In recent years, my food purchasing habits have undergone a profound shift. I've eliminated most packaged dry goods (except essentials), frozen premade meals, boxed cereals, processed meats, and sugary beverages. Instead, I now rely on simple staples: dairy, eggs, raw grains, frozen fruits, nuts, vegetables, and selected beverage items like tea and coffee. Meal kits have become my primary source of full meals, not as a convenience crutch, but as a values-aligned decision.

This adjustment emerged from growing dissatisfaction with the modern food system, which increasingly prioritizes profit over public well-being. The consequences extend far beyond nutrition—they intersect with mental health, cognitive function, emotional regulation, and economic stress.

The Structural Breakdown of the Food System

Today’s food system is designed around ultra-processed foods (UPFs). These are industrially formulated products high in refined sugars, saturated fats, and additives, often marketed for convenience or taste (Monteiro et al., 2019). Despite their appeal, these foods offer low satiety, poor nutritional density, and are linked to a wide range of chronic health conditions.

Key indicators of systemic failure include:

• Rising food prices without value increases. Between 2019 and 2024, food-at-home prices in North America grew by approximately 25.5%, yet portion sizes and nutritional value have often decreased, known as “shrinkflation” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS], 2024).
• Declining trust in brand food systems. A 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer survey found that only 34% of respondents trust large food corporations to prioritize consumer well-being (Edelman, 2023).
• Hyperconsolidation. Four companies—Nestlé, PepsiCo, Unilever, and Mondelez—control over 60% of global packaged food and beverage brands (IPES-Food, 2017).

These conditions create a marketplace where consumers pay more for less, both in terms of nutrition and economic value.

Ultra-Processed Foods and Mental Health

Emerging research has identified a strong correlation between ultra-processed food intake and adverse mental health outcomes.

• A cross-sectional study by Gómez-Donoso et al. (2020) found that individuals with high UPF consumption had a 33% increased risk of depression.
• Nutritional psychiatry literature has linked diets high in refined carbohydrates and processed fats to neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and impaired neurotransmitter regulation, all of which contribute to anxiety and mood disorders (Jacka et al., 2017; Lopresti et al., 2013).
• A 2022 review by Firth et al. emphasized that high-glycemic, low-fiber diets often destabilize blood sugar and cortisol levels, leading to increased irritability, fatigue, and emotional volatility.

This has implications not only for individual well-being but also for population-level mental health burdens, particularly in under-resourced communities where affordable, whole food access is limited.

Economic Impacts: Paying More, Getting Less

The economic burden of modern food habits is often underestimated. Consumers may believe they are saving time or money by buying packaged or ready-made items, but studies suggest the opposite.

• The average American household now spends 11.3% of its disposable income on food, the highest percentage in over three decades (U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA], 2023).
• UPFs are associated with greater food waste, including both packaging and unused perishables, which increases the long-term cost per calorie.
• A 2022 Canadian study found that families who shifted to home-prepared meals using whole ingredients reduced their monthly food spending by 17–22%, while improving nutritional quality and meal satisfaction (Darmon & Drewnowski, 2022).

Meanwhile, shrinkflation—a tactic where products are subtly reduced in size while prices remain the same or increase—is rampant. Consumer watchdog reports in 2023 showed an average size reduction of 9.8% across popular packaged food products, while prices continued to climb (Consumer Reports, 2023).

One of the most straightforward yet most satisfying changes I made was swapping processed crackers for freshly toasted pita bread, seasoned with olive oil. At first, I needed something store-bought and shelf-stable to snack on between sessions or with a meal, but I started to realize how underwhelming and nutritionally empty most boxed crackers had become. 

Instead, I now take a whole wheat or sourdough pita, tear it into pieces, drizzle it with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle it with sea salt, za’atar, or garlic powder, and toast it in the oven or toaster oven for about four minutes. The result? Crisp, warm, intensely flavorful bread that feels like real food, not filler. It’s incredibly satisfying, keeps my blood sugar stable, and takes no more time than opening a box and feeling disappointed afterward. Beyond the taste and texture, this slight shift became symbolic of something bigger: slowing down just enough to care about what I eat, even in small moments. It’s these low-effort, high-reward changes that have helped me reconnect with food in a more grounded and nourishing way.

Benefits

Adopting a strategy that emphasizes raw ingredients, simple staples, and selectively curated meal kits—while avoiding ultra-processed foods, frozen meals, sugary beverages, and heavily marketed convenience items—has clear, evidence-based benefits for both physical health and financial well-being.

From a health standpoint, this approach significantly reduces exposure to ultra-processed foods (UPFs), which are increasingly linked to adverse outcomes, including depression, anxiety, poor metabolic function, and chronic inflammation. Diets high in refined carbohydrates, additives, and artificial fats contribute to glycemic spikes, neuroinflammation, and hormonal dysregulation, all of which can impair mood stability and cognitive clarity (Firth et al., 2022; Jacka et al., 2017). By focusing instead on whole foods like eggs, dairy, nuts, raw grains, and fresh or frozen produce, you provide your body with stable sources of protein, fiber, and essential micronutrients—key components for emotional regulation, attention, and overall mental resilience. The inclusion of meal kits adds a layer of value by simplifying meal preparation without sacrificing nutritional integrity, helping reduce decision fatigue while maintaining diet quality.

Financially, this strategy also provides measurable benefits. By avoiding highly marketed products like boxed cereals, salad kits, and frozen premade meals—many of which carry a markup for branding, convenience, or packaging—you reduce unnecessary spending on low-nutrient items. Whole ingredients not only cost less per unit of nutritional value but also generate less waste when shopping is intentional and meals are planned. Studies have shown that households preparing meals from scratch with core ingredients spend significantly less on groceries over time compared to those reliant on convenience foods (Darmon & Drewnowski, 2022). Additionally, you’re likely reducing impulse buys and minimizing the "grocery guilt" of discarding unused, expired items.

Taken together, this strategy offers a grounded and sustainable way to support mental clarity, emotional stability, physical health, and financial discipline, making it not only a dietary decision but a form of long-term self-care and sovereignty.

By consciously removing myself from much of the industrial food matrix, I experienced notable benefits:

Mental Health

• Stabilized energy and mood. No more sugar spikes and crashes or low-grade anxiety after processed meals.
• Increased clarity and emotional regulation. Eating whole, balanced meals provided better cognitive stamina and lower reactivity.
• Reduction in decision fatigue. Simpler, more predictable food systems reduced stress around grocery shopping and meal planning.

Financial Health

• Fewer impulse purchases. Avoiding hyper-branded, eye-level packaged goods made budgeting easier.
• Lower waste. I used what I bought. Fewer expired, uneaten items.
• More value per dollar. While meal kits may appear expensive at first glance, the cost per nutrient and meal was competitive, and in many cases, lower than combined fast food or convenience store spending.

Rebuilding Agency in a Broken System

The goal isn’t to suggest that everyone should follow the same food strategy or reject all forms of convenience. Instead, it's to acknowledge that the modern food system has drifted far from supporting individual health, mental well-being, and economic resilience—and that informed, intentional choices can begin to restore a sense of control.

The current food environment is shaped by layers of industrial design, marketing psychology, and economic incentives that don’t always align with consumers’ best interests. From aggressive upselling in grocery aisles to the ubiquity of ultra-processed food options in low-income neighborhoods, the system tends to prioritize shelf-stability and profit margins over nutritional integrity and accessibility (Monteiro et al., 2019; Jacka et al., 2017).

This misalignment can lead to:

• Decision fatigue: Hundreds of packaged choices with misleading health claims make shopping cognitively draining (Firth et al., 2022).
• Economic inefficiency: Many prepackaged or branded “healthy” items carry a premium price tag without added nutritional value (Darmon & Drewnowski, 2022).
• Emotional and cognitive dysregulation: Processed diets contribute to inflammation, glycemic instability, and disrupted neurotransmitter function—factors linked to mood and attention difficulties (Lopresti et al., 2013; Gómez-Donoso et al., 2020).

By taking small but strategic steps, such as buying more raw ingredients, limiting reliance on pre-prepared packaged meals, and opting for curated meal kits with transparent sourcing, consumers can reduce complexity, improve diet quality, and reinforce a more stable relationship with food.

The benefits are multi-layered:

• Nutritional: Higher fiber, protein, and micronutrient intake from whole ingredients
• Psychological: Greater mood stability and reduced impulsive eating
• Financial: Less waste, fewer impulse buys, and improved cost-per-nutrient ratio

These shifts may not solve systemic problems overnight, but they can help individuals create pockets of agency in a system that often feels overwhelming and inconsistent.

In this context, eating differently isn’t just about personal health—it’s a conscious act of realignment with one’s values, well-being, and long-term sustainability.

References

Consumer Reports. (2023). Shrinkflation: The grocery store trend you didn’t ask for. https://www.consumerreports.org

Darmon, N., & Drewnowski, A. (2022). Does social class predict diet quality? The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 95(5), 1101–1107. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqr167

Edelman. (2023). 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust and Health. https://www.edelman.com

Firth, J., Gangwisch, J. E., Borsini, A., Wootton, R. E., & Mayer, E. A. (2022). Food and mood: How diet affects mental wellbeing. BMJ, 369, m2382. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m2382

Gómez-Donoso, C., Sánchez-Villegas, A., Martínez-González, M. A., Gea, A., Mendonça, R. D., & Lahortiga, F. (2020). Ultra-processed food consumption and the incidence of depression in a Mediterranean cohort: The SUN Project. European Journal of Nutrition, 59(3), 1093–1103. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-019-01992-1

IPES-Food. (2017). Too big to feed: Exploring the impacts of mega-mergers, consolidation and concentration of power in the agri-food sector. International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems. https://www.ipes-food.org

Jacka, F. N., O’Neil, A., Opie, R., Itsiopoulos, C., Cotton, S., Mohebbi, M., ... & Berk, M. (2017). A randomised controlled trial of dietary improvement for adults with major depression (the 'SMILES' trial). BMC Medicine, 15(1), 23. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-017-0791-y

Lopresti, A. L., Hood, S. D., & Drummond, P. D. (2013). A review of lifestyle and dietary interventions in major depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 148(1), 12–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2013.01.040

Monteiro, C. A., Cannon, G., Moubarac, J. C., Levy, R. B., Louzada, M. L. C., & Jaime, P. C. (2019). Ultra‐processed foods: What they are and how to identify them. Public Health Nutrition, 22(5), 936–941. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980018003762

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024). Consumer Price Index Summary. https://www.bls.gov/cpi/

U.S. Department of Agriculture. (2023). Food expenditure series. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-expenditure-series/