STOP saying healthy food is more expensive

StaticNomad

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posted by dellaquilaa:

"^^^Umm....do some Googling before you post. WIC provides a voucher for fresh produce."
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Once upon a time, WIC did not allow this. Bet you didn't know that though, otherwise you'd have been kinder in your reply, and dropping the "Umm" from your condescending, know it all kind of reply. You can thank people like me, who fought for reform of that system, so you could be rude with informing someone about fact checking.

Also... once upon a time, WIC would have called CPS/DCFS on you for fighting with them about them trying to force you to feed your baby unhealthy or wrong things that your child's doctor has stated clearly is not something the child can handle. I went through this way back when we discovered my, now 17 yr old, son was cow milk intolerant, and before soy formula was an option with WIC. Used to be, they only covered cow milk based formula. But it got even more interesting when we found out my son was also allergic to SOY, and the only formula he could take was a goat's milk recipe. They argued it was unsanitary, not pasteurized or homogenized, and showed true ignorance. To which I fought back on, and my child's doctor backed me up - and I won. They finally gave in and created a voucher that allowed me to purchase cans of goats milk for my child's formula.

Yep.... years ago, when I was poverty level even with working three jobs to make ends meet, I had the pride swallowing joy of being a welfare Mommy, and I learned a few things about this wonderful system you speak of. Lots of things have changed over the course of a decade and a half concerning WIC. So before you snipe someone's ignorance with some facts of your own - consider the person commenting may be working from memories THEY experienced prior to reforms made to make it healthier for women, infants, and children who need to use it now.

WendyTerry420

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?

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/grass-fed-beef/AN02053

But what if you are hitting your fat grams and getting your Omega 3s from a different food? Why bother spending the extra money? I don't care what label you put on it, I'm not paying $26 for a steak, even if someone else is cooking it and serving it to my fancy table with a glass of red wine. :smokin:


ETA: It just goes to prove my point. "Eating healthy" is what's relative here, not prices.

I do get omega 3s from wild salmon - $21.99 a pound. Which is certainly cheaper. but
Different things are worth different amounts to different folks...

Exactly! I can get my Omega 3s from hemp seeds for pennies per serving. I'm not paying $22 for fish any more than I will pay $26 for a steak.

Rage_Phish

glad to see this is still going strong

castadiva

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!

watch me.
Rasberries: are they on sale? in season? if neither, don't buy it. buy fruits that are on sale and cheaper per gramm.
greek yoghurt: buy store brand. or don't. buy regular yogurt. buy from the "priced to go" shelf
cheese: same as yogurt. also, buy bricks, standard cheese and cut thinly. will last weeks.
pot of hummus: hahahahaha. are you serious? buy dried chickpeas, tahini and garlic. make at home. costs less.
roasted nuts: buy bulk
apples: buy cheapest kind, buy local, sometimes market is cheaper. also loose may to be cheaper.
dark chocolate: i don't negotiate on chocolate. but again, buy cheapest brand.

I am not devaluing your experience. But that's my experience. you can cut down and still eat healthy. I know London is super expensive, heck I am in York and am shocked by my bill.

Did you actually read my post? The shopping I mentioned was for snacks for work - I don't have the sort of job where I can keep dried chickpeas and a mincer in my desk! Or store bulk nuts. I don't have room at home, either, or the sort of income that allows me to spend £50-100 on bulk anything that is likely to spoil before it all gets used in the first place. For that matter, with four jobs, I don't have the spare time to travel an hour or two on the bus to find a bulk store and lug things back into the centre of town. I'm a single person operating on a limited budget, still trying to get the best possible quality, nutrition and - whodathunkit - even a little pleasure out of my food shopping.

Priced to go means about to go beyond safe consumption dates - not a risk that's sensible to take with dairy where contamination and spoilage is fast and can have severe effects, especially not worth the risk on a 500g pot that will last a week or more. This was the store brand of greek yoghurt, and no, I'm not swapping to 'normal' yoghurt instead - greek has more protein (one of the cheaper protein sources in comparison to meat), bulks meals out better, and lasts longer. The point is that a healthy shop providing good nutrition should ideally be inexpensive, or at least not more expensive than an unhealthy set of purchases, not that you replace items with cheaper things that have inferior nutritional value.

Of course one can find ways to spend less - believe me when I say I buy in-season fruit and veg, for example - and not always with nutritional compromises, but the savings are much greater if one is time-rich, or if one has a lifestyle that can be adapted easily. The question remains though, why must healthy eating be inconvenient, as well as expensive? Surely we should be advocating that healthy choices must be inexpensive and convenient - it's the only way people in general will adopt better food habits. If it takes too long, requires too much hassle, or is more expensive (and in many cases it's all of those things!), it's no wonder the majority of people eat other foods that are cheap, easy to get hold of and don't require a trek out of town on unreliable public transport to find a bulk-sale shop or cheap farm stall.

goalss4nika

Eating healthier IS more expensive, BUT you adjust and deal with it.

fruttibiscotti

Eating healthier IS more expensive, BUT you adjust and deal with it.

I disagree. I eat real food, seldom processed stuff. I see what others buy at the grocery store, since it is obviously displayed in their carts. There's no way they are paying less than me.

goalss4nika

That's okay that you disagree. The organic/healthier items are way more in my opinion.

tigerjane81

Yes, if you are buying organic/GMO-free foods from the perimeter of the store, it IS more expensive.

fruttibiscotti

That's okay that you disagree. The organic/healthier items are way more in my opinion.

Sorry, I respectfully beg to differ. I eat grass fed free range meats and dairy, free range pastured eggs, wild caught fish as well as organic vegetables too. The difference is that I cook a lot, and don't buy processed stuff. I think buying processed food is where the money goes down the drain.

Stripeness

The difference is that I cook a lot

Okay, I understand this perspective. I do. Where I think folks are being unkind is assuming that everyone has the time & knowledge to cook. Consistently. Especially if they are feeding children, too.

CAN you eat healthy less expensively? Sure. Yet it takes time and energy, especially when you're learning how. Not everyone has that time and energy on their hands, especially as a first step.

In the UK, 1 in 6 hasn't cooked from scratch. Do I think the numbers are better in the US? No way. I did however, teach my kids to cook, and when possible, I do.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2451525/One-cooked-meal-scratch-use-packets-jars-ingredients-times-week.html

We need to support people with a "start where you are" attitude.

maryjay52

I am a good shopper when it comes to getting the best bang for my buck. I buy 40lbs of boneless skinless chicken breast at 1.39/lb which is dirt cheap. I found a local corner meat store that sells it at bulk that inexpensive. I found places where I can buy produce less expensive than the avg grocery store. I invested in flavorings such as herbs ,olive and coconut oils, almond butter , nuts ,dried onion flakes ect .. this way i can make food a bazillion different ways as opposed to the same ol' same ol. food stretches a long way when you use the alloted amount for a serving too. also i found that things like the red bell peppers i buy on sale can freeze well too. i use red bell pepper in cooking a lot . it is expensive unless its in season or on sale.

mungowungo

I think it depends on where you live. When I used to live in Sydney I could definitely get a lot more bang for my food dollar - a trip to the markets would get me for around $70 a car full of fresh vegetables and fruits - I am talking boxes of oranges, apples, tomatoes etc - and I did usually fill the boot and the backseat too. I now live in a small country town that has one supermarket and everything is expensive. I refused to buy peaches yesterday because they were nearly $10 a kilo and they are in season - yet I could have bought a packet of biscuits for $2. Luckily there is an Aldi 70km away - so I do a fortnightly shop there and make the best choices I can within my budget. Organic and/or grass fed or free range is just out of the question as it is far too expensive but on the other hand frozen vegetables are very cheap.

April_Brockes

New study confirms that eating healthy does indeed cost more:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/1ue6um/new_study_confirms_that_eating_healthy_does/

xLexa

I have recently changed our shopping habits to organic, gluten free, casein free, (mainly because my son was recently diagnosed with Autism and these things have been said to help some children with Autism function at a higher level) I can sincerely say that it truly is more expensive. Example milk. $3.89 at walmart for walmart own brand full to the brim with artificial growth hormones vs $5.79 or thereabouts for the TG Lee's without the growth hormones. A small gluten free loaf of bread almost $5. that is just a small comparison but I have found on the whole it is more expensive. I have a budget for each month and since we changed over to this style of shopping/eating, we are at the limit a week sooner.

fruttibiscotti

New study confirms that eating healthy does indeed cost more:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/1ue6um/new_study_confirms_that_eating_healthy_does/

For every study or published opinion for eating healthy is more expensive, you can find another one that is against it, like http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/04/04/cheap-healthy-food_n_3015030.html

Carnivor0us

Sorta off topic, but if I want to buy pastured eggs, they're like $8 a dozen at Whole Foods (the only place in my area that carries them commercially). They're $4 a dozen at the farmer's market, and $2.50 a dozen from the chicken lady a few exits up from me. I think it depends on where you go to look for a specific thing that mostly determines expense.

waytobeduck

There is no wrong or right answer here.

Shopping is dependent on individual store prices and food availability/popularity in a region. Unless we all live in the same place and have the same allergies/food intolerances/preferences/family format... Who are we to cast this dumb generalization either way.

VeggieKidMandy

I dont really think shopping healthy is expensive at all.
My usual grocery basket can last me a week, and costs me around 30$

Brown Rice
2 Bags of Kale
Swiss chard
Fresh Collard Greens
Variety of peppers/onions/ fruit
one bag of lentils
one bag of red beans
3 cans of black beans
variety of squashes
cauliflower/broccoli frozen
and two of three different types of protein
there might be a few other things thrown in there...but for the most part I never go over 40$ when I go to the grocery store.

BekaBooluvsu

That's okay that you disagree. The organic/healthier items are way more in my opinion.

I buy organic and I have checked prices. Organic is almost always more expensive. I buy certain items at certain stores. Obviously I buy most organic produce from Publix though because they are the only ones in the area that carry them. I have to say though eating healthier and mostly at home has saved me money. My husband and I use to spend $500 a month but we did eat out about 4 or 5 times a week. Now we eat almost ALL of our meals at home and try to eat organic whenever possible and now we are at about $300 a month. Obviously most of the savings are because we don't eat out anymore.

Here is just a few examples.

Regular/Organic
@Walmart
Eggs (12)1.59/ 4.58
Spinach(16oz) 2.98/4.99

@Publix
Strawberries(1#) 3.99/5.99
Cauliflower(1head) 1.99/3.99
Eggs(12) 1.99/4.99

jjscholar

Actually, it depends upon what you buy...

However, since I live by myself, I do not mind paying extra for better food. I have either veggie foods, fruits, vegetables, fish, chicken, turkey, seafood, cereals, and yogurt.

I go to the Publix food stores because they have a great selection of veggie foods such as the Go Veggie Brand of vegetable protein cheese products. Publix also has a great selection of organic turkey, chicken, and vegetables.

Another good place to buy some organic products is the BJ's wholesale club. At least the one in Merritt Island, Florida has a half way decent selection...