.... quality.
Do you choose quality when you can? Do you make quality a priority? Is quality more important than quantity?
The concept of quality in all facets of life has got me thinking about my choices and how I've put them into practice, or in some cases NOT put them into place.
A year or so ago I made the decision to stock my wardrobe differently. In the past I had excelled in bargain shopping - hunting out cheaper clothes stores and then hunting further for sale items. I'd often look at the pieces I bought and regret their cheap and short-life look. I also didnt like how they looked on me and how they made me look. I decided to change that and buy less but of better quality. I still cant resist a sale and sometimes thats the only time I'll shop but I choose carefully now favouring more classic, well cut styles that wont date within 6 months, knowing that a longer life item is a true bargain.
Does anybody else love grocery shopping? I love having the time to check out produce, read labels, compare prices and stock up on the good stuff. Every now and then Peter will remind me of the 'B' word so I reign it in a little but then if I havent bought good quality cuts of meat and seafood he complains, so the 'B' word is forgotten and its all about quality again. The one area I havent delved into yet is the 'O' word. Would love to. Know its better for us and the environment but the cost is holding me back - we eat a LOT of fruit and veg so the jump in cost would be considerable.
I'm trying to reprogram my thinking about food and eating shifting to the less is more and quality over quantity schools of thought. If we (I especially) can get past the 'but my plate isnt full' fear and realise that a little of something delicious goes further than a dinner plate full of chicken breast and brocolli then life should be a happier journey - happier for my tatse buds anyway and probably for my waist line in the long run. How could that be? you ask. Becasue if you always eat big serves and lots of food then thats likely to include (fattier) treats and sweets. My theory then is that the converse is true.
Unfortunately I didnt have a quality workout today :-( I had an attack of the lazies and tried to go back to sleep when my alarm went off at 5. I did get up but, running a bit later than usual decided to do a walk/jog combo. Felt ok (albeit heavy) on the jog intervals and kept it to just over half an hour but noticed later that my right leg is really sore again with most of the pain focussed to just below the knee. Couple this with a dicky right achilles and an aching right ITB and from the waist down on my right side there's a definite lack of quality operations.
Ah, I guess you cant win em all.
:-) M
Hi Magda, I do find eating organic is more expensive (Rob is a fruit-eating machine), but I feel a lot better for it. You could try buying the 'dirty dozen' organic and the 'clean 15' conventional.
ReplyDeleteSee http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/
Cheers, Charlotte
I'd rather spend extra on food knowing the quality is better and will save me money in the long run in terms of health, sickness, etc.
ReplyDeleteI agree it's a mindset thing but once I got over that I find I enjoy the food much more.
When I went back to eating meat I decided if I was going to eat it then I wanted the best so only eat organic meat now, although sometimes will suffice for free-range and of course if I eat out I can't be fussy ;).
I get my organic fruit/veg and some groceries delivered and figure the extra I'm spending here is saving me in petrol from driving to the store :).
SS
Absolutely! I'd rather have a small piece of best quality organic dark chocolate than a family block of , and I love a good quality full fat yoghurt (shock horror!). The same goes for bread, I don't eat the stuff that comes in plastic bags, every few weeks hubby and I head up the mountains to a lovely bakery that bakes their own European style sour dough and enjoy some toast with our coffee...
ReplyDeletexo
Charlotte, thanks for that link. I checked it out and found only 3-4 foods on the dirty dozen list that we eat regularly. So only a small change would be required to make a notable improvement. (We are given summer stone fruits from my parents garden and they dont use any sprays or pesticides.) Interesting to read the clean 15 although no mention of brocolli on either list.
ReplyDeleteSS, I like your shopping theory but at less than 500m from our local shopping centre my petrol savings would be negligible. However if I add up the cost of the coffee I have (and cake or biscuit with it LOL) then ........
I agree about commecial breads Sandra. Burgen is ok but the rest are pretty ordinary and some are just awful. But I'd pass on the dark chocolate any day - I just dont get what the fuss is (hate it). Now as for European sourdough ..... drooling on the keyboard :-) :-)