The Anatomy of Vegetable Bean Soup - How Healthy is it and at What Cost?

With all of the diets out there and the choices we have to make on a daily basis to make sure we maintain a healthy diet for ourselves and our families, choices can become overwhelming and confusing.  There are too many books, too many experts, too much information!  Simplicity is the key here.  What works, what doesn't.  Healthy eating should not be a chore.  It should be easier to understand.  

First and foremost, I am not a dietitian, nor a nutritionist.  I am, however, a busy mother who, like so many people reading here, wants to feed their families the best foods with the most nutrional value at a reasonable price.  Research is the key.

In addition to making the process of food vitamin intake easier to understand, it should also be noted that it is not expensive to buy the foods our body needs.  I am not sure where the idea came from, but many people I have come in contact with on this subject have raised concerns that eating a healthier diet is just more expensive.  I realize that many advertising campaigns make you feel like if you are not eating some off the wall expensive super-food, you are doing yourself and your family a disservice.  They prey on consumers not understanding the food pyramid touting their food as all inclusive nutritional value and then charge a premium price for this convenience.  Now, by law, they have to state what the nutritional value is on the package but, here again, who understands this stuff fully?  With a little research, everybody can and to top that off, you don't need to buy a $10 super-food when that same $10 can buy many items to create many meals.  Sure, buying a can of soup can save you a few dollars over buying individual vegetables in their packages to make your own soup but at what cost, ultimately?