting bear. The fat in the meat will go rancid in a matter of hours it the carcass is not cooled down fast. I went bear hunting again and the bear I got was as good as or better than the best beef or pork roasts I've had. (In my opinion it tastes somewhere in between the 2.)

I think most meat is palatable depending on the care or cooking thereof. I haven't et rattlesnake, skunk, nor beaver yet so my opinion is somewhat limited in experience. :D I've heard that mountain lion is right up there with the best.
 
I've generally liked lamb. Though I had some once that was probably better classed as mutton. My dad used to tell me that when in the U.S. Army mutton day was the most dreaded meal day of the week.

I had bear a few times and thought it was not fit for dog food. Years later I was helping a friend work on a pond and he invited me to stay for dinner. Being hungry it was agreeable. I was skerrd stiff to learn that he had thrown a bear roast in the crock pot. I was amazed at how good it was and did a little research to find out why. It turns out that care after the kill is of supreme importance when producing good tasting bear. The fat in the meat will go rancid in a matter of hours it the carcass is not cooled down fast. I went bear hunting again and the bear I got was as good as or better than the best beef or pork roasts I've had. (In my opinion it tastes somewhere in between the 2.)

I think most meat is palatable depending on the care or cooking thereof. I haven't et rattlesnake, skunk, nor beaver yet so my opinion is somewhat limited in experience. :D I've heard that mountain lion is right up there with the best.

Bear ain't bad....little greasy, but palatable.

Skunk....unh unh

Snake......nope

Beaver.......:huh: think I ate it once or twice.....


I've had gator.....that was good.

Shark...yep

Some say coon and possum is good....guess you are right, it is all on how it is prepared and cooked.:thumb:
 
Ian is indeed right. My Grandmother grew up in the Depression and her Dad died when she was 2 months old. This left my Great Grandmother with 7 little girls to feed. Back then women did not "work" and with 7 little girls how could you, anyway people gave them food. The problem was it was food no one would want. Cows heart, sheeps tongue, lambs liver...odd ball stuff.

So to get by they had to eat it but my Great Grand Mother found ways to cook it that were edible. Today we would just use the internet to punch up recipes, but for her it was trial and era. We still have a lot of those recipes in the family, but for some reason none of us can cook it like she did.

Cows heart cooked in milk is very tasty by the way, but only as she did it.
 
Pork, Eggs, chicken,Milk All come from my brother (Certified organic)
Beef either comes from his neighbor, (Certified organic)
or we buy a half from one of the local guys, his isn't certified organic but its all grass fed and he doesn't use any chemicals, he just has never gotten certified. And yes I'm sold on grass fed beef. Cows where not meant to be fed grains

I don't know about that. The problem with livestock is that it multiplies at a rate that is 20 times faster then ours, sixty times faster if you are talking poultry. That means in a very short time it changes. Cows roaming the earth without benefit of man might have ate only grasses, but they sure did not do that in Thorndike Maine!!

I looked into "baloney livestock" which is what the local cattle dealer calls it because grass fed animals tend to be stocky but lack the inter-muscling fat that gives the meat some flavor. Its the same assaying a vegetarian is more healthy then regular fed people, but is that true?They have to take supplements to get the protein the body really needs. I would say they are indeed different, but not really better. Its the same with baloney livestock. There is some market for it, but to be honest with you, I think its a farming fad that has about run its course. A few people touted it up as a way to generate a niche market for themselves, but the science just does not back it up.

In my experience with livestock, you can feed your animals just about anything and have it taste good, what makes the difference between tasty and disgusting is stress. The more an animal is stressed, the worst it tastes. To that end, nothing stresses an animal more than malnutrition. Everything from energy levels, to disease to predation ours with malnourished livestock.

Now keep in mind,as dairy farmers we always cull the stressed animals that are not producing milk...I know what a stressed animal tastes like.Yuck.

Ultimately I decided not to go the grass fed route. No one has asked for grass fed lamb, but I already know what they are looking for. Healthy lambs that are ethically, and morally raised...which means no Feedlot Farming. They get pastures, fresh water, minerals and yes corn too. The later will not stop them from buying the lamb.
 
Ok, Just had to post.

My Mom and her Husband and My Grandma drove out for a visit this summer and brought me a butchered lamb as a gift. We tossed it in the freezer and have been working through it one chunk at a time, usually a couple of times a week.

Last week I harvested what was left of the garden and due to a bumper crop of Jalapenos, decided to make some Jalapeno Jelly.

We just had some very simply pan seared lamb shoulders seasoned with salt and pepper and used some of the Jalapeno jelly as a condiment. (Side dish, mashed cauliflower).

All I can say is Wow. I was a little apprehensive about the jalapeno jelly due to the vapors when I was putting it up, but it's awesome, and works really well with lamb. Sweet, a little spicy (seriously not bad) and an interesting green jalapeno flavor.

:thumb::thumb::thumb:
 
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