<p>Another way to try new foods is to attend cultural festivals/church bazaars either as a family or when you have friends over. Peer pressure can be used positively.</p>
<p>My kids ate all kinds of things & they were introduced to many at the potlucks we would have at their preschools. I first had sushi at a potluck, same with baba ghanouj & bahn mi. Of course the parents have to be willing to try it too!</p>
<p>( I seriously picked preschools by what they served at snack time 
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<p>I am under impression that anything packaged, somewhat prepared and canned/frozen cost more than fresh food. If you want to save on food and save on Doc’s bills, do not go out. This is my rule. Besides, not going out also saving ton of times. We always have some food in fridge. I can grab anything I want and eat or snack while doing something else at home. We are going out few times/year, mostly when kids visiting. Otherwise we do not bother, just too much.</p>
<p>We live in a walkable city. Walk everyday to buy food for dinner, kill 2 birds with one stone. Yesterday, we bought turkey drums for $1+ a leg and cooked in a crockpot. Whole grains from nearby health food stores are 99c/lb. The same stuff sells at Costco for 3 times as much. It’s much easier to eat heathlier food.</p>
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<p>Not in my area. No way. No fruit and no vegetable costs less than $1/pound. I love farmer’s markets and patronize them, but there, too, no fruit costs less than $1/pound and no vegetable costs less than $1/pound. Even fresh fruit in season costs more than that. I couldn’t fill one grocery bag with produce for $10.</p>
<p>As to biking to grocery stores, zoosermom, why couldn’t people in your area shop by bike? I don’t remember where you live, but in all 50 US states it’s summer right now. Do you live on an island where there are no roads? </p>
<p>A racing bike is not ideal for grocery shopping, but neither is it impossible, as I know well, since on occasion I’ve gone to the grocery store with a racing bike and a backpack.</p>
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<p>Canned or frozen vegetables are often cheaper than fresh.</p>
<p>^We walk without having food with us. it is easier to walk very fast and not hurt your back when there is nothing in your arms. We also go to gym for weight training, again I can do some heavy duty weights, not few pounds of food. We drive everywhere. I do not like to shop, so my H. can do shopping by himself, he does not need me to help him carry stuff. We also love Costco, we do not care much about cost or healthy food. We eat priamry fruits and a little other stuff in between (so, I asume we eat relatevely healthy). I hate cooking, so we eat some meat/fish/chicken on Sundays. It is too much to do it every day, I am not a fan of meat/fish/chicken, once / week is fine. Nuts taste much better and they are not needed to be cooked.</p>
<p>Here’s an interesting resource from the CDC that maps out variables like # of households with no car who live > 1 mile from a grocery store. </p>
<p>[Food</a> Environment Atlas](<a href=“http://maps.ers.usda.gov/FoodAtlas/]Food”>http://maps.ers.usda.gov/FoodAtlas/)</p>
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<p>And they’ll wait for you. If you buy them on Tuesday but unexpected events prevent you from serving them until Saturday, they’ll be just as good as the day you bought them. In the same situation, you would probably have to throw the fresh stuff away, thus wasting the money you spent on it.</p>
<p>Whether or not this matters depends on your family’s lifestyle. Some people eat enough meals at home, on a predictable basis, so that they can buy fresh vegetables and use them up before they spoil. Others don’t have any idea in the morning whether they’ll be eating at home that night. If they buy fresh produce or other perishables, they end up throwing a lot of it away.</p>
<p>If you ever watch that coupon show you will see shopping carts full of food that these people are getting for cheap. Most of it is bad for you. Coupons are rarely available for fresh food and meats. I noticed how so many of the carts have those Yakisoba noodles in them. I would never buy them but like Top Ramen they are cheap and filling.
Like Cardinal Fang our markets are full of fresh foods and we have good farmers markets but the food is expensive. I have never seen any fruit or vegetable for $1 a lb.</p>
<p>It probably depends on where you live. At a local farmers’ market, one can get crates of fruit for $10 (20-25 lb) and baskets of fresh cherries for $1/lb when they are in season. A pound of cherries beats any McDonald’s dessert, IMO. Our Costco always some apples in 10-lb bags for $5-7 per bag (50-70 cents per pound).</p>
<p>Local prices here:
Bananas - 69c/lb
Navel oranges - 49c/lb
Cabbage - 49c/lb
Brocoli - 88c/lb
Apples - 79c/lb</p>
<p>Lots for fruits and vegetables that are cheap here.</p>
<p>Totally depends on part of the country. Having lived both East and West, produce prices vary enormously. And it depends on the store as well. </p>
<p>Bunsen, you live in cherry heaven. So jealous! Here in the midwest, they don’t usually get below $3.99 a pound for those lovely Bings.</p>
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<p>But the plane fare would kind of eat up the savings, for a lot of us.</p>
<p>At a local farmers’ market, one can get crates of fruit for $10 (20-25 lb) and baskets of fresh cherries for $1/lb when they are in season</p>
<p>Guess I better check out the local market, I had no idea it was so cheap, I always get side tracked by the artisan honeys.
( is this the Fremont Sunday market?)</p>
<p>Dr Google- I look for deals on apples a lot. My D likes to feed them to her horses. I have never come across apples for that price.</p>
<p>Farmer’s market can definitely be cheaper. Kiwis usually cost 2 or 3 for a dollar at a supermarket. I’ve seen them sold 20 for a dollar at a farmer’s market.</p>
<p>You know what’s expensive? Heart disease and diabetes.</p>
<p>^^ really good point hellojan. Think of all the health/insurance money that goes to fix diabetes, gout, high blood pressure, and on and on. </p>
<p>It is very tough to change eating habits; but it is worse to give up; you are giving up on an entire generation.</p>
<p>"Canned or frozen vegetables are often cheaper than fresh. "</p>
<p>-not in our town. And they have no taste or taste terribly. I want to enjoy my food, I do not care to eat if it does not taste good. I love frozen cherries and peas though. But they are expensive, expecially cherries. I also love frozen ice cream, but if it is not frozen, then it is not ice cream. That’s about it.
Heart desease and diabetes are primarily caused by weight. It is possible to maintain normal weight if you eat unhealthy food. It is just whatever you like. There exceptions, like Type I or some hereditary heart conditions, but primarily it is weight. My sugar goe up a lot if I gain few pounds. I do not have deabetes. The same is for Blood pressure and cholesterol. I do not have hypertension and heart desease…yes, I maintain normal weight for my height no matter what I eat. I take my measurements very often, that is why I know what causes changes.</p>
<p>mom60, that’s the non-sale price for apples. The sale price this week until 7/20 is 49c/lb.
PM me for the store and location if you have any doubt.</p>