Food excuses busted as myths

TWO of the most common beliefs stopping people from eating healthily are myths.

As Australia struggles with a burgeoning obesity rate and rising cost of living, research reveals a good diet is neither significantly more expensive nor more time-consuming.

The two perceptions are often given as reasons to not change poor eating habits.

However the research, conducted by taste.com.au as part of its Eat Real campaign, revealed that the average price difference a week between eating badly and well was just $9, and the time difference in meal preparation was 3.8 minutes.

The majority of those sampled, whether their diets were rated poor-fair or very goodexcellent, spent almost exactly the same on groceries per person each week.

“It’s easy to get caught up in the marketing machine that tells us that healthy food is expensive,” said Dr Nick Fuller, an obesity expert from the University of Sydney.

“We’ve convinced ourselves that buying kale is better for us than buying broccoli, but the truth is that all leafy green vegetables have similar nutritional values, and they are all good for us. You’re better off buying whatever leafy green is in season or on special that day,” said Dr Fuller, author of bestseller Interval Weight Loss.

The idea that preparing healthy food is difficult and time-consuming is another stumbling block. “Once again, we’re getting caught up in the very convincing argument that our meals need to be complicated,” Dr Fuller said.

While spending more time or money won’t necessarily buy you a better diet, cooking at home can have a huge impact on your health.

Taste.com.au’s Eat Real features recipes and menus (including the budget-conscious Eat Real 14-day challenge), a Facebook support group and the new Eat Real Unwrapped podcast series. And it’s all free.

Despite busy schedules, exMasterChef contestant and surfer chef Hayden Quinn and his American model girlfriend Jax Raynor still find the time to cook each evening.

“If you have time to wait around for food to be delivered, you have time to cook,” Hayden said. “Dinner takes us about 30 minutes, and we’re not always in the kitchen for the whole time. We’ll often put something on and then leave it to do other things,” said Jax, who also has her own food blog, Model Turned Cook.