The High Cost of Living . . . Healthy!

Most everyone knows the prices at the grocery and mega stores have gone up in many areas of the country.  I found it unamusing when I went to the local mega store for bottled water.  Two weeks prior, a bottle of flavored sparkling water had been 58 cents.  The following week, it was 68 cents.  As I stood there on that day, another week later, it was marked 65 cents and called a "price rollback."  Now I realize that the price of that water isn't bad.  But that's only one item on my list.

See, I'm diabetic.  I have been able to control my blood sugar levels with diet and exercise.  I also have high cholesterol.  It's not outrageously high, but high enough to warrant a med and told to watch my diet.  Along with all of this, I have a daughter who is quite rambunctious in her pursuit of preservative-free foods.  She buys most of her own food, but it's gotten me thinking about all those chemicals we ingest.

I spend about twice as much time grocery shopping than I did a year ago.  Low-carb, low-fat and preservative free foods are just not easy to find!  When you do find them, they're very expensive.  Check out the Organic Foods aisle in your local grocery store sometime.  Or go to stores like Trader Joe's and compare prices on say, a loaf of rye bread.  It's an eye opener.

Rye bread is good for me.  Naturally low-carb and high in fiber, it's the best choice in the bread group.  A loaf of Beefsteak seedless rye bread is about $1.80 at the mega-mart.  A loaf of preservative free rye bread from the bakery section at the grocery store is $3.99.  More than double!  And that's just rye bread.  I have to comparison shop for almost all my food.  I found a really dumpy grocery store that has "natural" rye bead for $1.99.  But it's off the beaten path, at least for me.  So the next dilemma is, how much time and resources do I spend on getting the best price on each item on my list?

The thing with running to different stores, is that you use up a lot of fuel.  I'll admit, the older I get, the more likely I am to buy something at the higher-priced store because I'm "already there."  It's not just gasoline that's getting burned, it's my body's store of energy that's being depleted, too.  And my patience runs thin after a couple of hours.  (Not that I have an abundant supply of patience to begin with.  And don't ever pray for patience because God will give you all sorts of things that you need to be patient with!)

Okay, so I've been kvetching about costs in terms of money and energy.  I just have to move on to the third cost for me, which is physical comfort.  Let me explain.  Besides preservative-free, low-carb and low-fat foods, I treat myself to items that are sugar-free.  Some things are really good in the sugar-free.  Like Jello gelatin.  And Jello sugar-free instant pudding.  These cause no problems for me.  Then there are the sugar-free foods that are not-so-good.  Oh, they taste good, but I am definitely not comfortable with them.  These include such things as Royal sugar-free instant pudding, almost any type of sugar-free candy (especially sugar-free chocolate) and most foods made specifically for diabetics.

The cost of these items is quadrupled.  They are more expensive, there is less product and they cause, er, well, uh . . . let's just say you don't want to be around me a few hours after I've indulged.  So, I don't indulge.  Or at least I limit them.  This particular cost is what keeps me very good about portion control.  A little sugar-free chocolate will be uncomfortable.  Any more, and, well, enough said.  (And if you haven't figured out what I'm talking about, look up the word "ventoseness."  Use an online dictionary if you want.  Go ahead.  I'll wait.)

Everybody on the same page now?  Good.  So, the many costs of [trying to] eat and be healthy.  Money, time, energy and, uh, inconvenience.  Is it worth it?  Well, yeah, considering the alternative.  Is it still a pain in the . . . neck?  Yeah.  C'est la guerre!  You can go look that up, too, but I'm not waiting around this time.  Sorry!