A Worthwhile Battle

I often feel like I'm fighting a losing battle at the grocery store. 

I've made gradual changes in cleaning up my diet, but it's difficult to do that on a (small) budget. And the more research I do, the more challenging it seems to be to find truly healthy unprocessed food versus comparatively healthier less-processed food. 

During 2012, as just one example, I switched from skim milk (before I realized how unhealthy dairy products can be) to soy milk (before I realized how hormone-ridden soy is) to almond milk (which I currently drink since I, so far, have found it to be the healthiest, best-tasting option).

I'm willing to pay more for a better product, but that first step has taken time to enforce. I use coupons, which, more often than not, are for processed pre-packaged foods with no nutritional value that once made up the bulk of my diet (ramen noodles, frozen pizzas, and sugary GMO-infested cereals). At one time, in addition to using coupons, I only bought items that were on sale. Unfortunately, organic products (which seem to be the best, healthiest bet all the way around) tend to be very expensive and rarely on sale. 

 The other problem? Organic food can be scarce at local supermarkets in my rural area. I have my choice of TOPS, Walmart, ALDI, and Save-A-Lot. Wegmans, which offers the most diverse selection of organic items, is a long drive away (35-40 minutes out of my way). Trader Joe's is even farther away. 

So grocery shopping, which has never been my favorite task, usually requires a trip to more than one store, since one might offer cheaper produce but not have my staples of non-fat plain Greek yogurt, 100% whole-wheat bread, and hummus. 

I'm willing to do that for my health, though. The extra time and money invested are worth it, especially if that extra time and money spent now prevent obesity, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease later. 

Each time I buy the more expensive organic product (even organic cosmetics and cleaning products can make a health difference) and cringe at my grocery bill, I need to be mindful of the greater cost of not choosing the healthier item(s).