Who says fast food cannot be truly fresh and less expensive than white processed, loaded with salt and fat… fast food? An apple, a pear, concord grapes? This is fresh and this is fast! I am clear that most of us are thinking about the higher end food items that can cost more, like imported produce and vegetables. There is still a price gap between commercially grown/raised food and organics, however I am finding companies like Beretta Farms are very close in price to commercially grown poultry, pork and beef. However, if you are looking to eat better and make your family more nutritious meals at a low cost, cooking at home is still the most cost effective way to feed your family.

What we are forgetting about when we compare the two is there are other foods that we eat that go with fresh food. What about things like whole grain pasta and locally grown rice? Has anyone thought that staples like potatoes and carrots are most often very inexpensive. And what about eating fresh in-season foods? They are always a really great buy when in-season. In our area we have at our finger tips,

a extensive list of fresh produce that is really inexpensive and can be transformed into hundreds of different recipes. Soups, stews, chilis, pizza, lasagna, roasting and stove top cooking are only a few ways to use fresh in-season produce.

When calculating the cost of cooking at home versus eating out, eating home cooked meals wins hands down. What needs to happen is that all of us need access to simple healthy and in-season recipes, which is what I am sharing with readers who get their hands on a copy of Freshalicious.  It is going back to the basics and leaving behind the strawberries when the season is over, and moving onto the grapes.

It is all about choosing to take a little time, invest in learning how to use a slow cooker and or buy a pressure cooker that you can feel comfortable using. This cuts down your prep time, still allowing you to have nutritious home cooked meals. Baking and roasting is really easy and since it is autumn, there is no shortage of inexpensive local produce to choose from. I took a few hours last week to roast red Sheppard peppers, at a cost of $7.00 for the entire bushel, some sea salt, vinegar, chilies and a little sunflower oil and managed to produce 6 and one  half (6-1/2) liter jars to put away for the winter. They may cost me over 30.00 to buy them in the store and I produced them at at cost of $1.30 each, give or take a penny or two. My tomatoes that i canned this year cost me under $1.30 a liter to process myself.

Meals that I make cost on average $4.00 per person. Many times they can be $2.50 person and even as low as $1.00 per person depending on what it is I am making. These costs are for balanced meals, consisting of a healthy protein, vegetable and a whole grain carbohydrate.

The fresh foods that are noticeably expensive are the imported out of season foods that use an incredible amount of fuel in order to get to your table, never mind  the handling fees. Truck to  boat and then back to truck, and this is to the grocery store. You still have to go and get it – this doesn’t even include the costs associated with taxes and duties which are incurred at the border!

Eating fast food is expensive, and not on my list of nutritional foods. If we plan better, and “paper bag it “ more often we will see the money stay in the bank longer. Fast food that is heavily processed, loaded with salt and heavy oils makes you hungrier, your body is smarter than you think! So hence this is why we eat so much of it. Not because it is good for you, but because eating fast food tends to leave us unsatisfied without even knowing it.

My fast food is fresh. local and sealed in it’s own skin for easy transport, and it is certainly more affordable for me to continue on my journey of eating local, sourcing in-season and cooking from fresh.

The real problem is we are “Road Warriors.” Leaving the house at 6am, most often flying by the seat of our pants running late and constantly being bombarded by the quick easy way out for a quick meal fix. Try counting how many fast food restaurants  you see every day to and from work. We are leaving the house maybe hungry and instinctively know that we need to fill the hunger void even if it is not good for us.

Here are my  5 freshalcious Road Warrior Tips:

1.  If your hungry on your journeys, pop into your local  supermarket. You have many more healthy choices at the supermarket and you got physically active in the process.
2.  Get  a small cooler to take fresh veg and or produce with you on your journeys.
3. Eat a whole, healthy breakfast. Try making whole grain muffins with fruit on every Sunday of the week. A great grab and go healthy food!

4. “Paper bag it!” Pack your lunches the night before with healthy leftovers.
5. In the cooler always have a whole grain snack, like Mary’s Gone Crackers! I love these little nutritious crackers. They help satisfy my hunger, helping me avoid the fast food lane.

think fresh*live local*eat healthy

Stacey Fokas

Photo Simon Burn/ SDB Images

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