We’re living in an age where people walk past fresh, nutritious foods in the market and pick up processed junk, then complain about rising healthcare costs and illnesses like diabetes and hypertension. It’s baffling. You can walk into any local market, and there’s an abundance of affordable fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes—nature’s own medicine. And yet, many of us are choosing sodas, instant noodles, and packaged snacks over them.
Here's the kicker: Eating healthy is not expensive. In fact, it's much cheaper than eating junk. The problem isn't money; it’s that most people don’t even know what eating healthy really means anymore. We've been fed a toxic narrative, quite literally, that processed food is modern, convenient, and somehow better than the traditional whole foods that nourished generations before us.
But the truth? We’ve been lied to.
When you look around and see more people filling their shopping baskets with sugary, packaged snacks than with fruits or vegetables, it becomes clear that we’ve lost touch with what real food is. The foods that our parents and grandparents relied on—whole grains, beans, fresh vegetables—are often seen as outdated or "poor man’s food." But these are the same foods that sustained entire communities and kept people healthy for decades. And here’s the irony: they’re not only healthier, but they’re cheaper too.
Take a simple comparison. A packet of instant noodles costs about the same as a bunch of spinach or a handful of beans. The noodles will fill you up for an hour, give you a spike of empty calories, and then leave you hungry and tired. The spinach or beans, on the other hand, will give you essential nutrients—iron, protein, fiber, vitamins—that your body actually needs to stay strong and healthy. And yet, the spinach sits there in the market, while people reach for the instant noodles.
Let’s talk about the grains people eat every day. In many households, refined maize flour has become a staple. People make ugali, sadza, fufu—all dishes that fill the stomach but leave the body malnourished because the refining process strips the grain of its fiber, vitamins, and minerals. This flour is often more expensive than the unrefined, whole grains it’s made from, like millet or sorghum, which are packed with nutrients. Yet people still prefer the refined version. Why? It’s because we’ve been trained to associate refined and processed foods with wealth and progress.
We’ve been sold the idea that eating processed food is somehow a sign of success, while whole grains and vegetables are for those who can’t afford better. This idea has seeped so deeply into our culture that people avoid whole foods, even when they are the cheaper, healthier option. And that’s exactly how big food companies want it. The more we rely on their cheap, heavily processed products, the more money they make—at the expense of our health.
There’s another layer to this, too: convenience. We’ve been convinced that cooking healthy food is too time-consuming, that it’s easier to just grab something quick and processed. But this belief doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. Whole grains like millet and sorghum take about as long to cook as rice or refined maize. Vegetables like spinach or kale can be sautéed in minutes. Beans can be cooked in bulk and stored for days. But we’ve grown addicted to the idea that food must be fast, easy, and disposable. We’ve replaced the nourishing, slow-cooked meals of our ancestors with microwaved noodles and factory-made snacks.
It’s not just our diets that are suffering—it’s our health. Processed foods, while convenient, come with hidden costs. They’re packed with sugars, unhealthy fats, and additives that are designed to make them taste good but do nothing for our bodies. And over time, these foods are slowly killing us. They’re contributing to the rise in lifestyle diseases like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, which have become epidemics across the continent.
And the irony is, we’re paying more for the privilege of eating food that makes us sick.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are among the cheapest foods in any market. Yet, many people believe they can’t afford to eat them regularly. It’s a staggering misconception. Local produce like bananas, mangoes, papayas, and avocados are often dirt cheap, yet people will still reach for a soda or a packet of cookies that costs the same or more. Why? Because they’ve been led to believe that fresh foods aren’t as filling or convenient as processed snacks.
But here’s the truth: a handful of fresh fruit will give you the natural sugars, fiber, and vitamins your body needs to function well, without the crash that comes from processed sugar. A few bananas are far more sustaining than a soda, yet many of us reach for the sugary drink.
It’s the same story with vegetables. Leafy greens like mchicha (amaranth) or kale are some of the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat. They’re full of iron, calcium, and vitamin A, which are critical for everything from strong bones to clear eyesight. And guess what? They’re cheap. In some places, you can buy a whole bunch of greens for less than the price of a small bag of chips. But people still choose the chips, not because they’re cheaper, but because they’re marketed as a fun, modern snack.
This isn’t just about making better food choices. It’s about reclaiming our health and rejecting the lies that have been sold to us. We don’t need to spend more to eat better; we need to spend smarter. Instead of buying into the myth that processed food is the only option for busy, modern lives, we need to rediscover the value of whole, unprocessed foods. They’re not only more affordable, they’re infinitely better for our bodies and our long-term health.
And let's not ignore the psychological game at play. Advertisements, flashy packaging, and the illusion of convenience have made processed foods appear more desirable, even when they’re hurting us. These industries thrive on keeping us uninformed. If we don’t understand how affordable and accessible healthy eating truly is, we’ll keep reaching for their products.
This needs to change. We must arm ourselves with the right knowledge. The more we understand about food, the better choices we’ll make. That means realizing that the fresh produce sitting in local markets—those fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes—are not just cheap, they’re the key to a healthier life. It means understanding that the processed, packaged junk we’ve been sold as food is what’s really expensive, not just in terms of money, but in terms of our health and our future.
It’s time to break the cycle. Eating healthy doesn’t have to be complicated, and it doesn’t have to be costly. In fact, it’s the simplest, most affordable choice we can make. What it takes is a shift in mindset—a realization that what our bodies really need has been in front of us all along. Nature has always provided the best and cheapest option; we just need to start choosing it.
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