Janice Carter Lifestyle Medicine Coach
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Has your food bill been blown to smithereens?
f you're a dyed in the wool carnivore looking to go plant based to lower your food bill then this article is for you! Or, if you are waking up in the aisle at the supermarket staring into the face of a paramedic because of the price of food, then this is for you too. Many pensioners and low-income earners in NZ are absolutely feeling the pinch financially when it comes to putting food on the table. This is resulting in food choices that are not healthy or nutritious, which leads to further poor health outcomes. Let’s hear the bad news first – until we get some credible competition in the supermarkets, food prices are going to get a lot worse. Fresh food quality is steadily going down the “thunder box” and supply is rapidly dwindling at a pace that would make an Indy car driver envious! Now for the good news. It is easy and very possible to eat a whole food plant-based lifestyle without fearing cardiac arrest at the check-out! And, all the benefits that come with that are just so exciting!
The Nutritarian way So how do you do it, I hear you ask? The best option I have personally discovered is the Nutritarian way. How do I eat in a Nutritarian way and stick with in my budget? What is a Nutritarian? According to Dr Joel Fuhrman, one of the world’s leading wholefood plant-based Lifestyle Medicine Doctors, a Nutritarian diet is a nutrient-rich, plant-based diet centred on the following principles: •
An eating style focused on nutrient-rich foods that unleash the body’s tremendous ability to heal, achieve optimal weight, and slow the aging process.
•
The term ‘whole food’ describes natural foods that are not heavily processed. Basically, the majority of our diet is made up of fresh, clean unprocessed produce rather than food that comes out of a package.
•
No S.O.S means that we don’t add salt, oil, or sugar to our recipes or to our prepared food, because these ingredients have been shown to have a negative impact on our health. When we eat the whole nut or vegetable over just the processed oil, we are eating the fibre and its protective nutrients too!
First, let’s do a comparison of meat prices right here and now
24 wholefoodliving.life | Winter 2022
100g Beef vs 100g Beans
22g of Protein
22g of Protein
Og of Fibre
15g of Fibre
1.9mg of Iron
5mg of Iron
16mg of Calcium
123mg of Calcium
23mg of Magnesium
171mg of Magnesium
74mg of Cholesterol
0mg of Cholesterol
$2.59 per 100g
$0.80 per 100g
1,480 Litres of water
103 Litres of water
From information originally compiled by Rip Esselstyn
in the middle of April when this was written. Frankly, I nearly needed a paramedic myself when I went on line to Pak ‘n Save to do this comparison. I literally felt a shudder go through my body as I looked at the first item – beef sausages, 450 gm - $8.79! This packet had six sausages in it. Now, I am assuming that a family of five would want two sausages each so there is not even enough in this packet to feed a family. Two packets would be needed which is $17.58. For one meal! Next, beef mince – this one nearly had me gasping for air! I was starting to fear for my own health just looking at the prices! $15.69 a kilo! Chicken - $4.89 to $24 a kilo! This was for chicken necks to thighs. And from what I can tell, again there is not enough in a packet to feed a family of five. This was a serious eye opener for me – a WFPB eater who, for 30 years, has skipped the meat section of the supermarket and
