STOP saying healthy food is more expensive
Replies
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Food in general is just plain expensive. A can of processed fake cheese in a spray can is a whopping $5! Why? It's merely the cost of doing business from farm to fork.
The OP mentioned $30 worth of food lasting a whole week between two people; fairly impossible when you are feeding a family with children. I spend $125 weekly between a family of 3 and I don't sacrifice food. I love to cook and support my local farmers by buying from farmers markets locally. But I have to be realistic in that it often cheaper to feed my family hot dogs, mac n cheese and bologna sandwhiches.0 -
I'm currently living in a fairly deprived part of London has made some things come into sharp focus for me:
You eat as well as you want to.
If you want to live on fast food and chips and soda, you will find a way to make that work on whatever budget you have. You will buy big portions because it makes financial sense to bulk order- this might leave you in a place where you don't eat as often. You will use coupons and maybe even go to the sketchy wings place on the corner because they're cheaper than KFC and hey, you have a budget. You might have to cut back on buying fancy kitchenware because you have to eat. You don't have the time/ inclination to crawl around in mud for the sake of growing a handful of spinach over 6 months... you wouldn't know how to start even if you could be bothered. You're not going to drop £3 on a carton of egg whites, £3 can buy you lunch... maybe even part of dinner.
No shaming going on here, this is exactly what I used to do when I lived in Brooklyn. It wasn't Brooklyn, it was ME, I didn't have dollars to drop on accessorizing my kitchen, I had $15 and I needed to be able to feed myself for a week on that.
If you want to live on healthy food your bulk buys will be dried lentils, beans, rice. You will get up earlier or take a bus to the local food market (not organic/ farmers market, just a place where you buy fruit off the street) so that you can get 7 lemons for £1 instead of 3. You will buy the red apples because they're cheaper even though you prefer the green because hey, you're on a budget. You will take the time/effort to grow food. You will cut back on buying new clothes because you have to eat. You're not going to drop £3 on a carton of egg whites, £3 can buy you 18 free range eggs.
I guess this is what my mother did when we were growing up. Not always fun (lentilmania, a freezer full of peas and corn and spinach because fresh was too pricey) but it worked. I'm trying to get to that place.
Of course there's every combination of in-between as well. Healthy eating isn't a zero-sum game. Just because a healthy option is expensive in McDonalds or you have access to low cost fresh vegetables makes no difference to this.
You may have a budget but you always have choices. You do what is possible given your circumstances and your inclinations.0 -
I blow my budget every week on food.. because it's yummy.. and i like to cook.
Can't even feed myself on 30 bucks a week.0 -
I will not stop saying it, because it's true. My grocery bill went up (at least $50) each week.0
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One thing I have noticed is that since I started working out and dieting I have not gone out for dinner near as much as i used to. I may be spending a little more in the grocery store buying healthy food, but I am saving a lot by eating at home and not at a resturaunt so much...
Just an observation!0 -
This is hilarious. I love those chocolate, caramel and pecan treats myself0
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Healthy food is more expensive.
There.0 -
in...to learn how 30.00 feeds two people for a week....
I live by myself and spend about 150.00 a week....
yeah, I'm still waiting for that advice too.
we're a family of 7 + my inlaws for the summer. so that's 9 for now.
would love to know how to keep my food costs down to $270/week
we eat meat/chicken only once/week, and have the puny aforementioned garden and pretty much everything but some condiments are made from scratch at home. good food costs alot of money and the bulk of my bill is produce and milk.
but the tip to snare rabbits is a good one. we have racoons and squirrels, wonder how they taste?0 -
Something to consider, not everyone on here lives in the same place. Prices vary with local and availability.
Where I am healthy food is more expensive. Okay, so everything is more expensive, but healthy food even more so. Produce quality is moderate to low, local produce is limited and not a great quality, and what little is better quality is even more expensive.
For us, the cost is simply a fact of life.
Edited to add: Mealwise, we very rarely eat anything out of the box, and never have.
But what do you mean when you say "healthy food?" Does produce have to be local in order to be healthy?
You're right, I should have clarified. Maybe natural would have been a better term. I meant things like fresh fruit and vegetables (I know frozen are perfectly healthy but my husband and I are not fond of the taste and texture of most of them). We don't buy locally grown produce because even the organics, which I could care less about, have low quality compared to imported.
Edited to add: Meat for us is a different matter as we buy ours wholesale so our costs there are lower than the general population.0 -
IBTR...
...and to catch up on this epic thread...
...that I somehow missed until now.0 -
This is a non-issue for me. Food is something I'm willing to spend money on. I'll make sacrifices in other areas if I have to, but I've invested too much time and money in my education and my career to say that I can't afford to eat what I want. I'll get rid of cable, Internet, phone, trips, etc., before I cut back on groceries. I do try not to be wasteful with the food I buy because wasting food is just dumb, but that's about as financially concerned as I'm going to get on the subject.
This is true for me, also.0 -
Again cost effectiveness makes difference. How much "healthy" food gets thrown away because of spoilage? Let's face it, I buy a can a SPAM and it can sit there for awhile, whereas some fruits may need to be eaten with a couple of days.
So has this been figured in?
A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
Cost is a silly issue amny times. People will splurge on good steaks, alcohol, and more quality foods if it suits their purpose. People I have talked with that say 'healthier' foods are more expenise are usually just justtifying their choice not to eat healthier. It can also be they just don't want to spend the time making healthier foods. It is easier to buy a couple Red Barron Pizza's which are loaded with calories that it would be to take 30 minutes to make a much healthier homemade pizza. the cost would be about the same really.0
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Something to consider, not everyone on here lives in the same place. Prices vary with local and availability.
Where I am healthy food is more expensive. Okay, so everything is more expensive, but healthy food even more so. Produce quality is moderate to low, local produce is limited and not a great quality, and what little is better quality is even more expensive.
For us, the cost is simply a fact of life.
Edited to add: Mealwise, we very rarely eat anything out of the box, and never have.
But what do you mean when you say "healthy food?" Does produce have to be local in order to be healthy?
You're right, I should have clarified. Maybe natural would have been a better term. I meant things like fresh fruit and vegetables (I know frozen are perfectly healthy but my husband and I are not fond of the taste and texture of most of them). We don't buy locally grown produce because even the organics, which I could care less about, have low quality compared to imported.
Edited to add: Meat for us is a different matter as we buy ours wholesale so our costs there are lower than the general population.
That makes more sense. Personally, I do not believe that you have to eat only organics or only fresh" or only "local." This is why I am going crazy with all these comments. :laugh:
I follow IIFYM, so to me, if I hit my macros, I ate healthy. :drinker:0 -
I have to agree on this. I spend more money on my kids food than I do my own with my husband combined.
We eat totally healthy/clean. In fact, I eat GF so my food is always a lil more expensive and yet our kids rack up our grocery bill.
Its not EASY eating "clean" but it isn't all that expensive
Thanks for posting this OP...well done!0 -
Something to consider, not everyone on here lives in the same place. Prices vary with local and availability.
Where I am healthy food is more expensive. Okay, so everything is more expensive, but healthy food even more so. Produce quality is moderate to low, local produce is limited and not a great quality, and what little is better quality is even more expensive.
For us, the cost is simply a fact of life.
Edited to add: Mealwise, we very rarely eat anything out of the box, and never have.
But what do you mean when you say "healthy food?" Does produce have to be local in order to be healthy?
You're right, I should have clarified. Maybe natural would have been a better term. I meant things like fresh fruit and vegetables (I know frozen are perfectly healthy but my husband and I are not fond of the taste and texture of most of them). We don't buy locally grown produce because even the organics, which I could care less about, have low quality compared to imported.
Edited to add: Meat for us is a different matter as we buy ours wholesale so our costs there are lower than the general population.
That makes more sense. Personally, I do not believe that you have to eat only organics or only fresh" or only "local." This is why I am going crazy with all these comments. :laugh:
I follow IIFYM, so to me, if I hit my macros, I ate healthy. :drinker:
Believe me, I'm with you on the IIFYM. We're not 'clean eaters' or choose not to eat pre-packaged because of a change to healthier eating. We've just always preferred fresh stuff and home made. More often than not on my diary if I've logged prepackaged, it's actually home made.0 -
I look for fresh veggies (specifically broccoli, cauliflower, corn, and beans) when they're on sale. I then cut them up, and freeze them in containers. I may spend a bit more those weeks, but it is so worth it to me to enjoy quality produce than getting the processed items.
Oh - and with a decent sale, I spend roughly $30-$40 on produce for a 2 week cycle for me, my husband, and our daughter. My whole grocery budget is about $100-$120 every two weeks.0 -
This is a non-issue for me. Food is something I'm willing to spend money on. I'll make sacrifices in other areas if I have to, but I've invested too much time and money in my education and my career to say that I can't afford to eat what I want. I'll get rid of cable, Internet, phone, trips, etc., before I cut back on groceries. I do try not to be wasteful with the food I buy because wasting food is just dumb, but that's about as financially concerned as I'm going to get on the subject.
^^Same.
It may be more or less expensive depending on where you live, but regardless of that value is a subjective term. I'd rather spend more on food that I like, and that will get me where I want to be. In addition to this, when you consider the trade off between a healthier diet/lifestyle and the cost of overall healthcare, the expense is justified all the more. It depends on the individual and what they want though.0 -
Again cost effectiveness makes difference. How much "healthy" food gets thrown away because of spoilage? Let's face it, I buy a can a SPAM and it can sit there for awhile, whereas some fruits may need to be eaten with a couple of days.
So has this been figured in?
A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
This...we only have a small freezer. We buy a lot of fresh fruit and veg in our weekly shop, and it takes a serious amount of planning to avoid wastage.0 -
You didn't mention any protein. So yeah, I need my proteinz.
And junk food is super cheap especially if you coupon like I did. Healthy meals and items don't really have much coupons or discounts so I am spending a decent amount on eggs, meat, fresh fruit/vegs, and lower cal/sodium items.0 -
Healthy
Convenience
Price
Pick two
That's how it works. The people who claim healthy food is more expensive do so because they're looking for ready-to-eat healthy meals/foods rather than ingredients to prepare their own. As with just about ANYTHING else, you WILL save money if you're willing to buy ingredients and prepare your own meals from scratch rather than foods that come ready to eat out of the box, healthy or not.
Lies
Yes I agree!!!! The ignorance on this thread is ridiculous. People really really need to venture out of their little worlds...It is kind of sad!0 -
in...to learn how 30.00 feeds two people for a week....
I live by myself and spend about 150.00 a week....
yeah, I'm still waiting for that advice too.
we're a family of 7 + my inlaws for the summer. so that's 9 for now.
would love to know how to keep my food costs down to $270/week
we eat meat/chicken only once/week, and have the puny aforementioned garden and pretty much everything but some condiments are made from scratch at home. good food costs alot of money and the bulk of my bill is produce and milk.
but the tip to snare rabbits is a good one. we have racoons and squirrels, wonder how they taste?
Squirrels taste pretty good, actually - they are just a ***** to skin, and each one will only feed one person. I believe they are eaten in the south of the USA. I'm British - we don't have raccoons.0 -
Something to consider, not everyone on here lives in the same place. Prices vary with local and availability.
Where I am healthy food is more expensive. Okay, so everything is more expensive, but healthy food even more so. Produce quality is moderate to low, local produce is limited and not a great quality, and what little is better quality is even more expensive.
For us, the cost is simply a fact of life.
Edited to add: Mealwise, we very rarely eat anything out of the box, and never have.
But what do you mean when you say "healthy food?" Does produce have to be local in order to be healthy?
You're right, I should have clarified. Maybe natural would have been a better term. I meant things like fresh fruit and vegetables (I know frozen are perfectly healthy but my husband and I are not fond of the taste and texture of most of them). We don't buy locally grown produce because even the organics, which I could care less about, have low quality compared to imported.
Edited to add: Meat for us is a different matter as we buy ours wholesale so our costs there are lower than the general population.
That makes more sense. Personally, I do not believe that you have to eat only organics or only fresh" or only "local." This is why I am going crazy with all these comments. :laugh:
I follow IIFYM, so to me, if I hit my macros, I ate healthy. :drinker:
Believe me, I'm with you on the IIFYM. We're not 'clean eaters' or choose not to eat pre-packaged because of a change to healthier eating. We've just always preferred fresh stuff and home made. More often than not on my diary if I've logged prepackaged, it's actually home made.
I have saved a lot of money since MFP by not buying the pre-packaged stuff. (Well, other than a few canned/jarred items, like sauces, that are often cheaper in the can than homemade.)
Personally, I think trying to "eat clean" just leads to stress, which is way more unhealthy than ANY food. :drinker:0 -
I'm currently living in a fairly deprived part of London has made some things come into sharp focus for me:
You eat as well as you want to.
If you want to live on fast food and chips and soda, you will find a way to make that work on whatever budget you have. You will buy big portions because it makes financial sense to bulk order- this might leave you in a place where you don't eat as often. You will use coupons and maybe even go to the sketchy wings place on the corner because they're cheaper than KFC and hey, you have a budget. You might have to cut back on buying fancy kitchenware because you have to eat. You don't have the time/ inclination to crawl around in mud for the sake of growing a handful of spinach over 6 months... you wouldn't know how to start even if you could be bothered. You're not going to drop £3 on a carton of egg whites, £3 can buy you lunch... maybe even part of dinner.
No shaming going on here, this is exactly what I used to do when I lived in Brooklyn. It wasn't Brooklyn, it was ME, I didn't have dollars to drop on accessorizing my kitchen, I had $15 and I needed to be able to feed myself for a week on that.
If you want to live on healthy food your bulk buys will be dried lentils, beans, rice. You will get up earlier or take a bus to the local food market (not organic/ farmers market, just a place where you buy fruit off the street) so that you can get 7 lemons for £1 instead of 3. You will buy the red apples because they're cheaper even though you prefer the green because hey, you're on a budget. You will take the time/effort to grow food. You will cut back on buying new clothes because you have to eat. You're not going to drop £3 on a carton of egg whites, £3 can buy you 18 free range eggs.
I guess this is what my mother did when we were growing up. Not always fun (lentilmania, a freezer full of peas and corn and spinach because fresh was too pricey) but it worked. I'm trying to get to that place.
Of course there's every combination of in-between as well. Healthy eating isn't a zero-sum game. Just because a healthy option is expensive in McDonalds or you have access to low cost fresh vegetables makes no difference to this.
You may have a budget but you always have choices. You do what is possible given your circumstances and your inclinations.
Good post. This thread is full of false dilemmas.0 -
Healthy
Convenience
Price
Pick two
That's how it works. The people who claim healthy food is more expensive do so because they're looking for ready-to-eat healthy meals/foods rather than ingredients to prepare their own. As with just about ANYTHING else, you WILL save money if you're willing to buy ingredients and prepare your own meals from scratch rather than foods that come ready to eat out of the box, healthy or not.
Lies
Yes I agree!!!! The ignorance on this thread is ridiculous. People really really need to venture out of their little worlds...It is kind of sad!
^^ Or expand their definition of "healthy foods."
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I'll stick to digging out ants and cicadas out of the ground. I also like to take my sticky tongue and catch and eat flies, when I'm not taking my mud bath.
[joey tribiani voice] how YOU doin[/joey tribiani voice]
BAHAHAHAHA!0 -
A punnet of raspberries, 500g pot of greek yoghurt, piece of cheese (about 150g), pot of hummus, small bag of roasted almonds, bag of six small apples and a 100g bar of dark chocolate for snacks at work just cost me £13.51...(that's about US$20) - there's no way the OP's weekly budget would cut the mustard for a single person in London, let alone a couple. A comparable number of calories in junk food would have been a lot cheaper (about £7 or £8 at most).
Healthy food IS more expensive, especially in city locations where there are no accessible buy-in-bulk shops, and most people don't have the spare living space to accommodate bulk purchases anyway!0 -
My grocery bill is 'bout 50 bucks per week BY MYSELF. I eat all the noms. >:-D0
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I was going to write something...but then I was reading all the responses and forgot what I was going to post about...except that it was grocery related. Oh wait, I think I remember... Healthy food is more expensive. It is. I went to the grocery store yesterday and a steak was $8. Then I went to the grocery store down the street where all the food is local and super healthy and good for you. A frozen steak was $26. Healthy food is more expensive. I think what you intended to say was that although healthy food is expensive, you can make it work if you really try.
For example, I stopped buying new clothes a few months ago to invest in a sweatshop-free closet. At first, it was difficult. Why would I want to pay $10 for a used dress when I could hit up JCP or TJMaxx for a new one on clearance for less than that?? But then I go back to the ultimate goal, which is to know where my money is going. So I pay that $10 for that used dress because the money helps homeless families in my community. And then I limit how much I spend on clothes because sometimes buying used isn't always the cheapest. But it's something I believe in.
On another note, I do like turtles!0 -
I was going to write something...but then I was reading all the responses and forgot what I was going to post about...except that it was grocery related. Oh wait, I think I remember... Healthy food is more expensive. It is. I went to the grocery store yesterday and a steak was $8. Then I went to the grocery store down the street where all the food is local and super healthy and good for you. A frozen steak was $26. Healthy food is more expensive. I think what you intended to say was that although healthy food is expensive, you can make it work if you really try.
What makes the $26 steak healthier than the $8 steak? Seriously? Taste better, maybe, but healthier? Are you sure?0
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