Eating Out

The first point I want to make is that eating out has become a problem for many people. It’s almost always an unnecessary indulgence.

I treat eating outside of the house as a treat; someone’s birthday, a place we haven’t been to in a while, some kind of celebration, etc.

Most people use eating out as a tool for convenience. This is a recipe for disaster when it comes to the quality of your food and the amount you’re paying for it.

I do my best to avoid eating out altogether. I’m usually not thrilled with the quality of the food anyway. Even today before my dad and I went out to run errands, he asked me if I wanted to stop and get something to eat while we go out.

I thought about it for maybe ten seconds, thinking about where that would even be, the options that would be available, and the price of it and quickly said no. “I’ll just figure out something here.” That’s the conclusion I usually come to when I’m weighing up options.

Specialty Foods

When on a diet or a specific regimen, steer clear of the “specialty” meals. What I’m referring to are the meals that are pre-made, include very expensive ingredients, and have been put together to claim “vegan” or “keto” which also allows them to jack up the price.

When I used to eat vegan years ago, I found many different meat-replacement dishes or pizzas that would have such specific replacements for the animal products and it was so meticulously put together, that they couldn’t help but charge a small fortune for the meal.

This goes with many diet foods like keto as well. I love granola, it’s one of my favorite treats. But if I see a “keto” sticker on the package, I take a quick look down at the price and turn away. Some of them are upwards of $10 for a regular bag of granola. That’s ridiculous.

So be wary of common products that have been adapted to fit a specific diet, because they are going to make sure you pay extra for it.

Snacking

Snacking has become another problem in our modern eating strategy.

People wonder why they’re overweight, have no energy, and are always hungry. Snacking is an enormous culprit for this. Not to mention, it becomes very expensive without you thinking much of it.

I have made a habit of looking into other people’s grocery carts while I’m shopping and I can’t help but notice how most of the carts are just filled with junk-food snacks. Then, people will be upset that the bill is hundreds of dollars even though all those chips, cookies, and sodas aren’t even necessary. Those are filler foods that are simply there for mouth pleasure, not a more balanced diet.

I think most people could pretty easily cut down on their snacking without sacrificing too much. More conscious eating would certainly help, instead of eating every time you’re in front of the TV or the computer.

Lack of Nutrient Density

To lead into the last point, people simply don’t think about nutrient density anymore.

In a world where large quantities of food are available at all hours of the day, this is where better selection has to come in. The way to combat all these low value, yet high calorie options is to seek out nutrient density in food.

What that term means is the food that offers the highest amount of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients as possible. The most nutritionally beneficial foods.

This is going to include all your basic animal products like meat, seafood, eggs, butter, etc. After that there are nuts, fruits, and vegetables. The motto I like to go by is “real plants and real animals.”

Try to avoid the filler foods and the “healthy” treats and all the stuff that has been forced into our diets but doesn’t need to be there. Seeking out nutrient density will prove to be much more satiating, meaning you don’t need to eat as much, meaning you don’t need to buy as much.

It’s something that seems to solve the whole dilemma of: What is the best way to eat and how do I afford it? Keep it extremely simple and seek out the highest nutritional value to keep your diet minimalistic.