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6:30AM: The Early Bird catches the worm!
(Thursday, 21/1/16, approximately 3 minutes walking distance from our house).
Cost per kilo: R$ 1,90= USD $ 0.45.
You must be thinking, HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?! But yes, it’s true… We can purchase all of our fresh produce for the week for less than $10.00. I know I admit it, WE’RE TOTALLY SPOILED!
This is something that I’m REALLY going to miss when I head back to the states. Most of South America, Brazil especially, has an abundance of tropical fruits and vegetables that are available year round at a very low cost. Every neighborhood on the island is required to have at least one open air market, called “sacolão” once per week. The idea is to have an array of fresh, healthy foods available to the community on a weekly basis for an affordable price. Here’s the best part about it: eating well doesn’t break your bank account.
This is fact: Eating healthy in the US is almost always going to be significantly more expensive than buying packaged, processed, junk food. It’s something that has always really bothered me to be honest…I used to be shocked every time I’d make it to the check out counter: “How is just one person spending more than 75 dollars at once when my cart only has fruits and vegetables?” That is our reality. Buying fresh produce at your local grocery store will be anything but cheap, which makes it even more tempting to buy junk food at half the price. If you’re going to spend that much on produce, why not just go for and put in the extra effort to find a local farmer/farmers market and spend just about the same amount on locally grown organic foods?
I want you all to ask yourselves, what can I do to have more natural foods in my fridge rather than processed foods in the cabinet- WITHOUT breaking my bank account? I challenge you to do the research and see which adjustments you can make! Even if it means starting a little garden and growing your own zucchini’s, I promise you it will be worth it! Think about meal planning, cooking your meals in advanced to always have healthy options on hand. Eating more locally grown produce and testing out new recipes to keep it interesting.
In the meantime, watch these short documentaries to help you understand a little bit more:
- Cowspiracy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV04zyfLyN4
- Vegucated (thanks for the suggestion Madison!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKzng1_byMY
Good luck and have a great weekend everyone! Love and light to you all ❤
Cess
PlantBasedByCess 