Why Eating Healthy Isn't Expensive/Grocery Haul
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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.3 -
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.4 -
One of my best friends has 12 kids. She shops what's on sale and then builds her menu around that. While I don't do that personally, it's actually a very wise thing to do when you're trying to save money. Person for person, they feed their family with about the same amount of money as I feed my family of 5.6
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booksandchocolate12 wrote: »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.
I think Walmart is really expensive for fresh produce. It's a total rip off. I shop in Aldi and it's about half the price (a pack of 3 red bell peppers is $1.29 in Aldi. They cost that each in Walmart. Their bread is 89 cents a loaf compared to $1.49 for the Walmart own brand) It's totally false that Walmart is a cheap place to buy food.8 -
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!0
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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.1
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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.0 -
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!4 -
I don't see any donuts. Useless list.16
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alyssa0061 wrote: »
I once watched a family buy $130 of pure junk food. Several packs of donuts, ice cream, pastries, etc. I was amazed, it was all junk food. Not even meat. It's not a surprise people think shopping for "good" food is hard.4 -
booksandchocolate12 wrote: »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.
Walmart actually isn't as cheap as you'd assume. The only cheaper factor is they price match which could save you a trip to another store assuming they have what you need.
I used to shop mostly at walmart, not only did i spend more, but I'd buy other impulse things there as well.
I spent about 250 the last time I shopped and got about 1 week of produce, 3 weeks of meat and 1-2 weeks of dairy plus grains for two adults in the 1500 and 3000 cal range and one toddler. When I compare this to the 20 bucks we will spend on just junk food, its easy to see that eating healthy is comparatively less. Your prices are much much less than i would be able to pay even on sale in most cases (chicken breast is rarely lower than 3.88\lb for example) however the idea is largely correct.0 -
Great post...
I would also add that when I typically see people posting about how expensive it is to eat healthy, they are actually purchasing things that aren't necessary to have a healthy and balanced diet and they're often forgoing perfectly healthy, nutritious foods...often times because they've bought into a bunch of woo and diet miss-information.
When I was in college and pretty much dirt poor, I practically lived off of beans (in their raw form), bulk brown rice, lentils, oats, potatoes, cabbage, onions, whatever frozen vegetables I could find on sale, whole chickens and other bulk/discounted meat or poultry, and eggs. I found many "health foods" to be non-essential...Greek yogurt for example...yeah, it's great...but it isn't necessary to healthy eating.13 -
We have a few mom and pop stores that are outrageous. I spend about 220 on food for a family of 4. We buy one package of chicken a week and that's 12-15 dollars a package, then fruits and veggies. We buy most of those frozen now because it's just too expensive and never lasts longer than 3 days if we buy it from walmart. We buy rice in bulk for like 7 dollars, and pasta we get on sale when its 79 cents a box. I wouldn't drive around to countless stores to get a good deal- I would spend more on gas than food around here. Yes its doable for most- but not always for everyone.1
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I stopped buying fruit/veg at Walmart because I found krogers tasted better. I have a huge sweet tooth and walmart grapes never fail to disappoint.1
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for those saying use those apps on your phone,doesnt work for all phones,my phone wont support those apps and I cant afford a new phone. as for aldis,closest one to me is 65miles one way, we have no costco,no harris teter(none in the whole state).we dont have any stores that double coupons anymore let alone triple them.They also have the right to refuse any coupon that wont scan as well. those who are saying eggs are cheap,where I live the cheapest brand is the farmers market(walmart) brand for 1.98 a dozen everything else is over $2. steaks here for one tbone could be as much as $7 a piece on sale,berries are expensive at walmart they are 2.48 a pint for blackberries,raspberries are over $3,strawberries are even more for a quart.
I envy those who can get all these things cheaper.we have no BJs(food club store sorta like sams club) our nearest sam's is also 65 miles one way. the farmers market we do have is held on saturdays in the summer and what they want for produce is a joke, we have no butcher shops,we do plant a garden and freeze food. but that will only get so far.I try to eat as healthy as I can but it does get hard to do when you have to eat low carb and some of the cheaper foods you cant eat.5 -
It can be hard finding bargains in different supermarkets though, if you don't have a car and they are all a bus ride away, also time can be an issue. I have my main food shop delivered so can't really buy from different supermarkets. Also fresh healthy foods can be more expensive that processed foods, for example 6 apples for £1 I can get 4 packs of biscuits for that or a multi pack of crips which would last longer and fill me up.2
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helenrosec0 wrote: »It can be hard finding bargains in different supermarkets though, if you don't have a car and they are all a bus ride away, also time can be an issue. I have my main food shop delivered so can't really buy from different supermarkets. Also fresh healthy foods can be more expensive that processed foods, for example 6 apples for £1 I can get 4 packs of biscuits for that or a multi pack of crips which would last longer and fill me up.
no public transportation here and no one delivers, you are lucky to have those options though. but yeah the "junk" food is cheaper here than the healthy foods.1 -
CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »helenrosec0 wrote: »It can be hard finding bargains in different supermarkets though, if you don't have a car and they are all a bus ride away, also time can be an issue. I have my main food shop delivered so can't really buy from different supermarkets. Also fresh healthy foods can be more expensive that processed foods, for example 6 apples for £1 I can get 4 packs of biscuits for that or a multi pack of crips which would last longer and fill me up.
no public transportation here and no one delivers, you are lucky to have those options though. but yeah the "junk" food is cheaper here than the healthy foods.
If I didn't have my food delivered I would probably fail at healthy eating, as I couldn't carry everything I buy. I definitely spend more on healthy foods, than on unhealthy, but I don't mind as I know it's doing me good.1 -
Really great post! I shop much like you do, visiting Meijer and Kroger once every 3 to 4 weeks, stocking up on meat and veggies when on sale, and supplementing the trips with produce, bread, yogurt, and dairy. Then I have my stockpile of non-perishables.
What I do is keep a running grocery inventory so that I know what I have and what I need, though if something is a great sale I will purchase to stock up.
Oh, and OP, your list looked perfect, except Ben and Jerry's and Talenti were on sale for $2.49 a pint at Kroger (so I may have purchased a pint, or 8...)
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Girl, you rock! Thanks for posting.
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When I first started trying to eat better we were dirt poor so 95% of my lunch meals were this;
1 frozen chicken breast - 10$ for box of 6. (Alternately, pork or beef roast on sale)
Frozen veggies, usually carrots and string beans, boiled - $2.50 a bag that'd last about a week.
Jasmine rice - free, inherited big *kitten* bag of it from my bro when he moved out and I'm still eating off it a year later.
Teriyaki sauce - $3 bottle.
Apples - $5 for bag of about 10
I've gotten better at cooking and our bank account a bit fatter so I've more choice now. But at the time I could make a week's worth of healthy lunches for myself for under $15, you just have to accept that you might not be eating gourmet and frozen everything is your best friend.
Man I wish I could find 99 cent eggs. Canada they're like $3. But we do have an impressive fish selection. Pity I hate fish.4 -
I still have to disagree - junk food is more expensive. In my area, these are some of the prices:
Soda - Mountain Dew - 2 liter $2.19
Filtered spring water - $.38 / gal
Dorritos - 10oz bag - 4.29
Chips Ahoy Cookies - 12.4 oz - 4.29
Kellogs Raisan Bran - 23.5 oz - 4.79
Brewers Ice Cream - 48oz - 5.99
Kraft Shredded Mozzarella - 7oz - 3.99
Bob's Organic Steel Cut Oats - 24oz - 4.69
Arrowhead Mills Organic Green Lentils - 16oz - 3.99
HT organic dry chick peas - 16oz - 2.69
Lotus Foods Organic Jade Pwarl Rice - 15oz - 4.99
Frozen Veggies - 12oz - 1.50 or less
Organic bananas - ~ $.40 each
Organic fresh strawberries - 16 oz - 3.99
Kale Chard Mix - 16oz - 2.50
HT Organic Shredded Mozzarella - 6oz - 3.47
I used organic items in this example because those are usually the highest priced items when discussing healthy foods. Fact remains, junk food is even more expensive than many of the organic items. The organic oatmeal is 24oz dry - you actually use less than the Raisan Bran, so the organic oatmeal last longer and is significantly healthier as it doesn't have all the artificial ingredients and added sugar. Notice how there are no chips or cookies in the bottom list, those have been replaced by fresh fruit, again, significantly less expensive and last longer, and full of nutrients. You can purchase organic rice, beans, and pasta in bulk and they are a fraction of what their less healthy counterparts are. Plus most of the organic foods have coupons available, and you can combine them with apps (all the phone apps are available for the computer as well) for an additional savings. Look at how much money is spent on soda, which offers zero nutritional value. I buy water in bulk as I don't trust municipal water in 5 gallon containers and its .38 a gallon. One can't even use the argument of living in a rural location as you can buy these groceries online, the shipping is free, and you can still use the PC apps if you don't have a smartphone.
I think what it really comes down to is that some people don't really want to eat healthy or just aren't ready to make lifestyle changes. You can easily buy a 5 lb bad of rice, a 3 lb bag of beans, a 68oz bag of greens, five different types of frozen veggies, a bag of cheese and some fresh fruit for under $15 and best set for a weeks worth of meals. Some of it will outlast the week - the rice and beans will have left overs into the next couple of weeks. The only caveat is that the healthy stuff isn't hyper-palatable.
I haven't spent money in years on some items such as organic rice, beans, steel cut oats as I wait for sales and use coupons. Those items are so versitile. Fresh produce is also really versitile and inexpensive as something is always going on sale. The most expensive snack item I purchase are organic cashews, as they are never on sale and don't have coupons, so I spend 4.99 a pound and they are still less expensive than many options that Plantars put out at the same weight, except Plantars comes with the added sugar and salt.
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Where I live fresh and local is the cheapest, so thats what I buy.
Great thread, so informative!0 -
CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »for those saying use those apps on your phone,doesnt work for all phones,my phone wont support those apps and I cant afford a new phone. as for aldis,closest one to me is 65miles one way, we have no costco,no harris teter(none in the whole state).we dont have any stores that double coupons anymore let alone triple them.They also have the right to refuse any coupon that wont scan as well. those who are saying eggs are cheap,where I live the cheapest brand is the farmers market(walmart) brand for 1.98 a dozen everything else is over $2. steaks here for one tbone could be as much as $7 a piece on sale,berries are expensive at walmart they are 2.48 a pint for blackberries,raspberries are over $3,strawberries are even more for a quart.
I envy those who can get all these things cheaper.we have no BJs(food club store sorta like sams club) our nearest sam's is also 65 miles one way. the farmers market we do have is held on saturdays in the summer and what they want for produce is a joke, we have no butcher shops,we do plant a garden and freeze food. but that will only get so far.I try to eat as healthy as I can but it does get hard to do when you have to eat low carb and some of the cheaper foods you cant eat.
Why do you have to eat low carb?2 -
I wish we had an Aldis, or a TJ's or a Whole Foods. . ./sigh Maine basically has 2 grocery chains Shaws and Hannaford. . Both can be insane on prices. Walmart is cheaper, but a 45 min drive away. I wont buy fruits and veggies at walmart though they always look awful. Sams Club has come in handy though. No Costco of course. lol1
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I wish we had an Aldis, or a TJ's or a Whole Foods. . ./sigh Maine basically has 2 grocery chains Shaws and Hannaford. . Both can be insane on prices. Walmart is cheaper, but a 45 min drive away. I wont buy fruits and veggies at walmart though they always look awful. Sams Club has come in handy though. No Costco of course. lol
Well, if you're concerned about price you're not missing anything at Whole Foods except paying three times more than the stuff is worth. I go there for nutritional yeast because they have it in their bulk bins. The bulk bins are decently priced and occasionally some of the meat/fish.
I have a Costco membership but rarely use it. Kroger is cheaper normally. I will not be renewing when my year is up. It's basically bigger packages of the same stuff you buy at Kroger or Target. It works out to the same price and sometimes more. The things that are a good deal aren't worth the $55/year to me.
I love Trader Joe's and Aldi. I'm sorry for anyone who doesn't have access to them.3 -
Do you folks know and keep a budget on groceries? It's a sensitive topic in my family so I gave up even talking about it. I don't know how to respond to sayings like ... "well, we're not throwing away money. It's for the foods we eat. We're not wasting". Get this over that? "It's not the same".
Is it also "false economy" to save on foods, only to overeat then exercise hard to "waste" the calories? Someone pointed that out to me.
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MorganMoreaux wrote: »I still have to disagree - junk food is more expensive. In my area, these are some of the prices:
Soda - Mountain Dew - 2 liter $2.19
Filtered spring water - $.38 / gal
Dorritos - 10oz bag - 4.29
Chips Ahoy Cookies - 12.4 oz - 4.29
Kellogs Raisan Bran - 23.5 oz - 4.79
Brewers Ice Cream - 48oz - 5.99
Kraft Shredded Mozzarella - 7oz - 3.99
Bob's Organic Steel Cut Oats - 24oz - 4.69
Arrowhead Mills Organic Green Lentils - 16oz - 3.99
HT organic dry chick peas - 16oz - 2.69
Lotus Foods Organic Jade Pwarl Rice - 15oz - 4.99
Frozen Veggies - 12oz - 1.50 or less
Organic bananas - ~ $.40 each
Organic fresh strawberries - 16 oz - 3.99
Kale Chard Mix - 16oz - 2.50
HT Organic Shredded Mozzarella - 6oz - 3.47
I used organic items in this example because those are usually the highest priced items when discussing healthy foods. Fact remains, junk food is even more expensive than many of the organic items. The organic oatmeal is 24oz dry - you actually use less than the Raisan Bran, so the organic oatmeal last longer and is significantly healthier as it doesn't have all the artificial ingredients and added sugar. Notice how there are no chips or cookies in the bottom list, those have been replaced by fresh fruit, again, significantly less expensive and last longer, and full of nutrients. You can purchase organic rice, beans, and pasta in bulk and they are a fraction of what their less healthy counterparts are. Plus most of the organic foods have coupons available, and you can combine them with apps (all the phone apps are available for the computer as well) for an additional savings. Look at how much money is spent on soda, which offers zero nutritional value. I buy water in bulk as I don't trust municipal water in 5 gallon containers and its .38 a gallon. One can't even use the argument of living in a rural location as you can buy these groceries online, the shipping is free, and you can still use the PC apps if you don't have a smartphone.
I think what it really comes down to is that some people don't really want to eat healthy or just aren't ready to make lifestyle changes. You can easily buy a 5 lb bad of rice, a 3 lb bag of beans, a 68oz bag of greens, five different types of frozen veggies, a bag of cheese and some fresh fruit for under $15 and best set for a weeks worth of meals. Some of it will outlast the week - the rice and beans will have left overs into the next couple of weeks. The only caveat is that the healthy stuff isn't hyper-palatable.
I haven't spent money in years on some items such as organic rice, beans, steel cut oats as I wait for sales and use coupons. Those items are so versitile. Fresh produce is also really versitile and inexpensive as something is always going on sale. The most expensive snack item I purchase are organic cashews, as they are never on sale and don't have coupons, so I spend 4.99 a pound and they are still less expensive than many options that Plantars put out at the same weight, except Plantars comes with the added sugar and salt.
where can you buy these groceries online and have them shipped free? and some of those apps dont work on pc's unless they are up to date with the latest OS,the ibotta Im pretty sure doesnt work with a pc its a phone app thing.as for organics we are also limited on that too. and organics are more expensive than regular. here bananas are like 59 cents a lb and organics are 69 cents, organic strawberries and other berries are $1-2 more than regular,a 1lb bag of beans here is anywhere from 1.69-over $2 a bag just for one lb. we dont have bulk nuts you have to buy packaged nuts.Im not joking either. none of the stores sell nuts by the lb and unpackaged. cheese if not on sale is say for sargento 3.99 for a bag of shredded cheese,on sale Im lucky to get it for 2.49. there is no way I could get what you stated for under $15,so yes you can use the argument of living in a rural area, try living where I live for 6 months and you will see that its not as easy as you think. I do buy fresh produce and other things every week and its not hard to spend a lot. apples are over $3 a lb as well.,oranges at walmart 3.88 a bag and thats a small bag, hell half the time ups wont deliver they will take things to the post office and make them deliver items.we dont have stores where you can buy in bulk. Ibotta you have to download the app on your device-Download the Ibotta app, available on iOS and Android. The app is required to submit a receipt. and you have to 4. Verify Your Purchases Scan your product barcodes, then submit a photo of your receipt. so yes you need a phone. how else are you going to scan bar codes? and yes while you can have it work with your loyalty card not all stores have loyalty cards.0
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