# The four axes of food **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 15, 2014, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-axes-of-food/695650 "2014-08-15T23:17:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-axes-of-food/695650/41 "2014-08-18T22:38:46Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > At least where I’m at, even the cheapest seafood (usually catfish or tilapia) is more expensive than some meats like chicken. Almost anything locally grown or harvested will come in under something in the same food group as an item that has to be shipped. For example, bluegill or catfish from my local waterways is going to be lower in price than cod or shellfish because I don’t live near the ocean. Therefore, they score higher on the cost in my location than they would for someone in, say, Maryland. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-axes-of-food/695650/42 "2014-08-18T22:46:04Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I thought that **Paintcharge’s** 10 minute red sauce was homemade, not a jar of Ragu. And pasta in moderate quantities isn’t any problem either. You end up with a plate of carbs, vegetables and healthy oil (assuming they used olive oil). I don’t see the problem, other than you could add some protein to make it more balanced. I think 3 still seems logical – 3 isn’t unhealthy, it’s just not especially healthy. Most foods are probably going to be around a 3. And a homemade sauce, with quality ingredients and decent olive oil might bump the cheapness down to a 4 (or even a 3). ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-axes-of-food/695650/43 "2014-08-18T22:47:11Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > I’m on ‘team carrot’ on this one. And for those who think that the cost/trouble of home-growing disqualifies them…but them in the store. Quick, easy, and dirt cheap. > Really, I think quite a few root vegetables fit in this category. They still don’t rate particularly high (cheap) on a cost-per-calorie basis. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-axes-of-food/695650/44 "2014-08-18T22:49:07Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Eggs? I collect a few every morning and they are tasty used in many ways. The health aspects vary according to what research you look at, but for me, a guy on Lipitor, I could eat eggs daily and have perfect lipid numbers. Eggs are a good choice. By themselves, though, eggs are pretty boring – I’m not sure if they rate higher than a 3 on taste by themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Jungian\_Camisole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@Jungian\_Camisole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jungian_Camisole)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-axes-of-food/695650/45 "2014-08-18T23:28:49Z")
How about chicken thighs? You can can buy them very inexpensively, and removing the skin and extraneous fat takes no time at all. Sear them off in olive oil, then add onions, mushrooms, garlic, crushed tomatoes, and a bit of basil and oregano. Now I’m hungry. Curses! ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-axes-of-food/695650/46 "2014-08-19T06:45:32Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > I’m on ‘team carrot’ on this one. And for those who think that the cost/trouble of home-growing disqualifies them…but them in the store. Quick, easy, and dirt cheap. Carrots lose their flavor quickly if they aren’t directly hand-pulled. The good ones from the local farmers’ market still get a 3 on the taste axis from me. > [@Jungian\_Camisole](#): > > How about chicken thighs? You can can buy them very inexpensively, and removing the skin and extraneous fat takes no time at all. Too much trade-off between taste and healthiness. That probably applies to all cheap meat products. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-axes-of-food/695650/47 "2014-08-19T08:22:57Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Right, but there’s nothing particularly healthy about it either. Cheap pasta is just starch. Cheap tomato sauce has lots of sugar. Sugar where? It’s tomato, salt, olive oil, garlic and laurel. Does tomato have a lot of sugar, or are you talking about the kind that comes in a tetrabrik? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-axes-of-food/695650/48 "2014-08-19T08:40:13Z")
The reason no food will score high in all categories is because cost, as defined, is directly at odds with healthiness. Extreme caloric density is directly related to unhealthiness. This doesn’t mean that all calorically dense foods are completely worthless healthwise – fruit juices tend to have vitamins that redeem them at least a little bit for instance. However, anything healthy enough to score a 4 or 5 I’d argue cannot be calorically dense enough to score above maybe a 2 or 3 on the cost scale. ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-axes-of-food/695650/49 "2014-08-19T09:54:49Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Extreme caloric density is directly related to unhealthiness. Maybe if ready-to eat. Dry rice and beans as bought in the store has a tremendous amount of calories per dollar, and is not considered particularly unhealthy. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-axes-of-food/695650/50 "2014-08-19T11:09:46Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Sugar where? It’s tomato, salt, olive oil, garlic and laurel. Does tomato have a lot of sugar, or are you talking about the kind that comes in a tetrabrik? No idea what a tetrabrik is. A lot of cheap and ready-to-eat tomato sauce (jar or can), IIRC, has added sugar. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-axes-of-food/695650/51 "2014-08-19T14:38:03Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > No idea what a tetrabrik is. Like a juice box, but for liquid and semi-solid foods, like tomato sauce, stock, etc… I’d say that it’s more ready-to-eat \*\*spaghetti \*\* or \*\*pasta \*\*sauce has a lot of sugar. Pretty much most anything labeled “Tomato sauce” or “passata” or something like that is usually just straight tomatoes and maybe a few other vegetables, salt and possibly calcium chloride. Same as canned tomatoes, except maybe with a spin through a blender. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-axes-of-food/695650.md?page=2)