Cheapest Form of Good Nutrition?

On a price to weight basis, what is the cheapest form of quality nutrition?

At approx one dollar per kilogram my vote goes to *parboiled* rice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parboiled_rice

Parboiled rice is rice that has been boiled in the husk. Parboiling makes rice easier to process by hand, improves its nutritional profile, and changes its texture.

Parboiling rice drives nutrients, especially thiamine, from the bran into the grain, so that parboiled white rice is 80% nutritionally similar to brown rice. Because of this, parboiling was adopted by North American rice growers in the early 20th century.

 

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raw fish, guts, bones, eyes and all.

 

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Cold water fish is the only animal product I consume.

I believe that humans have biologically adapted to seafood simply because its the *easiest* form of food to acquire from the natural world.

Catching a fish, or harvesting oysters for example is easier than constructing a weapon and hunting down a moose.

And its FAR easier than clearing land and growing crops.

 

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Well, if we're talking amount of nutrition/price then a food can be more expensive yet cheaper overall. My vote goes to spinach or kale.

 

I don't go for cheap foods anymore (I used to), because basically all foods are cheap, if you cook them yourselves. I now go for best cheese, best rice, best fish, etc, and I feel healtier overall.

 

Still, there is a huge difference between the price of foods considered to be inexpensive.

I should have said price to calories rather than price to weight.

Comparing rice, potatoes, corn and wheat for example...parboiled rice yields far more calories per dollar.

 

If you live in first world country, no matter how expensive your food is, I am sure food expenses is below than 10% of your overall income (if you cook them yourselves instead of buying ready made ones in restaurants). Meanwhile, more expensive foods are normally have better quality, and could improve your health significantly. Also, I don't think carbohydrates sources (like you mentioned above) are significantly different in term of prices compared to your overall income.

 

And that's why we can, and should afford ourselves ethically sourced produce. Not only is it better for us, it's better for the land the produce is grown on (fewer pesticides) or the animals we eat (less intensive farming means a lessened risk of disease spreading amongst livestock.)

So I'm with you, I go for the better stuff, and enjoy it all the more. I just can't eat battery chicken or eggs anymore.

 

Yay! :cheers:

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on average what is your weekly shopping bills?

i spend £150 a week just on food, that is to feed 3 kids and one adult, i go for the more expensvie things because "qaulity not quantity"

 

A week? When I invite nobody, a week is about 35-40 Euro (for food). That includes all supplements and occasional visit to coffee shop. I always have lunch in Uni mensa, but prepare my own breakfast and dinner.

Edit: in your currency, that's about £30-35 per week. For 5 people like your family, that's about the same.

 

I spend about $40-$50 on food. Chicken, eggs, bacon, steak, veggies, etc.

 

yeah i know its a lot but i belive that quality is better than qauntity, also i have to buy special diet food for my younger child, because of his condition

 

i guess we are talking about for low income. in that case i would say some kind of soup and as has been mentioned dont overlook a chicken egg. if you have an egg you can always just crack it open and throw it into the hot water for the soup too.

 

What do you mean by 'quality nutrition'?
In order to get all the necessary nutrients, humans have to eat quite versatile foodstuffs.

 

Theres your definition...a quality food contains a diverse range of nutrients, and a minimum of toxicity.

Naturally, this would exclude Wonder Bread!

 

Exactly.

If I can, I avoid franken-factory foods. Not because it's better for the environment or because I give a shit about working conditions, but because it tastes better and is healthier (usually). Food is one of the few things I do not cheap out on.

 

Lets have a show of hands....how many people like hospital food?

Nobody???

Thats because the menu is set up like the worse restaurant you can imagine, with a wide variety of culinary horrors!

It would be cheaper AND healthier to have the same food everyday with a higher standard of quality.

8:00am - One large glass of grape or apple juice at room temperature.

11:00am - A stir fry of parboiled rice topped with cabbage, chopped celery, snow peas, red peppers, etc.

6:00pm - One or two raisin bran muffins with tea or coffee.

 

Can't really recall the food I got given during my last hospital stay. I was in a lot of pain with a broken leg, and then pretty phased with strong pain meds though, so didn't really give a rat's ass what I was eating.

 

I spend about $250 a month on groceries. But we buy 1/4 a cow and 1/2 a pig every year and my husband fishes all spring/summer. I probably spend more money on fruit than anything else.