People buy what they buy because the world has made it possible to do so. Just like going to a restaurant instead of cooking. It taste better and it’s convenient. Advertisement make all of these thing irresistible. venzulla@yahoo.com

People buy what they buy because the world has made it possible to do so. Just like going to a restaurant instead of cooking. It taste better and it’s convenient. Advertisement make all of these thing irresistible. venzulla@yahoo.com

People buy what they buy because the world has made it possible to do so. Just like going to a restaurant instead of cooking. It taste better and it’s convenient. Advertisement make all of these thing irresistible. venzulla@yahoo.com

I’m not sure the spaghetti sauce is on-target. Here, I can get a jar of spaghetti sauce (i.e. think “Ragu”) for less than two dollars. It contains more sauce than 1 can of tomato sauce (which can be $1 or more per can…can you believe that?!?!) , plus spices (which are quite expensive and really add up if you use a lot of them. I think that, barring sales, the tomatoes, spices, onion, mushrooms, and energy needed to cook the sauce would probably outweigh any savings.

Good article. I buy packaged salad mixes when they go on sale 2 for 1 which seems to happen every few weeks. Also, I would say that premade/frozen hamburger patties contain a lot less beef than if you make the burgers yourself. I also agree with the other commentor; you can easily get a good jar of spaghetti sauce for around $2. Making sauce from scratch isn’t worth it unless you simply enjoy doing that.

About a year ago I gave up all canned and processed food or at least as much as I could, I’ll admit that some things cannot be made at home, but these can usually be purchased at a local whole goods store excluding most additives, etc. Almost everything my family eats comes from fresh, frozen or non-preservative added ingredients (about once a week I allow for a “can dinner” where all I do is dump ingredients into a pan to cook.) I live in a fairly cold climate that doesn’t have a long growing season, I work full time and have three kids and still have plenty of time to do this. It’s not really that hard once you get started.

We make our own peanut butter, bread, sauces, spices, noodles, beans, everything. Sometimes we do cheat and buy the non-preservative alternatives at the whole good store, but less and less the further we go along. We are vegetarians so meat wasn’t an issue and we get our eggs from a local farmer who sells farm fresh eggs for cheaper than the grocery store. (Just FYI, I also know a few carnivores who have changed their diets this way with equal success. I believe they get their meat from a local farmer as well.)

It really doesn’t take as much time as you would think as long as you do necessary prep and think ahead. I probably spend a total of 45 minutes of prep time a day in the kitchen. A food processor is a “must have” as well as a good organic cookbook and a good sense of humor. I plan meals a week in advance, get all the fresh ingredients I can at a whole goods store, pick up the rest at a grocery store and in addition grow what I can during the summer so I can freeze it for the winter. I plant many of my own herbs and spices in an indoor herb garden.

I will say that the initial start-up was kind of expensive until I got all the base ingredients and tools. We also haven’t realized a huge savings at the grocery store with all the fresh, organic food we buy. What I can say though is that I am much more comfortable and confident that what we are eating is actually doing good for our bodies, minds and spirits as opposed to eating processed junk American’s are addicted to. Even as vegetarians, we used to be the same; fast food junkies, replacing nutrition with convenience at the grocery store. However, now that we’ve changed our diets, both my husband and I have lost all our extra weight and neither we nor our kids ever get sick anymore.

I know many people who would say that they don’t have 45 minutes a day to spend in the kitchen, but if you’re serious about healthy eating, then this time would be a priority. I would challenge anyone to give it a try. The food tastes better, you can eat more of it, you’ll look great, you’ll feel great and you’ll never go back.

why would you want to wait 6 hours to make your own when you can buy healthy and better tasting ice cream? these suggestions are just silly

Trail mix is normally thought of as healthy. Wrong. A lot of trail mixes contain roasted nuts, when nuts are roasted, the HDL in them, which is actually good for your cholesterol, becomes rancid and converts to LDL. Nuts are always best consumed raw and eating up to 40gms of raw nuts per day is excellent in any weightloss diet. Trail mix also contains dried fruit, which, if you are watching your intake of sugars, is really best avoided. 50gms of sultanas is equivalent to about 200gms of grapes, don’t have to be a genius to work out which is more filling.

I had bought some of thes to make popsicles myself and I’ve never bought another store bought popsicle. The combinations are endless and are great for someone who wants to avoid all the sugar and calories.

I bought a Brita pitcher several years ago and love it. I’ve also went to the thrift store and found nice, inexpensive (49 cents) rubbermade drink bottles. Brought them home and cleaned them thoroughly. They are great..

Good to see a bunch of high priced food items called into question. Bottled water especially grinds me. People drag it out of the stores in cases thinking they are doing their families a great service. Not so! Just another rip off and as you pointed out a really bad scene for the environment.

Thanks much for informative articles like this one.

This information is completely false. Check out the IBWA’s website for real information on bottled water and how much better it is for you than dirty tap water. These people do not know what they are talking about!

I love the idea of this stove top sauce. I made a list of ingredients, plan to try this the next time i make pasta.

these are all great ideas…..if you have a ton of free time. If I had an hour to cook dinner then I would not be making spaghetti!

..lot’s of vitamins ..that were taken in the vegetables…good source of vitamins that needs of our body..?

I found a happy median. I get the 5 gallon water jugs and have a water cooler. I admit I do buy a case of water about once a year but instead of throwing the bottles away I refill them using the water cooller. It is nice to be able to take bottles with me but I don’t have to worry about replacing them if I lose them. The tap water in my area is terrible! I love ice cold water (it is pretty much all I drink) and this solution works for me. It is not as environmentally concious as using a water filter but for someone who works full time and goes to school full time in the evening it is a great blend of convenience and practicality.

Ragu is loaded with high-fructose corn syrup. And sugar. Two things I have to avoid since I was diagnosed with diabetes. No matter, because homemade sauce is way better! My recipe is simple: whole canned tomatoes divested of their seeds and watery juices, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, chopped carrots and onions for sweetness (to ensure it’s sweet enough for you, it’s 2 parts carrots-to-onions), olive oil, herbs, including a tiny pinch of fennel seeds, low-sodium chicken broth and a entire head garlic (1/3 goes in at the beginning, 1/3 in the middle, 1/3 as finely chopped as you can manage at the end). The tomato paste goes in at the end. It tastes great and freezes even better.

Or, if you didn’t want a shortcut, nuke a huge, warehouse-sized package of grape tomatoes with finely chopped garlic, seasonings and a little olive oil. Instant sauce!

What about Crystal light flavored tea mixes that are low in calories and sugar free?

What about Crystal light flavored tea mixes that are low in calories and sugar free?

What about Crystal light flavored tea mixes that are low in calories and sugar free?

What about Crystal light flavored tea mixes that are low in calories and sugar free?

Jar sauces are good but they contain alot of salt and some contain sugar. Take the time to make your own and you control the contents.

Jar sauces are good but they contain alot of salt and some contain sugar. Take the time to make your own and you control the contents.

Jar sauces are good but they contain alot of salt and some contain sugar. Take the time to make your own and you control the contents.

Ok, this should be re-titled, “15 DIY Foods for the ultra poor with tons of time on their hands with a HUGE family and love to clean-up and consume bulk quantities to get the lowest price per gram”! And if your family is huge that is why you’re poor in the first place and need to spend an hour preparing a couple of said items on the list just to save frickin TWO bucks!!!

Ok, this should be re-titled, “15 DIY Foods for the ultra poor with tons of time on their hands with a HUGE family and love to clean-up and consume bulk quantities to get the lowest price per gram”! And if your family is huge that is why you’re poor in the first place and need to spend an hour preparing a couple of said items on the list just to save frickin TWO bucks!!!

Ok, this should be re-titled, “15 DIY Foods for the ultra poor with tons of time on their hands with a HUGE family and love to clean-up and consume bulk quantities to get the lowest price per gram”! And if your family is huge that is why you’re poor in the first place and need to spend an hour preparing a couple of said items on the list just to save frickin TWO bucks!!!

Tomato sauce is packed in cans lined with BPA laden plastics.  If not, then the acid of the tomatoes leaches metals out of the seam in the can….you can’t win.
Buy in glass jars, and buy organic when you can.

For an added twist, I sometimes flavor my tea with a splash of peach or other fruit juice. I always have juice in the fridge and this is much cheaper than buying the mixes. I’ve seen flavored teas if that’s your thing, too.

“Nursery water” ??? what is that except another way to sell you bottled water? Didn’t our parents give us water out of the tap? If you really think it’s not safe boil it! What is wrong with people?

When good ground beef goes on sale, I like to stock up and make my own patties and freeze them. Then I have my own patties ready to go whenever I need them. (I save some of the ground beef for other uses, too.)

Great, I am much wiser now.

Some of this advice is good – but most walks the line between sanctimonious and absurd.  For instance:
* Don’t buy the one-ounce bag of trail mix – make up 5 pounds and keep it for up to three weeks!  (Except that I like an ounce every few months – buying a pound of nuts, half a pound of M&Ms, a bunch of sunflower seeds, and some dried fruit costs WAY more than the one-ounce bag that is all I really want!)
* Don’t buy bottled water!  (I mostly drink tap water, which tastes fine to me, but I always keep bottled water on hand – it goes in kids’ school lunches to help keep them away from the soda machines, there’s always some in the car because it keeps much, much longer than a sealed bottle of tap water, etc.)
* Don’t buy gourmet ice cream – dress up store brands with chocolate chunks or crushed cookies!  (Are you kidding me?  Besides the fact that it’s hard to get fudge and caramel ripples into already-frozen ice cream, what, exactly, am I going to do with the rest of the one-pound bag of Oreos that I bought so I could crush one on my store brand vanilla ice cream?  Now I wish I’d bought the single serving of Oreos that you told me not to!)
* Don’t buy a jar of spaghetti sauce – spend an hour making your own!  (So, out of the hour and a half between when I get home with the kids and when they have to start getting ready for bed, I’m supposed to spend two thirds of the time making spaghetti sauce?  I don’t think giving up most of the time I have to play with my kids is worth the dollar or so I would actually save by doing this!)

The useful information in this 15-page article could have been put in a single sentence – “Buy in bulk when it’s significantly cheaper, look at the ingredients of prepared foods to see if they’d be quick and easy to make, and watch for sales.”  That’s ironic, since the too-long article is from Reader’s Digest. :-)

I make my pasta sauce from scratch, and in season use fresh tomatoes. I make large quantities so I can freeze some. I freeze it in 1 cup servings in ziploc bags so when I need some, I just drop the bag in boiling water to thaw, then transfer to a saucepan to heat through. Voila! Homemade pasta sauce in 15 minutes! (Or less)

I hate sun made Tea. I love the powder, i tried the sun made Tea with cane suger i added to the glass, UCK. Allways will buy powdered tea or bottled sweet tea

I hate sun made Tea. I love the powder, i tried the sun made Tea with cane suger i added to the glass, UCK. Allways will buy powdered tea or bottled sweet tea

Obviously YOU are wealthy! You also seem biased; some peopleactually ‘like’ to eat good food that is chemical free. Do you ‘really’ believethat when you do out to eat, or buy packaged food that it is loaded with preservatives’?I know it is convenient, but you should read ‘all’ the ingredients (includingthe preservatives) in what you are eating and if you still feel like eating it,I have no problem with that!:)  But PLEASE don’t try to make it about poor vs. rich; that’s just not what it is about.

Obviously YOU are wealthy! You also seem biased; some peopleactually ‘like’ to eat good food that is chemical free. Do you ‘really’ believethat when you do out to eat, or buy packaged food that it is loaded with preservatives’?I know it is convenient, but you should read ‘all’ the ingredients (includingthe preservatives) in what you are eating and if you still feel like eating it,I have no problem with that!:)  But PLEASE don’t try to make it about poor vs. rich; that’s just not what it is about.

make ur own? really? just be a smart shopper, watch the ads and save a buck when u can. most tomatoe base products come with salt and sugar and has 4 many many years. now adays we have 2 feed our families on a tight budget, and the cost 4 good tomatoes r crazy high. the answer is 2 shop smart and serve up smarter dishes. limit the sauce 2 a small amount, w/veggie and salad.

Maybe we should never buy Reader’s Digest again. They have no clue of the modern world, just the world my mother read back in the 1950″S

When making sun tea add the sugar prior to the sun’s exposure so that the sugar dissolves. I use three bags of peach flavored tea and it is wonderful. In the winter months I nuck 2 cups h20 with three tea bags, add sugar to hot water to dissolve and then add cold water. Makes two quarts. Works out fine. You can purchase the bottled tea or powdered tea, but tea bags offer a wide range of flavors.

YOU NEVER HAD GOOD HOME SPAGHETTI SAUCE THEN…I MAKE ENOUGH SO I CAN FREEZE
 2 OR 3 TUBS OF IT AND US IT DOWN THE ROAD. WILL LAST FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS AND HAS EVEN A BETTER TASTE WHEN WHEN IT WAS 1ST MADE….
  DON’T TALK ABOUT HOW GOOD JAR SAUCE IS, UNLESS YOU REALLY KNOW…

  why not have you ever had home made ice cream….well you don’t know when you missing…don’t knock it unless you’ve tried it..

well honey I’ve been drinking that dirty tap water you are talking about for 75 years and I’ll bet u I’m as healthy as you are or more so….I don’t look 75, have been told, by Doctors or act 75,  so don’t talk about something you know anything about..You look to be around 15 or 16…you may be older, but it not the water that’s done it, ot’s the genes…

it takes longer then an hour to cook good spaghetti sauce…. try 4 or 5 hrs. at a slow low flame..

it takes longer then an hour to cook good spaghetti sauce…. try 4 or 5 hrs. at a slow low flame..

I have made meatballs and sauce for fifty year or more. I use sauteed chopped onions and garlic in crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce and season with worcestershire sauce ( it contains all kinds of spices, even anchovies). Mix ground meat, italian bread crumbs and eggs, form meatballs and brown.  Brown about a pound of italian sausage.   Put meatballs and sausage in sauce and simmer 1 hour or more.  Serve over cooked  spagetti or any pasta.  Enjoy

I have made meatballs and sauce for fifty year or more. I use sauteed chopped onions and garlic in crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce and season with worcestershire sauce ( it contains all kinds of spices, even anchovies). Mix ground meat, italian bread crumbs and eggs, form meatballs and brown.  Brown about a pound of italian sausage.   Put meatballs and sausage in sauce and simmer 1 hour or more.  Serve over cooked  spagetti or any pasta.  Enjoy

if you really know how to make spaghetti sauce, you don’t put carrots in it,,,

 and it taste better too.  then that jar stuff..good idea put it in plastic bags, i use Butter tubs..

try your tea with HONEY to sweeten it…It’s great…

AGREED! That’s one store short cut that is totally worth it.

Most ice cream is sold in 1.5 Qt carton, which means that you need to buy 3 to get a gallon.  Even on sale for 4/$10, that about $7/gallon.  Making your own isn’t cheap either,

Most ice cream is sold in 1.5 Qt carton, which means that you need to buy 3 to get a gallon.  Even on sale for 4/$10, that about $7/gallon.  Making your own isn’t cheap either,

thank you for the warnings and making me aware of what I should not do and all the great things I do do  unconsicously.  loved this article as I love to cook healthfully for my family.  Thanks and keep all the great info coming.  Mary Williams   mackeandmary@yahoo.com

Included ll items that are of interest to me.

Easy to get info.  Very user friendly

YOU NEED TO DO MORE RESEARCH. MOST TAP WATER IS FINE. SOME BOTTLED WATER IS TOO.

Bread crumbs absorb all the grease. Yuk.

I disagree with portioning out your own chips, etc. I buy the smaller bags because once the big bag is open, there’s no turning back. Plus, sealed individual things last longer.

I disagree with portioning out your own chips, etc. I buy the smaller bags because once the big bag is open, there’s no turning back. Plus, sealed individual things last longer.

I disagree with portioning out your own chips, etc. I buy the smaller bags because once the big bag is open, there’s no turning back. Plus, sealed individual things last longer.

I bought a slow cooker with an aluminum (sp) insert. It can go on the stove to sear meats etc, and can go to the slow cooker. What a convient way to long simmering of tomatoes and spices to make a home made sauce. I guess that would take care of the hour of making your own. You could simmer all night at a low temperature to produce a great sauce. Bt the way, this slow cooker has a 6.5 qt capacity.

My spelling is not the best. Bt should read (by). Sorry

Very right.  On my side I boil my own water and put in my water bottle instead of buying.  Very expensive and people do not realize it.

Very right.  On my side I boil my own water and put in my water bottle instead of buying.  Very expensive and people do not realize it.

Hello! Many Italians put a little sugar in their sauce, it cuts the acridness of the tomato and gives a smoother flavor to the sauce, but the amount we’re talking about is negligible.  The tomato sauces are way better for you than the pasta, so why cut out a good thing?  Tomatoes are an awesome source of lycopene. 

Hello! Many Italians put a little sugar in their sauce, it cuts the acridness of the tomato and gives a smoother flavor to the sauce, but the amount we’re talking about is negligible.  The tomato sauces are way better for you than the pasta, so why cut out a good thing?  Tomatoes are an awesome source of lycopene. 

It’s “painful” to watch someone pay $6.00 for a gallon of ice cream???  Here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, $6.00 is a terrific bargain for a gallon of ice cream.  Our sale prices are usually much higher than that.

I don’t drink bottles water because it’s better for you. I drink it because I don’t like how the hard tap water makes my tea and coffee taste, and because I can grab a bottle on my way out the door when it’s a  hundred degrees outside.

With all the information out there on water; you do take risks drinking tap water, and you take the same risks drinking bottled water.  Most bottled water is just someone elses tap water and this has been in the news for over a decade.   They do say the plastic does leach into what’s in the container.  Recently on the internet was the best waters to buy and Nestle pure was #1.  I use to buy it, but recently got in to distilling my own and adding the trace minerals (buy at health food store).  I was eager to test to see if the claim of the nestly pure was true, so I did distill a gallon I still had, and it did distill with no residue.   My tap water and the water I have going through my fridge (which I have a solid carbon filter on, not the one that comes with the fridge) both have sludge/thick residue left behind when distilled.   For a home distiller I went on line H20 labs and got a stainless steel one at the best price.    Now saving tons of $, no more lugging gallons, no running out for water.

Avoiding high-fructose corn syrup is a good idea for anyone, but just because you’ve been diagnosed as diabetic, it doesn’t mean you should avoid sugar. That’s ridiculous and would probably lead to binging, or eating a ton of artificial sweetener, which are really bad for you. Strangely enough switching a little sugar for artificial sweetener doesn’t seem to help your blood sugar at all.  Oh well, I’m gonna go drink my morning cup of tea, which I always have with two sugars. LOL

Avoiding high-fructose corn syrup is a good idea for anyone, but just because you’ve been diagnosed as diabetic, it doesn’t mean you should avoid sugar. That’s ridiculous and would probably lead to binging, or eating a ton of artificial sweetener, which are really bad for you. Strangely enough switching a little sugar for artificial sweetener doesn’t seem to help your blood sugar at all.  Oh well, I’m gonna go drink my morning cup of tea, which I always have with two sugars. LOL

Avoiding high-fructose corn syrup is a good idea for anyone, but just because you’ve been diagnosed as diabetic, it doesn’t mean you should avoid sugar. That’s ridiculous and would probably lead to binging, or eating a ton of artificial sweetener, which are really bad for you. Strangely enough switching a little sugar for artificial sweetener doesn’t seem to help your blood sugar at all.  Oh well, I’m gonna go drink my morning cup of tea, which I always have with two sugars. LOL

I got to the butcher and he makes the patties for free.  Also, his beef tastes better and is cheaper than the grocery store!

I got to the butcher and he makes the patties for free.  Also, his beef tastes better and is cheaper than the grocery store!

Designer ice cream for 6 dollars a GALLON?   Where?    Most ice cream now is sold in half-gallon containers (well, it used to be half gallons, but they have cut that down by about 1/4).    Most designer ice cream is a lot more than $6 per GALLON.  

ha.. my local grocery store is running hunts spagetti sauce for .77 a can … large size.. all flavors.. you cant beat that..

don’t need to be poor to be health conscious. Time is more available than you think. Just sacrifice a couple hours tv watching time and I bet you can do a little healthy cooking. If you dont like to cook or care about your health, please don’t speak like an ignorant jerk.

Great tip!!

This is a great idea. Just pop the ingredients in the Slow Cooker and let cook all night. Can’t get more convenient than that.

You can put a bay leaf or 2 in the sauce when cooking, and leave out the sugar, gets the same results

I for one are thankful to this article for reminding me that the world is not just about buying expensive-junk food, convenient only if you wish to live fat and die young. I’m happy that we still have the choice to spend a couple of hours on Saturday or Sunday and prepare good stuff to freeze and use later on, cheaper, better stuff. I’m not poor, but I’m still thankful that I am in no obligation to make big companies richer at my expense, thus making the Health System richer too, for every doctor visit I don’t have to make… or any medication I would have to buy by eating the “convenient way”.

Everyone is free to live their lives according to their means and inclinations, but at least admit that this information is good for the growing numbers of people who want to improve their lives and their health, and are as such, willing to spend more time preparing as much as they can from scratch

Just think of all those little bags and how bad they are for the environment.

Honestly, just buy a good filter!  That way you make your tap water good for drinking while putting a stop to the use of all those plastic bottles which are so awful for the environment. That should make everyone happy

The only thing your distiller is telling you is that the water still has minerals in it. It means the Nestle water doesn’t have any minerals. The residue is not dirt, or bacteria… is minerals. Having a healthy amount of minerals in water is not a bad thing.

The only thing your distiller is telling you is that the water still has minerals in it. It means the Nestle water doesn’t have any minerals. The residue is not dirt, or bacteria… is minerals. Having a healthy amount of minerals in water is not a bad thing.

I’m a cook, and I can vouch that oven-roasted tomatoes are delicious, especially using halved Romas.

You are very misinformed

You are very misinformed

That’s why you plan to make it on one of your day’s off.  Start it in the morning, cook extra and freeze it in batches to use at a later date.  You will have better sauce, and it will end up costing you less than half of what you would spend on bottled sauce.  Plus, you have the added benefit of not having all those empty glass bottles cluttering up the landfills (for those states that do not recycle glass…)

Depends on your taste.  We always put carrots into the sauce…and celery, as well.  Tried it once without the carrots and it tasted mediocre.  Luckily, spaghetti sauce recipies are not “right” or “wrong”.  No two people make it exactly the same way…it is always tweeked for taste preference.  That’s what makes it so interesting.  If you’ve never tried it with carrots, give it a shot.  Just might surprise you how much flavor it adds :o)

For families this may be true, but if you are a single male it makes more sense to buy packaged salad. By the time I buy lettuce, dressing, and all the extras I like in a salad it cost way more for me. Given that alot of the “make your own” salad fixin’s spoil or look terrible in a short time I’d throw away more that buying packaged salads.

I think if you make the sandwich yourself it tastes a lot better!!! Some of the premade sandwiches don’t seem to taste very good at all.

If you have a HUGE family, then you SHOULD be preparing your own food and not buying pre-packaged garbage with questionable nutrition and high prices.  Do you really think you aren’t paying anything extra for the packaging all that processed stuff comes in?  Besides…who wouldn’t want to save “ TWO bucks” for each meal!  Let’s see….$2.00 times three meals a day times 30 days a month…..that adds up to $180.00.  Sounds like a bargain to me!  Shop the sales to get good bargains on that “bulk quantity” stuff.  Last night I cooked dinner for 6…stirfried two pounds of diced chicken breasts with 8 ounces sliced mushrooms, 1  onion, 3 shredded carrots, 3 stalks sliced celery, 1 thinly sliced red bell pepper, 1/2 thinly sliced cucumber, soy sauce, cornstarch, 5 green onions, and a splash of cooking sherry and sesame oil, all over rice.  Cost?  $7.00  That workes out to $1.16 per person…for DINNER.  Took me 15- 20 minutes to chop up everything, and 5 minutes to stirfry it. Cleanup?  one cutting board, one knife, one large skillet, one wooden spoon.  I think that is a great bargain.  Try it for a week.  You might just surprise yourself .  Of course, it does take a little effort on your part, but if you have a huge family, try having them help you with the prep work.  If each person chopped one of the ingredients, you could have the prep work done in 5 minutes…and THEY might actually enjoy learning how to cook.    

The “modern world” is a prisoner of Madison Avenue advertising executives brainwashing people (i.e. telling you that sugar-laden “organic” and “natural” cereals are actually “healthy” and good for you when they have more sugar and calories than other popular brands….like Count Chocula –ugh!.  Try shredded wheat or other unsweetened cereals sold in bulk bags in the grocery stores!  Can’t get better than that, and saves a TON of money!) I, for one, would love to go back to the 1950′s…especially if the “modern world” revolves around 6-minute mocrowave meals,  sugar-laden toaster pastries, and over-processed canned veges.  Back in the ’50′s it was wonderful to walk into the house and smell the dinner actually simmering on the stove.  We were healthier, food tasted better, we didn’t have the obesity problem we have now, and when we spent money on food it actually all went toward food and not to some fancy, high-cost advertising-based packaging that hid the truth about what was inside.  Sure…freezing food is convenient – we don’t have to shop every day or two – but I still find buying a few pounds of ground beef on sale, then using it to make my own chili or hamburgers is a lot tastier, healthier and more satisfying than stopping by McDonalds or Burger King!  My vote goes to the 1950′s!  

The “modern world” is a prisoner of Madison Avenue advertising executives brainwashing people (i.e. telling you that sugar-laden “organic” and “natural” cereals are actually “healthy” and good for you when they have more sugar and calories than other popular brands….like Count Chocula –ugh!.  Try shredded wheat or other unsweetened cereals sold in bulk bags in the grocery stores!  Can’t get better than that, and saves a TON of money!) I, for one, would love to go back to the 1950′s…especially if the “modern world” revolves around 6-minute mocrowave meals,  sugar-laden toaster pastries, and over-processed canned veges.  Back in the ’50′s it was wonderful to walk into the house and smell the dinner actually simmering on the stove.  We were healthier, food tasted better, we didn’t have the obesity problem we have now, and when we spent money on food it actually all went toward food and not to some fancy, high-cost advertising-based packaging that hid the truth about what was inside.  Sure…freezing food is convenient – we don’t have to shop every day or two – but I still find buying a few pounds of ground beef on sale, then using it to make my own chili or hamburgers is a lot tastier, healthier and more satisfying than stopping by McDonalds or Burger King!  My vote goes to the 1950′s!  

The “modern world” is a prisoner of Madison Avenue advertising executives brainwashing people (i.e. telling you that sugar-laden “organic” and “natural” cereals are actually “healthy” and good for you when they have more sugar and calories than other popular brands….like Count Chocula –ugh!.  Try shredded wheat or other unsweetened cereals sold in bulk bags in the grocery stores!  Can’t get better than that, and saves a TON of money!) I, for one, would love to go back to the 1950′s…especially if the “modern world” revolves around 6-minute mocrowave meals,  sugar-laden toaster pastries, and over-processed canned veges.  Back in the ’50′s it was wonderful to walk into the house and smell the dinner actually simmering on the stove.  We were healthier, food tasted better, we didn’t have the obesity problem we have now, and when we spent money on food it actually all went toward food and not to some fancy, high-cost advertising-based packaging that hid the truth about what was inside.  Sure…freezing food is convenient – we don’t have to shop every day or two – but I still find buying a few pounds of ground beef on sale, then using it to make my own chili or hamburgers is a lot tastier, healthier and more satisfying than stopping by McDonalds or Burger King!  My vote goes to the 1950′s!  

The “modern world” is a prisoner of Madison Avenue advertising executives brainwashing people (i.e. telling you that sugar-laden “organic” and “natural” cereals are actually “healthy” and good for you when they have more sugar and calories than other popular brands….like Count Chocula –ugh!.  Try shredded wheat or other unsweetened cereals sold in bulk bags in the grocery stores!  Can’t get better than that, and saves a TON of money!) I, for one, would love to go back to the 1950′s…especially if the “modern world” revolves around 6-minute mocrowave meals,  sugar-laden toaster pastries, and over-processed canned veges.  Back in the ’50′s it was wonderful to walk into the house and smell the dinner actually simmering on the stove.  We were healthier, food tasted better, we didn’t have the obesity problem we have now, and when we spent money on food it actually all went toward food and not to some fancy, high-cost advertising-based packaging that hid the truth about what was inside.  Sure…freezing food is convenient – we don’t have to shop every day or two – but I still find buying a few pounds of ground beef on sale, then using it to make my own chili or hamburgers is a lot tastier, healthier and more satisfying than stopping by McDonalds or Burger King!  My vote goes to the 1950′s!  

Then you are using too much grease, and not heating it enough before browning the meat balls.  Besides…as with anything….once you simmer it, it releases the grease.  Just skim it off the top of the sauce before you serve it. 

Sounds delicious!.  I make it almost the same way, but I mix the ground beef and ground sausage together, and add a little marjorum, thyme, parsley and oregano. Never thought of adding the Worcestershire sauce.  (Thanks for the idea – I’ll give that a try.)  I make large balls (about 2-1/2 inches), so I simmer them for around 5-6 hours after I brown them. YUM!  I know what I’m going to fix tomorrow (already have today’s meal planned – LOL) 

I like to make a lunchable myself for my daughter. I get the mini cookie cutters and use them to cut off different shapes of cheese and meat. Then add some Ritz crackers and there you go. It takes a little time but it puts a little personal touch on her lunch.

I like to make a lunchable myself for my daughter. I get the mini cookie cutters and use them to cut off different shapes of cheese and meat. Then add some Ritz crackers and there you go. It takes a little time but it puts a little personal touch on her lunch.

If yOU HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD and YOUR STORE WILL SELL YOU JUST A HANDFUL IF THREE DIFFERENT LETTUCES, DRESSINGS ETC. YOU MAY BE RIGHT BUT FOR THOSE OF US WHO MAY ONLY EAT OR SERVE A GREEN SALAD ONCE TWICE A MONTH AT HOME THERE IS ALOT IOF WASTE.  I RECOMMEND YOU USE THE STORE’S SALAD BAR.

Ah, such a perfect example of the utter stupidity of Yahoo’s writers.  Yes, great idea.  List each point separately so we have to wait for each page to load, which with Yahoo, usually takes about two minutes.  God, please give us back the printed page where writers and journalists actually had some brains and education. These lists are such contrived filler it is beyond belief.   

Gotta tell ya – I made it to item 9.  I cannot handle the ad popup after each and every “page turn” to see the next one.  It takes forever to load and I could not be less interested in “Best You” or “Dave and Busters.”  Thanks, but I guess I’ll have to take my best guess as to the final 6 Foods I should never buy again.  So much for this site.  I won’t be visiting again.

This is all written by a reporter, not a working mom or single parent.  IF YOU HAVE THE TIME, then fine.  But it would be better to never by chips again, and get a good water purifier for your tap.

Why would I need to be poor to want to save money? Or have a huge family?

My husband and I are middle class and don’t have kids yet. We make more and more foods from scratch, because we can get good, nutritious food at a much better price that way. (Not only that, but it’s easier on the environment, in general.) We usually cook enough for three or more meals and freeze extras, which is handy when the unexpected pops up.

It’s gotten to the point that my husband is disappointed if we BUY bread! And once I made homemade ranch dressing–which takes only minutes–he doesn’t want to eat store bought anymore. (My family and his love it, too.)

Spaghetti sauce is next on my list.

Why would I need to be poor to want to save money? Or have a huge family?

My husband and I are middle class and don’t have kids yet. We make more and more foods from scratch, because we can get good, nutritious food at a much better price that way. (Not only that, but it’s easier on the environment, in general.) We usually cook enough for three or more meals and freeze extras, which is handy when the unexpected pops up.

It’s gotten to the point that my husband is disappointed if we BUY bread! And once I made homemade ranch dressing–which takes only minutes–he doesn’t want to eat store bought anymore. (My family and his love it, too.)

Spaghetti sauce is next on my list.

Have you tried making it the traditional way with boiling water? Also, if you like your tea sweet, I recommend sweetening it while it’s still hot!

Have you tried making it the traditional way with boiling water? Also, if you like your tea sweet, I recommend sweetening it while it’s still hot!

“No clue of the modern world”? This is marked as “Dollar Savvy,” and with the current economic troubles across the country, there’s nothing more modern than needing to slash your bills! :)

Besides, why should cooking from scratch be limited to 1950s housewives?

Storing your goods in an airtight container will keep opened foods fresher longer. Cheaper, plus it cuts down on packaging. That usually cuts down on shipping (and petroleum use, too), since they can fit a more goods in a smaller space.

I disagree when it comes to ice cream. Some gourmet brands taste a LOT better than other cheaper brands!!

Yum!   I’ll be over for dinner!   : )

I totally agree. Haagen Dazs is the only ice cream brand that doesnt make me sick. I work hard and if I want to treat myself to a pint of my favorite ice cream every few weeks i deserve it. It might be over priced but its still more than you get at an ice cream shop for less!

Many of the tips you have included in this section are helpful, however frozen vegetables have been proven to have more vitamins and nutritious value than fresh, because many fresh veggies sit around losing those precious minerals and vitamins one desires in them.

Melissa, they mean those stupid gourmet sauced-up veggies that have stuff on them already.  Regular frozen veggies *are* good, but the fancy frozen veggie meal things with the sauce are horrid.

Re: popsicle molds:  Go ahead and spend the extra money and get a Tupperware set.  (No, I don’t sell it.)  You don’t know whether the dollar-store molds have BPA in them, and many dollar-store popsicle molds are poorly designed.  Plastic sticks will slide right out of the finished popsicles and leave them in the molds.  It is profoundly annoying, especially if you have a bunch of kids hopping up and down waiting for you to give them theirs on a hot day.  The Tupperware popsicle sticks have holes through them so that the popsicle solution will freeze through the sticks.  Unless the ones you find in the dollar store are designed like that, don’t waste your money.

If you’re going to buy premade, you do get what you pay for.  But the best way to tell is to read the ingredients list, don’t just go for the price tag.  Breyer’s is usually really good too.

Or you could, I dunno, update your browser because all the new versions have popup blockers.

Bring it.  My mental health is so much better since I started eating more animal fat.

Have you taken a good look at what you’re spending per pound for that shredded wheat?  Total waste of money and it is NOT good for you.  If you want the 1950s, go back to bacon and eggs.

It’s possible to get a patty mold for the purpose, too.  I find I have better luck with those than with forming the patties myself–for some reason I can never get it to cook right.

The worst part about the nursery water is it’s laced with fluoride.  They are actually finding increased rates of dental fluorosis now (fluoride overdose permanently scarring tooth enamel) since people started buying that garbage.

What else would you do with that hour?  Watch “America’s Top Model”?

Yes, actually, being diabetic DOES mean you should avoid sugar.  Since sugar is what you are having trouble processing, and since it’s the sugar that causes the foot loss and the kidney loss and the blindness later in life.

Avoid starches too.  They turn into sugar almost instantly in the body.

I’m not diabetic yet and there’s a reason for that.  I recognized that I was suffering symptoms of metabolic syndrome.  My  mother was diagnosed with type 2 at age forty and I’m three years away from that age.  I would like to buy myself some time.  And as someone who actually experimented and didn’t just believe what the grain-eating, evaporated-cane-juice-swilling health nuts had to say, I can say with some authority that Splenda is a LOT easier on my body than sugar is.  Tastes just fine, too.

If you want to avoid binging, switch over to a low-carb, moderate-protein, high-fat diet.  The fat will both satisfy you and blunt blood-sugar responses.  Allow for an adjustment period of anywhere between a few days and a few months, but after that you should feel fine.

Yes, actually, being diabetic DOES mean you should avoid sugar.  Since sugar is what you are having trouble processing, and since it’s the sugar that causes the foot loss and the kidney loss and the blindness later in life.

Avoid starches too.  They turn into sugar almost instantly in the body.

I’m not diabetic yet and there’s a reason for that.  I recognized that I was suffering symptoms of metabolic syndrome.  My  mother was diagnosed with type 2 at age forty and I’m three years away from that age.  I would like to buy myself some time.  And as someone who actually experimented and didn’t just believe what the grain-eating, evaporated-cane-juice-swilling health nuts had to say, I can say with some authority that Splenda is a LOT easier on my body than sugar is.  Tastes just fine, too.

If you want to avoid binging, switch over to a low-carb, moderate-protein, high-fat diet.  The fat will both satisfy you and blunt blood-sugar responses.  Allow for an adjustment period of anywhere between a few days and a few months, but after that you should feel fine.

Try cooking the sauce in a slow cooker.  But I agree, I’d rather make something like beef stew.  (Which can also be cooked in a slow cooker.)

Try cooking the sauce in a slow cooker.  But I agree, I’d rather make something like beef stew.  (Which can also be cooked in a slow cooker.)

I found a *Brita pitcher* at Goodwill.  I think it was less than five bucks.  I just buy the filters now.  Look for sales on them, sometimes Target will have a gift card attached to the sale.  Also, Whole Foods accepts the filters for recycling.

There is no cholesterol in nuts.  They are a plant food.  HDL and LDL are lipoproteins that carry cholesterol.  They’re not in nuts either.

The *very* best way to consume nuts is soaked in salt water overnight and then slowly dehydrated in a low-temp oven or in a dehydrator.  Nuts are seeds and all seeds have enzymes that mess with digestion; soaking shuts them off.

There is no cholesterol in nuts.  They are a plant food.  HDL and LDL are lipoproteins that carry cholesterol.  They’re not in nuts either.

The *very* best way to consume nuts is soaked in salt water overnight and then slowly dehydrated in a low-temp oven or in a dehydrator.  Nuts are seeds and all seeds have enzymes that mess with digestion; soaking shuts them off.

Oh and as for homemade stuff, look into getting a Donvier pot for ice cream.  I use one and it’s awesome–it only takes a few minutes to make the ice cream!  Found it at Goodwill but I can’t imagine they’re that expensive.  There are no electrical parts.

We have a well and our well water filtration system adds quite a bit of salt to the water. We bought a home distiller many years ago. A great alternative to jugs of distilled water.

We have a well and our well water filtration system adds quite a bit of salt to the water. We bought a home distiller many years ago. A great alternative to jugs of distilled water.

By homemade ranch, I’m guessing that you added a package of ranch dressing to mayonnaise and milk. You’re right, it does taste much better but its the package that is in question.

By homemade ranch, I’m guessing that you added a package of ranch dressing to mayonnaise and milk. You’re right, it does taste much better but its the package that is in question.

Thank god some one else cooks and thinks like me. And if you can make good sauce…you don’t call it sauce! IT’S GRAVY! In ole country!

BunBunzz

an important point here.   The reason for commercial pasta sauces is it takes only 5 minutes to heat up.   This recipe according to the directions takes 2 hours.

But…this is real life!  You’ve got two overworked, stressed adults coming off hectic days at work, two tired children picked up from an after school program or daycare, dinner, homework, some quality time together, baths, stories, bed, clean up the kitchen, probably throw a load of laundry in.  Come on!  Grab the jar of tomato sauce, sweetie, and don’t think twice. I was a stay at home Mom…so not an option for my daughters or most women these days.  You’re juggling the world these days, so give yourselves lots of slack!

Hey, to each his own…….

#16  Mystery meat.  I never buy ANY kind of ground meat.  What is in it?  Where did it come from?  Leftover trimmings.  Old roasts.  Why anyone would buy that mush is beyond me.  I have a nice roast ground up for me and know what’s in it.  And yes, I watch the butcher do it so there are no tricks.  Trust no one.  

We have so many choices these day.  For me an older person (76) it is mind boggling.  It used to be when you went grocery shopping you didn’t have so many choices.  For example: if I wanted a can of sliced peaches there might have been two brands. Now there are six or seven brands, plus if you want them in their own juice, sugar free, or thick syrup, etc.   Everything choice is a big production. Now I read that you should not buy foods in cans because they are plastic lined.  If you don’t want a plastic lined can then you have to pay extra for a regular one.  Where does it end?  It’s almost as if I don’t want to eat anything.

Research is slowly but surely proving that poor health and serious illness are the result of what one eats.
A famous doctor at the Cleveland Clinic, Essellstyn advises never to buy packaged foods, avoid salt like the plague, don’t eat anything that has a face….meat, fish, chicken.  These industries fill their products with
antibiotics, growth hormones, and a host of other synthetics that people should not ingest.  Shun those
cinnamon rolls, pie, cake, all FRIED FOODS, chips, pretzels, on and on.  Load up on friuit, lots of fruit, vegetables, greens, lots of fruit, lots of fruit, lots of fruit.  It is not easy, but along with exercise, you can
a healthy, lean, happy individual.   The Doctor has just released a documentary film, “FORKS OVER KNIVES”. Watch for it in the entertainment section of your paper!!!  Follow his diet and exercise regime and you will be a much happier and healthier person.

please understand that these tips are not for anyone.
I always prided myself on cooking and preparing everything from scratch.  Now I am disabled, standing more than 1 min. causes excrutiating pain. And so, to my disappointment but great relief I find myself looking for pre-combined and prepared foods – not without the knowledge that I am spending more but grateful for not having to stand, even a minute longer..
Please be tolerant of the disabled – people who can read labels for nutrition but must make choices for their particular needs.

Italian sauce without the bay leaf additive, is not great sauce.
It is my favorite spice for a delicious plate of “spaghetti.
NO NO sugsr!

Italian sauce without the bay leaf additive, is not great sauce.
It is my favorite spice for a delicious plate of “spaghetti.
NO NO sugsr!

You are right!  Italian Gravy, not sauce…..I forgot!!
……. cuz I’m not Italian……..  :-(

You are right!  Italian Gravy, not sauce…..I forgot!!
……. cuz I’m not Italian……..  :-(

Either The Doctors or The Doctor Oz Show(forgot which show) stated that frozen or canned vegetables or fruit are better for you than fresh, because the fresh food is picked far earlier than the frozen or canned.
However, I have to add to that, that I prefer canned and frozen fruits and vegetables that are salt free.

In my opinion, carrots are great in a tomato based beef stew, not Spaghetti Gravy (sauce).  :-)

Smart girl!

Most people feel they are too busy to cook from scratch. With a little planning you can cook much better food, better tasting and better for you. Get your priorities straight people, with out good health what do you really have?

Yeah. I’ll remember your stellar advice to always drink tap water when our water becomes, according to health officials, undrinkable some time in the next two weeks due to Missouri River flooding impacting the water treatment facility. Bottled water serves a purpose and we can never completely get rid of it. 

I agree with you Amy.  Every time my husband or I drink water from the tap we get urgent diarrhea.  It also leaves a black sediment in the toilets and any where else that it sits for a while.  We had it tested and it has a high concentration of manganese in it and that is what is causing all our problems.  We are in the process of getting a whole house filter for the water, but in the meantime only drink bottled water and I filter the water before I cook with it.
The water company sends out a report once a year.  This report states on it that the bacteria levels are within normal range for healthy people.  Then in small print it says that infants, the elderly, and people with lowered immunity should not drink the water because the bacteria might make them sick.  Pretty  bad when even the people selling the water tell you not to drink it.

I agree with you Amy.  Every time my husband or I drink water from the tap we get urgent diarrhea.  It also leaves a black sediment in the toilets and any where else that it sits for a while.  We had it tested and it has a high concentration of manganese in it and that is what is causing all our problems.  We are in the process of getting a whole house filter for the water, but in the meantime only drink bottled water and I filter the water before I cook with it.
The water company sends out a report once a year.  This report states on it that the bacteria levels are within normal range for healthy people.  Then in small print it says that infants, the elderly, and people with lowered immunity should not drink the water because the bacteria might make them sick.  Pretty  bad when even the people selling the water tell you not to drink it.

YOU are misinformed. Bottled water is often taken from “municipal” water sources.. in other words from the faucet of a factory which they bottle and ship to YOU. Filtered water that hasn’t gone through several cycles of getting hot in a plastic bottle (ever heard of BPA? yeah that’s GOOD for ya’) is much better for you and the environment. Thirty years ago you rarely saw people drinking bottled water and yet we managed to stay hydrated in 100 degree weather.  Amazing that what IS a simple convenience  has become something people believe they can’t live without.  Get a water filter for your sinks and cup to carry it in and I promise … your world won’t stop turning. You might not look as cool as your buddy with his “designer” water and that’s all this is really about isn’t it?  If all you want is safe, good tasting water there are alternatives to water in plastic bottles. 

This is the only one on the list I didn’t agree with, for reasons mentioned by other posters here.  I get what’s on sale and add my own fresh onion garlic and basil, or simply get some Paul Newman Sockarooni- proceeds go to charity.

yes…. you’re acting 75.  it’s never too late to adopt some new healthier habits

yes…. you’re acting 75.  it’s never too late to adopt some new healthier habits

 Wow, you sound like a complete ignoramus.  Good luck with that.

its all about priorities. Just how important is it to grow your own produce and cook together at home. My kids are young and soon they will have their own lives so I enjoy them as much as I can now and they learn by what we do. 

I found nothing helpful, it’s all common sense stuff. If you haven’t read it already, please don’t bother.

Frankly, I don’t agree with these findings completely. I don’t pay anywhere near the prices listed by shopping smart and using coupons. Plus, we use pre-made burgers because they don’t fall apart on the grill, and my teenage son can make a quick lunch or dinner meal without having to work with the meat, and make a mess. All of these products are not necessary, but some times saving a few minutes time is totally worth it,,,at least in the world that I work in.

Turn on your popup blocker!!!!

I think the #1 thing you should NEVER buy is jars of baby food!  $0.75 for 4 ounces of ground up green beans is CRAZY!  I would buy fresh or frozen fruits and veggies, cook them until they are a bit mushy, and grind them up in a food processor with enough of the cooking water for the right consistency.  Then I would freeze them in an ice cube tray, and pop them into a ziplock baggie when they were frozen, and label the bag.  When the babies got a little older, I’d add some oatmeal, brown rice or whole grain pasta to the mix.  Waaay cheaper and tastier than the Gerber stuff!!

Most of the stuff here makes sense, and actually I never bought most of this in the first place. But to take the time to make pasta sauce and trail mix, really? If you guys want to save a dollar or two every now and then by making your own sauces, by all means go right ahead. I buy 99 cent cans of sauce, I can buy Ragu for about a buck and a half at Winco, and I like it, as well or even better than ANY homemade, restaurant made or other wise sauce. I’m sure not going to spend my time in the kitchen making it from scratch. Cannot convince me it is any better.
I will concur that many of the premade “gourmet” sauces are priced pretty high, and I think they are terrible tasting compared to the cheap stuff! So if you have been buying the pricey awful tasting stuff, making your own sauce might indeed be a smart thing to do.

All of these suggestions are great when you have the time to do them, but I HAVE to keep some of the quick prepare things on hand because we both work and our kids play competitive sports, and are very involved in church youth group and fine arts activities. I don’t always have the luxery of time that it takes to do everything from scratch.

oops! that’s LUXURY not luxery!

I buy Hunts Roasted Herb and Garlic Spag. Sauce for under $1 a can

I can’t agree with #13.  Home made Cherry Garcia?  I think not.

Boiling tap water to get rid of chlorine etc isn’t such a good idea.  The water may taste better but
you will be breathing chlorine.

Boiling tap water to get rid of chlorine etc isn’t such a good idea.  The water may taste better but
you will be breathing chlorine.

Just put the stuff in the crock pot and it can cook away while you’re at work. For that matter, you can do that with a ton of meals. Crock pots win!

This whole article is ridiculous. I have priced out many of these things and it is cheaper to buy the things the writer doesn’t like. The writer doesn’t consider time or the fact that to things like spices go bad and each spice found, for instance, in a spice mix, is expensive. Wouldn’t it be nice if we all had the time and money to make everything by hand? Oh wait, I will just higher me a cook while I am it. Seriously stupid article

Meant HIRE

Ragu is disgusting

lol I don’t think is a rich vs poor thing. I think its more a matter of wanting to know whats going into what you are eating. I make plenty of money but refuse to buy premade products because to me they never taste as good as making the same things from scratch. As for spaghetti sauces there are lots of sauces options that don’t take hours to make. I simply dice up some fresh tomatoes and saute them with garlic, onions, fresh veggies, and some fresh herbs then toss with pasta. I then have a wonderful and healthy simple pasta meal that takes maybe 15 minutes to cook.

Whatever crap you’re putting on your nnThings … pages that lock up IE when using tabbed browsing have convinced me to never access such pages in the future.  I suspect this is true for many others as well.  Hope your advertisers appreciate the reduced hits resulting from your poor programming.

I make my own everything,  It still cost a lot for groceries.  Articles make it sound like produce is reasonable.  Mid summer and tomatoes are over $2/lb. Yet I find that the dollar store has a can of Hunts spaghetti sauce and I just add browned meat, wine and mushrooms for a designer-type pasta meal. 

What I get from this article is that one should not buy “gourmet” or single serving packs of food or frozen meat patties. 

I never buy tomato sauce or iced  tea;  its so easy to make my own.  I have a great recipe for marinara sauce using fresh or canned tomatoes that takes about 20 mnutes to cook.   I also have a recipe for mac and cheese that takes about ten minutes;  as long as it takes to boil the macaroni.  

I never buy bottled water;  I have a pitcher that has a filter.  A full pitcher is the amount of water that I need to drink daily.  I keep it in the fridge and add a slice of lemon when I drink a glass.

Good home made food is about family it takes a long time to cook and a long time to sit and eat it is suposed to be the time the family has to talk if you rush a meal that takes a few hours to make it is disrespectful to the cook. I am 40 and we try to keep this tradition even with the  busy schedules we have. We all need time away from tv  video games cellphones computers etc. Mabye there is not enough time to cook a 2 hour meal but at least sit at a table without electronic devices for 30 minutes a few times a week parents would know a little about thier kids.  Tomato sauce  Italian americans say sauce and macaroni no matter what type of pasta is easy 3-4 cans of whole peeled plum tomatos crushed in a blender  1/2 onion chopped small  oil to coat bottom of pot a little salt pepper. simmer the onion in oil till transparent add the rest and simmer on low 2 hours so good you can drink it. Garlic makes the sauce bitter. Meat sauce just brown sausage or a small pc of beef or pork or some ribs or all and add it with the tomatos simmer 2-3 hours good stuff !!! Its still not gravy whatever you call it try so spend time with your family call it Dinner time.

I buy prepackaged salad because it’s cheaper than buying lettce(s), cabbage, and carrots separately.

My mom always used sweet onions instead of sugar…It’s a little secret that makes the sauce soooo sweet and good!

Indian housewife know and implement them all !!

I don’t do any of the above except for the spaghetti sauce – that’s a time thing for me. It’s very easy to warm up jarred sauce – add a few mushrooms and spices, cook spaghetti and serve – voila, dinner in a 1/2 hour or less. Also some of us don’t have chest freezers or lots of storage space (and canning supplies to keep sauce fresh if storing it in a cupboard) to make up jars of sauce ahead of time and store it! I can’t see myself making sauce from scratch every time I want to have pasta for dinner – otherwise I’d be eating at 10 at night!

Great tips.  But you don’t take the time saving aspects into consideration Time is money, too, and making tomato sauce is a 15-20 minute deal under the best of circumstances, and sometimes there is just not enough time.  Ditto for a lot of your other suggestions.

You’re call Bren, but I highly recommend looking into a water cooler and a BPA-free reusable bottle. I don’t remember what I paid for my water cooler but the one at work was bought used for like 15. It has a 5 gallon water jug that we refill for 39 cents a gallon. Also, there are generally a ton of water fountains that have clean water for you to refill your bottle.

 The water bottle itself was 2 for 9 on amazon, brand is SGS. I found another two through Woot, for abrand called Eco Canteen. Either way, this is much cheaper than bottled water, which the majority of bottled water itself is from public sources and not distilled. I hope this helps because I recommend not using bottled water.

If you have a ton of water bottles, I would recommend putting some in your car. There are times when I see a homeless man panhandling for change, and I will hand them a bottle of water if I have one.

Not to mention the fat in salad mixed is really high!

im 12 years old i weigh 119.1 lbs HELPPP

We do what is convenient.  And why shouldn’t we?  If you dont like to cook or bake most of this was not meant for you.  If you can open a bag of chips and not eat the whole thing Good For You.  My whole family drinks bottle water, we have a well and its easier that way.  My kids have always made their own popsicles.  I occasionally make my own sauce, its not always cheaper. I buy premade ground beef patties, some nights My husband has to cook. I am the only salad eaterin my home,  its $1.00 at my grocer to buy a premade bag. I bake my own cookies and cakes, make my own cheddar biscuits, my own jellies, sweet tea with lipton tea bags, and cook a homemade meal 6 nights a week.     Ita all a matter of convenience.

Making meals from scratch is good if you can afford all the ingredients. Remember, Pasta is a side dish for Italians. Though many eat it everyday they do not become fat from it as it is not the main course of the meal.

Bottled water: check with your water provider to see just what chemicals are in the water and at what amounts, some such as fluoride can do a lot of damage to your body if it is excessively high, children with teeth that look like they do not brush with marks on them are usually getting too high a dose of fluoride to the effect that it is poisoning them. Not all water filters take out all chemicals.

grab a handful of tomatoes and herbs from the garden, or window box container (whatever you use – topsy turvy even?) rough chop – toss in butter, fresh ground pepper and garlic; when almost done, (no more than 5 mins) splash in a little olive oil and balsamic, toss in the pasta, olives, shrimp, chunks of chicken or what have you, shave in some romano, y ecco! mangia!  Who needs jar sauce??

Anything I can make at home, I do – it’s cheaper, tastes better, saves on gas, and I don’t have to deal with down town.  I make artisan bread  – it’s so fast, so easy – smoothies, popsicles and pupsicles from homemade yoghurt. Yes, I use a starter, so plenty of probiotics, steralise the container, use a thermometer – safe and good – to me, the best fast food on the go is a banana, it even comes in its own handy dandy pre packaged single serving size.

When you think about it, going to the grocery store and buying popsicles or ready made sandwiches isn’t a waste of money because it’s the convenience that us consumers are paying for.

I like these tips. My family knows  nothing but pre-formed, quick and easy food.  And it’s just nice to know that fresh food is better for your health and your wallet.

no people have just became lazy and want to do things the quickest way possible ex. look what McDonald has done to america and is trying to do to the rest of the world. obesity is the biggest health factor in america and it is largely due to McDonald and other fast food chains that made us all lazy and not want to cook good healthy meals the next would be your local grocer who stocks everything with preservatives and little whole healthy foods

there is no way you can buy good ground beef. it’s impossible they load it with fat and other fillers to make money. recently my girl’s sister in law gave us 1 pound packages of ground beef from a cow that she had slaughtered and froze and that one pound was double the amount of any 90%lean ground beef you can buy in any market. supermarkets are always ripping you off but there’s nothing that can be done about it unless we complain. oh yea they also fill it with dyes to make it look fresher when it is ready to expire. watch out for sales on ground beef. your better off buying the steak you want and have it ground right in front of you. i guarantee it will be the best ground beef you have ever eaten.

60 minutes did a report on bottled water about 10 – 15 years ago with lab tests showing trace amounts of arsenic and Trichloroethane (witch both are carcinogenic) which they use to filter the water. they package the bottle saying natural spring water but yet they filter it which takes it out of it’s natural state. sounds like false advertisement to me and these companies are making billions off of us consumers. tap water is fine and if you let it set for 24 hours all the impurities will settle to the bottom leaving you with pure water

cooking with aluminium is a bad idea. it is linked to Alzheimer disease

Here is a great, easy recipe for beef dip sandwiches. Get a brisket or tri-tip and put it in the crockpot with 1 package of lipton onion soup and a can of beef broth. Cook until the meat just peels away easily, probably 5-6 hrs on high, or 7-8 hrs on low. Toast some good rolls, layer on the beef and top with a good cheese like Swiss or provolone. Use the juice that’s left in the crock pot for au jus dip. Believe me, your family will LOVE IT.

I’m not a fan of sweet sauce. I like it zesty! Bay leaf, oregano, tiniest bit of basil, rosemary, and a dash of crushed red pepper.

Yep! Fat has gotten a bad rap. 

Cheap ice-cream tastes cheap. Expensive, 6-dollars-a-tub ice-cream tastes like expensive, 6-dollars-a-tub ice-cream. In that case, at least, you do in fact get what you pay for.

And adding chocolate chips and fudge to cheap ice-cream just makes it taste more sickly sweet.

You’re blaming McDonald’s for obesity? That seems like a very unintelligent statement to make since I’m pretty sure no one is forcing people to go there.

You’re blaming McDonald’s for obesity? That seems like a very unintelligent statement to make since I’m pretty sure no one is forcing people to go there.

Delicioso is not an Italian word. Try delizioso or squisito instead.

You DO know what’s in it. It’s beef. From a steer. There’s this group called the FDA, and all these laws dealing with food packaging and labeling.  If you buy ‘ground chuck’ — then it’s chuck.  If the package says ‘ground sirloin’ it’s from the sirloin. If it says ’90%’ fat, that’s how much fat will be in it. Now …. if it just says ‘ground beef’ it WILL be higher in fat … because the law says it can be. (70%, I think), but it’s still beef,  and if comes from meat trimmed off a roast …. who cares? It’s beef, and it still tastes the same. (I usually buy the sirloin when I buy hamburg, because I don’t like draining off all the wste fats from the pan. It costs more per pound, but works out the same per edible ounce.)

Except that you CAN make your own from (almost) scratch in the same time.  Sure, it tastes a little better to let it ssimmer for a few hours (while you’re doing something else), but I’ve often made pasta sauce from canned tomatoes in the time it takes to cook the pasta. (Brown a package of ground turkey. While it’s browning, fill your water pot and set to boil.  Open a can of ordinary canned tomato sauce. Give the turkey a stir. Add to the top of your open can some oregano, basil, pepper, garlic powder, (or you use fresh garlic set to brown with the meat if you have an extra 30 seconds), and thyme. (No salt — there’s already salt in the tomatoes.) Meat should be browned by now. Dump in tomatoes and seasonings, stir, cover, turn down, go do something else for 5 minutes. Water should be boiling. Add pasta, check sauce. If it’s a little thin , add a squirt of tomato paste from the open tube in teh fridge.Stir.  Set table. Drain pasta. Serve. Eat. Enjoy.
I’ve tried several brands of jarred pasta sauce when they’ve been on sale. The only one I’ve EVER bought more than once has been Barilla’s fresh garlic sauce, which is indeeed very good and handy for odd moments.  But if I’m making spagetti for dinner, I make my own sauce.

They left out the most important tip — Never buy ANYTHING that isn’t on sale. With VERY few exceptions, it’s possible to stock your freezer/pantry with things that are on sale … and they’ll hold you until the next sale cycle roles around. And plan your weekly menus around what’s on sale or already in the freezer.  Sure, we all need milk every week, and you may not realize that  your kid ate the last 3 eggs for lunch — but especially if you’re flexible about brands, you should NEVER have to pay full price for anything in a can or anything that can be frozen. And pasta, flour, sweets, fresh produce, rice — SOMETHING is always on sale, if not this week, then next week. And check the day-old baked goods rack, and the discount meat that’s close to its sell-by date.  I’ve picked up a gallon of milk for 25 cents when it was 2-3 days from expiration — our family will drink it up LONG before it goes bad.

I agree. Spaghetti is my fast dinner option and Hunts no sugar added or the chunky veg. is well worth the cost and time it saves.

How do you make the peanut butter I would love you to share this with me. Thank you ymsolis@att.net

First of all you have not tasted my tap water to tell me it taste the same or better. Second, I’m not concerned about fossil fuels and plastic bottles. Third, we recycle all our plastic.Forth, because we drink better tasting water we drink more of it which is better for our health which more than off sets the costs of bottled water.

What idiotic advice.  The idea that because the unit cost is much higher for smaller servings, therefore you should always scale up (which really is the reoccurring theme here) as a foundation for advice is poor.  Ironically, the article was probably written by the same people who caution you that Costco/Sam Clubs are not as good value as you seem.  Yes, you can lower you unit cost if you scale up (and DYI means you will be scaling up), but if that leads to either waste or increased consumption (or as I like to  say “leads to waist”), then you will fail to realize the savings you think you are getting.  Surely there are times when it makes sense, but to suggest “never again” is idiotic.  Maybe an article teaching people how to differentiate between when it is and is not appropriate instead.

I totally agree you with……. Nothing like home made sauce! I also make enough to put in the freezer for another day….. Also I do the same with lasagna , pulled pork and etc….. I have a full freezer from doing just that have dinner in a jiff, especially when you had a tiring day and don’t want to cook….
P.S . I also make my own bread a couple days a week…. I refuse to pay 2.00 to 3.00 dollars a loaf ….. totally rediculous!! now a days you need to be self sufficient because prices are not going to get any better….. I always by my meat on sale… Never pay full price…..

I am not quite sure of the canned vegetables are better than fresh…. We grow our vegetables in the garden… No perservatives and etc……. We blanch them and freeze them for the winter…… I just finished making 15 pints of pickled beets and it cost me a bag of seed for 1.00 dollar…. I already had the jars and etc  …… I have lettuce, tomatoes, peas, carrots, spinach, cucumbers , oregno, parsley, chives , acorn squash… All ready to go…. I will can the tomatoes, freeze the peas and carrots, spinach….. very tasty during the winter months…. and will not have to buy any of those awful imported tomatoes…. that are never tasty or ripe…..I also froze peaches, blueberries and strawberries for the winter.

I save as much as I can….. two bucks is two bucks….. add it all up and it totals quite a lot…. But I sure you were not taught how to budget, or you just got lots of two bucks…….. and like to squander it ….. so be it…. your choice….. not to smart. but your choice.

If you have a meat grinder you can also grind your own from part chuck and part sirlion….. great hamburger …. Especially when you buy the chuck and sirlion on sale…..

good tips will keep them all in mind when I go to the store

At what point does personal accountability enter into the picture? There are many people out there who make healthy food choices and don’t eat fast food or eat it in moderation. How can you blame fast food restaurants for offering people an option that they can easily not choose?

At what point does personal accountability enter into the picture? There are many people out there who make healthy food choices and don’t eat fast food or eat it in moderation. How can you blame fast food restaurants for offering people an option that they can easily not choose?

FRESH FOOD  IS STILL THE BEST….SO MAKED ONE NOW…M/

Strange thing about Nestle water. I cannot STAND THE TASTE of that mess.

I have filtered water (Brita), and I can still taste whatever it is that makes it nasty. I’ve changed the filter a number of times, washed the pitcher…nothing helps. So we drink jugs and bottled water only.

As a Chef some of you are right and others aren’t so far off the mark. A few years back i was at a local college showing some students how to correctly finish off a sauce with butter, when I put the butter in the pan this young girl screamed so loud that she alerted the Executive Chef and campus security who was on the other side in the cafeteria. What did this child scream about , I put butter in the sauce, wow talk about a wierd reaction.
I asked the child to stay after class with some of her friends and anyone else that was interested, I gathered the around one of the prep tables  and proceeded to the top of the table with all the ingredients that are used to make margarine, we didn’t have the stabilized, proper food coloring, flavoring, the young lady and her friends were shocked, to see the artificial food they were ingesting.

The problem is parents DO NOT know how to cook and every one uses the EXCUSE of TIME, neither of which hold any valid reason or justification.

We are social animals, we are influenced by peers, by flashing lights, by impulse, by odors. Your holier than thou attitude serves no one. 

 I once tried to eat nothing with HFCS for  a month, it is in so many things I eat that, other than work(i work over 60 hours a week), i spent most of my waking hours finding a balanced diet that would sustain me! 
 We count on our society NOT to purposely put us or our health in jeopardy. And to even think advertising does not influence is moronic to the extreme! Why would anyone advertise if it did not, in effect, hypnotize the masses to make poor choices? It would be a colossal waste of money, and stockholders won’t stand for that.  
 

useful tip !!

Really! Why waste money on packaged junk when you can make fresh at home for almost nothing? Salad dressing is something I’ve always made – oil (olive or Canola) vinegar (so many options – Balsamic, Cider, Rice, white, Wine, etc…) mustard (yellow works but Dijon is the usual at my house) a shot of tabasco or hot sauce, maybe a pinch of sugar (depends on the vinegar & the salad items). Maybe lemon or orange juice too. All items on hand and reletively cheap since you only use a little at a time. I make it right in the salad bowl and that’s it. Took me longer to type this than to make dressing. I don’t do this to save money but I do save money and I don’t have all that processed dressing wasting space in the fridge.

Red sauce is simple too-any recipe here works but I buy a box of tomatoes at a farm stand and make 2 batches, one veggie (just basil and garlic) and one meat (usually spareribs for the flavor and thickening). It takes an afternoon in the early fall and we freeze it in meal size containers. Many meals for a year and it can be used in so many ways.

i am not listening to this:(

I usually make my pasta sauce on the stove top, but the best one I have ever made was from the giant crushed tomatoes can I got from Sam’s club, put it to the slow cooker with spices on low…. Then froze the single portions.

He used McDonalds because they have been around the longest and are most popular.  However, YES people have become lazy and just want to eat fast and the fast foods are the worst for obesety.  It is certainly not unintelligent to say this.

Does the author of this article think we are all complete morons?  Bagged salad kits are more expensive than making a salad from scratch, and the per unit cost of individual size bags of chips are higher than buying a big bag?  Is there anyone who doesn’t know this already??  It’s call convenience!!  Those of us who work 60 hours a week don’t have time to toast our own croutons.  We know we’re paying more for the salad kit, and we DON’T CARE!!  I can’t believe I wasted my time reading this. My 8 year old could have come to the same conclusion.

Put a white potato in the sauce while it cooks, takes all the acid out and you don’t have to add sugar

Put a white potato in the sauce while it cooks, takes all the acid out and you don’t have to add sugar

I think they missed the point of why these items exist.  Who cans anything.  Average in the time it takes to “cook down” the liquid in tomatoes and I think the canned prepacked version comes close when youthink how long that burner is on to make the sauce.  Also if you don’t properly seal the can and what a waste when it goes bad.  Don’t get me wrong I have canned before but the point the whole reason these things exist is choice.

I think they missed the point of why these items exist.  Who cans anything.  Average in the time it takes to “cook down” the liquid in tomatoes and I think the canned prepacked version comes close when youthink how long that burner is on to make the sauce.  Also if you don’t properly seal the can and what a waste when it goes bad.  Don’t get me wrong I have canned before but the point the whole reason these things exist is choice.

I don’t know about the rest of the world but after a 60 hr work week, if it wasn’t for convenience meals, probably wouldn’t eat.

awesome! thnx 4 the tip

How would the US economy  will improve if people stop buing the products mentioned

I have been seen same fast food places that, even sale the skin of the chichen for lower prices. that is one of the reason that people are getting fat. the skin of the chicken it’s the worst. even do a lot of people loved. my husband liked it, but when I cook I prefered to remove all the fatty skin from the chicken or meat. my diet and my family health are the number one, when I have to cook for them. And since I started to stay awey from fast food I lost almost twelve pounds, I only have to watch what I eat.

I think Kateirni means the fresh vegetables at the grocery store. Frozen and canned stuff are usually quick processed the day they’re picked, while vegetables for the store have to picked early and not ripe so they aren’t spoiled when they get to the store. Not everyone has a garden, although it’s easier to get stuff at farmer’s markets in many places now. My problem is that there aren’t many things at the farmer’s market, even in season, that are cheaper or even the same price as at the store. I can’t afford $6 for a half dozen eggs when they’re less $1 at the store.

It is not just the cost of eating out, there are other concerns. We used to have the occasional hamburger/cheese burger in a one of the better fast food outfits. We did not visit this establishment for several months. When we returned we found the quality of the food below standard and the Hamburger flipper was badly dressed, worn out shoes and his appearance in less than acceptable fashion. 
We visited a famous restaurant in the Hawaiian Islands almost daily for several months. One day by using their washroom I seen one of their cooks coming out of the stalls and going back to the Kitchen without washing his hands. That was disgusting. Since than we are very careful in the selection of a restaurant. In fact, we prefer to eat at home. We know what we are getting. I would suggest, if you think of eating in a restaurant, visit their washroom first, if it is not clean, don’t walk , run away.
While we ourselves do not eat in fast food restaurants, we are amazed how many people do not even have the time to eat this questionable food within the facility, they use the drive by facilities. That tells a lot about the laziness of the public. 

First, what does your nationality have to do with anything.  Second, “know and implement” all what?  Please, if you’re trying to make a point, make it comprehensible!

Just think what you could accomplish if you could actually communicate intelligently!

What a wonderful idea!

I don’t understand why people have to be so negative and hateful towards one another.  Alot of people get alot of enjoyment out of spending time cooking and its whatever floats your boat :)

It is better to not response in like manner or you just lower yourself to that persons level.  Just consider their ignorance and let it go.

Yea!  I agree with you.  I found most of the 13 …. column is just “common sense” except I guess sense doesn’t seem to be that common any more :)

Please tell me what brand you bought and where?

You forgot the 5 gal commercial jugs that can also be refilled @ .about .30 cents a gallon. And when the jugs are no longer serviceable the bottoms can be cut off and then used as mini green houses for tender plants in the spring. The caps can be removed on warm days and replaced when it is colder.

I observed this Italian priest who was known as an excellent cook, make a tomato sauce:  He used a mini processor and put in a peeled carrot, one celery stalk, 1.2 yellow onion, blend it into smaller chunks.  He then add it to canned tomatoes. To it he added a bay leaf, salt & pepper…no sugar needed… the carrot cut the acidity.
He then took a package of stew meat (still in whole chunks) &  added this,   He cooked ALL ingredients from a COLD start in olive oil slowly stirring all for a few minutes before purring the lid on it and cooking it for an hour or so in a stainless steel pressure cooker.  Sometimes he added a cup of red wine.  When this wonderful Comboni priest left for the African missions he gave me the twin to the Italian stainless pressure cooker.
I get tears in my eyes thinking of this wonderful priest who only recently died.  A true treasure as a pastor and skilled cook who showed his love thru his culinary skills. 
P.S. His sister who lived in Italy baked this same recipe in the oven in a heavy ceramic bowl with lid.
Before getting my Italian stainless pressure cooker I used a heavy 4 quart pot like Martha Stewart sells.

I observed this Italian priest who was known as an excellent cook, make a tomato sauce:  He used a mini processor and put in a peeled carrot, one celery stalk, 1.2 yellow onion, blend it into smaller chunks.  He then add it to canned tomatoes. To it he added a bay leaf, salt & pepper…no sugar needed… the carrot cut the acidity.
He then took a package of stew meat (still in whole chunks) &  added this,   He cooked ALL ingredients from a COLD start in olive oil slowly stirring all for a few minutes before purring the lid on it and cooking it for an hour or so in a stainless steel pressure cooker.  Sometimes he added a cup of red wine.  When this wonderful Comboni priest left for the African missions he gave me the twin to the Italian stainless pressure cooker.
I get tears in my eyes thinking of this wonderful priest who only recently died.  A true treasure as a pastor and skilled cook who showed his love thru his culinary skills. 
P.S. His sister who lived in Italy baked this same recipe in the oven in a heavy ceramic bowl with lid.
Before getting my Italian stainless pressure cooker I used a heavy 4 quart pot like Martha Stewart sells.

HI, you might want to try a natural sweetener called stevia….made from the petals of the chrysantymum

tsk tak…..sorry you lost your taste buds

Hey why wasn’t I invited?

I have heard that water companies are forced to put certain additives to the water before they sell it to the public.  For example:  Arrowhead water from you guessed it….up in Arrowhead.  

It’s not just laziness–it’s time pressure, too.  Unlike when I was a child, in many families both parents have to work and time becomes an issue.  Because of this, many folks opt for convenience food, such as jarred pasta sauce, instant iced tea and fast food.  

It’s not just laziness–it’s time pressure, too.  Unlike when I was a child, in many families both parents have to work and time becomes an issue.  Because of this, many folks opt for convenience food, such as jarred pasta sauce, instant iced tea and fast food.  

Why eat dry roasted peanuts?  Sawdust ( wood nuggets ) have more flavour and more fibre.

Yeah, these people (those that wrote the article) have no clue how to add. They also don’t seem to know that not everybody knows what proportions of one ingredient or another it takes to make a finished product that tastes half as good as premade stuff nor just how few people have that kind of time.

If both parents in a full family (two parents and two kids) work as is pretty much standard nowadays and they both get off work at 5 from their jobs that leaves them two hours to prepare anything in time to serve their children before those children have to go to bed. Remember that it is highly unhealthy to eat within an hour before bedtime for a myriad of reasons, not the least of which is weight gain.

So I ask you this: How many of these items could one mother and one father (Or mix thereof) prepare in time? It takes time to thaw/buy ground beef, form into patties, look up recipe for barbaque seasoning, mix said seasoning, and then cook the meal.

What if there’s a long line at the grocery store? What if the parent accidentally forgot to pick up salt? What if they got off work late? How do you suggest these people find the time to prepare all these ingredients?

Now let me ask you this: Of the types of parents that would actually spend the time to make everything from scratch for their kids, how many do you think would have their kids enrolled in extra curricular activities like soccer, music, or dance? How do the parents make time to pick their children up AND make time to make all this food AND finish before the children must go to bed?

When I clicked the link to this article I honestly thought it would consist of only things that were both a waste of money and unhealthy to the extreme, due to the article’s use of an absolute (Never). But instead it just contained pointless and impractical “penny saving” tips and a few reasonable suggestions.

And for the record, drink mix is bought to replace expensive cartons of juice, not actual iced tea. In such a position, it is quite the bargain, yeilding 40+/- quarts of juice for roughly the same price as one gallon of “100% Juice” juice.

Ditto. I buy the 99 cent canned stuff. I might need to toss a few pennies worth of herbs in it to make the flavor a bit better, but that’s about it.
We have food allergies in our family (barley and milk). With that in mind, I do the vast majority of our cooking from scratch- right down to our bread. Considering pasta sauce is one of the few allergy-free (at least for us) foods out there, I’m more than happy to consume a little extra sugar and sodium if it means I get a little bit of a break from the kitchen. LOL

Peanuts. Food processor. Maybe some salt. Alton Brown has good nut butter recipes.

Ugh. No kidding!
We live in the Ozarks and our water tastes like gravel smells. I can’t describe it and it took forever to get used to. The funny thing is that there is a spring water bottling company not too far from us! I like to tell people that we have mineral water on tap. LOL

obesity was not caused by McDonalds– it is caused by parents who don’t teach their children what to eat and what not to.   Food like that which McDonalds serves should be a rare treat not a weekly meal.  Let’s take responsiblity for our selves.

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

What’s moronic is blaming someone else because we can’t control urges.  I guess if you see flashing lights at a bar you need to drink and, of course, the flashing lights of cigarette machines causes people to smoke, too!    Wow!  With your theory we can find a way to blame everyone for something!

1: there’s zero nutritional difference between frozen and fresh broccoli or whatever veg, fresh obviously tastes better.  you food hippies need to concede that point.

2: where are you shopping that protein bars are upwards of 3 bucks each?  I can get a cliff bar box at Target for about 90 cents each, which does actually calculate to less than the cost of making my own

3: where are you shopping that trail mix is 10 bucks a pound?  I’ve never seen that anywhere.  It’s more like 2 or 3 for several pounds, and the cost of those ingredients you named is way more than that and makes less.  a thing of dried fruit alone is 3 or 4 bucks.

4: pasta sauce?  yes, it’s usually between 2 and 6 dollars per jar.  However, your method amounts to 5-10 dollars per jar.  The method you glamorize should be grow your own tomatoes for less than 1 dollar per seed pack, and depending on how much dirt, fertilizer, water costs you, you make out on top.

whoever made this post is a moron. maybe if everyone has 18 hours a day to spend preparing food. make your own salad dressing? where does he buy his gourmet trail mix? i get it for 2.99 lb. moron. must be an unemployed moron

whoever made this post is a moron. maybe if everyone has 18 hours a day to spend preparing food. make your own salad dressing? where does he buy his gourmet trail mix? i get it for 2.99 lb. moron. must be an unemployed moron

whoever made this post is a moron. maybe if everyone has 18 hours a day to spend preparing food. make your own salad dressing? where does he buy his gourmet trail mix? i get it for 2.99 lb. moron. must be an unemployed moron

whoever made this post is a moron. maybe if everyone has 18 hours a day to spend preparing food. make your own salad dressing? where does he buy his gourmet trail mix? i get it for 2.99 lb. moron. must be an unemployed moron

Just so you know, a 49.99 ice cream maker takes all of 30 minutes from idea to actually eating it. Cream + sugar. Or, dump in yogurt. Easy. 

Just so you know, a 49.99 ice cream maker takes all of 30 minutes from idea to actually eating it. Cream + sugar. Or, dump in yogurt. Easy. 

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

LOL @ roasting converts HDL to LDL. Your so-called science is well off the mark. The reason roasted nuts may be worse for you has to do with the fact that they are often roasted in oil.

i agree but i would add that alot of things we buy are for our own convenience.

My father would place peanuts in the food processor, and a drizzle of oil, then blend, and you have instant peanut butter. Salt is optional and is not needed. I would also try Almonds.

I dont know who wrote this article but someone needs to take you shopping

I dont know who wrote this article but someone needs to take you shopping

kangan water. look it up!

kangan water. look it up!

Reader’s DIgest, along with Yahoo and Consumer’s report are wrong about bottled water. What they should have focus is on “flavored’ bottled waters, juices and sugared drinks, which I usually don’t buy. They are also wrong about ‘filters’ being inexpensive. Filters are a huge waste of money and it doesn’t really remove impurities. Also tap water contains harmful contaminants during transition from the sources and most pipes contain corrosive materials. I buy unflavored bottled water because the tap water is usually dirty due to continuous maintenance issues where the water is being turned off. When the water is turned on, it contains an oily substances usually from the pipes and filters don’t do the job of riding water of the oily substances including other form of parasites that thrives in tap water. And filters tend to break easily so increase awareness is needed on how to instal it. I save a trifle more on bottled water, including distilled water to help clear up  the sinus problems which I have had for a long time.  Also filters have short life spans so reusing filters that are often unreliable is more wasteful than just getting a simple bottled water. Why not focus on people buying flavored water??

Reader’s DIgest, along with Yahoo and Consumer’s report are wrong about bottled water. What they should have focus is on “flavored’ bottled waters, juices and sugared drinks, which I usually don’t buy. They are also wrong about ‘filters’ being inexpensive. Filters are a huge waste of money and it doesn’t really remove impurities. Also tap water contains harmful contaminants during transition from the sources and most pipes contain corrosive materials. I buy unflavored bottled water because the tap water is usually dirty due to continuous maintenance issues where the water is being turned off. When the water is turned on, it contains an oily substances usually from the pipes and filters don’t do the job of riding water of the oily substances including other form of parasites that thrives in tap water. And filters tend to break easily so increase awareness is needed on how to instal it. I save a trifle more on bottled water, including distilled water to help clear up  the sinus problems which I have had for a long time.  Also filters have short life spans so reusing filters that are often unreliable is more wasteful than just getting a simple bottled water. Why not focus on people buying flavored water??

Terrible advice.  Frozen vegetables have a higher level of nutrients then the fresh stuff at the supermarket.  Frozen veg. is grown to peak ripeness and flash frozen – usually on-site.  Fresh veg (usually) is picked very under-ripe so it can withstand the trip to the packaging plant, then the market.  There it sits out for several days before you bring it home and let it sit for several more.  Please, do not listen to this tip!

I find the advice about not buying single servings really hilarious – ie, that we should all buy huge bags and split them up. I can guarantee you that if I bought a big bag of potato chips, I’d have the best intentions of splitting it up into smaller portions, until I’m sitting there, with an empty bag in front of me, feeling immensely guilty and just a bit nauseous.

I agree with you – also, in my country (not the USA) the water tastes really bad – sometimes it tastes chlorinated, sometimes salty (we rely on reverse osmosis for most of our water). And there was that time when the water was brown. Don’t ask. That was the time the cats started getting bottled water, too.
When your morning coffee smells like the surface of a swimming pool, you know it’s undrinkable. Plus, God knows what’s actually in it.Some people here boil their water (so flat and weird tasting), others get huge water-cooler type things delivered, and others still buy plastic bottles. We recycle the bottles and hope for the best!

Remember – any can with a tomato based product is lined with plastic and it leeches into the tomatoes because of the acidity.  In fact most canned products do this, try and buy in glass when you can.

This goes to prove that people have become LAZY and convenience trumps healthy food that you can make yourself to control what goes in it. Make HOMEMADE as much as possible and stock up so that you NEVER run out of what you like to eat, especially in times when stuff from store is not available like when storms hit!!

Obviously written by some on who has the time to do all this. A majority of people who buy convenience items are 2 income families who do not have the time to go through the hassle of making everything homemade. At least they are saving some money eating at home. Take out is much more expensive than eating at home, even if it comes out of a box or can or the freezer. 

Wow-eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Having read just about everything in this long-winded diatribe – I’ll not say anything.
Wrong!
Having been given the plus and the minus on every possible subject . . . yes!
To rid myself of the poison that I’ve herein ingested, I’ll go walk 9 holes of golf this morning.
Anyway, I have to think that Gloria Swanson had it right.
Don’t ever eat processed foods.
Right?  Right.
That way, you can sleep with Jack Kennedy’s dad any time you want to.
Well – he does go home to the east coast, occasionally, to impregnate Rose.
Back to the point at hand.
I’m 85 years old, and a guy, at that- so I have to use time conservation principles when cooking.
Making spaghetttttt?  Use the canned sauce;  add pre-made meat-uh-balls-uh;  dice a medium onion.
  (That onion says I’m subscribing to something au-naturel.)
Before cooking, break up the spaghettttt in 2″ pieces – well – 3″ ok.
  (Prevents slobbering longer pieces down my white shirt as I’m watching ESPN.)
Do 9 minutes in boiling water (spagh) w/onion, first in glass – in the microwave.
Drain the water – add spagh-sauce – - – chopped up meat-uh-balls-uh.
Re-heat in micro-wave.
So this recipe isn’t complete, you say?
Of course not, idiot . . . you weren’t going to follow it, anyway.
Look;  think this through, yourself.
About time I start prepping for the golf thing.
Daylight wasting time is just around the corner.
At my age, I’ve gotta think about a whole lot of things you never have to think about.
Let me be the first to wish you a “Merry Christmas” for 2,011.
And I don’t give a hang whether the ACLU or the Supreme Court like it, or not.
They don’t give a crap about me – I don’t give a crap about them, either.
Sparky.

“It tastes better” – you say?
Where are you from – Sweden?
You don’t know zilch about herbs and spices, then.
Look up “Eyetralian cooking” on the internet and start all over.
Or – - “Frog” (French) cooking.
OK;  you start with a handful of garden snails . . . add garlic . . .
I’m off and running to the golf course.
At age 85, you know dang well I’m not running.
But don’t try to catch me.
Sparky.

Just like mom used to make!

These could have all been listed on one page, and read in a few seconds.

I agree with all of these things except individual serving bags of chips. I’m the only one that eats them and a big bag will go stale before I can even get halfway through. It’s worth the extra cost to me to have a fresh bag of chips when I want them.

Regarding bottled water, you stated: …”it’s not even better for your health than the stuff running down your drain!” You might want to research what is found in tap water before making such a statement. We buy bottled SPRING water in order to avoid harmful things that have been found in water supplies such as lead, pesticides, benzene, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, the chemical hexavalent chromium, fluoride, chlorine, residues of prescription drugs, and many other harmful things! Some bottled water is just filtered water but is still better than typical tap water. In such a case, using a water filter might be more economically feasible and environmentally friendly. But filters do not remove some things that I wish to avoid.

No outside entity “makes” anyone lazy. They just enable those who are.

Most of that water is coming from a “tap” source.  So instead of drinking someone elses tap water, drink your own.  :)

I buy bottled water at $2.99 for 24 half-liter bottles (or $3.99 for 35 bottles on sale)… or 99c a gallon, which you seem to be recommending above… so where is the saving??

Nobody holds a gun to someone’s head and says “EAT fast food or die a quicker death!” It’s not the fast food industry that is to blame for obesity. It’s the choice and right to eat what you want when you want and ignore the consequences. People work 20 to 80+ hours a week and need quick fix options and some of us have functionality/mobility issues and can’t always make something from scratch. The last time I made cookies between my functionality/mobility issues and some of the ingredients and the fact that I baked them in a toaster oven in batches it took 8 hours. But I got them made and I split the cookies and saved half for my boyfriend and took the other half to my church for a special function. Frozen veggies with or with out sauce are a lot healthier than canned veggies and fast food.

are you telling me to buy Edy’s ice cream instead of Haagen Daz? just because of price?
are you FREAKING CRAZY?

We save by growing our own and canning the extra how ever we want.

What’s wrong with spice mixes? I’d prefer to buy a $3 spice grinder with everything I need in it than buy 4 or 5 separate spices at $2 each…if you can find them that cheap!

Also I don’t think I’ve ever seen a spice mix that didn’t list 90% of what was in it on the ingredient list…

Ok I have to justify buying a $3+ loaf of bread. I have dental and eating issues and prefer “wheat” breads. My favorite isn’t a national brand which is a shame. It’s HEB’s (Texas grocery store) Walnut Multigrain. and I love the taste and texture of it. I don’t own a bread making machine so I’ll keep shelling out the $$$$ for it until I learn how to make my own from scratch. 1 loaf stays fresh up to a month after the “best buy date” with out freezing it, so for that $3+ I get bread that lasts me 2 months. Well ok maybe not 2 months in the near future as I’m almost done with the dental issue that was part of the eating issue. Not knowing what I want to eat, what I can eat, staring confusedly at the jumble of mostly can’t eat stuff in the house, or forgetting to eat, then losing all my teeth and then breaking and dislocating my jaw isn’t a weight lose plan I’d ever recommend to any one.

OOOOO can I tap/pick your brains on how you did/do this? We’re at the beginning stages of what you are doing.

 I’m thinking of cashews or walnut butter! :D

Bottled water is no better than tap water?  Who are these people that write these articles?  So all the disinfecting by products that are 10,000 times more toxic in tap water is good for you?  Fluoride is a deadly poison and depletes the body of iodine and does NOTHING for tooth decay is good for you in your tap water?  Drug traces are in tap water and that is good for you? 

Please get an education before you open your mouth here again people!

Why use filtered tap water when the water is not that good for you. The problem is with us the consumer. We buy things that are easy and fast. People forget to put family first I am glad that my wife and I cook, it brings the family together. At times we need to rewind ourselves and go back to our grandparents era. I remember we use to make our own icecream, cheese, butter, we had our own meat. Look at what they do to chicken. The government pumps the chicken full fo growth harmones and steroids so much the chicken can’t walk because they grew to fast. Instead spend the money on  more farmers. That would creat more jobs and boost the economy. I can go on for ever. United States of America is spiraling down and out of control.

I beg to differ, water is not available for everyone. Tap water is only drinkable in countries that have the means to purify their tap water. In some countries, drinking tap water may lead to various diseases that may be life-threatening. Is this article only aimed at certain certain countries?

Wish I could grow things  :(

I usually buy Hunt’s too.  They have a ton of flavors and it’s usually super-cheap.  Too bad their ketchup stinks!

I’ve been doing all these things for over a year now. I decided that processed foods were not in our best interest, so I’ve been making as much as I can from scratch. Before I pick up any kind of package at the store, I ask myself “Is this something I can do myself?” and the answer is usually yes.  Even our pizzas are from scratch with whole-wheat dough and fresh sauce (bread machines rock!)  My new attitude also dictates that the more aggressively a food thing is advertised (like fast foods), the less likely that food is going to be healthy and nutritious. I AM Madison Avenue’s worst nightmare!  It also helps that personally I can’t stand cheeses of any kind, so that makes it easy to keep away from the commercially-successful but health-damaging processed and fast food realms (lucky for me food processors think every blasted thing has to be drowned in stinking cheese…thank god I can dodge that bullet!)

I agree with almost everything in this list – EXCEPT for the recommendation to buy bottled “nursery water” for mixing formula. These products have FLUORIDE in them, and fluoride is the same toxin used in rat baits! Why would anyone give rat poison to an infant???

I agree, fast food are there to indulge when we are traveling or any means that require us to be in and out.  But at no way should they be blamed for the obesity or “lazyness” that people have come to blame,   everyone else but their own selfs.  You can get fat and ask the fast food industry to make a “safer” hamburger, that’s like asking the cigarette companies to make a safer cigarette.  We as a people are responsible putting those things into our bodies, NO one is forcing us to do it BUT our own selfs. COME one people take RESPONSIBILITY for your own actions.  There is not Obesity Bailout!! All in moderation!

I don’t think McDonalds is “trying to do” anything to anybody. It’s all about making as much money as possible.  They don’t care if people are fat or skinny, healthy or sick….they just want the $$$$.  They will continue to make money the #1 priority because that’s the capitalist goal, and the overall health of their customers?  Not their problem………………

Good for you Marie! The same goes for chili in this house….I make a huge pot-full then freeze in meal-size containers.  Now, canned chili tastes like…..icky canned chili.   Homemade spaghetti sauce rocks over any jar sauce, absolutely!  I found I can substitute added salt by using a small chopped jalapeno pepper, we like it spicy, too!

if you have money go for it why do it yourself

going to other countries is a real shocker. i know russians who are convinced that drugs are put in the food s0 to that our appetites are never satiated. organic food lacks pesticides but is filled with the bacteria from horse manure, paying a fortune for that is a rip-off like you wouldn’t believe.

as far as the united states is concerned, impoverished and working class folks suffer from the curse of obesity far more than do the upper middle and upper classes. it’s an issue of expense, and/or concern about status, as well. an american who doesn’t have the time, knowledge,patience, financial means, and/or the energy to cook healthy meals is really in a great deal of trouble. it;s also an issue of utilizing a legalized, inexpensive way of doping oneself up, which solves life’s dilemmas for a few minutes, perhaps, but then leaves the person feeling even worse than she did before the initial escapade.

Lets face it– we live in an instant gratification disposable society. the mentality of  “I’ll do as little as possible as quickly as possible to get as much as possible” does nobody any favors. I personally prefer fresh food AND the effort it takes. My kids learned to hunt by the time they could walk, I was taught how to garden, can, freeze and bake at an early age. I get great satisfaction out of knowing where my food comes from beginning to end. the flavors and colors can’t be beat either. Just sayin’….

Lets face it– we live in an instant gratification disposable society. the mentality of  “I’ll do as little as possible as quickly as possible to get as much as possible” does nobody any favors. I personally prefer fresh food AND the effort it takes. My kids learned to hunt by the time they could walk, I was taught how to garden, can, freeze and bake at an early age. I get great satisfaction out of knowing where my food comes from beginning to end. the flavors and colors can’t be beat either. Just sayin’….

You can get cashew butter at the health food store, along with sunflower butter. Walnut I have never seen, it may not make good butter, but try making it yourself or adding finely chopped walnuts to apple butter…

My husband & I both work & we have 4 kids so by the time we get home we are exhausted and it’s so much easier to pick up something. We’re not lazy-I’m an attorney & he works in the oilfield. We are TIRED. However last January we decided every time we ate at home we would put $40 in a wooden box we made. We have pulled the $ out for Xmas shopping $ amazingly saved $4680! Not to mention we have enjoyed our family time even more!

One should not drink distilled water when other, potable water is available. Distilled water is extremely corrosive, and can actually dissolve teeth. 

Your ideas ROCK!

A very good example of Internet experts giving advice, not always true.

Thank you for confirming what I have been talking about making your own spicey  and sauce also about bottle water and making your own tea.

Thank you for confirming what I have been talking about making your own spicey  and sauce also about bottle water and making your own tea.

I was raised to prepare meals from scratch at home with meals out for special occasions.
Too often I meet people who are living on low incomes and yet they rely upon fast foods and prepackaged meals for their family meals. The difference in cost is huge, Also, there may be health benefits to homemade meals. People can live on far less with a little common sense and a desire to save money.

I worked full time…we had fast food one meal every two weeks, the rest of the time I cooked in crock pots, or made ahead and froze.

I worked full time…we had fast food one meal every two weeks, the rest of the time I cooked in crock pots, or made ahead and froze.

I worked full time…we had fast food one meal every two weeks, the rest of the time I cooked in crock pots, or made ahead and froze.

I worked full time…we had fast food one meal every two weeks, the rest of the time I cooked in crock pots, or made ahead and froze.

I worked full time…we had fast food one meal every two weeks, the rest of the time I cooked in crock pots, or made ahead and froze.

This article is really good and all the info provided really holds true in todays time… it hardly takes few minutes to make these simple combinations at home and we end up saving on so much money …

Come on people stop being cheap. AND U WONDER WHY WE ARE SUFFERING FROM A RECESSION>>>>

To all of you on both sides — either we are lazy and nobody “forces” us to eat junk, or we are hypnotized by big-time advertising. You are both right. But those who see the power of advertising, coupled with all the chaos, confusion, and uncertainty of modern society, are more right. Start researching “psychological operations” (PsyOps) on the internet. It is amazing how much truth one can discover if one is trying to better themselves and their loved ones. God bless.

Some good ideas, but i buy jars of pasta sauce because they can sit for 6 months and still be used. If I want to do that with my sauce, I have to freeze it and take up valuable freezer room.  Canning is also too expensive for just the three of us. 

Some good ideas, but i buy jars of pasta sauce because they can sit for 6 months and still be used. If I want to do that with my sauce, I have to freeze it and take up valuable freezer room.  Canning is also too expensive for just the three of us. 

McKitty 0r Mcrat Burger

As a busy mom of two, I often think of jarred sauce as a welcomed shortcut.  I often mix in fresh spinach and cheese to add in extra nutrition.  I agree about the bottled water…but like most people it is a convenience item that is easy to stash in your purse on your way out the door.  My son has a water bottle for school that is washed every night that his school mandated to save the environment.  The fancy frozen veggies are overpriced, but on occasion it’s nice to have something premade that steams in the bag to seal in vitamans and nutrients that could be lost in the saute process. As for tea, a good recipe for guests is 8 bags black tea brewed and chilled, in a large punch bowl add 4 cups OJ & 4 cups pineapple juice.  Premade burgers are better for serving larger crowds becuase they cook more evenly, but for a quiet dinner I often mix in cheese and mushrooms to make hand pressed patties.  Rice seasoned sides are cheap and easy…why try to re-invent the wheel here? Over 60% of americans are considered obese by their BMI (body mass index.)  This has significantly risen over the past 50 years due to many changing conditions: the size of the dinner plate has actually increased by 2″ in circumfrence, we tend to eat faux diet food instead of just healthy food in moderation, most households are dual income and no one wants to cook after a hard days work, going out to eat used to be a special occasion but now in this instant gratification society where everything is more accessible to the masses crossing economic/class boundries…so fast food that offers mcrib sandwiches to other dining options that offer a rack of ribs for $10.99 only adds to the temptation that is the “American dream” peddled to us by sly advertising and celebrity endorsements.  Diet has become a pill, instead of a healthy walk around the neighborhood.

Those food companies are hardly innocent in this game.  Just an example: when they lobby the government for subsidies, thereby making their junk cheaper than the good stuff, they’re responsible for the obesity epidemic, too.

Those food companies are hardly innocent in this game.  Just an example: when they lobby the government for subsidies, thereby making their junk cheaper than the good stuff, they’re responsible for the obesity epidemic, too.

I can honestly say I passed this obne with flying colors – I do sometimes buy “premade” items but none of these :)

Make your own fresh tomato sauce throw into freezer bags ,add what ever when you defrost and save lots of $ plus the flavor will knock your socks off.

I add fennel seeds instead of rosemary. 

blah blah blah….that’s what all of you sound like

Some of these things don’t take into account certain reasons for buying something. I don’t buy canned anything because of the BPA in the liners of the cans, and tomato products are the worst for absorbing that. So it’s either fresh or jar. Ice cream is another one, I buy the brands that are made with antibiotic and hormone free milk which is usually more expensive. However, I get the point of the article.

worst list ever.

worst list ever.

People wonder why we are in a recession? 

I do like to cook. And yes i like to know what is in the food. Making food is like making love. No effort,, no reward. think about that.

I do like to cook. And yes i like to know what is in the food. Making food is like making love. No effort,, no reward. think about that.

really sorry about this …. mom was first generation Italian…and never EVER put in sugar…if you cook the sauce like she did for 6 hours…aint NO bitter or UNSMOOTH taste! she used to cringe when the TV chefs put in sugar….ah well…those were the good old days…now it’s all packaged JUNK

now you blame Mcdonalds…..how many more excuses can you find for obesity?  that decision is made by you and only you.  you can choose to eat healthy or jump in your car and drve to Mcdonalds, Burger King, etc.

The author thinks Hagen das tastes the same as bargain brands? Author has no credibility.

It is so annoying to hear it called “gravy”. My very Italian grandparents never called it gravy. They would have Never used onion in their sauce, and Always garlic – lots of garlic – and olive oil and oregano, and meats (esp home made- pork butt braciole – so yummy). Sausage, meatballs, pork ribs(or chops), bones in, make for the best homemade sauce. I love a little hot pepper for an added zing.  If you don’t use Locatelli grated Romano cheese, you’re missing the best part of the truly Italian dinner!  Oh, my Mom said to be sure to remove the tomato seeds, they make the sauce bitter. She and Dad used to grind their own home grown tomatoes when making their family famous sauce.  And, by the way, Never add sugar!!  Bay leaves are used for that purpose.

When I’m on vacation in Florida, I buy bottled water in cases to drink and to make our coffee/tea/hot chocolate, etc., at my timeshare. If you’ve never tasted tap water in Florida you have no idea what bad water tastes like, and can therefore understand why some people drink bottled water.   But, I do agree, it’s not better for you and it is worse for the environment, for those others of you who care about the environment. 

Also Tupperware has a selection of water bottles too.

OH BTW there reuseable.

I buy spaghetti sauce all the time I never pay more than $1 for  26-28 oz. It is usually cheaper thab buying the plain tomato sauce because it is on sale often and the latter is almost never on sale

I’m guessing you weren’t working at the job I’ve got putting in 70 hours a week for just over minimum wage to help support my family of 7 (my kids are 11,9,7,4,&2) plus living on a farm which means more physical work and way more laundry But I also only eat fast food about once a month as a treat off the dollar menu -did you know you can feed 7 people for $14 if you bring it home &drink tap water I generally cook real meals (meat &potatoes) but that means not keeping up with the housekeeping

It has very little to do with what you eat genetics & excersize play a much larger role in how in shape you are I have family members tell me I’m getting too skinny 5’6″ 130lbs I out eat most of the people I know (oh &stress is also a factor -too much & the lbs just fall off)

also great when you can just put them in the freezer then you have cold water 2 hours later when you are not at home the special overpriced reusable bottles are a total ripoff just reuse the bottled water bottles they usually lasst quite a while

Not exactly. The butterfat content in ice cream determines its smoothness and quality. All that was said is that it’s easy to dress up a store-brand ice cream to make it more like a Haagen-Dasz. 

Not exactly. The butterfat content in ice cream determines its smoothness and quality. All that was said is that it’s easy to dress up a store-brand ice cream to make it more like a Haagen-Dasz. 

Time is money thats why we cut the corners

Angela, You may be an exception but nutrition does play a large role in your overall health and weight.  You can exercise everyday but if you are consuming more calories than you are burning then you will gain weight.  

McD’s has lobbyists.  Thanks to lobbyists, the ingredients of McD’s fast food (like corn) are ridiculously subsidized, while healthier alternatives (like fruits and vegetables) are not.  For lower-class people, unhealthy food at McD’s is far cheaper than healthier food.

Nobody is putting a gun to people’s head to make them walk into the golden arches, but we are collecting their tax money and using it to make McD’s the most affordable option.

Look at the wealthiest people in this country: they’re almost without exception in great health.  They can afford to buy healthy food every day.

I’m guessing  you shouldn’t have had so many kids if you couldn’t feed them healthily, with variety.  This definitely means that you need to blame someone else for not making it easier for you to have time to provide your kids with what they need.  Is it your job?  The education system?  Food prices?  All of these definitely excuse your adding to the overpopulation of the world on a minimum wage job.

I’m guessing  you shouldn’t have had so many kids if you couldn’t feed them healthily, with variety.  This definitely means that you need to blame someone else for not making it easier for you to have time to provide your kids with what they need.  Is it your job?  The education system?  Food prices?  All of these definitely excuse your adding to the overpopulation of the world on a minimum wage job.

I’m guessing  you shouldn’t have had so many kids if you couldn’t feed them healthily, with variety.  This definitely means that you need to blame someone else for not making it easier for you to have time to provide your kids with what they need.  Is it your job?  The education system?  Food prices?  All of these definitely excuse your adding to the overpopulation of the world on a minimum wage job.

Would you prefer them responsible for your health?  The creators of popular video games, should they be held responsible for the laziness of people, and the lack of running around outdoors?  Of course not.  When you have a society that is forward mobilizing, you incur the need for personal responsibility.  A services is provided for you, not because someone saw that a supply would be “necessary” but that a demand could be created.  Even McDonalds was a small corporation once.  Just as we are responsible for those who are celebrated in society, those who influence politics, etc, we are also responsible for the the corporations which proliferate the most.

Some people don’t know any better. Others go because their friends do. Yet others go because they think they’re saving money which they definitely are not. I personally do not like McDonald’s and don’t patronize it but if someone else likes it, who am I to tell them not to?

According to many who are in a position to know, McDonald’s is one of the biggest recipients of corporate welfare. That’s how they are able to offer such low prices. I don’t care at all for their food and only buy an occasional cup of coffee there.

Amen to that, these corporate welfare parasites couldn’t care less if we all dropped dead of obesity-related illness as long as they get theirs.

I wouldn’t dream of adding sugar to my tomato-based sauce.

I’m sensitive to wheat so I use rice pasta whenever I eat Italian food which isn’t that often. I prefer Thai or Mexican food.

I buy my bread at the 99-cent store.

Thank you Frank! It’s like they think we don’t know that “convenience items” are expensive and overpriced.  As for things like bags of salad and pre-washed, pre-cut fruits and veggies… If it helps me to get healthier foods into myself and my children, I consider it well worth the cost.

Thank you so much for saying this!!  I am so tired of this society blaming everyone for everything instead of looking at themselves.  I myself have had a weight problem most of my life, however, I am the only one putting food in my mouth.  It is not the responsibility of anyone else but me.  People need to take responsibility for their actions!

People don’t want to invest TIME into what they eat. Even when they eat at home instead of a restaurant or fast food, it’s a quick look in the fridge to see what can be grabbed and prepared in a flash.

For an exciting new approach to eating, make it a priority—a FUN one. Start planning ahead. Pick some recipes (browse cooking websites), put the ingredients on a shopping list, and then spend one to three hours cooking a wonderful meal. Delicious leftovers will cover the next couple of days.

If you know how to read, you know how to cook! But if you honestly know almost nothing at all about cooking (how to make gravy, how to boil eggs, etc), then treat yourself, this Christmas, with the gift of a basic cooking course at any college, jr. college, or other outfit. It’s fun!

Great cooking and eating, to be great fun, includes great presentation. Go to resale shops and sleuth out treasures of cookware, dishes, nice glasses, etc. Learn how to set a table! Use cloth napkins now and then. And candles. But above all, even if you don’t entertain, commit some TIME and THOUGHT and PLANNING AHEAD into cooking, and you will find it to be a most enjoyable “hobby” or pastime, in addition to turning things around healthwise.

People don’t want to invest TIME into what they eat. Even when they eat at home instead of a restaurant or fast food, it’s a quick look in the fridge to see what can be grabbed and prepared in a flash.

For an exciting new approach to eating, make it a priority—a FUN one. Start planning ahead. Pick some recipes (browse cooking websites), put the ingredients on a shopping list, and then spend one to three hours cooking a wonderful meal. Delicious leftovers will cover the next couple of days.

If you know how to read, you know how to cook! But if you honestly know almost nothing at all about cooking (how to make gravy, how to boil eggs, etc), then treat yourself, this Christmas, with the gift of a basic cooking course at any college, jr. college, or other outfit. It’s fun!

Great cooking and eating, to be great fun, includes great presentation. Go to resale shops and sleuth out treasures of cookware, dishes, nice glasses, etc. Learn how to set a table! Use cloth napkins now and then. And candles. But above all, even if you don’t entertain, commit some TIME and THOUGHT and PLANNING AHEAD into cooking, and you will find it to be a most enjoyable “hobby” or pastime, in addition to turning things around healthwise.

Hmmm, last time I bought pre-formed hamburger patties, they where the cheapest source of high meat-content beef.  Then again, it’s comparing warehouse prices with unfrozen beef at the local market.

For the tomato sauce, finding preserved tomatoes that aren’t a BPA risk is just as expensive and not so convenient.  (The cheap brands don’t say what their can-liners are made from.)  It’s still expensive the first year, but asking the farm-stand for the best time to buy a few bushels of tomatoes and sticking them all in jars is probably the best of both worlds.

We always had a problem with iced tea going moldy if we didn’t boil ALL of the water.  Letting it cool in a lidded pan was fine, straight from the tap wasn’t.

There’s a lot of controversy about water here.  Those who think tap water is fine may not have all the information.  When you get the annual report that your water company is required to send out it will tell you how the levels of a bunch of potential contaminates are all well below safe levels.  This information is most likely true and accurate.  What the report will not mention is that there are hundreds of other harmful chemicals in the water that are not tested for at all because it is not required.  It will not tell you that drinking chlorine is not good for you.  (Would you drink bleach?)  A simple filter on the tap or a Brita pitcher will remove the chlorine taste but it will not remove all of the harmful stuff.  If you take a look at the toxicity chart in any introductory Chemistry textbook you will see that Lead is the third most toxic element while Fluoride is the second most toxic.  (Arsenic is number one.)  Lead is not even allowed in gasoline or paint but Fluoride is added to most tap water.  I suspect that many people probably think that the Fluoride added to tap water comes from some clean mineral mining source but nothing could be further from the truth.  The Fluoride that is added to tap water is a toxic waste product from the fertilizer industry.  Decades ago Fluoride gasses were allowed to escape out the smoke stacks of fertilizer manufacturing plants.  Due to widespread damage and death of crops and cattle (and other animals) governments required the use of pollution control devices called “wet scrubbers” in the smoke stacks.  These scrubbers reduce the amount of toxic Fluoride gasses in the exhaust.  What is captured in the scrubbers is hydrofluorosilicic acid which is a classified hazardous waste.  Disposing of this toxic waste properly would cost the fertilizer industry HUGE sums of money.  Instead of doing that they put it in barrels (without any further treatment or refining) and sell it to communities all over the World to be added to drinking water.  So if you drink Fluoridated tap water you are a human toxic waste filter.  The alleged benefit to teeth (based on very sketchy science) from Fluoride is ONLY from a topical application.  There is not even any suggested or alleged benefit to consuming it.  It takes a good reverse osmosis filter to remove the many harmful things that are in tap water. 

On the topic of bottled water let me make a brief comment.  Yes, some bottled water is simply filtered tap water.  It may very well be true that it is not much better than what comes out of your tap.  However, some bottled water is clean spring water that is a lot better than tap water.  You have to know what you are buying.

Actually it is not called gravy in Italy. Only some people of Italian decent in America use that term. 

Thats not all it’s linked to.  Anyone who cooks with aluminum should have their head examined.  Probably will have to one day from the effects.

Nonsense you can make good sauce in 20 to 30 minutes.  Most of the long cooked sauces are over cooked and not very good. Despite what their makers think.

Whether you have a huge family or are just one person you should be preparing your own food and not buying pre-packaged garbage. Whether or not you save money on the food is irrelevant as you will save in medical bills in the long run.

amen it always comes down to money

amen it always comes down to money

you know you could drink piss if you want to

wow!!! cheap and better for you, too!!!

good job.everything is relevant and helpful. in the economy of today we all need all the help we can get.

If I might offer a suggestion, you can control what types of “quick prepare” foods you keep on hand.  For example a peanut butter and jelly sandwich can be white bread with jelly and peanut butter that are full of sugar (and preservatives, additives, etc etc.) OR it can be good quality wheat bread with jelly that is 100% fruit and natural peanut butter that contains only peanuts and salt.  The second option is much healthier, tastes great, and really doesn’t cost much more.  You can keep some organic fruits on hand for quick snacks.  You can improve your diet a lot even without making things from scratch.  The strategy I have followed is not to try to change all at once.  I have tried to gradually eliminate bad things while gradually adding good things.  Just eliminating food from fast food restaurants will go a long way towards health.

If I might offer a suggestion, you can control what types of “quick prepare” foods you keep on hand.  For example a peanut butter and jelly sandwich can be white bread with jelly and peanut butter that are full of sugar (and preservatives, additives, etc etc.) OR it can be good quality wheat bread with jelly that is 100% fruit and natural peanut butter that contains only peanuts and salt.  The second option is much healthier, tastes great, and really doesn’t cost much more.  You can keep some organic fruits on hand for quick snacks.  You can improve your diet a lot even without making things from scratch.  The strategy I have followed is not to try to change all at once.  I have tried to gradually eliminate bad things while gradually adding good things.  Just eliminating food from fast food restaurants will go a long way towards health.

As a former manager at McDonalds:  One may have salad, but those frenchfries are far more enticing.  McD’s strategy is to have consumers never have to drive more than 3 miles to get to a McDonalds; thid does not apply to less densely populated areas.  Fortunately, because I was a manager, I ate 2 meals at mcDonalds daily.  If I ever have to eat another fastfood burge, it will be too soon.

Furthermore: childhood obesity is because they sit with thhis or her videogames far too long,and not being physically active.  Note that this  became a problem with the arrival of videogames.  Earlier decades did not have this issue.  If you love your kids, limit the screen time and take them out for some physical activity.

“if you can’t feed them, don’t breed them”

wow mean much?

wow mean much?

wow mean much?

I worked for the top McDonalds food supplier for 15 years. They don’t pass those goverment moneys on to their employees! If we “ran” to pick up a fast lunch to eat at our desk, it better be McDonalds or face diciplinary action!

I agree about the video games, that’s why my four kids never had one! They play outside for fun, not planted in front of the tv.

just grow your tomatoes, it takes very little money and you can even grow them in a pot if you have no yard

A head of lettuce costs $2, and takes me 17 minutes to wash and prepare.  A salad kit costs $6 and takes me 2 minutes to prepare.  If I can get paid $28 an hour for doing contract work, which saves me more money — getting the cheaper lettuce and preparing it myself, or getting the salad kit and using the saved time to work?

A head of lettuce costs $2, and takes me 17 minutes to wash and prepare.  A salad kit costs $6 and takes me 2 minutes to prepare.  If I can get paid $28 an hour for doing contract work, which saves me more money — getting the cheaper lettuce and preparing it myself, or getting the salad kit and using the saved time to work?

 Definitely don’t use distilled water for baby bottles.  Because of the lack of extra ions distilled water cannot boil until an imperfection is introduced.  This can result in an explosion if over boiling temp, and more importantly, there is no visible sign that it is over boiling temperature.

 Definitely don’t use distilled water for baby bottles.  Because of the lack of extra ions distilled water cannot boil until an imperfection is introduced.  This can result in an explosion if over boiling temp, and more importantly, there is no visible sign that it is over boiling temperature.

 Definitely don’t use distilled water for baby bottles.  Because of the lack of extra ions distilled water cannot boil until an imperfection is introduced.  This can result in an explosion if over boiling temp, and more importantly, there is no visible sign that it is over boiling temperature.

 Definitely don’t use distilled water for baby bottles.  Because of the lack of extra ions distilled water cannot boil until an imperfection is introduced.  This can result in an explosion if over boiling temp, and more importantly, there is no visible sign that it is over boiling temperature.

 Definitely don’t use distilled water for baby bottles.  Because of the lack of extra ions distilled water cannot boil until an imperfection is introduced.  This can result in an explosion if over boiling temp, and more importantly, there is no visible sign that it is over boiling temperature.

 Definitely don’t use distilled water for baby bottles.  Because of the lack of extra ions distilled water cannot boil until an imperfection is introduced.  This can result in an explosion if over boiling temp, and more importantly, there is no visible sign that it is over boiling temperature.

I start with the store brand sauce, adding canned tomatoes, tomato paste, and my own onions and other fresh stuff, including spices. The sauce just gets it started. I find store brand sauce for under 2 bucks.

Here in the San Diego area, we are told not to use tap water for goldfish because it will kill them – if it’s not good for them, it sure can’t be good for us. We do have an RO system at home, but still many people dont, and want to be sure they have safe drinking water.

Once again, here’s a writer sending us the anti-bottled water propaganda that municipal water suppliers love to spew.  Unless you buy garbage like Dassani, bottled water is almost ALWAYS going to taste better and be healthier for you than tap water.  Sure–there are a few muni H2O systems (like NYC’s, apparently) that offer decent water — but most cities (especially in the Southwest, like L.A., San Diego, Phoenix and so on)– have DISGUSTING, chemical-laden water that’s full of chlorine.  I would NEVER even considered drinking that C R A P!

Correct–the stuff from San Diego taps is DISGUSTING!

Salads in a bag: no waste! Buying all the ingredients separately can be pricey, and buying a head of iceberg is always a gamble. Maybe half of the iceberg I have bought meets my standards.

Spice mixes- these usually last me a couple of years per container. Making my own certainly wouldn’t “save me a fortune”!

First off let me start by saying Micky D’s was never meant to be a way of life, but as an occasional break. I just want to set the record straight. Wealthy and upper class people tend to eat more unhealthy junk food then the lower class. Mostly because they can and it’s a luxury.

Actually it’s not even close to being more
affordable.  If someone was to buy 1 pound of beef, rolls, cheese
and a vegetable  -it would cost dramatically less than  four person
“extra value meals.”  80% fat free beef is about 3 dollars a
pound in NY – generic rolls are 1.89 and generic cheeses are probably about 2
dollars a pound.  If someone purchased an
in season vegetable or even bought generic frozen veggies, that would probably
cost (at most) 3 dollars.  That’s at most
9 dollars for the entire meal for four people. (Versus the 15- 20 dollars you
spend at McDonalds) If you want it to be more healthy, 2 dollars for tomato
sauce is not expensive, regardless of this article.  It would allow you to stretch the ground beef
out to possibly 2 meals for your family when added with pasta.  It’s also much lower in fat.  It’s laziness of mind to argue that McDonalds
is a cheaper alternative. It is far from it. If someone wanted to take the
time, comparison shop, learn how to cook and cut some coupons, they could make
themselves very healthy meals and save themselves a ton of money. 
There are even cookbooks that explain how to do this. 

Seriously? I thought this was about what was good for you, not about cost. Obviously the writer doesn’t have small children. Wait 2 hours for a Popsicle? You tell my kids that. 1 hour for spaghetti sauce? Dinner at 6? No way. People sometimes pay for time. That is what it is. Time in the kitchen or time with my kids. There are so many healthy choices out there that you don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen preparing. I think I’ll help my son practice his violin and open a nice jar of organic/natural spaghetti sauce.

 She suggested buying “Nursery Water” for your baby to drink in the bottle.  Does anyone realize that they put flouride in nursery water?? In every other civilized country, they treat flouride the way it should be treated… as a poison….which it definitely is.

That is sweetened with aspertame which is the most unhealthy of the artificial sweeteners.  (It says right on the label that it causes cancer.)  Check out the Zevia brand drinks which are a more healthy alternative.

Where’s your advanced degree in chemistry?  Or did you barely pass it in high school?  I’m willing to bet the latter is closer to the truth, since (a.) you’re talking a load of rubbish about flouride being “treated as a poison” “in every other civilized country” (what exactly IS a “civilized country”?), (b.) you don’t know that flouride is only a “poison” in very high concentrations, about a thousand times higher than the amount present in flouridated water, (c.) that small amount of flouride reduces the amount of cavities children raised in flouridated water communities have to deal with, and (d.) there are NO credible scientists out there who would say that flouride, in the levels of concentration evident in potable water, is in any way a health hazard, and they’ve been studying this for DECADES.  So shut it with your fearmongering.

Problem is, a lot of people live in the city or in apartment complexes.  How are they going to have access to any garden at all?  Or what if you live in an extremely hot or cold climate?  How are you going to spend hours upon hours each week trying to preserve your plants and keep them from dying on you?  Same with if you live in a drought-plagued location.  I would have loved for you to try to plant and nurture a kitchen garden where I live starting from around 2007, when we began one of the worst droughts in our city’s recorded history.  Even now we need about another six feet of rain in order to be considered out of the drought, and that’s with us getting about eight months of good rain (i.e. starting from two months before you left that comment).  In order for me to save the plants that were already planted in my front and back yards, I had to spend two hours a day, five days a week, hand watering every plant and tree.  Even then some of the plants didn’t make it because the heat, sun, and drought conditions were too intense for them.  So yeah, right, I’m going to spend $100 on plants, soil, fertilizer, etc., spend hours upon hours watering them each week, hope the summer (which in my locale lasts from late April to early October) isn’t too brutal, and see what little free time I have erode away into nothingness.  *rolls eyes*

Problem is, a lot of people live in the city or in apartment complexes.  How are they going to have access to any garden at all?  Or what if you live in an extremely hot or cold climate?  How are you going to spend hours upon hours each week trying to preserve your plants and keep them from dying on you?  Same with if you live in a drought-plagued location.  I would have loved for you to try to plant and nurture a kitchen garden where I live starting from around 2007, when we began one of the worst droughts in our city’s recorded history.  Even now we need about another six feet of rain in order to be considered out of the drought, and that’s with us getting about eight months of good rain (i.e. starting from two months before you left that comment).  In order for me to save the plants that were already planted in my front and back yards, I had to spend two hours a day, five days a week, hand watering every plant and tree.  Even then some of the plants didn’t make it because the heat, sun, and drought conditions were too intense for them.  So yeah, right, I’m going to spend $100 on plants, soil, fertilizer, etc., spend hours upon hours watering them each week, hope the summer (which in my locale lasts from late April to early October) isn’t too brutal, and see what little free time I have erode away into nothingness.  *rolls eyes*

“It’s painful to watch someone actually pay $6 for a gallon of designer brand ice cream.”  Really????  I think you mean $6 a pint, right?  I wish it was $6/gal.

“It’s painful to watch someone actually pay $6 for a gallon of designer brand ice cream.”  Really????  I think you mean $6 a pint, right?  I wish it was $6/gal.

You can buy good ground beef.  Look for Laura’s Lean Beef in your local grocery or visit Whole Foods and buy their 91% lean (or 85% lean depending on your taste) ground beef.  Both options are free from artificial growth hormones (and make great burgers).  They do not contain fillers.

 If you made a conservative effort, owned three crock pots and a microwave, a roomy freezer, was super-organized, and had a decent budget, you could whittle down to HFCS rare on a 60-hour workweek after one year, maybe two if you own a lot of condiments.  (This is uncounting of drinking habits.)

I can’t remember how much it cost me or how long it took, but I have more time to chop vegetables than you do.  I brought HFCS down to BBQ sauce, the undocumented amount in honey, and I forget what else beyond looking in the natural disaster kit.

I dont know about most stores because at Walmart the frozen meat patties are less expensive or the same price as the regular packaged ground beef. Check the prices!

If you eat canned tomatoes, you eat BPA, an endocrine disruptor.  To avoid this, eat either Eden Organic canned tomatoes (the only canned food company at this point that makes BPA-free cans), continue buying sauce in glass, or make your own from scratch.  Good article otherwise.

I disagree with so many of these suggestions for two reasons:  time scarcity issues and the desire to NOT have a large amount of anything that can go bad sitting around in my pantry/kitchen.  I was hoping this list was going to be about foods that are bad for your health… not your wallet.  I’ve been doing cost-analysis shopping since I was a broke college student!

Duh, make everything from scratch.  What a ridiculous non-informative piece of fluff.

check what you are buying- the ground beef at costco is the same $/lb in patties or in one huge lump… 

 EXACTLY. We’re killing ourselves with all this pre-packaged, preservative filled crap.

Alex i totally disagree with you. There are many meals that can be made by poor people that are a lot cheaper, time saving and healthier than McDonalds. I’m talking about beans, legumes, rice, potatoes, meat (if possible), eggs, powdered milk, etc. I think it all comes down to being lazy, rich or poor, either one has the means to eat healthy. And i’m saying this as someone who grew up doing bread, sugar, flour lines; milk wasn’t available for a while so we bought powdered milk, had oatmeal for breakfast or even potatoes! I never felt deprived & grew up healthy. I do give all the credit to my parents for their creativity and frugality in the way they managed through hardship.

@ Robert – Holier than thou? I didn’t get that at all from the previous comment. To quote you “we are social animals influenced by peers, by flashing lights, by impulse, by odors”, so that means we can’t control ourselves? If i’m being bombarded by ads of brand new vehicles that tell me how good i’d feel if i owned one, then i purchase it, get way over my head in debt because of it, i can just blame the car company & their marketing for my poor financial choices? Or if a great computer program for children is advertised, i buy it and my child is stuck all day using it & gains weight, i’m going to blame the product provider??? is it not my responsability to educate & guide my child through life? I don’t think that’s a holier than thou attitude, it’s just common sense. The easy way is to blame others for our faults & shortcomings.

@drknight- to paraphrase you, McDonald’s has made us all lazy and not want to cook healthy meals and they are out to get the rest of the world. I agree with them trying to get the rest of the world but in a business sense, of course! they are a money making machine, cutting down costs wherever possible even if it means to put junk in their meals. Now as to them making people lazy? that’s a bunch of c-ap, people are accountable for what they do & if they want to stuff their stomachs with junk it’s their own fault, no one is forcing them to do it.

While nobody is “forcing” people to eat at fast food, these restaurants still use every technique they can to get you hooked on their food.  These techniques range from the subtle hyponotizism in their advertising to too much addicting sugar in their foods.   Even that delious flame broiled smell is made by chemical additives. 

As for Ice Cream there is only certain brands I can eat. Kemps and other cheaper brands so kill my stomach. But Blue Bunny doesn’t hurt my stomach at all. I do look for sales though and it may still be more expensive but I feel good after eating it.

As for Ice Cream there is only certain brands I can eat. Kemps and other cheaper brands so kill my stomach. But Blue Bunny doesn’t hurt my stomach at all. I do look for sales though and it may still be more expensive but I feel good after eating it.

As for Ice Cream there is only certain brands I can eat. Kemps and other cheaper brands so kill my stomach. But Blue Bunny doesn’t hurt my stomach at all. I do look for sales though and it may still be more expensive but I feel good after eating it.

“Individual servings of anything” help with portion control. Of course, you’re paying for packaging.

“Individual servings of anything” help with portion control. Of course, you’re paying for packaging.

What planet is this author from, you can get Bottles Spring Water at any supermarket for no more than $5 per 24 bottle case. It tastes different and is more refreshing.  With all the money spent on juice and soft drinks, it is the most cost effective and healthy solution.

I don’t trust drinking tap water, even with a water softener.  You never know how much and how many chemicals are being used to treat the water, especially if it’s city water.  I will continue to buy bottled water, and recycle the bottles, as I have been.  

Pasta sauce is the only one I’d argue against on this list, too.

First of all, let’s look at quantity. A can of tomatoes may cost between $0.60 and $1.20 depending on brand for approximately 14 – 15 ounces of tomato product (including very runny juice). A jar of pasta sauce will cost between $1.75 and $7.00 for 25 ounces of product, with the “high end” price being for the really fancy-pants stuff. So, taking into account the difference in size (15 oz. vs. 25 oz.), the difference in price isn’t that great. Now, remember that crushed tomatoes are THINNER. To make a decent sauce, you’ll need to cook it down. You lose volume. Or you’ll need to add tomato paste.

On sale, you can get most common name brands for less than $2.00, easily. Doctor them up with some extra spices and a splash of cheap red wine, and voila!

Second, if you’re going to use up fresh tomatoes to make sauce, please note how much THOSE cook down. I make fresh pasta sauce (delicious!) in the summer when my tomato plants produce more than I can eat, and I freeze it for the winter, but any other time of year? Even the cheapest tomatoes on sale in the winter (roma tomatoes) are at least $1 per pound. Expect those to cook down at least 50% volume to get a decent sauce, maybe more. So we’re looking at a minimum of $2 per 16 ounces of sauce, and that’s before you add any seasonings. And honestly, if you’ve made pasta sauce, you know how much it cooks down.

And third is a major health concern. I’m a biologist, and I’ve been studying this sort of thing for years. The thin plastic linings of food cans contains bisphenol-A (BPA), which is being regarded more and more as unsafe for human consumption. It’s an endocrine disrupter, interfering with the hormone balance in the human body, mimicking estrogen, and interfering with many hormone pathways. There’s evidence to show that it may contribute to obesity, cause certain types of cancer, cause neurological problems, cause problems in developing fetuses, interfere with thyroid hormone function, and possibly even contribute to heart disease. To put it into common terminology, it REALLY messes up your hormones. And hormones mess with EVERYTHING. (Go look it up for yourself.) Tomatoes are really acidic, and are amongst the worst foods for causing the BPA to leech out of the plastic and into the food.

The problem with BPA and tomatoes ONLY happens in CANNED tomatoes. A glass jar has no plastic lining. Therefore, pasta sauces in JARS and fresh tomatoes won’t have this chemical in them. Is avoiding this chemical worth an extra $0.25 per plate of pasta? I think so. I used to love canned tomatoes. I put them in everything. Cheap and very tasty. No fat. And you can get salt-free ones. I thought it was a win-win. Now… forget it. I won’t continue doing that to my body.

So… decide for yourself, but I don’t think pasta sauce belongs on this list.

Pasta sauce is the only one I’d argue against on this list, too.

First of all, let’s look at quantity. A can of tomatoes may cost between $0.60 and $1.20 depending on brand for approximately 14 – 15 ounces of tomato product (including very runny juice). A jar of pasta sauce will cost between $1.75 and $7.00 for 25 ounces of product, with the “high end” price being for the really fancy-pants stuff. So, taking into account the difference in size (15 oz. vs. 25 oz.), the difference in price isn’t that great. Now, remember that crushed tomatoes are THINNER. To make a decent sauce, you’ll need to cook it down. You lose volume. Or you’ll need to add tomato paste.

On sale, you can get most common name brands for less than $2.00, easily. Doctor them up with some extra spices and a splash of cheap red wine, and voila!

Second, if you’re going to use up fresh tomatoes to make sauce, please note how much THOSE cook down. I make fresh pasta sauce (delicious!) in the summer when my tomato plants produce more than I can eat, and I freeze it for the winter, but any other time of year? Even the cheapest tomatoes on sale in the winter (roma tomatoes) are at least $1 per pound. Expect those to cook down at least 50% volume to get a decent sauce, maybe more. So we’re looking at a minimum of $2 per 16 ounces of sauce, and that’s before you add any seasonings. And honestly, if you’ve made pasta sauce, you know how much it cooks down.

And third is a major health concern. I’m a biologist, and I’ve been studying this sort of thing for years. The thin plastic linings of food cans contains bisphenol-A (BPA), which is being regarded more and more as unsafe for human consumption. It’s an endocrine disrupter, interfering with the hormone balance in the human body, mimicking estrogen, and interfering with many hormone pathways. There’s evidence to show that it may contribute to obesity, cause certain types of cancer, cause neurological problems, cause problems in developing fetuses, interfere with thyroid hormone function, and possibly even contribute to heart disease. To put it into common terminology, it REALLY messes up your hormones. And hormones mess with EVERYTHING. (Go look it up for yourself.) Tomatoes are really acidic, and are amongst the worst foods for causing the BPA to leech out of the plastic and into the food.

The problem with BPA and tomatoes ONLY happens in CANNED tomatoes. A glass jar has no plastic lining. Therefore, pasta sauces in JARS and fresh tomatoes won’t have this chemical in them. Is avoiding this chemical worth an extra $0.25 per plate of pasta? I think so. I used to love canned tomatoes. I put them in everything. Cheap and very tasty. No fat. And you can get salt-free ones. I thought it was a win-win. Now… forget it. I won’t continue doing that to my body.

So… decide for yourself, but I don’t think pasta sauce belongs on this list.

Using fruit juice in place of sugar won’t cut calories – wht do you think makes fruit juice sweet…

Bottled water: I just picked up a 35 bottle pack of purified water at Costco, 16.9 oz each, for $3.75. That works out to about eleven cents per bottle. I usually don’t buy bottled water, but I find it is a ready and helpful alternative to calorie and sugar laden soft drinks, and at these prices it’s not expensive at all.

Yes, I have water bottles for filling up from the filtered and chilled refrigerator door dispenser, but too often I don’t have one handy when I need a quick bit of hydration.

But no, I don’t buy bottled water from a vending machine. Then you really can pay $1 or more for something you can get for 1/10th the cost if you plan ahead.
 

So after being out of the house ten hours a day for work as well as completing a 45 minute commute with a two and four year old that are starving by the time we pull in the driveway my best bet would be to come home and simmer homemade sauce from a can of crushed tomatoes for an hour just so I can save about $1.00.  For real….? Necessity is the mother of invention.  There are reasons why our food stores are stocked with convenience foods. 

stay healthy pepole !!! :)

Did they do any actual research here?  I don’t find protein bars for $2-$3.  At most, $1.50.  This article is misleading at best.

I love how people blame Mcdonalds and other fast food places. Nobody is forced to go to fast food places you make a choice to go. Common sense people, dont take your kids out to eat everyday once in a while is fine. My kids eat fast food sometimes a couple times a week other times not for a few weeks. People are just freakin lazy and let their kids eat junk all the time then they wonder why their kids are so fat

I’m sorry…  I agree with most of this list except for the pasta sauce.  As an avid cook- who makes a great sauce- I can tell you that there is really no cost savings when you make your own.  Once you add up the cost of all the ingredients- not just tomatoes- plus the time it takes to make a good sauce (at least 1 to 2 hours!) it is not worth doing on a regular basis.  I only do the homemade “good stuff” for special occasions now.

#8: Tap water as good as bottled water??…depends on the brand.

I’ve went to my city’s homepage and examined the tap water quality report…it’s outrageous! About 20-30 different cancer causing chemicals in significant quantities like benzene and toluene. I can barely drink half a glass it tastes terrible…I buy a 4L bottle of spring water that last me 2 days…50 cents per day for clean healthy drinking water big deal…I’ll pay it…

Where do you buy your water? I get a 24 pack of 20oz bottles for $2.59+tax. Thats ~11 cents each not $1-$3 dollars.

Six dollars a gallon for ice cream is not overly expensive.  It takes nearly three of the most common size containers (48 ounces) to make a gallon.  Even the least expensive store brands cost over $2 a carton or about $6 a gallon.

The only thing I take issue with is the pasta sauce. Our grocery store has a nice brand that’s actually cheaper than the same amount of crushed tomatoes. In fact, it’s consistently under $1! I tart it up with herbs, mushrooms and other things, and actually save $$.

These are time-based cheapeners.  If you have the TIME, then these are cheaper. If you don’t, then they’re more expensive and less likely to occur because they take TIME to make. 

There’s also quantity. 

On that list: trail mix.  I don’t want to try to buy a bag of almonds AND a bag of raisins AND a bag of chocolate AND a bag of banana chips AND mango AND AND AND.  To get them to even out and be worth eating is $30 of big bags of stuff that makes a TON of trail mix. 

I just want… a bag of trail mix.  So what if it’s $6?  My $30 cheaper-by-the-pound stuff ‘ll go bad before I can eat it!

Same with croutons and salad. Same with a couple other things on there.  $30 trail mix is more expensive for a single person than $6 trail mix that happens to be more expensive by the pound.  :) 

What is this guy smoking? Water from your tap is better than distilled or industrially filtered. hello! Chlorine is a carcinogen. Don’t get me started with fluoride.

Buy 3 five gallon plastic jugs and go to the local water store once a week or so and buy clean water for 25 cents a gallon.

You owe it to your body.

 Knucklehead, Mc Donalds has its part in the obesity factor in America. They care not about anyone’s health but only care for a profit margin (GREED is their crime), and that leads to unnecessarily unhealthy ingredients which aids obesity (like excess fat & sugar).

So, you say don’t buy canned veggies, except when you buy acidic canned tomatoes to make pasta sauce instead of buying jarred pasta sauce…the inconsistency and lack of science is maddening.

 Nobody “made” you do anything you moron. People have free choice. Unless you’re a Democrat.

I disagree with this 9 of 16.  My local grocery offers the Dole salads and I can get 2 servings out of it for my lunches.  They are $2.99/bag and sometimes they offer them BOGO.

Right, don’t drink water from a bottle.  Drink it from the tap, where it’s poisoned with fluoride and a potpourri of prescription drugs that weren’t filtered out because local treatment centers have faced budget cuts for a decade so we can afford the “war on terror”. 

…but still nobody is forcing them.

So, basically everything in the food aisle in grocery stores?

McDonalds even makes people so lazy they don’t even want to capitalize and punctuate their “It’s not my fault” comments.

Why isn’t bottled soda on the list?…I mean, it is far better to buy bottled water than bottled soda..why attack water, at least it’s good for you :-)

Why isn’t bottled soda on the list?…I mean, it is far better to buy bottled water than bottled soda..why attack water, at least it’s good for you :-)

Why isn’t bottled soda on the list?…I mean, it is far better to buy bottled water than bottled soda..why attack water, at least it’s good for you :-)

Why isn’t bottled soda on the list?…I mean, it is far better to buy bottled water than bottled soda..why attack water, at least it’s good for you :-)

Why isn’t bottled soda on the list?…I mean, it is far better to buy bottled water than bottled soda..why attack water, at least it’s good for you :-)

Why isn’t bottled soda on the list?…I mean, it is far better to buy bottled water than bottled soda..why attack water, at least it’s good for you :-)

Why isn’t bottled soda on the list?…I mean, it is far better to buy bottled water than bottled soda..why attack water, at least it’s good for you :-)

Why isn’t bottled soda on the list?…I mean, it is far better to buy bottled water than bottled soda..why attack water, at least it’s good for you :-)

Why isn’t bottled soda on the list?…I mean, it is far better to buy bottled water than bottled soda..why attack water, at least it’s good for you :-)

Why isn’t bottled soda on the list?…I mean, it is far better to buy bottled water than bottled soda..why attack water, at least it’s good for you :-)

Why isn’t bottled soda on the list?…I mean, it is far better to buy bottled water than bottled soda..why attack water, at least it’s good for you :-)

Why isn’t bottled soda on the list?…I mean, it is far better to buy bottled water than bottled soda..why attack water, at least it’s good for you :-)

Why isn’t bottled soda on the list?…I mean, it is far better to buy bottled water than bottled soda..why attack water, at least it’s good for you :-)

Why isn’t bottled soda on the list?…I mean, it is far better to buy bottled water than bottled soda..why attack water, at least it’s good for you :-)

Why isn’t bottled soda on the list?…I mean, it is far better to buy bottled water than bottled soda..why attack water, at least it’s good for you :-)

Why isn’t bottled soda on the list?…I mean, it is far better to buy bottled water than bottled soda..why attack water, at least it’s good for you :-)

Why isn’t bottled soda on the list?…I mean, it is far better to buy bottled water than bottled soda..why attack water, at least it’s good for you :-)

Why isn’t bottled soda on the list?…I mean, it is far better to buy bottled water than bottled soda..why attack water, at least it’s good for you :-)

No, canned tomatoes cost more than that, in the amount of a jar.  I know, because I make my own sauce all the time. (From my own tomatoes, if I can).  Other things on this list are ridiculous.  There is a difference in the quality of ice creams, for example.  

this is a pretty good tip.  my daughter loves to make her own “lunchables” and they always have exactly what she wants. lol. 

The local govt’s around here (NY and PA) are forcing kids to bring individually packaged snacks and food items to school if they pack their own lunches. I think all this is, is a way to force parents to give Big Business more $$$ and impinges on a person’s alleged “American Freedom”.