Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Fat and weathy or healthy and broke?

Recently I bought some crystal light to-go, fiber and probiotic drink mixes. I thought that they would be cheaper than buying the delicious Naked juice I like so much, but offer some health benefits and encourage me to drink more water and its low in calories. So I tried the things and they were pretty good. But then I started to get headaches. I finally figured out that they came after I drank the mix stuff. So i checked the label and it contains aspartame, which causes headaches in many people. Needless to say, I won't be drinking those things anymore. Back to drinking just water so I can save money for school, a moped, and a trip to colorado (more about those in another post).
If I wanted to save money, but still drink things besides water, I could probably get a case of soda for the same amount as a couple bottles of the Naked juice. Clearly that would not be the healthier choice, but it would be healthier for my bank account. I'm miffed that it seems to be that way for healthy foods in general. I remember being a poor undergraduate student buying my own food and often would resort to the wegman's boxes of mac and cheese, 3 for $1, instead of making something with lean meat and veggies that would have served me better, but been much more expensive. I hope that as consumers in the US continue to demand healthier (for both people and the environment) alternatives, prices on these types of items will become more reasonable.