[jasontsui]

I think there is a broader food education issue in the US beyond nutrition- folks simply dont know what to buy, cook and eat, over the course of a life time. The quick fix is a fad diet which comes with instructions and recipes, but these ultimately dont build long term habits. So much of how we write about food here is focused on anti- anti junk, anti fat, anti carb. I think this hints towards the root of the problem where most people dont know what a good foundation is. What are the top 5 American dishes that arent a just disaster for your body?

[i_am_proteus]

Many US grocery stores sell fully-cooked chickens with minimal spicing for about six dollars. These are loss leaders and are often less than half the price of an uncooked chicken.

Grocery stores also tend to bake their own bread, including basic varieties that don't include sugar, for a few dollars a loaf.

Add a can or frozen bag of vegetables and that's a pretty nutritious day's worth of food for relatively little money.

[DanBC]

> Many US grocery stores sell fully-cooked chickens with minimal spicing for about six dollars. These are loss leaders and are often less than half the price of an uncooked chicken

An uncooked chicken is about $10-$15? (£7-£10)?

I don't understand the US combination of terrible animal welfare standards, terrible food hygiene standards, and high cost.

In the UK a fresh whole uncooked chicken is £3.50 ($5). https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/292276232

Bit cheaper if you want a smaller chicken: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/304404069

Bit more if you want higher welfare chicken: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/256278098

We can get over £10 if we pick an expensive shop, and then pick one of their most expensive chickens: https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/duchy-organic-free-ra...

[jasonwatkinspdx]

The US actually has fantastic food hygiene standards. I know it's a meme with some UK/EU folks to clutch their pearls over the chlorinated chicken wash but it is in fact based on solid science. It's a different approach but not invalid.

Prices vary by location, but generally you can expect to get uncooked chicken here for under $2/lb. I live in a largish city and typically pay under $1.5/lb.

I agree about the animal welfare standards, but that is most definitely not unique to us. In fact, I'm acquainted with one of the key people in popularizing intensive confinement livestock practices in the midwest US: they're German and brought techniques from there to Kansas. Likewise I've seen first hand what cattle barns are like in Italy, and it is not good.

Assuming you have access to a kitchen, you can feed yourself very well at minimal cost in the US. I loathe our fast food culture, but do not underestimate just how solid the US supermarket system is.

[grawprog]

Oh grocery store deli chickens. I've made meals out of those things more times than i can count. Gotta admit, i've always wondered about the odd pricing compared to uncooked chicken. I usually go for sandwhiches or a chicken salad myself though.

[reedjosh]

How then would you educate people. The problem really seems to stem from the fact that authorities have recommended an extremely unhealthy low-fat diet for so long.

The carbs at the bottom of the food pyramid are killing us.

https://thebigfatsurprise.com/

[wyldfire]

> The problem really seems to stem from the fact that authorities have recommended an extremely unhealthy low-fat diet for so long.

I imagine that might have some contribution, but my personal experience suggests that the government's bad advice is not to blame for the food choices I make.

[reedjosh]

Fair, but I as a kid (like 10) had no idea what was and wasn't good. I gobbled pretzels, breads, and the like hoping that eating low fat would make me less fat. I thought I was doing what should be healthy.

That and the fact that the government and other authorities like the American Heart Association claim that whole grains are heart healthy to the point that their labels and or claims of heart healthiness are put on boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios...