The state of Vermont had the highest fruit and vegetable intake while the state of Mississippi had the least. Obviously affluence and poverty play a big role in which foods you choice to buy. Sometimes you just have to look at how many calories you can get for a dollar and go with that.

But then I thought about it a bit more. I stick to a palio diet and eat mostly lean meats and fruit and veggies. Last night was sirloin steak and and a can of chopped turnip greens for dinner with watermelon for dessert. At first that sounds expensive but I wait for Kroger to have steak on sale for $2.99 per pound (cheaper than hamburger). I buy a 3 pound package for $9.00 instead of $21.00 as the price is usually $6.99 per pound.

Out of the 3 pounds I get 9 steaks that I freeze and will eat over a month. The can of chopped greens was $0.88 and counted as 3.5 servings of vegetables. With the greens I poured on some homemade pepper sauce (for you Yankees that is peppers in vinegar and it is yum).

Dinner Cost:
Steak: $1.00
Greens: $0.88
Pepper Sauce: $0.10
Watermelon: $0.40 ($1.79 per quarter melon)
Total: $2.38

I ate for the rest of the day bananas, tofu, carrots, cucumber, radishes, hard boiled egg, water and coffee. Which maybe added up to $4.00.

I could still eat like this if I was on food stamps. But then again I have transport to the store and so many people don’t and have to shop in convenience stores.

It is a conundrum but if we don’t eat healthy then we really are going to have even higher healthcare costs.

Reports:
State Indicator Report and National Action Guide

As my mother used to say as me, my sister, brother and father would call out the correct answer to some obscure Jeopardy question, “Why do you people know this?” Because it is out there and we just love to know useless facts.

If you like trivia here is more at the Daily Commercial.

Here’ are a few interesting facts on how coupons became coupons:

– In 1894, Atlanta businessman and co-owner of Coca Cola, Asa Candler, used handwritten tickets for a free glass of Coca Cola to help market his new soft drink. Within one decade Coca Cola was in every state and within two decades one in every nine Americans had received a free Coca Cola soft drink.

– One year later, grocer C.W. Post began using coupons to help sell groceries. His coupon gave people a one cent discount on his new breakfast cereal, Grape Nuts.

– By the 1940s chain supermarkets, which were popping up all over the country, continued the tradition of using coupons that the smaller neighborhood grocery stores had developed.

– In 1957, The Nielson Coupon Clearing House was established devoted entirely to coupon redemption.

– Half of all American households were clipping coupons by 1965.

– The first National Coupon Month was in 1998. In 2000, the program expanded to help parents teach children about the importance of saving money.

I have never seen coupons for Farmers’ Markets but what they are doing up in British Columbia is a brilliant idea. Not only are they giving people coupons but they are showing them how to cook with the healthy food.

With America’s obesity problems this is definitely something we should try.

Nanaimo families are cooking up healthier meals thanks to a program that provides coupons for local produce.

The Farmers’ Market Nutrition and Coupon Project, offered by the B.C. Association of Farmers’ Markets, gives low-income families and pregnant women $15 a week in coupons to buy produce, meat and dairy products from their local farmers’ market.

In Nanaimo, the association partnered with the Tillicum Lelum Aboriginal Friendship Centre and Nanaimo Community Kitchens Society for the 2009 season.

Participants in the program attend cooking and skill-building programs to learn how to prepare nutritious food using fresh ingredients.