Is healthy food really more expensive?

Espressocycle

I just totaled up my grocery receipts so far for the month of June: $77.41 for one adult. That doesn't include several restaurant meals that were just for fun, not a regular part of my diet.

I stopped buying junk food in April 2013. My diet base is organic brown rice, lentils, and fresh vegetables, plus Green Mountain espresso. Once in a while I'll eat an egg or some tuna, but I'm trying to cut out the tuna. I don't buy other meat, alcohol, desserts, or treats like special condiments. I'm also not trying to eat as cheaply as possible -- it's just ended up that way.

Wow. I hope you are at least buying spices - the thought of subsisting on lentils and rice without curry is frightening.

metacognition

I spent $30 on fresh cherries in the past two weeks ( on sale and in season ! ) and I can't but help feel that I could have indulged in several rib eye steaks for the same price per pound.

Nonetheless many healthy foods are cheap.


Food price scale:


More expensive = many types of produce, out of season produce, processed frozen food, fresh prepared food,

Mid - range / higher = nuts, greek yogurt (.99 serving),

Mid - range / lower = mixed frozen vegetables (.99 - 1.50 steam bags on sale) , some vegetables in season (corn 10 / 3.00) (potatoes 10 lb 7.99), some fruits in season (bananas 1.39 / 3 lb), chicken breast on sale (2.99 / lb), canned tuna (.75 cents / serving)

Less expensive = dry whole grains and lentils ( 1.00 - 1.89 / lb) , whole grain bread (.80 - 2.99 loaf) , whole grain pasta (.75 on sale), oats (.15 cents / serving)

Pretty much if you get most of your carbs from the cheap whole grains and supplement these grains with high bulk, low calorie veg you can get a decent number of calories for lower $$. Protein is the biggest expense.

Don't replace all of your carbs with acai berries or your protein with sword fish select cuts with a bourbon marinade.

Make most of your stuff from scratch and you'll be well on the way to cutting down. Top two tips would be 1. whole oats and 2. beans. If you eat a lot each day not only will you get a decent amount of protein but you'll do it as a veg serving.

laurynwithawhy

The argument that healthy food is more expensive INCENSES me. I only let that fly with people who live in the 'hood in New York or another big city where grocery stores are crap and prices are ridiculously overpriced and they don't have access or transportation to anything else. Everyone else uses that as an excuse. People who eat healthy don't complain about the price, because they'd rather be healthy than obese at any cost. And people who only eat fried twinkies and taquitos always swear they would eat better if they could afford it. Yeah, because lettuce is SO expensive. Like some other posters said, yes eating healthy requires planning. That's life, you have to think ahead. If you plan, and cook your own food (and really you can make healthy meals in a microwave if you have to), eating healthy is not expensive. I have been dirt poor, and bought enough healthy groceries for a week with less than $20 bucks. Fresh veggies, fresh fruit, dry or even canned beans, oatmeal. None of those things are budget breakers. Organic foods can get more expensive, but can still be affordable if you do your research.

ncmedic201

It depends on how you ate before. It costs me a bit more because we ate a lot of processed meals like the Betty Crocker meals that didn't require anything but water. I could feed myself and my two teen boys for less than $4. I can't do that with healthier food, but it's worth the extra cost.

Alatariel75

See, I find it cheaper, much cheaper BUT I didnt get overweight by eating cheap junky unhealthy food, I got overweight by eating expensive, delicious calorie and fat ladden food.

Where most girls would splurge on a purse or shoes, I'd buy a selection of expensive cheeses to nibble. I'd spend days plotting elaborate meals full of amazing ingredients. Pates, beef wellingtons, twice cooked crispy skin duck... and then the baking and the sweets!

So, for me, it is heaps cheaper and I still have a great time making lovely food. But, after spening 5 weeks in the USA, on the road, I can see where fresh healthy food would initially cost more than take-away - man that stuff is cheap!!!

yellowpeddals2003

Well I do agree with the point about buying less junk food and any
other extra things that aren't really necessary will bring the cost
down but other times I have not bought foods due to cost.
I think overall though I would say it is more of a copout
because junk food is not needed and for example
instead of buying say chips at say 5 dollars
but 5 dollars of a fruit you like. It doesn't have to be organic.

baja572

nope...about the same. and being summer cheaper! don't over buy!

shannashannabobana

You think its cheaper to make your own spaghetti sauce until you realize the tomatoes are 2.99 a pound, and basil and oregano is 99 cents each, etc...

I think that's a false equivalency though. If you buy some canned tomato's and use dried basil/oregano you have in the pantry, you'll be just as cheap. (if you add mushrooms like I do you might have to add a few dollars, but you're also adding bulk and nutrition).

I think if you go crazy and get organic everything, out of season produce, etc you can easily spend more, but if you buy filling, nutritious cheap stuff like banana's, potatoes, rice, cheap cuts of meat and frozen veggies and dried beans you can easily eat well for cheaper.

I always wonder if people have priced junk food lately when they say it's cheaper. Chips are 4 bucks a bag now. Do you know how much rice that buys? YOu can get 4 bags of frozen veggies at kroger, or a pound of meat or a ton of rice for that. And you can fly through those chips pretty easily and have very little nutrition.

As for food deserts, I've lived in a city where the local grocery store was pretty bad but the thing about that is that you can always get somewhere with good stuff. It may take a little effort, but you can generally walk or take public transportation. So I don't think that's as big an issue as some people imagine.

matttt2323

I find low sodium options to be very expensive.

Canned pomodoro tomatos - $2.00 a can
low sodium version 4.49

and fresh produce is just ridiculously priced in NYC

Ill just stick with frozen veggies lol.

hilarymcm

Yes - industrial foods are subsidized; organic/sustainable foods are not. However, you get what you pay for.

Foodiethinking

Only answering this thread because my view has changed..

A few months ago I would have sworn that healthier foods are more expensive but in all honesty, I really think my total spend on food has gone down. It seems more expensive because fruit and veg are all bought in bulk, but fast food is a fiver here or couple of quid here. I still unhealthy food here and there but I'm less inclined to opt for it because I know I have spent money on fresh produce.

If you done all the calculations and wrote down everytime you would normally order something unhealthy but choose not to, the results would be pretty much even I'm sure.

1pandabear

It's not cost prohibitive if you plan it right.

It also depends on what you consider 'healthy'. Some folks won't eat any produce that's not fresh, and that can add up. I eat a lot of frozen veggies, with the exception of a big bag of spinach I buy once a week.

Eggs are cheap, and so is chicken and fish.

If you're not an organic, free-range-grass-fed only type of person, good food can be really cheap.

This is true. Plus you can watch the sales and plan your weekly dinners around the sale produce & such.

Also it is cheaper in the long run because you will end up spending less on medicines :bigsmile:

Beet_Girl

Anyone who thinks healthy food isn't more expensive doesn't live on a $20/wk food budget. I can NEVER buy fresh produce because it's often over a dollar a piece where I am, so I can forget the 6 servings a day or whatever of that. Canned and frozen for me, but even that isn't enough. However, I could easily fill all my caloric needs on crap.

1stday13

DUH...

TurtleTape

Anyone who thinks healthy food isn't more expensive doesn't live on a $20/wk food budget. I can NEVER buy fresh produce because it's often over a dollar a piece where I am, so I can forget the 6 servings a day or whatever of that. Canned and frozen for me, but even that isn't enough. However, I could easily fill all my caloric needs on crap.

I was thinking this. I usually end up doing all my shopping in $10 increments because that's often literally all I can afford. That means I can't buy in bulk (to take advantage of cheap chicken breasts, for example). Healthy foods are definitely more expensive than buying frozen dinners and ramen, especially when you need the calories.

Sure, I could buy a head of lettuce, but that's going to give me like 100 calories total. On the other hand, I could spend the same amount (it was about $1.50 when I bought one the other day) and get like five packs of ramen. Startup costs on eating healthy is also prohibitive. For example, stocking your pantry with basic items, like flour, sugar, seasonings, pasta, rice...makes for an expensive first few shopping trips. If you're like me, you don't have the money to go out and buy these basics that end up making cooking your own foods cheaper.

Add in time and learning how to cook, and a lot of people simply don't have the time or want to learn due to jobs, and it gets worse. I could spend an hour doing my job and making money...or I could make a meal with all fresh, healthy ingredients.

robspriest

It can be and can also be cheaper. When it comes to meat I just look out the the reduced meat and buy it all the time and then freeze it. Always buy fruit when its on special and where I shop I have a few different fruit business so I do my rounds and get the cheapest. If you plan ahead it will be about the same or cheaper.

robspriest

I am not a runner but I do like the walking and I have had more success with walking than paying for a personal trainer. ... WALKING is the best exercise I think, less strain on the knees than jogging (wouldn't jog around my area as the pathways are not very flat and know me I end up falling flat on my face). :happy:

Nicolee_2014

For me it can be a bit more costly because I'm usually shopping for things daily so it keeps fresh. I can't buy in bulk because I never get around to eating it quick enough.

zderain

Anyone who thinks healthy food isn't more expensive doesn't live on a $20/wk food budget. I can NEVER buy fresh produce because it's often over a dollar a piece where I am, so I can forget the 6 servings a day or whatever of that. Canned and frozen for me, but even that isn't enough. However, I could easily fill all my caloric needs on crap.

that's exactly what I'm typically thinking. I get $100 a month in foodstamps and live in an area known for bicyclists and health nuts because we are at the ocean AND the mountains. You cant even find a bike shop who will agree to do a simple 15 minute tune-up for less than $80-$120 because they serve "fitness" people. anything labeled "natural" in grocery stores- doesn't even need to be organic is highly jacked up in many stores. a thing of juice with no corn syrup will cost $8 but the corn syrup variety is $2. fresh veggies are $3 pound and some things $2 per avocado mango and sometimes even a tamatoe. but then if you buy a microwave meal its $1.88 for a whole meal(healthy choice). a large bag of chips is $1-2 almost all year long during sales because atleast a few stores will be having sales at any given time. and then soda for a two liter is 99 cents. but water or juice is more costly.

One big way to look at things is to see that foodbanks only typically have junk food, so you would need to opt out of going to anywhere that helps people with food. I see it as highly more expensive to eat healthy. I have to take money out of savings every month because even though I typically eat 1000-1200 calories a day I am out of foodstamps by the second to third week every month and cant go to food pantries unless I a) am ok with getting food sickness because anything healthy is typically anywhere from one month to 2 years or more expired or b) am ok with eating stale donuts and processed box junk.

I haven't been someone to eat a whole lot of junk food but sometimes all I can survive on is sandwich after sandwich (usually cheese because meat is $8-10 per pound these days but cheese is around $2) I still cannot believe that cheap deli meats are $8 per pound!! why the hell did that happen?? ofcourse the boxed lunch meats are like $3 for 8-12oz which is what I have to go with now, but Ive heard they have more fillers.

the HUGE thing for me though is that I ride a bicycle 100% of the year. I can't come home to eat whenever I want to because I often have other things that I need to get too. if I ate junk while I was out I would probably be paying $20 per month on "out" food- like sugary cheaper granola bars buying a 50cent can of soda. but now that I make an attempt towards decently healthy I probably have to spend $50+ every month popping into a grocery store for a cheapo sandwich or bagel and water or juice or sobe vitamin water or what not. Today I road an 11 mile round trip it took me 4 1/2 hours partly due to snow and I ate a few peanuts this morning and managed to not eat until 4:25 when I got home. but that's not usually the case.

amandakev88

i find it is, definitely. buy when its on sale.