Is Healthy Food Really More Expensive?

ellelit

i had a co-worker of mine lament that eating healthy is so much more expenisive. i really don't think it is... if you portion control and only shop the perimeter of the grocery store it is so much cheaper. what do you think?

ellelit

i had a co-worker of mine lament that eating healthy is so much more expenisive. i really don't think it is... if you portion control and only shop the perimeter of the grocery store it is so much cheaper. what do you think?

abroas

I completely agree with you, pus there are so many great markets out there that sell fresh produce for a fraction of the price as chain grocery stores. If you are looking at the price of a bag of chips and a bag of carrots, carrots are usually cheaper!

kerrilucko

For me its cheaper too. SERIOUSLY cheaper. no more $20 meals from pizza joints or mcdonalds. I mean really, a cut of lean meat, a baked potato and some greens, prepped at home is gonna cost you like 3 bucks, waaaaayyy less if you shop carefully. Come on, people who say its too expensive are looking for an excuse.

lacy100

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy more expensive to eat healthy!!!!! Think about it... Fresh meat, non-processed, fresh veggies, fruit etc... way more expensive than a box of mac and cheese and hot dogs. I

nmonkey

More expensive for sure. The other day I went to buy the Fiber One bars and they are almost $6! The Fiber One cereal is also expensive. Whereas the sugar filled snack bars are $2.

maverickyanda

For me its cheaper too. SERIOUSLY cheaper. no more $20 meals from pizza joints or mcdonalds. I mean really, a cut of lean meat, a baked potato and some greens, prepped at home is gonna cost you like 3 bucks, waaaaayyy less if you shop carefully. Come on, people who say its too expensive are looking for an excuse.

where do you shop???

ellelit

i find it is cheaper only if you eat clean... get fiber from whole grains, not from processed bars, clean and cut your own veggies and salad green instead of buying the pre-washed kind... saves me alot of moola

beep

Depends on whether you eat organic or not, and whether you can put that extra time in to say... cut up your own chicken, grind your own hamburger from sirloin; whether you really have the time to comparison shop; and whether you have the money to buy up things when they are on sale and freeze them; and................. whether you can afford a subzero freezer to keep those things frozen without destroying them.............. :laugh:

so, the answer is................ it depends:laugh: :laugh:

kerrilucko

For me its cheaper too. SERIOUSLY cheaper. no more $20 meals from pizza joints or mcdonalds. I mean really, a cut of lean meat, a baked potato and some greens, prepped at home is gonna cost you like 3 bucks, waaaaayyy less if you shop carefully. Come on, people who say its too expensive are looking for an excuse.

where do you shop???

I shop at a grocery store, where else? If you eat 3 oz of fresh meat, 1 medium potato and 1 cup of say green beans and make it at home that is CHEAP. Buy in bulk, choose frozen veggies, and pay attention to sales.

And I agree, eating refined things like those bars, while nutritious, ARE more expensive and I do tend not to eat them, unless as a treat. But I was mostly pointing out that in my experience, the people who say that it is too expensive to eat healthy, go out for fast food at least every other day. THATS expensive. Eating anything is expensive, really, I don't think eating healthy is more expensive than eating unhealthy.

maverickyanda

It's more expensive for me.
But I can't afford to spend $3 on a meal!

:noway: :noway: :noway: :noway:

maverickyanda

For me its cheaper too. SERIOUSLY cheaper. no more $20 meals from pizza joints or mcdonalds. I mean really, a cut of lean meat, a baked potato and some greens, prepped at home is gonna cost you like 3 bucks, waaaaayyy less if you shop carefully. Come on, people who say its too expensive are looking for an excuse.

where do you shop???

I shop at a grocery store, where else? If you eat 3 oz of fresh meat, 1 medium potato and 1 cup of say green beans and make it at home that is CHEAP. Buy in bulk, choose frozen veggies, and pay attention to sales.

And I agree, eating refined things like those bars, while nutritious, ARE more expensive and I do tend not to eat them, unless as a treat. But I was mostly pointing out that in my experience, the people who say that it is too expensive to eat healthy, go out for fast food at least every other day. THATS expensive. Eating anything is expensive, really, I don't think eating healthy is more expensive than eating unhealthy.

Well i shop at a grocery store too and I attribute about 20 per cent of my weight loss to the fact that I'm poor.

maverickyanda

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/05/a-high-price-for-healthy-food/

maverickyanda

And while I'm at it:

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/story?id=3807128&page=1


Also, some of us can't eat the additives in frozen veggies and some of us can't afford the high prices of club memberships.

kthx.

All that being said...I eat a heck of a lot less in my house and a lot more bland than other folks do just so my son can eat more!

songbyrdsweet

I feel that it can be more expensive depending on your hunger and caloric needs. When you need up near 2000 calories, you go through healthy food pretty fast! I would LOVE to fill it with jars of peanut butter LOL, but I also track macro ratios. When you have to get that 'picky', it can get pricey. I don't buy organic or anything, but a lot of fish and frozen veggies and natural PB and stuff...it's less calorically dense than something like a Big Mac (ew) so I have to spend a lot to eat enough. Maybe I should just do less so I can spend less :laugh:

BlazinEmerald

For US, it's more expensive to eat healthy. You can get a box of pasta for 99cents or a box of rice for 2 bucks. I think it really depends on how many people you are feeding. We feed 4 people nightly and 6 on the weekends when my step girls come. Pasta, ww of course, is ALWAYS something we cook on those weekend , it goes alot further than a meat and veggie stirfry with no rice. Or we do hamburgers on the grill, which can be healthy. We just have to cook in bulk. So where 1 thing of salad greens might last you 4 days to a week , it'll last us 1 meal.

AJCM

I don't think anyone can argue that eating healthy is harder on a tight budget (when I think of my brother back in University - he and his friends ate cereal and Kraft Dinner for days!). We choose to spend money on organic produce, and whole foods, but I completely appreciate that not everyone can do that.

But, in my area, it's DEFINITELY cheaper to eat some broiled fish and steam up whatever veggie happen to be in season, than to buy a "combo" at a fast food joint, or order a pizza to the door.

It's sort of like the gas prices - it really effects people for whom a $10 or $20 weekly increase is a big deal. Those years back when I was in University and then grad school, "healthy food" and gas would have killed my budget! (hey... so why was I slim back then... hmmm).

GinaB30

It's wayyyy more expensive for me too....
Just the other day I went out and got grapes, fresh cherries *YUM btw!* and some yogurt and some weight control oatmeal and just THOSE four things was $20!!!!
It's mainly ME trying to eat healthier right now, and the kids eat a little of everything...but it costs a lot for me to go stock up on fresh skinless boneless chicken breasts and extra lean anything lol

jamie77

It's way more expensive for me as well. I only get paid once a month and last month when I was broke and still had two weeks until payday, I added up my grocery costs.....$800 in one month!:noway:
I buy my meats and frozen veggies in bulk and all of my fresh produce from the farmer's market. I haven't went out to lunch in about 3 months and still 800 bucks!!!
Way more expensive!

GinaB30

It's way more expensive for me as well. I only get paid once a month and last month when I was broke and still had two weeks until payday, I added up my grocery costs.....$800 in one month!:noway:
I buy my meats and frozen veggies in bulk and all of my fresh produce from the farmer's market. I haven't went out to lunch in about 3 months and still 800 bucks!!!
Way more expensive!

Yikes!
I don't add mine up like that...but I am SURE it costs darn close!! There are four of us to feed, lunches to be made for Kaleigh (my lil girl in school) and fresh produce and all that just adds up wayyyy fast.

sindyb9

I dont have a car and have to go to stop and shop. Way more expensive. But to me it is worth it I feel good. Work on a tight buget but what can you do. I am going to start looking into the fresh stands in Boston and have my son meet me there I think I can save more on fresh veggie that way. :bigsmile:

LokiFae

We spend $200 a month to feed the two of us and our son, and we eat organically when possible. I've also got it down to a science on what we use, what we're not going to use, what we can spend our money on, etc. It took us a while to get our system down of what we use and what gets thrown away, etc. It just takes some time to figure out how to push your budget where it's supposed to go. We have to take advantage of sales, etc. But when you only have $200 a month to spend on groceries, you have to figure out how to eat healthy on that amount of money, and I've figured it out, at least for us.
Also, we spent a LOT more money on food when we were both eating crap all the time, because the stuff we bought went so quickly. I also make all of our bread, pasta, etc. from scratch, and that saves us a bit of money too. And I think it tastes better.

timisw

For me its cheaper too. SERIOUSLY cheaper. no more $20 meals from pizza joints or mcdonalds. I mean really, a cut of lean meat, a baked potato and some greens, prepped at home is gonna cost you like 3 bucks, waaaaayyy less if you shop carefully. Come on, people who say its too expensive are looking for an excuse.

where do you shop???

I would LOVE to find a place where I could get a lean cut of meat for $3! ~smiling~

Is 97% fat free ground beef even that cheap?

I do think that when you compare eating healthy to eating out, you are going to be about equal!

I did have a Shrimp Boil this weekend that fed like 10 people that didnt cost too much and I consider it VERY healthy -

2lbs of jumbo shrimp $10
3lbs of medium shrimp $12
2lbs of medium scallops $10
5lbs of red potatoes $3
16 Ears of Corn $4
Seasoning $5

And it was MOST delicious!

Now if I wouldnt of put so much seasoning in it, I wouldn't of had to drink so much beer!

jamie77

We spend $200 a month to feed the two of us and our son, and we eat organically when possible. I've also got it down to a science on what we use, what we're not going to use, what we can spend our money on, etc. It took us a while to get our system down of what we use and what gets thrown away, etc. It just takes some time to figure out how to push your budget where it's supposed to go. We have to take advantage of sales, etc. But when you only have $200 a month to spend on groceries, you have to figure out how to eat healthy on that amount of money, and I've figured it out, at least for us.
Also, we spent a LOT more money on food when we were both eating crap all the time, because the stuff we bought went so quickly. I also make all of our bread, pasta, etc. from scratch, and that saves us a bit of money too. And I think it tastes better.

Wow...share your secrets...please! I know I could cut my bill down. Mine includes household items as well, laundry detergent, shampoo, cleaning supplies,etc. I would be absolutely ecstatic to get under $500

LML79

For me its cheaper too. SERIOUSLY cheaper. no more $20 meals from pizza joints or mcdonalds. I mean really, a cut of lean meat, a baked potato and some greens, prepped at home is gonna cost you like 3 bucks, waaaaayyy less if you shop carefully. Come on, people who say its too expensive are looking for an excuse.

where do you shop???

I would LOVE to find a place where I could get a lean cut of meat for $3! ~smiling~

Is 97% fat free ground beef even that cheap?

I do think that when you compare eating healthy to eating out, you are going to be about equal!

I did have a Shrimp Boil this weekend that fed like 10 people that didnt cost too much and I consider it VERY healthy -

2lbs of jumbo shrimp $10
3lbs of medium shrimp $12
5lbs of red potatoes $3
16 Ears of Corn $4
Seasoning $5

And it was MOST delicious!

Now if I wouldnt of put so much seasoning in it, I would of had to drink so much beer!

:laugh:

LokiFae

We spend $200 a month to feed the two of us and our son, and we eat organically when possible. I've also got it down to a science on what we use, what we're not going to use, what we can spend our money on, etc. It took us a while to get our system down of what we use and what gets thrown away, etc. It just takes some time to figure out how to push your budget where it's supposed to go. We have to take advantage of sales, etc. But when you only have $200 a month to spend on groceries, you have to figure out how to eat healthy on that amount of money, and I've figured it out, at least for us.
Also, we spent a LOT more money on food when we were both eating crap all the time, because the stuff we bought went so quickly. I also make all of our bread, pasta, etc. from scratch, and that saves us a bit of money too. And I think it tastes better.

Wow...share your secrets...please! I know I could cut my bill down. Mine includes household items as well, laundry detergent, shampoo, cleaning supplies,etc. I would be absolutely ecstatic to get under $500

Well, making bread and pasta and things like that helps a lot. I like to do that because then I know that we're getting true whole grain bread, and I KNOW what went into it. We eat a lot of pasta with fresh tomatoes. We're also lucky, because my stepdad is a crazy gardening machine, so we get about half of his harvest, because they can't eat all of the stuff he plants. So we always have fresh produce during the summer, and I can or freeze a lot of stuff to tide us over the winter and spring. I also buy a lot of big bulk packages of meat and then individually freeze them into portions. That helps a lot too. A big family-size box of brown rice will last us a whole month, and it's really filling.
Oh, and I wasn't including household items. Those cost quite a bit during the month. With an 11-month old, we do a LOT of laundry. :bigsmile:

bonkers5975

Well, I can see that it would be cheaper to eat healthy if you ate out alot pre-diet. But my family has always eaten out only once or twice a year! Therefore, going from enriched pastas, rice and flour, to whole grains, and from processed meat to fresh is way more expensive for us. Look at the dairy alone. Fat free cheese is at least a dollar more per package than full fat. A gallon of 1% milk is 3.67 while a half gallon of soy milk is over four dollars. Full fat margarine is at least a dollar cheaper than light. Olive oil! OMG! I think it all depends on your prior situation, and just how astronomically you were spending before. We've always been on a shoestring. Used to be a box of mac and cheese was a lifesaver at 44 cents

My family also never ate more than a bag of chips a week, and I've always done my own baking as well. So yes, it definitely depends!

mjfer123

Everyone who buys in bulk needs to break down how many meals they are getting out of their shopping, it may cost hundreds of dollars in a month or a week, but do those groceries last the entire month, maybe more? The initial cost of buying in bulk equals out over time.

timisw

Everyone who buys in bulk needs to break down how many meals they are getting out of their shopping, it may cost hundreds of dollars in a month or a week, but do those groceries last the entire month, maybe more? The initial cost of buying in bulk equals out over time.

But only if you can keep it fresh and/or eat it fast enough!

Bulk shaves pennies off here and there, but can sometimes hurt you if you dont do it right!

timisw

:laugh:

:devil:

mjfer123

Personally, when I was eating crap food and adding chips and cookies to my grocery cart, at 4 bucks a pop, they added up. Now fruits and veggies are typically around 1.50 or 2 dollars a lb. But then again its only 2 people eating here, those lbs of fruits and veggies probably add up for a full family.
But also, eating boxed mac and cheese and hot dogs, as some one said before, was WAY cheaper than buying cuts of meat. But frozen processed food was very expensive as well.

In the end, my grocery bill is much less than what it used to be, now that I dont buy any processed meats or chips and snacks. I buy in bulk and freeze what I get into individual portions usually. I also buy my meat from a meat market / butcher now, prices are usually a buck or two less than at the grocery stores.

People also need to consider geographic location, shipping costs are going to affect certain foods. Living in the middle of the US and buying fish is going to be a lot more expensive than on the coast. Same goes for buying oranges and other fruits in the north.
My grandmother for years has shaved a lot off her bill by doing her own gardening of tomato, green beans, zucchini, squash, pumpkins, cucumbers and more. Its all in what you have and what you do with it.