Go compare!

So even when I sign up to tesco I can't even begin until I enroll myself with their clubcard scheme. From here on they can see everything I buy, direct marketing, where deals and vouchers are able to sent my way to provoke induced decisions based on their current campaigning strategy . I am not a cynic! I would actually be quite pleased to be receiving vouchers.

So I begun my grocery journey this evening, online, and made up two lists of shopping. One with out a care in the world for cash, frivolous with food, and naturally buying the better, fresher produce. And the 2nd, with a budget mind, where the size of my balance is more important than the size of my waist. So how did it go? Well... see for yourself.

I did this with exactly the same meal plans: Cereal for breakfast, a lunch I can leave the house with, and then dinner for two in the evening. The evening meal I factored in protein, vegetable and a carbohydrate.

Let's see how I got on:

Healthy food list: A whopping £37.83 for around 3 days of rather healthy, normal eating. 

Breakfast: Alpen and milk

Lunch: 1) Innocent vegetable pot

2) New York Soup

3) Sushi

Dinner: 1) Stir fry - Noodles, beef and chinese stir fry bowl.

2) Salmon fillets, baked sweet potato and spinach.

3) Chicken breast with a side salad and cous cous.

Snacks: Fruit and Nuts

Bananas x 6

Apples x3

Drink: Smoothie

 And here is the unhealthy food list, I just cannot believe it is under half the cost.

Breakfast: Honey&Nut Cornflakes

Lunch: 1) Piing Beans&Sausage melt wrap

2) Piing Bacon Burger Pizza (?!?!?!)

3)BBQ Chicken wrap

(I've probably been a little ungenerous here - but it was 3 for £3)

Dinner: 1) Meatballs, Pasta, Tinned tomato

2) Crispy chicken, instant rice, petit pois and baby carrots (jar)

3) Battered cod, wedges and mushy peas.

Snacks: 3x fudge bar

6x cheese&onion crisps

6 x club bars.

Drinks: Coca-cola

 Before setting out to do this blog I knew that there was a problem.

But here it is plain to see that there really is a huge gap between what the rich and the poor are able to put into their bodies. I just cannot comprehend the feeling that mothers must have when they do not have the time or the money to feed their children the way that children could be fed half a century ago.

I don't need to provide anyone with any nutritional information to see which one is set to do some long term damage with some unwanted consequences.

The problem is, we adapt to our surroundings. If everyone is putting complete junk into their bodies, or indeed only clean food, you are a hell of a lot more likely to do so too. This does not help the poverty trap surrounding food with cheap eating.

Furthermore, recently news stories have surfaced with a view to obliterate obesity. One proposal is to launch a tax campaign (GROAN? yup.) which will be a fizzy drinks, oil and fats tax. Now this is all very well, but then we all lose because I think the problem stems from clean fresh produce being too expensive in the first place!

Now we all know that farmers have it tough when trying to make ends meet, and are constantly competing with low costs to win over a good sale with a leading supermarket chain. Unfortunately, due to the worsening weather conditions over previous years, with wet summers etc, yields have been poor in the agricultural industry and so inevitably this is relaying a knock on effect to the consumers. Can this be helped?

Now back to the tax. What if we subsidise the fresh produce and farmed goods with the money the government will gain from 'obesity' tax and put it back into fresh food encouraging healthy living. Essentially, paying off the famers with this gained revenue and in turn seeing good food on the shelves at a cheaper price.

With an estimated half of our nation predicted to be affected with obesity by 2050, it is time to act now. Should this estimate be satisfied, funding for the NHS would have to increase dramatically to cater for this wide distribution of patients needing care. The cycle is spun again, we could save the premeditated costs by a subsidiary fresh produce scheme tackling the source of the problem first.

Annabel