I read a lot of articles online about cooking, food budgets and nutrition.
The other day, I came across an article about saving money by cooking like it's the Great Depression.
This woman is on to something. She challenged herself to make all of her meals from scratch, make due with the ingredients she already had and resist buying fancy ingredients just for one dish.
When was the last time you made a meal that did not include an ingredient that was in a can, box, sealed bag or plastic wrap?
Feeding yourself during the Great Depression meant that you didn't waste anything and made the most of the food you could afford to buy.
When was the last time you threw away half of the produce you bought last week at the grocery store?
Grocery stores have an endless supply of food. The temptation to go to the store to buy special ingredients every time I happen upon a tasty sounding recipe is a temptation I fight frequently. In the meanwhile, some of my fresh produce languishes in the fridge.
My journey to wellness has been well documented here at twoday and I don't think it is a surprise to anyone that I still struggle daily with health and wellness. My fiancé has been blessed with slim genes and a profession that keeps him moving all day so our refrigerator is stocked with some not-so-healthy-for-me foods that Jason can get away with eating. Every time I open the refrigerator door, I have to resist the urge to reach for the piece of delicious cheese instead of the piece of ripe fruit for my snack.
Being reminded that nutritious, delicious fresh produce was going to waste was a great wake up call for me this week. As fall settles in here in Pittsburgh and the natural instinct to hibernate and eat heavy stews and pies takes over, I have to remind myself that now is the time to be more diligent about my health and wellbeing.
Now is not the time to give up on all of that healthy eating we all did this summer to get in shape for shorts and tank top weather!
Here is your assignment, dear readers. Take a look at your lunch if you packed it today. Does it include veggies on your sandwich? Fresh fruit to snack on? Carrot sticks for those 3pm munchies? A cup of organic yogurt with raw honey for dessert?
I've got a turkey sandwich on wheat with lettuce, onion and tomato; a plum and a Fiber One 90 calorie brownie. I freely admit the Fiber One brownie is full of preservatives and is manufactured food. But sometimes chocolate is all that keeps me going! Two out of three isn't bad, right? (Like all things, I am a work in progress!)
Open up that lunch box and tell me what you have!
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Find Sally on Facebook and tell her what delicious foods you have sitting in your refrigerator and what you plan on doing with them for dinner.
Find twoday magazine on Facebook and let’s continue this conversation there...Do you think our grandparents were healthier overall because of the whole foods that they ate? Are processed foods to blame for America’s ever-expanding waist-line?
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Sally: Cheers to you for coming up with a compelling title. Unfortunately, that is where the praise ends.
It seems you have haphazardly sewn three different articles together - the first about eating in the great depression, the second about how your fiance is slim, and the third about packing healthy lunches.
It appears as though your articles are written in about ten minutes without proofreading (meanwhile is an adverb, not a noun - you could have said “meanwhile…” or “in the meantime…” not “in the meanwhile.” Your careless writing style and inability to stick to the point (though, you at least have a point (if not three) in this article) render your articles easy to forget and easier to mock. I truly think you would benefit from outlining your stories so they have a beginning, middle, and end.
I hope you consider this critique and consider outlining in the future. I bet you (and your readers) will notice a big difference!
-Hello Knitty
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I. Introduction
A. Salutation
B. Purpose of comment
II. Compliment
A. Benefit of sharing struggles
III. Criticism
A. Failure to stay on point
B. Questions about meandering
IV. Conclusion
Sally,
HelloKnitty makes a very good point. I always recommend to people who have trouble staying on point in their writing to outline their thoughts. As you’ll see above, I’ve outlined my comment to provide you with an example of how outlining works.
Writing about one’s personal struggles with weight loss, especially when that person has dealt with extreme obesity issues, is a worthwhile endeavor. To that end, I’m glad you’ve been sharing your journey with your readers.
That said, HelloKnitty hits the nail on the head with regard to your failure to stay on topic. Is your main thesis that people should save money on food (like during the Depression)? That we should be eating more produce (unlike during the Depression)? That we shouldn’t eat 90-calorie brownies (which didn’t exist during the Depression)? Is your question about what your readers packed for lunch designed to make them feel guilty? Also, if this article is really supposed to be about the virtues of eating whole foods, it’s odd that the majority of your lunch components (turkey, bread, perhaps mayonnaise or mustard, packaged brownie) came from ingredients that were probably from “a can, box, sealed bag or plastic wrap.”
Anyway, I hate to sound so negative before your wedding, but I always appreciate constructive advice regardless of its timing. I hope you do as well.
Cheers,
Powerwalker
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Powerwalker and Sally:
I just logged on because after reflecting on my comments, I thought I had been a bit harsh. It is true that Sally’s story meandered, but I think Powerwalker raises a good point. Sally is really exposing herself by writing about her obesity and the struggles of losing weight and I bet readers would love to hear more about her journey.
Maybe I should take a dose of my own medicine and think about the point before hitting the “submit’ button.
Hello Knitty