Getting frustrated over the cost of healthy eating?

Sumiblue

I'm in CT and it's cold. No fresh produce now. I can still get farm eggs, locally. One thing my hubs and I do is buy a CSA share in the Spring. It's a share in a farm and you get a box of produce every week. Our farm has fruit & vegetables and runs from May through November. Especially in Fall, we get so many apples & squashes. I make applesauce & butters. Or dehydrate the apples for snacks. The squash keep for a long time. In the end, it turns out to be a good deal and a lot of healthy food. I froze a lot of the produce and didn't even have a chest freezer. You end up eating healthy because it's fresh produce and you don't want to waste it. OP, maybe look for CSAs in your area for the next growing season.

20yearsyounger

snowflake930 wrote: »

clafairy1984 wrote: »

i dont like to buy frozen meat and fish, as often pumped full of water, meaning you actually get less for your money. My Dad used to work in a eat proccessing factory, and was a fisherman for a while, and he's told me so many stories of what they do to the meat/fish before it's frozen.

I agree. A lot of sodium added to frozen chicken/turkey as well. Fresh is better, but it is more expensive unless you can get it on sale.

You might just have to look around to find the ones that don't have sodium added. I noticed that too but there are some frozen ones with zero or very low sodium ones added. At least here in the US.

SparklySarah412

I get most of my meat from tescos as I live in a small town and it's the only supermarket we have. Tesco tend to do a value range, a finest range and a middle of the road range of all the most popular cuts of meat and I find the middle range perfectly fine and nowhere near the cost of the "finest" stuff. They also do big packs of fresh meat that I portion up and freeze so that I can get more meals out of them.

I can't say that I've found I'm spending more money since choosing to eat healthier. Although to be fair, I never was a fan of things like burgers and oven chips etc.

Out of interest, what goes in the green smoothies? In my experience it takes quite a lot of fresh produce to make one glass of smoothie so they can end up being pretty expensive to make..

clafairy1984

i keep a bag of frozen berries and chuck it in with a banana and whatever greeens i have in at the time eg spinach, kale. I'm not finding that i often but stuff in for them. More a case of using up stuff .

janejellyroll

clafairy1984 wrote: »

I buy fresh good quality fish and meat, fresh veg and fruit, nuts etc. All meals are prepared fresh and i use processed ingredients as little as possible. I have soups for lunch, and green smoothies for breakfast, snacking on homous and veggies, nuts etc inbetween meals. There are 2 adults and a 5 year old. I'm even careful about wastage, with any leftovers being taken for my partners lunch at owrk, or being chucked into smoothies and soups. I create meal plans and tend not to devaite from my shopping list or get tempted by deals. Only way i can think to reduce the cost is to buy frozen ingredients and lower quality meat, and substitute for more proccessed foods, all things i dont really want to do.

Well, fresh fruits and vegetables and quality meats are -- relatively speaking -- luxuries. People who choose to consume them regularly will pay more. If you aren't willing to incorporate frozen fruits and vegetables (which have the same health benefits as fresh) into your meals or substitute different meats (or base some meals around meatless sources of protein), you will pay more for groceries. It's all about what you value.

This is going to be true for anything that you buy.

I like to sleep on high quality bed sheets. It doesn't frustrate me to pay for them because I know it's my choice to pay more.

Some options that I've used when I've wanted or needed to economize on food: Use fresh vegetables and fruit as accents or treats and use frozen vegetables and fruit for the rest. Learn lots of bean dishes. Don't automatically discard all processed foods (pasta, for example, can be a great meal combined with beans and vegetables -- it's very filling and can be very, very cheap). Figure out the cheapest healthful food for a category and buy that instead (example, kale is very trendy where I live, but other greens are much, much cheaper). Reconsider pricey snacks like nuts (use nuts as an accent instead of a main component). Befriend cheap grains: rice and oats bulk up meals and help you feel full. Smoothies can be very expensive: you're often taking more expensive foods that could last for days and combining them into one serving.

toe1226

It looks like you are from outside the U.S., but some options that may be available to you: if you have a large freezer you can order a piece of an animal, cow or something...I find roasting full chickens to be more affordable than buying chicken breasts...nuts at bulk sections or farm stands helps...we have this place here called Costco where I get most of my meats in bulk (chicken, turkey, fish) and nuts in bulk and it helps a lot...but i mean, what better to spend money on than the great feeling that comes along with eating high quality foods?

Jbarbo01

I think meal planning is of the utmost importance for keeping costs down especially when you're dealing with very perishable food. One trick that restaurants use to keep cost down is buying in bulk and then using that bulk item in multiple meals. For example, buy a whole chicken instead of chicken breasts and use that chicken in different recipes throughout the week or buy a lean roast and make slow cooked pulled beef and make that throughout the week. If you're already doing these things, then it sounds like you're doing pretty well and I agree it does suck that eating healthy can feel so expensive.

gramarye

tomw86 wrote: »

4. Decide what is most important to you - good food at a good price or food ethics. A barn raised chicken egg tastes no different to a free range one from a shop (home kept free range are definitely tastier though) but will be up to 20p cheaper per half dozen. I understand and accept that some people like their food to be organic and well raised but to me it comes down to price pure and simple.

This stands out to me because it's how I do my things. I cook for a family of three and neither my special dudefriend nor I made enough that we can shop our ethics versus our pocketbooks. So I don't buy organic, and I tend to buy a grocery-brand meat products because I can afford to feed my family well on them, and still pay our bills. It's not ideal, but it's what we have.

I don't know how different the US and the UK vary in grocery shopping, so I don't know if any other advice helps from me. I shop sales and markdowns like a mofo, and freeze everything. My grocery store of choice marks down meat and produce when it's on sale, and I always cruise the marked down meat. I also like to buy in bulk and freeze, when I can. I watch coupons and circulars that come in the mail, and I use their app for digital sales.

If food ethics are more important than cost to you -- more power to you! It's an admirable thing to follow.

lemurcat12

kommodevaran wrote: »

I can't say I have experienced the same. Are you sure you are counting everything? Eating out, drinks, pantry staples? Comparing families with the same number of adults and children? What ARE you buying? Everything organic? Frozen vegetables? What do you drink? Do you cook yourself? Do you throw away food sometimes? Do you shun carbs? Lots of healthy foods are cheap, and they go a long way.

All of this.

I think eating well and especially cooking from whole foods (not WF, however) ;-) can be quite inexpensive vs. relying on convenience foods. My biggest expense when it comes to food is eating out or buying lunch (since the places that have the kinds of foods I like aren't usually the cheapest). But meat and veg and eggs aren't expensive and other staples (since I don't ban things like potatoes, sweet potatoes, dried legumes, canned tomatoes, dried pasta) help cut costs too. I do splurge on non frozen vegetables since I find the others more convenient and flexible in how I can use them, but if cost was an issue I'd buy frozen off-season -- they are actually probably higher in nutrients than off-season veg carted in from elsewhere.

Fish certainly can be quite expensive depending on where you are and how you source it. I love it and am also willing to splurge on it, but I've noticed that there are quite reasonably priced frozen fish at TJ's too, and I can sometimes get local (ish) trout that's reasonably priced. (Where I live pretty much all fish will have been frozen, so going for unfrozen just means it's been thawed. Easier if you want it that night, but otherwise pointless.)

tracefan

Yes I agree it's a shame that buying real food has to cost so much. As to where you can it Raman noodles and processed cheese for a dollar. Shopping at whole foods is expensive. But I guess eating healthy is worth it in the long run. I won't eat that processed garbage

lemurcat12

lynnstrick01 wrote: »

Just curious here, I live in central florida, lots of farms... so also lots of little road side stands that sell all sorts of local fruits and veggies at VERY reasonable cost. Do all of you have that same opportunity where you live? If so it is a much better option than the grocery stores

In the summer and fall, sure. Now, no.

janejellyroll

tracefan wrote: »

Yes I agree it's a shame that buying real food has to cost so much. As to where you can it Raman noodles and processed cheese for a dollar. Shopping at whole foods is expensive. But I guess eating healthy is worth it in the long run. I won't eat that processed garbage

But the options aren't "shop at Whole Foods" or "eat garbage." Even if you want to dub certain foods "garbage," I've never been at mainstream grocery store that doesn't have affordable options in fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, beans, grains, pasta, canned tomatoes, nuts/nut butters, spices, and other foods that can be turned into tasty and nutritious meals.

lemurcat12

Like I said above, I find eating mostly from whole foods (but not from WF!) can be done pretty cheaply. ;-)

verlaine01

kuranda10 wrote: »

I also suggest frozen veggies over fresh. "They" (no I don't have sources materials at my finger tips, so nobody ask) are finding that frozen veggies may be more nutritious than fresh. They are frozen quickly after harvest where as fresh are stored and may travel for days before reaching the stores, losing nutrients the whole time.

Plus frozen is considerably less expensive. For example right now cauliflower is $2.10 for 1/2 of a tiny head, It is $2.60 for 500g frozen.

I agree, sometimes I buy lots of fresh vegetables, but by the end of the week, they are not as fresh. And in winter...where I live, sometimes broccoli or cauliflower is insanely expensive. Food is expensive period. Sometimes fresh vegetables and fruit adds up a lot. So do meats. Shop specials and freeze meats, buy bulk, sometimes the initial cost is more, but the actual per gram price is lower overall.
I wish I could eat all organic, all range fed meats, everything natural, but realistically normal wage earners, just don't have that kind of cash.
Ahhhh if I was a millionaire....I'd just get liposuction, or a private chef and trainer.

missblondi2u

My husband was a fine dining chef for many years, and we've gotten majorly spoiled in the food department. We usually choose fresh over frozen because we feel it tastes better, and we buy sustainable products because that's important to us. We spend a lot on our food, and yes we shop at Whole Foods (or Whole Paycheck as my friends call it) because our food makes us happy. I have no illusions that this makes us any healthier though. It's all aboutabout what makes you happy!

kristysaurus

Coming from the arctic I can definitely understand where you are coming from. Up here processed/frozen food is insanely expensive (look up food prices in the north - there is a hilarious youtube video). I buy frozen vegetables to make up a large part of our diet. I don't know if you have this where you shop but at some stores, when fresh meat gets a little closer to the "eat before" date they put it on sale for 30% or 50% off. If you figure out when they mark things down (or make friends with the butcher to find out) you can save a ton of money on meat since each package will be discounted. I will usually buy a ton of it when it's marked down and freeze it when I get home. This has helped us a lot. We have 3 adults and per month we spend around 600CAN (coming from the North this is fantastic).

kshama2001

janejellyroll wrote: »

tracefan wrote: »

Yes I agree it's a shame that buying real food has to cost so much. As to where you can it Raman noodles and processed cheese for a dollar. Shopping at whole foods is expensive. But I guess eating healthy is worth it in the long run. I won't eat that processed garbage

But the options aren't "shop at Whole Foods" or "eat garbage." Even if you want to dub certain foods "garbage," I've never been at mainstream grocery store that doesn't have affordable options in fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, beans, grains, pasta, canned tomatoes, nuts/nut butters, spices, and other foods that can be turned into tasty and nutritious meals.

Agreed. When I was four miles away from a Whole Foods, I shopped there all the time. Now that WF is no longer convenient, I rarely go there, and am able to get the vast majority of the food that meets my values from the local supermarkets.

kshama2001

meganridenour wrote: »

Those of you saying processed food is more expensive than fresh food, clearly don't understand that ramen is 10 for $1.
When I was living by myself and on a grocery budget of about $60 per MONTH, I mostly survived off processed food.
Now between my boyfriend and I, we easily spend $800 a month on groceries. It sucks, but we do like to eat well.

I'm guessing a lot of this is going towards the more expensive proteins? When I tracked my food budget, I was eating lots of organic produce plus all humanely raised meat and dairy for $200 per month. However, I ate a lot of chicken and very little red meat.

kshama2001

clafairy1984 wrote: »

I buy fresh good quality fish and meat, fresh veg and fruit, nuts etc. All meals are prepared fresh and i use processed ingredients as little as possible. I have soups for lunch, and green smoothies for breakfast, snacking on homous and veggies, nuts etc inbetween meals. There are 2 adults and a 5 year old. I'm even careful about wastage, with any leftovers being taken for my partners lunch at owrk, or being chucked into smoothies and soups. I create meal plans and tend not to devaite from my shopping list or get tempted by deals. Only way i can think to reduce the cost is to buy frozen ingredients and lower quality meat, and substitute for more proccessed foods, all things i dont really want to do.

You can save money on meat by buying more chicken and less red meat and fish, and buying chicken when it is on sale and freezing some.

Or you could buy the cheaper cuts of red meat and cook them in a crock pot. These are better suited for slow cooking, anyway.

When fruit is out of season, I buy it frozen.

Danimri84

I feel your pain. I live in a very small town in an extremely rural area. Fresh foods like produce and meat are outrageously expensive, mostly because of the cost of getting them here. It is literally cheaper for me to drive 80 miles away to do my grocery shopping!