Costing a lot more money to eat healthier! :(
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kristikitter wrote: »Hey you guys in Amerikee have Aldi too?! Awesome!! I recommend Lidl if you have one near you, too, and frozen veggies. Love me them frozen veggies.
Also worth reading blogs by Jack Monroe, she is a Brit who learned to cook on a budget of basically nothing and is very inspirational. Cooking on a Bootstrap!
Hihi my freezer is overflowing from those frozen veggies
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I spend much less money now... Probably $150 top for us 4 including cleaning and paper products.
I stock up when things are on sale, I don't buy organic stuff, I mostly use frozen veggies (fresh can be crazy expensive), I splurge occasionally on some Halo Top (never again though... gives me the runs) and my favorite apples are Pink Ladies, which are not the cheapest... but still.1 -
unsuspectingfish wrote: »RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »unsuspectingfish wrote: »dutchandkiwi wrote: »It is an absolute myth that healthy food = expensive.
That entirely depends on where you live, and there have been studies that prove it absolutely does cost more to eat healthy, particularly in food deserts. That being said, if someone has the time to prep and cook meals and doesn't live somewhere where healthy foods are out of reach, cost or distance-wise, then it is absolutely possible to eat healthy for less, particularly if you buy lots of things in bulk.
What does it matter where you live? You just eat what you have always eaten but eat less of it. That way you save money.
If your hungry buy seasonal local veg or ask at allotments, use this to bulk out your plate.
The closer you live to where things are produced, the cheaper they're going to be. Some people don't live close to any "seasonal local veg". Also, food deserts exist.
This doesn't seem to be the case for OP, since she doesn't say food costs are high, just the costs at this "healthy store" she's going to.
Of course, I don't really have any seasonal local veg now either (although veg is still reasonably cheap if you don't go for organic, and frozen fruit and veg is very cheap). Agree that varies by where one lives.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »unsuspectingfish wrote: »RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »unsuspectingfish wrote: »dutchandkiwi wrote: »It is an absolute myth that healthy food = expensive.
That entirely depends on where you live, and there have been studies that prove it absolutely does cost more to eat healthy, particularly in food deserts. That being said, if someone has the time to prep and cook meals and doesn't live somewhere where healthy foods are out of reach, cost or distance-wise, then it is absolutely possible to eat healthy for less, particularly if you buy lots of things in bulk.
What does it matter where you live? You just eat what you have always eaten but eat less of it. That way you save money.
If your hungry buy seasonal local veg or ask at allotments, use this to bulk out your plate.
The closer you live to where things are produced, the cheaper they're going to be. Some people don't live close to any "seasonal local veg". Also, food deserts exist.
This doesn't seem to be the case for OP, since she doesn't say food costs are high, just the costs at this "healthy store" she's going to.
Of course, I don't really have any seasonal local veg now either (although veg is still reasonably cheap if you don't go for organic, and frozen fruit and veg is very cheap). Agree that varies by where one lives.
I wonder if OP has started going to a store like Whole Foods? We have a local 'healthy' grocery store and they charge like $6 for a dozen eggs-crazy!0 -
kommodevaran wrote: »You are being scammed. Healthy food doesn't have to be expensive or taste miserable. You don't have to eat separately from your family. Buy normal food from normal grocery stores.
^^ this1 -
crzycatlady1 wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »unsuspectingfish wrote: »RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »unsuspectingfish wrote: »dutchandkiwi wrote: »It is an absolute myth that healthy food = expensive.
That entirely depends on where you live, and there have been studies that prove it absolutely does cost more to eat healthy, particularly in food deserts. That being said, if someone has the time to prep and cook meals and doesn't live somewhere where healthy foods are out of reach, cost or distance-wise, then it is absolutely possible to eat healthy for less, particularly if you buy lots of things in bulk.
What does it matter where you live? You just eat what you have always eaten but eat less of it. That way you save money.
If your hungry buy seasonal local veg or ask at allotments, use this to bulk out your plate.
The closer you live to where things are produced, the cheaper they're going to be. Some people don't live close to any "seasonal local veg". Also, food deserts exist.
This doesn't seem to be the case for OP, since she doesn't say food costs are high, just the costs at this "healthy store" she's going to.
Of course, I don't really have any seasonal local veg now either (although veg is still reasonably cheap if you don't go for organic, and frozen fruit and veg is very cheap). Agree that varies by where one lives.
I wonder if OP has started going to a store like Whole Foods? We have a local 'healthy' grocery store and they charge like $6 for a dozen eggs-crazy!
That was my guess, yeah.0 -
At my local grocery store it costs $1.00 for a cup of coffee and a donut. A large apple usually costs more than that. It makes it hard to choose the healthy option when it costs more (and doesn't taste as sweet;).
What I try to remind myself is that the healthier stuff may cost more now, but the medical bills for diabetes in the future will cost a lot more than the difference between my apple and the donut and coffee.
I'd rather have my grocery bill higher and my medical expenses lower.1 -
If OP is in the UK then eating a more healthy diet shouldn't really cost more, supermarkets are competing with each other like never before for lower prices.
Sounds like the problem is what she's eating and that she's preparing 2 separate meals, which would cost more I assume no matter what 2 meals you were cooking... if anything I am spending less than I was before because my diet hasn't changed dramatically, I just eat less at meals times, and I save money eating fewer snacks.2 -
Meal planning is an absolute lifesaver for me, I used to spend a fortune when trying to eat healthier but ended up just throwing food out because I didn't really have any clue what I was going to eat, now I don't have kids to factor in but I am pretty sure it's just as easy to adopt this to family life and I know a few friends who do.
I use a weekly meal/exercise planner I found in google images, I am on Week 6 now, I've a couple of Low calories cook books I picked up second hand of Amazon at a couple of quid each and a couple of free books on my Kindle, I spend an hour or so on a Weds or Thurs night flipping through these to pick a couple of recipes and factor in any leftovers I have in the freezer from the previous week. I then plan my week out for Breakfast/ Lunch/ Dinner/ Snacks/ Workouts & Step Goals, I put reminders in for defrosting or prepping items during the week.
Once I've filled out my planner I write 2 shopping lists for the week one Sunday and one for later in the week. Since I've started doing this I've saved an absolute fortune because I am only buying what I need and I am not throwing stuff out. I prep my Mon-Thurs lunches on Sunday night and usually make a batch of something that I can eat for 2-3 meals for dinner on a Sunday.
If your family are fussy about their food it's quite easy to make small changes to existing recipes/portion sizes.0 -
Also, that donut wouldn't keep me satisfied for very long. Realistically, I'd have to buy more food pretty soon. The apple has fiber and might keep me from having to eat again so soon. Better yet, the apple and a slice of cheese or spoon of PB.2
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Also, that donut wouldn't keep me satisfied for very long. Realistically, I'd have to buy more food pretty soon. The apple has fiber and might keep me from having to eat again so soon. Better yet, the apple and a slice of cheese or spoon of PB.
Yeah, I find that sweet things like that in the morning wreak havoc on my whole day. Wakes up my sugar dragon.
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I eat the same things I've always eaten just less of it and add some veggies. Mostly I buy frozen veggies (sometimes canned because I actually need the sodium according to my D.O.) frozen are cheaper than fresh and I don't worry about them going bad.
To feed myself and my 2 dogs (who of course have special **expensive** food because they have food allergies) I spend no more than $150 a MONTH.
Eating healthier and losing weight doesn't necessarily have to cost more.1 -
and my favorite apples are Pink Ladies, which are not the cheapest... but still.
Fortunately, I love the local (New York state) varieties (Empire, JonaMac, Cortland, McIntosh,..) which tend to be a little tart and crisp along with the sweet. Usually the only fruit I buy other than bananas.0 -
Domomallow wrote: »At my local grocery store it costs $1.00 for a cup of coffee and a donut. A large apple usually costs more than that. It makes it hard to choose the healthy option when it costs more (and doesn't taste as sweet;).
What I try to remind myself is that the healthier stuff may cost more now, but the medical bills for diabetes in the future will cost a lot more than the difference between my apple and the donut and coffee.
I'd rather have my grocery bill higher and my medical expenses lower.
Such a smart way of looking at it!0 -
I used that same line for years that eating healthy is more expensive. How I got around it was when I picked up a bag of potato chips for $3.88, I would tell myself if I bought Bananas at .89 a lb. I could eat 5 times instead of one sitting of chips with no nutrient whatsoever in it. I played that game for awhile before I actually started to buy healthier food. I went out and spent $138.00 in groceries two weeks ago and I still have some in the fridge to do me for a few more days. What I found before this healthier shopping is that the Cakes and Pies were gone and the Chips and Dips and other junk I used to buy before the first week was out. I would actually go to the store 3 times a week for more chips just to have that snack. Also, what I found was I was eating Fast Food every day of the week and man that was expensive on the pocket book approximately $9.00 everytime going through drive thru. One has to sit down and break it all down and see for themselves where one can improve on the money being spent to eat or to treat. Anyways, I'm back at it again, eating clean and healthy. This is day 12 and I've only lost one pound. The thing I notice though, is that my stomach is not hurting or nausiated, so, I am going to say that something is working in my favor. Wayne Dyer has a book out Excuses Be Gone...I realized I used healthy eating is more expensive as an excuse till I REALLY looked at the Reality of what I was doing and how I was living and made some of those changes. It's difficult but well worth it in the end.
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here in the UK my weekly shop has almost double in cost from 3/4 years ago. buying the same sort of stuff.
its the meats and veggies that's rocketed up in price! no wonder many family's feed their children etc.. on microwave frozen meals that cost a fraction of the price.
I am from the uk and this was my main point is that the price of eating healthier is more expensive. Fresh vegetables are no doubt very cheap but when it comes to buying meat and fish then it is very expensive!
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Thanks for your replys and tips, and for those who are asking why am I eating different to my family members, here is what I meant.
We do eat the same meals some days but I will substitute something I don't want like potatoes (I don't want a lot of carbs) for something else.
Also I'm eating pretty much fish & meat everyday (which is expensive where I live), this is something iv chose todo, my family members will have the same as I or sometimes they will indulge in pizza, chips etc but this is something I'm trying to cut back on hence why I have been buying separate meals!1 -
Although some things I buy are more expensive (lower calorie multigrain stuff, and some no sugar added ice cream) the rest can easily just be vegetables and the same things my family eats. I eat a lot of chicken/turkey/fish, and a lot of steamed/baked/broiled vegetables. I also eat a lot of potatoes and sweet potatoes. When my family wants high carb/calorie stuff I make it for them and simply don't eat it or eat less of it if I have the calories left (which I usually do). As far as the more expensive stuff, yea sugar free, less sugar, etc. or 'healthy' food items are always jacked up in price. You just learn to deal with it if you want to eat those things. But you don't have to.
So yea, if it's healthy convenient foods you're looking for, or are having trouble being satiated with smaller portions of the high calorie foods your family likes, then you may need to spend more. But cooking more from scratch, or learning to make more healthy versions of the same things you've always made may be your answer to save money. It was for me. I found I don't HAVE to use 6 tbsp of oil to sautee something, and I don't HAVE to use a huge lob of butter just to fry eggs.. maybe if I use real butter I can use a half tbsp instead, or even less if I have a good nonstick pan. Use leaner meats, they may seem more expensive but in the long run, things like hamburger will shrink less if it's more lean. You can also buy the hamburger that is on sale this week (usually 70-75% lean), fry it up, and rinse the hell out of it with hot water in order to turn it into a leaner product (removing the fat/grease).
Just some thoughts.1 -
kayleexbabeex wrote: »Thanks for your replys and tips, and for those who are asking why am I eating different to my family members, here is what I meant.
We do eat the same meals some days but I will substitute something I don't want like potatoes (I don't want a lot of carbs) for something else.
Also I'm eating pretty much fish & meat everyday (which is expensive where I live), this is something iv chose todo, my family members will have the same as I or sometimes they will indulge in pizza, chips etc but this is something I'm trying to cut back on hence why I have been buying separate meals!
See, I buy fish once a week (usually cod at $5.99 a lb, sometimes salmon) and stick to meat on sale otherwise - we mostly eat chicken (but never when it's over $1.99 a lb), sausage on sale, ground turkey, rarely more expensive cuts of meat.
Making two meals happens here too, it really doesn't matter in the end cost-wise though, as you end up buying less of the high calorie stuff too...
Look into making your own pizza though - it's much cheaper and you can control the toppings.3 -
kayleexbabeex wrote: »Thanks for your replys and tips, and for those who are asking why am I eating different to my family members, here is what I meant.
We do eat the same meals some days but I will substitute something I don't want like potatoes (I don't want a lot of carbs) for something else.
Also I'm eating pretty much fish & meat everyday (which is expensive where I live), this is something iv chose todo, my family members will have the same as I or sometimes they will indulge in pizza, chips etc but this is something I'm trying to cut back on hence why I have been buying separate meals!
Unless it will result in coming in short on your desired protein amounts, it'll be cheaper to cut down on the meats/fish amounts (if currently a majority of diet) and sub in some frozen/canned vegetables and calorie filler starches. And eggs are a very cheap way to fill in some protein & fat.
At least around here, fish prices vary a lot store to store, so you may want to shop around for that (stores like Aldi/save-a-lot/other discount grocery chains will often have bags of multiple fillets of salmon in the frozen foods section that are priced much cheaper than the main stream supermarkets). Pork & beef are $$$ everywhere, but chicken is usually cheap (and varies store to store and packaging size). Sausage is usually calorie dense (lots of fat) and can be stretched to lots of servings (a good idea also if you don't want to overload on sodium) - this is one example where eating healthier becomes cheaper...where beforehand, one might have eaten an entire log of sausage on a bun at a meal, it now gets chopped up and added to multiple servings of a recipe.2 -
Meat prices where I am in the US have gone up, and I'm finding sales to be more scarce. Sometimes we have the option to buy meat in the bulk packs and that saves some money. We portion it out and freeze what we aren't going to use before the "sell by" date.
We eat a lot of London Broil because it tends to go on sale A LOT and is frequently BOGO. I'm not a big fish person so I couldn't begin to tell you the prices on that until Lent (and it will be on sale then anyhow to get stores to boost sales).1 -
Beef prices suck where I live. A butcher will average $6-12/lb for choice stuff. If you want the Select cuts they sell in the grocery stores, you can find KC Strips, Ribeyes, etc. on average $6-$8 a pound. Rare occasions we can find strip steaks on sale $4.99 a pound which is good, but honestly looking at protein content, calories, I gravitate over to chicken or pork tenderloins frequently, especially in the winter. In the summer I'll eat more pork and beef, but chicken and turkey are king in our family budget.0
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Spliner1969 wrote: »Beef prices suck where I live. A butcher will average $6-12/lb for choice stuff. If you want the Select cuts they sell in the grocery stores, you can find KC Strips, Ribeyes, etc. on average $6-$8 a pound. Rare occasions we can find strip steaks on sale $4.99 a pound which is good, but honestly looking at protein content, calories, I gravitate over to chicken or pork tenderloins frequently, especially in the winter. In the summer I'll eat more pork and beef, but chicken and turkey are king in our family budget.
I have no idea where you live but are there local beef share options in your area? My in-laws buy a quarter share every few months from a local hobby farmer and the cost breaks down to around $3lb after processing-that's for steaks, ground beef etc. And then I mosey on over and raid their freezer
eta: here's a couple search options to find what's in your area-
http://www.eatwild.com/products/
http://www.localharvest.org/organic-farms/
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crzycatlady1 wrote: »I have no idea where you live but are there local beef share options in your area? My in-laws buy a quarter share every few months from a local hobby farmer and the cost breaks down to around $3lb after processing-that's for steaks, ground beef etc. And then I mosey on over and raid their freezer
I occasionally get lucky. One of the people I work with is also a farmer and raises cows. He'll typically slaughter a few each year and offer us pretty decent prices on hamburger and some steaks/cuts. This year it was all 85/15 hamburger and I was able to get it at $2.50 a pound which is pretty darn cheap for this area. My freezer will only hold about 25 lb though. I can buy sides or half sides of beef in my area but I don't have the room for a deep freeze. So I stick with chicken/turkey on a regular basis.0 -
kayleexbabeex wrote: »I am from the uk and this was my main point is that the price of eating healthier is more expensive. Fresh vegetables are no doubt very cheap but when it comes to buying meat and fish then it is very expensive!kayleexbabeex wrote: »We do eat the same meals some days but I will substitute something I don't want like potatoes (I don't want a lot of carbs) for something else.
Also I'm eating pretty much fish & meat everyday (which is expensive where I live), this is something iv chose todo, my family members will have the same as I or sometimes they will indulge in pizza, chips etc but this is something I'm trying to cut back on hence why I have been buying separate meals!
Are you having meat/fish as the main part of your meal(s) then? If so, that is your perogative - but that doesn't make healthy food expensive, that makes your diet unbalanced. A normal dinner has starch and vegs, and just a moderate amount of protein (which can be meat, fish, eggs or beans). Even low carbers balance their meat with vegetables.
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kommodevaran wrote: »kayleexbabeex wrote: »I am from the uk and this was my main point is that the price of eating healthier is more expensive. Fresh vegetables are no doubt very cheap but when it comes to buying meat and fish then it is very expensive!kayleexbabeex wrote: »We do eat the same meals some days but I will substitute something I don't want like potatoes (I don't want a lot of carbs) for something else.
Also I'm eating pretty much fish & meat everyday (which is expensive where I live), this is something iv chose todo, my family members will have the same as I or sometimes they will indulge in pizza, chips etc but this is something I'm trying to cut back on hence why I have been buying separate meals!
Are you having meat/fish as the main part of your meal(s) then? If so, that is your perogative - but that doesn't make healthy food expensive, that makes your diet unbalanced. A normal dinner has starch and vegs, and just a moderate amount of protein (which can be meat, fish, eggs or beans). Even low carbers balance their meat with vegetables.
I already stated I eat vegetables or salad with it and that iv cut back/down on carbs not that iv quit them altogether0 -
kayleexbabeex wrote: »Thanks for your replys and tips, and for those who are asking why am I eating different to my family members, here is what I meant.
We do eat the same meals some days but I will substitute something I don't want like potatoes (I don't want a lot of carbs) for something else.
Also I'm eating pretty much fish & meat everyday (which is expensive where I live), this is something iv chose todo, my family members will have the same as I or sometimes they will indulge in pizza, chips etc but this is something I'm trying to cut back on hence why I have been buying separate meals!
A low carb diet is not necessary to be healthy. If you want to eat a low carb diet that is a choice not a requirement.
https://www.budgetbytes.com/2017/01/45-budget-friendly-low-carb-recipes/0 -
In the beginning I got caught in that trap. Now I find it a lot cheaper esp since I've eliminated meat and dairy and fast food. I shop my sales flyer. By produce on sale. I stay away from most of the items in the "health food" aisle. Stopped drinking soda except for occasional flavored seltzer which is like half the price of other sodas. Don't fear buying canned or frozen. I keep my eating routine and recipes simple as possible.0
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