Jun 01 2008
Spam a low-cost meal? Think again.
Yahoo News is reporting that sales of Spam are rising as more being feel pinched by increasing food prices. This caught my eye, as many people advocate Spam as a storage/disaster food, based largely on the food’s much-touted eternal shelf-life.
However, I cannot recommend Spam as any sort of mainstay in your diet. First off, it’s horribly high in both saturated fat and sodium. A two ounce serving contains 23% of the RDA of saturated fat, and 32% of the the RDA for sodium. And, I’m going to bet that few people actually only eat two ounces.
A whopping 78% of the calories in Spam come from fat.
Plus, besides the ghastly nutritional profile, Spam is not an inexpensive food. Around here, a 12 ounce tin costs $2.79. That’s $3.72 per pound, which I consider pretty expensive. Canned tuna, even at the current high prices, is still less than $3 per pound for chunk light tuna. Salmon is only a little more expensive than that. Canned beans can be had for less than a dollar a pound, and dried, once soaked and cooked, can be less than 25 cents per prepared pound. All of these foods have a far better nutritional profile than Spam.
Now, if you are a diehard meat and potatoes eater, I suppose that Spam could have a place in your pantry stocks as a change of pace or comfort food.
However, it is not a cheap alternative. There are many, many less expensive foods out there that are better tasting and better for you, too.
15 Responses to “Spam a low-cost meal? Think again.”
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I haven’t had spam since I was a kid.
SPAM, the other, other white meat.
Chato B. Stewart
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Have you ever tried that spam? It is the most disgusting thing there is to eat. My mom used to make that for us when we where kids. We had to stay at the table until it was gone. I vowed never to feed it to myself or my kids, just like spinach and liver. Have you ever ate that stuff cold?
And yet, the older generation who lived through the war/recession on it are living long healthy lives and it’s their kids/grandkids who are obesely overweight. I know my gran used to live on a diet of bread and dripping (fat) throughout the war, and she lived until she was 84 and there was no excess weight on her. Circumstances meant they ate all wrong, knowledge and society mean we try to do better, and yet overall we seem to be failing. I don’t get it.
The closest we get to storing Spam is canned white meat chicken. I have friends that swear by Spam, though. We don’t eat out together.
I’d starve first….spam….
These lips have never touched Spam. They’ve touched a lot worse things to be sure, but never Spam.
Frugal Living does have some good tips on how to really do low-cost meals
It’s true, there are so many alternatives that are less expensive. Even canned chicken can be less than SPAM on sale
Sierra
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My tummy hurts just from reading that. Spam…
www.singleinla.today.com
I’ve never eaten Spam. Should I start? Hmmmmmm?
Blog hop me if you have a sec, I’m trying to build traffic to my blog by 500 hits, so if you like it, drop me a line and maybe I can snag you as a regular reader!
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I’ve never eaten this, nor will I ever.
Ikkk and I really loved it until you said that. Granted I haven’t had it in about 5 years and I was just commenting to the kids about eating it. Well maybe once in a blue moon.
I heard about that on NPR the other day, too. *shudder* I think I’d rather go vegetarian than eat Spam.
DH and I are on a mission to “live off the land” as much as we can, growing our own fruits and veggies all summer and buying very little at the store.
I love that stuff, maybe thats why I have gained 10 pounds in my old age.
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Have you guys ever had grilled spam? It is not too bad when it is hot and grilled and dip in some mustard or other condiment. Or have you tried a spam roll and dipped in soy sauce, it’s good.
Although I much prefer Tuna! I am glad to see it is the better way to go!