Getting frustrated over the cost of healthy eating?

snowflake954

I cook for 5 everyday--3 young men, my husband and myself. We live in the city (Rome), and I do my shopping with a cart that I lug 6 blocks to the grocery store and then 6 blocks back home. That's up and down curbs and some stairs. Now to the economics. I take every flyer that I see and study it to find the best prices. I buy almost entirely those items, very seldom to I buy something not on sale. I buy in bulk, and freeze alot in smaller packages, or buy frozen to begin with. I do not buy bio, I think it's too expensive for what you get. I do look for quality, and buy quality products when I consider them to be at a reasonable price. Italians are very picky about quality eating. Because I'm American, and we have a bad rep about food, I had to learn alot and overcome the prejudice here. I get alot of compliments on my cooking, so I've been successful I think. You can eat well at a reasonable price. It takes planning and determination.

kommodevaran

You are frustrated over the cost of expensive eating??

Francl27

KareninCanada wrote: »

It is expensive. Cauliflower, $7.99 for one head, vs two kids' meals at McD's for $7.98. Seriously. (Which is not to say that I bought the kids' meals.) A bagged salad or a bag of spinach, $5.99. A salmon fillet big enough for the four of us will run almost $30.00. And these are not organic choices. Our grocery budget creeps upward every year. Right now I don't do much meal planning or flyer-shopping, but I know from experience that by doing that I could bring the spending down a bit.

Watching the sales and stocking up when certain things like bagged frozen fruit or veggies go on sale, and checking the meat counter for markdowns are both good ways to save a bit of money. Farm markets and bulk meat orders are definitely no savings in some parts of the country, but in other areas the little roadside veggie stands can save you a lot in the growing season. If you can get in with a CSA garden and do a working share, that can keep you in veggies all summer long for just the sweat of your brow.

Yeah well it's people's choice to buy a $8 cauliflower or two bags of frozen veggies for $2. Or to shop at Whole Paycheck instead of Aldi (which I need to check for cauliflowers!).

If people buy the outrageously expensive stuff, they can't really complain that it costs too much to eat healthy, can they? When I was growing up we didn't even have access to the out of season stuff at all. You know it's not the season, you still buy it... your choice. Don't complain about it after...

Buy produce in season, or frozen (or freeze when it's in season). Know the prices at your local stores and what to buy where (I know I won't buy salmon at store A, for example, because store B is $2 a pound cheaper. And heck we don't buy a lot of salmon anyway because we can buy 2 pounds of ground turkey for the same price as 2/3 pound of salmon...

And yeah, check flyers. I typically knock off easily 30% of my bill by stocking up on non perishable when they are on sale.

shadowfax_c11

This won't be too helpful in the short term but it will pay off. I find that I can save a lot with having a dedicated freezer. I have a small chest freezer. Over the growing season I will go to local farms and farmers markets where I can buy fresh produce in bulk for much less than it sells in stores. What I don't eat fresh I put in the freezer. It takes very little work to do this. Just cut up your veggies and put them into quart or gallon freezer bags. No need to blanch or cook. If you wash them make sure the veggies are dry before bagging and freezing or put them in a single layer on a cookie sheet (especially for berries) and freeze before bagging. Use a sharpie to mark the contents and the date it went into the freezer and a 1 year expiration date.

Also that freezer comes in handy for sales where you can get bulk meats and other things. I am just one person and maybe have no real use for a whole ham but when Aldi put hams on sale for .98 a pound you can bet I bought one and popped it in the freezer. One of these days I will cook it off, portion it into freezer bags and have many meals for the $8 spent.

Also cut back on the Amount of meat your family consumes. We americans tend to eat a lot more than we really need to and it can get quite expensive. For health we don't need all that much meat in our diets, although I do think that optimally humans should eat at least some meat and while I respect those who make different choices I will never recommend vegetarian or vegan lifestyles.

If you have friends who hunt check with them. Often people who hunt have more venison than they really want or need. I have a lot of meat in my freezer right now that was given to me by a friend who hunts. In the past I have gotten an entire deer for just the cost of the processing. You can also purchase a cow or half cow from a local farm and have it processed, and put in your freezer, which will save money over time.

I used to do the freezing because I had to in order to survive on a very small income. It helped me to not have to rely as much on cheap filler foods that have little nutritional value. When my life circumstances got better and I moved I left my old freezer behind. it wasn't long before I regretted that. Eve though I live in a very small apartment I decided that having a freezer was a priority and got another one. My little 4 cubic foot freezer only cost $100 so it isn't even that big of an expense to get started.

Queenmunchy

Francl27 wrote: »

Yeah well it's people's choice to buy a $8 cauliflower or two bags of frozen veggies for $2. Or to shop at Whole Paycheck instead of Aldi (which I need to check for cauliflowers!).
.

I paid $2.29 last weekend at Aldi!

snowflake954

Since everyone's talking the price of cauliflower I just paid €1,47 for 1.5 kilo---that's around 50 cents a pound, on sale, of course.

jnunez1963

http://www.frugallivingnw.com/cooking-dried-garbanzo-beans-making-homemade-hummus/

mkakids

Buy on sale a freeze! Meats, cheese, milk, veggies, etc...

mkakids

maria0104 wrote: »

I concur with whoever has said freezing. Freezing has come on leaps and bounds since the days of old since everything was pumped with water and tasted like cardboard. You can check packets and often will find no added water meat and fish in better produce- higher end stores tend to have these (in the UK thinking Waitress, Marks & Spencer, but I get mine from a delivery service often)- which is still cheaper than the fresh stuff. 'Flash' frozen foods often taste just as good and last forever, especially vegetables like edamame, mangetout etc.

Ok....i know most of the names of veggies in the uk...but mangetout was new to me!

Its sugar snap peas for anyone who doesnt want to google

vivelajackie

Rice, beans, and chicken. I eat oats and eggs every morning for breakfast. I'm probably gonna be the unpopular opinion here but I think organic items are ridiculously overpriced for basically the same thing, and unless you have something health related tying you down, should be avoided for the sake of your bank account. Chicken isn't expensive. Buy the bulk options if you can fresh and separate portions to
freeze. Produce is something regular deals are offered for.

Edit: vegetables however, from the farmers, do tend to be reasonably priced. Totally agreeing with a commenter above on that one.

KareninCanada

Francl27 wrote: »

Yeah well it's people's choice to buy a $8 cauliflower or two bags of frozen veggies for $2. Or to shop at Whole Paycheck instead of Aldi (which I need to check for cauliflowers!).

But not everywhere has those options. We have no Aldi's, never heard of Whole Paycheck, and I haven't seen bags of frozen veggies for a dollar each in years. A single can of corn is over a dollar - and that's not the big one. Which goes back to it depending on where you live. In the northern parts of the continent, EVERYTHING is out of season right now unless you are growing it in a pot on your windowsill. But we don't have it half as bad as they do farther north, where you're looking at $50 CAD for a bag of flour.

(Btw, cauliflower was just an example that came to mind because there was serious sticker shock this week on some things.)

kshama2001

KareninCanada wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

Yeah well it's people's choice to buy a $8 cauliflower or two bags of frozen veggies for $2. Or to shop at Whole Paycheck instead of Aldi (which I need to check for cauliflowers!).

But not everywhere has those options. We have no Aldi's, never heard of Whole Paycheck, and I haven't seen bags of frozen veggies for a dollar each in years. A single can of corn is over a dollar - and that's not the big one. Which goes back to it depending on where you live. In the northern parts of the continent, EVERYTHING is out of season right now unless you are growing it in a pot on your windowsill. But we don't have it half as bad as they do farther north, where you're looking at $50 CAD for a bag of flour.

(Btw, cauliflower was just an example that came to mind because there was serious sticker shock this week on some things.)

Whole Paycheck is a dig at the high cost of some items at Whole Foods

kshama2001

minniestar55 wrote: »

I haven't read every post, but I think you need to do some comparison shopping. If you are buying organic, look at what you can switch to regular, non-organic. The more expensive items may be the meat & fish, shop around, look @ different places for prices. I buy frozen tuna steaks, much cheaper than fresh; I buy in-season produce as it's cheaper, also frozen veg is just as healthy as fresh. Some things you can buy cheaper in bulk, like porridge oats, for example; a slow cooker can help you cook cheaper cuts of meat that turn out healthy & tasty. If you're in UK, plenty of local butchers & farm stores to shop, plus Aldi & Lidl have some great stuff pretty cheap. If you prefer to show @ expensive, trendy supermarkets & stores, you'll pay a premium. But I buy good quality food, do a lot of cooking, all healthy stuff (except for hubby's goodie shelf), spend about £225 a month.

Ya, when I buy organic, I focus on the items on the Dirty Dozen (foods with the highest amounts of pesticide). http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty_dozen_list.php

I don't worry about this when I buy from local small family farms as they are not using the same industrial factory farming practices.

acarmon55

shadowfax_c11 wrote: »

If you have friends who hunt check with them. Often people who hunt have more venison than they really want or need. I have a lot of meat in my freezer right now that was given to me by a friend who hunts. In the past I have gotten an entire deer for just the cost of the processing. You can also purchase a cow or half cow from a local farm and have it processed, and put in your freezer, which will save money over time.

This. I buy freezer beef from a local farmer and get 1/2 side at a time. This will feed my family of 4 (2 teenage boys, my husband, and myself) for a good 8-12 months depending on how much other meat we eat. It is a WHOLE lot cheaper for a better quality. I pay the same for a t-bone or ribeye steak that most people spend on cheap ground beef at the store. I also know it is not pumped with water, sodium or any other additives. My kids also hunt and the venison is usually over plentiful, but very lean and tasty. As for the veggies, we have our own garden int he summer (luckily) and I pick and freeze or can my own. Growing my own is much cheaper in the long run and what I freeze or can lasts most of the winter.

tomteboda

KareninCanada wrote: »

It is expensive. Cauliflower, $7.99 for one head, vs two kids' meals at McD's for $7.98. Seriously. (Which is not to say that I bought the kids' meals.) A bagged salad or a bag of spinach, $5.99. A salmon fillet big enough for the four of us will run almost $30.00. And these are not organic choices. Our grocery budget creeps upward every year. Right now I don't do much meal planning or flyer-shopping, but I know from experience that by doing that I could bring the spending down a bit.

Watching the sales and stocking up when certain things like bagged frozen fruit or veggies go on sale, and checking the meat counter for markdowns are both good ways to save a bit of money. Farm markets and bulk meat orders are definitely no savings in some parts of the country, but in other areas the little roadside veggie stands can save you a lot in the growing season. If you can get in with a CSA garden and do a working share, that can keep you in veggies all summer long for just the sweat of your brow.

I read this and my reaction was "holy cr**!" Do you live in a very rural area? If cauliflower is 7.99/head , I'd grab frozen at $1.29/lb. Salmon is a luxury item in the center of a continent (like I am) so we very rarely enjoy it here, though it does very occasionally come in sale. Bagged salads are a financial ripoff, a head of lettuce is rarely more than $1.50, and carrots and cabbage are very cheap when in winter.

Meal planning and flyer - shipping won't bring down for grocery bill "a bit". Given your examples, if you have a variety of shipping options, they'll slash that bill to a fraction.

I think a lot of people are confusing "healthy" eating with luxury eating.

sault_girl

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.

OMG I am in Canada but I kid you not, cauliflower is $6.99 a head right now.

Yes we eat frozen cauliflower all winter!

kimny72

tomteboda wrote: »

I think a lot of people are confusing "healthy" eating with luxury eating.

ITA. Most of the stuff that is frightfully expensive is items that we are incredibly fortunate to even have access to at any given time. 15-20 years ago, we never saw half the fresh fruits & veggies we have now in regular supermarkets in the Northeast US. Things like fresh cauliflower, mangoes, blackberries, spinach. They are available year round now thru the miracles of modern technology and science.

If you truly care about eating "natural" "organic" or any of the other health-food buzzwords, you should be eating seasonally and locally. Otherwise, you are going to pay extra for it, not because it is healthier, but because it is less plentiful and has to travel a longer distance to get to you.

AlabasterVerve

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.

It's pretty indulgent to only eat fresh produce year round. You might feel better about the money you're spending to acknowledge that the expensive foods you're buying are a choice and not a necessity for good health. I spend an outrageous amount of money on groceries so I understand that it is expensive but it's also a luxury to eat my favorite foods year round regardless of price.

If cost is becoming an issue, instead of sticking rigidly to a pre-planned menu you really need to adjust and plan your meals around what healthful foods are available at a good price.