Just because it's on sale, doesn't mean you should buy it...

A good price doesn't mean it's a good value

About once every 2 months our local grocery store has a larger-than-usual sale and it seems like everyone in town drops in to take advantage of "Dollar Days". Whereas it can be a good time to stock up on regular items, some of the things that go on sale should be left on the shelf, and I don't mean your shelf.

Any of you who are married know that training your spouse is an ongoing endeavour. But I finally feel like I've made some headway with Ivan in this area of buying foods that are on sale simply because they were a good price.

The last time this happened, he came home with something akin to Pizza Pops. Of course the kids were interested so when he was heating one up for himself, extras went into the toaster oven for the boys. My innocence is far reaching - how bad could these things be with bread and cheese and some pepperoni in the middle? I was horrified when they were ready and he took a bite and I saw the innards first-hand. I got the package out of recycling and had a look at the ingredients. Full of Trans fats (Canada is slow at banning Trans fats from everything) and saturated fats. Enough sodium to meet your monthly requirement. 

When I showed it to my husband, I got the standard "but they were on sale, 2 for $1". I told him it didn't matter if they were free, stuff like this should never be eaten and there was no way the kids would be having it. No one's arteries deserves this kind of onslaught. Harm is harm, even when it's cheap.

For me, I'm not tempted into buying things I don't normally buy just because they are on sale. PopTarts aren't good for you regardless. And from a health perspective, they are a lot more expensive then you think. 

Let's talk turkey bacon

Try it. You'll like it.

Considering the things my Dad ate, it's a wonder he lived to 89. 

When I was growing up, bacon was not exactly a mainstay but we did have it once a week. Dad got the most number of strips and Mom would make 'dips' for him - bread fried in the bacon fat left in the pan. Imagine.

I've successfully ignored bacon for a number of years until last summer at the cottage when I was cruising the meat section at the grocery store and noticed a product I had not seen before. I thought I'd give it a try and I've been buying it ever since.

Before you turn your nose up at turkey bacon, let me tell you that it has a ton of flavour, it's already cooked so it can be eaten right from the package, and it's incredibly lean - not even a teaspoon of fat will remain if you try frying it. Warm it up in the microwave between 2 sheets of paper towel and it's ready to be added to your sandwiches. Cut strips right from the package to add to your scrambled eggs. Or what I use it for mainly is an added topping on our weekly pizza. 

So if you've been clever and cut pork bacon from your menu a long time ago (as well you should!) but you're still missing it terribly, cruise through the meat section again at your local grocery store and have a look for turkey bacon. Times have changed, better options are available and bacon doesn't have to be the walking heart attack it used to be.

Sleeping and eating, eating and sleeping

In keeping with our non-technical theme here, let's talk about when to eat and when to wait.

I'm a firm believer in eating when one is hungry. The habit of having a little something frequently during the day keeps your body and your mind going. Fasting is the worst thing you can do. Your body goes into panic mode because it is expecting food, wants food, isn't getting food, so figures it better switch over to shut-down mode because it doesn't know when food is coming. This is counter productive. We want to keep all pistons firing during the day and park for sleeping at night.

That said, you can apply some smarts and some self-restraint when deciding what you eat at what time. A large meal right before bed is going to inhibit digestion, make you feel lousy and disrupt your sleep. Your body wants you to move around after eating, keep that blood flow up, help dissipate those nutrients from your stomach to those outer reaches. Going to bed a number of hours after eating will let your body concentrate on the task at hand (sleeping) and not digestion.

Another trick I have learned over the years is to have my high-calorie treats earlier in the day rather than last thing at night. I, personally, have very little self discipline so denying myself foods I want just makes me grouchy. I remember seeing an interview with Victoria Beckham and she was asked how she maintains her beautiful figure. I'm sure she said other things but what I remember her saying is that she never ate cookies. Two things came to mind when I heard that; she's either very self-disciplined or she does not have a sweet tooth. Hats off to her regardless.

I have a sweet tooth. I grew up in a household where there had to be dessert every night because Dad had a few sweet tooth's and a meal without dessert was a disaster. In my own household, the thought of not having sweets or desserts around is, well, unthinkable. Through trial and error, I have learned that eating 1/4 of a chocolate cake at 9pm will guarantee I'll still be awake at 2 in the morning but having cake with my coffee in the afternoon and I'll sleep like a baby.

So practice some smarts if you can. Don't eat a lot just before going to bed and move your high-calorie treats to earlier in the day. You really can have your cake and eat it too.