Eating healthy is expensive...

dbmata

im going to have to quit smoking and drinking premium beer.

but seriously...no wonder there are so many overweight / obese people out there, eating healthy drains your wallet.

Naw, not if you do it right.

dbmata

im going to have to quit smoking and drinking premium beer.

You should quit smoking anyway...just think of all the good beer you can buy with the money you're not spending on emphysema, lung cancer, and heart disease. :smokin:

Yeah, instead you can invest in liver problems from alcohol! Lol. goofball.

MaiLinna

I live in the right part of town where everything is cheap. Here are a few tips:
1. Buy only in season produce because it tastes better and is generally cheaper.
2. Don't shop hungry.
3. Buy only what you need,
4. Measure out portion: price ratios in your head.

I eat 75%+ organically on only 25-30 a week.

paulawatkins1974

Not as expensive as fast food but yeah more expensive then kraft dinner, and chicken weiners.

fanceegirl75

I can buy a bag of boneless skinless chicken breast from $6-7, a whole chicken for around $5-6 and veggies are really inexpensive. Try the farmers market if that is something you have in your area. I've gotten lucky. We have a .99 cent store here in CA that sells fresh fruits and veggies. I make at least a couple trips there a week. Eating healthy only gets expensive for me when it comes to going through the drive through at a fast food place which I avoid.

cecesquats

first, you should quit smoking. second, i don't think it's expensive to eat healthy. before i started counting calories i would binge on food and eat huge portions, so even though the food may have been cheaper, i was buying a lot more of it. while counting calories, i eat less and spend equal to, if not less, than what i was spending before.

ETA: also, clip coupons. i'm not saying you have to go crazy or anything, but if you spend even just a half hour a week looking for coupons you can save a little bit of money.

dbmata

Since I'm in a helpful mood:
Buy in bulk.

Every september we buy a pig and a lamb. I get the pig after processing at about $2.60 a pound for all the meat, and the lamb is right around $2.85 to $3 a pound.

What was the last time you bought organic hand raised meat for that price? 70's? Yeah, that's right. I bought a freezer to store it all, which is also great for storing ducks I kill, and any other meat I hunt up. Price to run the freezer for a year? $30.

Granted, the hunted meat ain't cheap if we're going to work in the cost of the arms and decoys. If we're just counting the cost of the ammo, we're talking a duck is $1 or three, and a deer is going to be sub $5. Geese a little more expensive there.

Liftng4Lis

I think for me it's actually about the same price. You have to consider how much you're saving by NOT eating fast food. Quit smoking, I did 5 weeks ago after 30 years, I feel great!

stephe1987

It is expensive especially because food prices are increasing. It's cheaper to eat frozen or canned foods than it is to plan a decent fresh meal. At fast food, it's cheaper to eat a value menu item ($1) than to get the salad ($5-7).

I think there is also a difference in what people consider "expensive." A lot of families are really struggling so they eat a lot of hot dogs because a pack of hot dogs is around 79 cents. Cup of noodles and Top Ramen are multiple packs for $1. People who are out of work, volunteering and not yet hired, new hires, and people working for minimum wage. But families that are doing a little bit better ("middle class") wouldn't be eating hot dogs anyway so they can easily switch to healthier, fresher foods for a similar price.

I subscribe to the Jillian Michaels newsletter where she has her "Myth Busters" and claims that healthy food is not more expensive... but to be honest she is used to working with middle and upper income people. Families that are near or below the poverty line cannot afford the same choices that everyone else can. They are barely getting by so they have to choose between cheap foods (hot dogs, top ramen, cup of noodles, etc.) or not eating at all. Also, food stamps have been cut significantly (people getting 1/3 or 1/4 of what they used to get) so that means less healthy food options for the poor as well.

RawIndian

Eating healthy is nothing compared to Dining out!

AlyssamR6712

i actually find eating healthy cheaper.. meat and fruites & veggies from the market are super cheap... where we get hit real hard is the boxed/frozen foods and snacks that my husband eats.. if he didn't eat that crap our bill would be so cheap!

paulawatkins1974

i guess i need to take into consideration where i live, you're right. im in downtown Toronto, so youre right, there is always a markup up regardless of where you shop in the city.

but still...it is expensive...add to that, protien bars, shakes etc...it can really add up for the month.

You're in Canada... our crap always seems to be overpriced. And I'm in oil city where our sales tax is (i think) lowest in the country!

I'm Canadian, but married an American and live in the deep South these days. Even though I complain of prices, I always boggle at them when I visit my folks in oil city (around which I was born/raised) and everything is 50% more pricey, and not because of the exchange rate!

That's not fair at all! I don't want to move to the states just so I can eat cheaper ;(

come to the dark side- where we sometimes produce good music... and don't export them wink wink nudge nudge

I won't complain about our food being a bit pricier when we get free health care. I do love the States though. I used to jokingly say I was gonna marry an american so I could live in Florida!

vegkitten

I subscribe to the Jillian Michaels newsletter where she has her "Myth Busters" and claims that healthy food is not more expensive... but to be honest she is used to working with middle and upper income people. Families that are near or below the poverty line cannot afford the same choices that everyone else can. They are barely getting by so they have to choose between cheap foods (hot dogs, top ramen, cup of noodles, etc.) or not eating at all. Also, food stamps have been cut significantly (people getting 1/3 or 1/4 of what they used to get) so that means less healthy food options for the poor as well.

I am below the poverty line. I still find it less expensive to buy healthy food. Figuring out HOW to shop this way took about six months of perfecting though, and was more expensive initially. I've become a very savvy shopper.

skyytlz

i live in a small city, and i find that eating healthy is cheaper. but for different reasons. instead of a large frozen pizza (10$) ill buy two boxes of mixed salad greens for the same price. those will last me somewhere between 5-10 days depending on how much salad i want.

i eat a lot of eggs and i buy them from a farm, i get a flat of 2.5 dozen for 6 bucks. i usually buy two flats at a time so save time going back. i eat about 2 a day, unless im making hard boiled for the whites, then i'll make 5.

i buy frozen fish and chicken breast, seperate and freeze. i buy a lot at a time. (10 breasts and 10 fish appx) this costs me about 35ish for both. it lasts me about 2 weeks, give or take a day or two.

i buy peppers like you wouldn't believe. they come out to about a dollar each, and i eat one a day. so... 14 for the two week supply.
i also eat cucumbers a lot, and i spend about 10 every two weeks for them.
aside from those, which are my "daily food" i also buy a large bag of oatmeal that lasts me about 2 months, its 6 dollars, and then maybe an extra 20 on random veggies that i change up every couple weeks. i only grocerie shop twice a month.

wehn i used to buy unhealthy food, i found i was hungry more often, and i eat when im hungry. a box of kd, i could eat 2-3 a day if i didn;t care. thats 1200cals each. they are 1.25 each in price, that is 2.50 a day, assuming everyday. my salad that fills me up the same, with less cals more nutrients costs half that.

i don't buy a lot of expensive foods though on the weekly basis. i have my staples that i love, and then an x factor for anything else i want that week.

ecjim

There is a lot you can do - chicken or turkey breast is very pricey - get the thighs, they taste better and you do need the fat. Buy the whole turkey - I'm single and I'll get one and cook the whole thing while I do a squat workout, then eat like a pig. You can get a lot of meals from a turkey, make soup, and put some in the freezer. Buy a whole pork loin and put some in the freezer. You can buy the bags of frozen veggies - skip the ones with sauces. Go fishing - East coast Jim

MisterZ33

Aside from some of the tongue in cheek comments, some great suggestions in this thread. Thank you.

Francl27

Not really.

Chicken breast $2//lb
In season fresh veggies less than $1/lb
Etc.

Please show me that store...

Cathalain

Oh, I'll play!

I can get chicken breasts for about 1.00 a pound on a good week - otherwise, it ranges from 2.49 to 2.99 a pound or so. Still a good deal, when you think about it. Leg and thigh quarters are even better, they're always 1.49 a pound max. Fruit depends - here recently, we've had a huge peach sale going on (about 1 to 2 dollars a pound-ish). Apples run between 1.50 and 2.50 a pound depending on what kind. Pears fluctuate wildly, between say 1 dollar and 4 dollars a pound - not sure of what the rationale is for the pricing roller coaster. Mushrooms don't always go on sale (4 dollars a pound on a bad week - ouch), but when they do, it's usually 2.50 a pound or so. And the Dole bagged salads are always on sale here, so I'll grab a couple if I don't feel particularly like cutting up a head of lettuce (2.50) that week.

I do think it's based on locality. I'm in the metro Baltimore/D.C. area, which you would THINK would be pricy (and it can be for some items), but we actually have pretty decent prices on fruit, veg and meat here compared to other areas of the country. That is, if you can get to them. 75% of my area have no supermarkets less than a mile away - a "food desert" is what I think people call it.

My husband and I do fairly well - we spend about 400 a month for the two of us, but we also don't have any kids and therefore more "disposable" income for things like protein bars, etc. We also buy a few other "speciality" items we like, such as al fresco chicken sausages (which are DELICIOUS, but expensive at 5 bucks a package, ugh!).

contingencyplan

I think it's pretty cheap as long as you're not looking for stuff that's pre-cooked/already prepared. Be prepared to spend time in the kitchen, and buy ingredients to actually cook your food.