Reply #19: Are you daft?

[nadine_mn]

You mentioned that one can purchase canned goods, potatoes, beans and rice on little money and eat nutritiously.

I agree.

However, YOU HAVE TO GET THE FOOD HOME AND COOK IT.

Sorry...but I have been in grocery stores and have tried to figure out what to buy based on how heavy it was, whether or not I had a car or bus, and did I have a place to store it. It is easier to spent 99 cents on a cheeseburger than to buy the ingredients: pound of hamburger which is around $3-5, buns $2-3, cheese optional. Then carry the groceries home either on a bus or when the bus wasn't running, walk the 2 miles. Then go home, hope the electricity hasn't been shut off, put groceries away and cook a meal.

My incentive for crappy, high in fat food was that it was easier to buy pre-made stuff w/ extra calories or go out to fast food because it was cheaper.

Oh and I had the education, I was in college (then law-school) full-time, working full-time and fucking tired as hell all the time. My incentive was to eat and sleep, not so much whether it was healthy.

I can't imagine how hard it is for a parent to have the energy to do all this homecooking for a family after working all day.

And fatty food, high caloric food - makes me happy. And when you are poor and you don't have much - a little happiness goes a long way