Why Eating Healthy Isn't Expensive/Grocery Haul

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  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
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    Yeah, I also try to go to Krogers on Tuesday. They tend to bring out clearance meats around that time.

    The 99 Cents Store in my area has a really nice produce section.
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
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    OP, is that a plug-in food scale?
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    edited May 2016
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    Good OP.

    We don't have to buy those exact fresh fruits/vegetables.

    Just buy what's in season and therefore cheap, or is on special.
  • jennypapage
    jennypapage Posts: 489 Member
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    I buy a lot of frozen vegetables and fish. Fresh fish prices are out of this world,so i don't go near them. Also always check out the offers in the supermarket.Our supermarket puts an orange sticker with a reduced price to the meat that is one day away from expiring. I always look for those stickers.
  • alyssa0061
    alyssa0061 Posts: 652 Member
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    endlessfall16 wrote: »
    OP, is that a plug-in food scale?

    Oh, no, I had an extension cord plugged in behind it charging some stuff. The food scale is Sharper Image. I got it at Bed, Bath & Beyond. It's a regular battery run scale
  • AmazonMayan
    AmazonMayan Posts: 1,168 Member
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    I hit up things on sale or clearance most of the time. I never shop by recipes unless it's a dessert for a function or for holiday meal items.

    The other day trader joes had red bell peppers for $0.69. Sooo cheap so I bought several and sliced some and chopped some and froze them in baggies. Now I have wonderfully delicious red peppers for lots of meals. Eggs 89 or 99 cents per dozen around here unless you shop at expensive walmart or the likes - I swear I don't know why people still think it's cheap there nowadays. It's really not. I'd go broke shopping for groceries at Walmart.

    I go to iga supermarkets and really stock up on their meat sales. It's different weekly so sometimes it's chicken breasts for 1.59 a lb or chicken thighs for .60 a lb or ground beef for 1.88 or less a lb. Pork is almost always cheap for certain cuts. I got 2 nice sized new York strip steaks Friday for $5.15. The package weight was over a lb. It wasn't clearance either. They also regularly clearance veg and fruit for $1.19 a package. Most of them aren't even bruised or otherwise at their ends. I think a lot of the time they pack them up just to keep people shopping because I've gotten perfect apples and cucumbers, etc. that way.

    I'm lucky that I have ridiculously extensive grocers to choose from without going out of my way much of the time. I stock up and portion and freeze.
  • alyssa0061
    alyssa0061 Posts: 652 Member
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    AmazonMayan wrote: »

    The other day trader joes had red bell peppers for $0.69. Sooo cheap so I bought several and sliced some and chopped some and froze them in baggies. Now I have wonderfully delicious red peppers for lots of meals. Eggs 89 or 99 cents per dozen around here unless you shop at expensive walmart or the likes - I swear I don't know why people still think it's cheap there nowadays. It's really not. I'd go broke shopping for groceries at Walmart.

    Very good point. I like to go to Trader Joe's first. If I hadn't, I would've paid $2.39/dz for eggs at Kroger and then been irritated to see them $.99/dz at TJ's. I always buy my bananas, spinach and brussel sprouts there. Then I get whatever other cheap produce they have

    Completely agree on the Wal-Mart point. I find it so expensive. There's no way I could do regular grocery shopping there. Kroger, Aldi and Trader Joe's are all significantly cheaper options
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
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    AmazonMayan wrote: »
    Eggs 89 or 99 cents per dozen around here unless you shop at expensive walmart or the likes - I swear I don't know why people still think it's cheap there nowadays. It's really not. I'd go broke shopping for groceries at Walmart.

    I don't think I've ever heard "walmart" and "expensive" used in the same sentence before, LOL. That said, I never go to Walmart because the one near me is always mess. The first time I walked in there, I thought the store had just been robbed, LOL.

    I live on Long Island. The prices that the OP quotes are things I can only dream of. She's correct when she says that the coasts are more expensive. But I agree that with a little research and ingenuity, you don't have to break the bank to eat healthy and lose weight.



  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Couple things though... don't forget to factor in gas for going to 4 different places.

    And yeah, some prices are just not possible here. Berries on sale are $2 for a small container here. Chicken rarely gets under $1.99 a pound.

    But you also don't have oatmeal in there, beans, bulk rice etc... those things are dirt cheap and filling.

    Otherwise, yeah, it's what I do. Stock up on things when they are on sale... basically I save close to 40% on most of my shopping trips buying things on sale... I rarely pay full price for something.

    And I second store brands, that's what I buy with the exception of cereal/pasta, but I stock up when those go on sale.
  • alyssa0061
    alyssa0061 Posts: 652 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    Couple things though... don't forget to factor in gas for going to 4 different places.

    And yeah, some prices are just not possible here. Berries on sale are $2 for a small container here. Chicken rarely gets under $1.99 a pound.

    But you also don't have oatmeal in there, beans, bulk rice etc... those things are dirt cheap and filling.

    Otherwise, yeah, it's what I do. Stock up on things when they are on sale... basically I save close to 40% on most of my shopping trips buying things on sale... I rarely pay full price for something.

    And I second store brands, that's what I buy with the exception of cereal/pasta, but I stock up when those go on sale.

    Three of the stores are within walking distance of each other and Kroger is near my house so gas is a non issue for me. If that's not the case for someone else I understand. I also mentioned that four stores isn't necessary. I could easily have gotten everything at Kroger, paid slightly more and saved time.

    Things like oatmeal and beans I already have. I wasn't buying everything I eat ever, I was doing what is a normal grocery shopping trip for me. I eat very little beans and rice so I rarely have to buy them. This wasn't meant to be a master list to base your personal shopping on. It's just a real life example of what you can get for your money.

    I have lived and bought groceries in five different states. As I said in my original post, from what I've seen, prices vary very little from state to state. I have not always lived in large cities and have spent most of my time in the north where the produce is not grown locally. I completely understand rural areas and coastal cities being much more extensive. But for the majority of people, these prices are average. I don't live in some mythical place where all the things are cheaper and bountiful. I live in Ohio along with a few million other people who can buy the exact same things I just bought. I was in Iowa all last week and went to HyVee three different times. 700 miles away and prices were the same and cheaper in some cases.
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
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    I've bough fresh produce at Target. It is cheaper than my usual grocery store, BUT it goes bad very quickly. Not saving much money if I have to throw out half of what I've bought!
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    I remember fondly the days when I lived where the food is. Now I live with high prices because slate cannot grow crops.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    CooCooPuff wrote: »
    Yeah, I also try to go to Krogers on Tuesday. They tend to bring out clearance meats around that time.

    The 99 Cents Store in my area has a really nice produce section.

    ^This is another great suggestion. My local Dillons stocks their clearance shelves at 10am Saturday morning. My local HyVee puts out clearance meet later at night after the meat counter is closed. Learning when and where you can find the clearance items can really help out.
  • MorganMoreaux
    MorganMoreaux Posts: 691 Member
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    Good job! I will add, a lot of the items you purchased also have coupons, which will further reduce the price. There are apps (Ibotta, Savings Star, Checkout 21) that will give further rebates on many grocery items and produce. Some stores will also hold double/triple coupon events, which will double or triple a coupon up to $4. Harris Teeter does this, so I check what of what I buy will be on sale and print coupons (Common Kindness has coupons for organic brands) and then use my VIC card to get further reductions. I have been able to purchase over $300 of organic groceries for $21.00). I also get nonorganic groceries by the box full for free to donate to the food bank.

    I have found that healthy eating is actually less expensive than unhealthy eating, but many people use expense as an excuse, so they do t want to listen anyway.

    Thx for posting!

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