Why is Healthy Eating So Expensive?

DawnieB1977

I don't find healthy eating expensive. I mean, food in general is more expensive these days, but I'm sure buying microwave meals and oven chips would be more expensive than home-made meals.

I've never eaten junk food and convenience foods, so I don't know exactly how much it would cost, but you can make nice, healthy meals cheaply. Things like casseroles, soups, pasta dishes etc don't cost a lot. I live in the UK, and one of our supermarkets does 3 lots of meat for £10, so you could get 4 chicken breasts, a turkey joint and 400g of mince. The mince could do a shepherds pie or something which would last my family of 4 2 meals, same for the chicken if i did a curry or something, and then the turkey one meal, so that's 5 meals for £10. The added veg wouldn't cost that much more.

As for breakfast - we eat eggs for breakfast most days, or porridge, which I think is probably cheaper than buying cereal.

jentarver

Its not at all, its just another excuse you need to knock out of your way. Plan healthy meals for the week and buy for those meals. NO PROCESSED OR FROZEN! None of those little lean cuisine meals.


I used to think it was expensive too

Nicolee_2014

It all depends on where you live.
Chobani yoghurt here in Australia is $2 for 170gm tub
Decent nice chicken - $15 a kg
Wholemeal grain bread $5 a loaf
Punnet of blueberries (200gms) $9
Kg of Grapes (imported from the US) $12-13

I could go on but it's not always cheaper to eat fresh in some cases - I try but I scout around for cheaper stuff and most of the produce at our fruit & veg stores are just CRAP. I really should live on a farm & grow my own stuff!

At the end of the day I know I have to pay that little bit extra to eat better, just the way it is.

needamulligan

As compared to what? Are you talking organic? Compared to eating out? Compared to packaged, prepared food? I bet that cooking at home with the best ingredients you can afford is a whole lot cheaper than any of these options. You CAN make yogurt if you had to. Nobody says that Chobani yogurt is the path to fitness. What are the local options? I never understand this argument. What did you spend on the food that brought you to this diet/fitness site? It is a LOT cheaper to cook at home from scratch and pack a lunch. Frozen blueberries are a budget friendly option, also. If you choose the high end options OF COURSE it will be more expensive. Just like a 5 star restaurant is more expensive than a McDonalds! If I want to eat out I'll find a restaurant that suits my taste and budget....JUST LIKE EATING HEALTHY!!

Allyice

Actually I found eating badly was more expensive because I'd eat more of it, plus get alot of take out. I find I'm saving money buying ingredients for healthy home cooked meals.

TinGirl314

It really isn't.
What's expensive are the things that are targeted as healthy but are full of chemicals to make it taste like something else.
Today I went grocery shopping and the bill was 62$ for seven days. Included in that was salmon, Caribbean marinated chicken, honey roasted chicken pieces for salads, baby spinach, cheerios, apples, asian pears, bananas...

Once you start eating real basic foods, the cost drops considerably.
Not to mention eating only one serving of the foods helps stretch it out longer.

transvenouspacer

It certainly doesn't have to be. I am a truck driver. I use a slow cooker in my truck and eat casseroles and stews, all made with fresh ingredients. Chicken, beef, sausages etc etc. You don't need expensive meat as cooking it slowly makes it lovely, tender and tasty. I buy casserole vegetables, throw it all in a bag and it all goes in the slow cooker for 4/5 hours. No more ready meals or processed food for me!! Each of my meals probably costs £2!!!

Just had to say wow! Way to go! I'm sure as a truck driver its very hard to eat healthy. The fact that you are eating so healthy and have lost so much weight is amazing with that job!! So many people would just use excuses not to eat healthier but you didn't. Ingenious having a slow cooker in your truck. I'm really impressed. Way to think outside the box and congrats on your healthier lifestyle!

schaskes

My experience is that there are three factors: Healthy, Inexpensive, Convenient...you can only get two out of the three at any one time. Example, if money were no object, one could hire a personal chef to make low-calorie meals, which is definitely convenient.
Or, one can eat healthy for a reasonable amount of money if one has a lot of time to plan/shop/cook, which is hard to do in a household where two parents work and have busy children. Obviously, fast food is inexpensive and convenient, but not healthy.

We try to balance the inconvenient with the expensive and have found a place that works for us, but it's not always easy.

lynn1982

It doesn't have to be. It depends how 'healthy' you want to take it. This is what I get for a week:
9 Greek yogurts $9
3lbs of bananas $1.50
Spinich $2
Tomatoes $3
Chicken breast (usually 6) $10
Whole wheat bread $2
Nuts usually walnuts $5
Pineapple $2
Asparagus $3
Usually 2 things on frozen vegetables $2
I usually keep it under $40. Hope this helps?
Other cheep things I don't personally eat are oatmeal cucumbers celery

I pair that with things I already have such as peanut butter that you don't have to buy every week

Wow! Where do you live/shop? Everything you've listed is at least $2-$5 more where I live...

AbsoluteNG

It's only expensive if you buy a lot of meat and fish. You can get protein from eggs just fine.

hesn92

I spend a lot less eating healthy actually........

but that's because I used to eat out all the time.

It is expensive though. Food in general is getting more expensive, I think.



It sucks

sazroy

I love how so many are comparing unhealthy eating to "eating junk" and "eating out".

Back to what I posted back on page 1. There's a different between Healthy eating and Mid/Somewhat healthy eating.
I don't eat take away.
I used to earn only $150 a week.
When I tried to buy veggies, meat etc for my partner and I, food shopping was $140 a week.
Then I switched to just making things like pasta for dinner, greatly reduced my shopping bill, but it wasn't a healthy alternative.. It certainly wasn't junk food, there was no chips or lollies and certainly no take away. But it wasn't as healthy as it could have been.
We eat healthy now, but I earn around $500 a week now.

Eating healthy (depending on where you live, I for one do not have a 99c store anywhere near by) can be very expensive.
Eating unhealthy can be even more expensive.
Eating simple is cheap.




** Edit **

Old diet
Breakfast - 2 pieces of toast, butter, vegemite, glass of skim milk
Lunch - Vegemite sandwich
Dinner - Pasta
No snacks.
CHEAP!

Current Diet
Breakfast - Healthy cereal or multigrain muffin with butter, vegemite, green tea.
Lunch - Soups, sometimes microwave meals (easier for time at work), cruskits with tuna, tomato etc.
Dinner - Chicken, veg, rice, alternating meals with red meats or just chicken, healthy home made pizzas
Snacks - Popcorn, muesli bars, yoghurt, apples

NOT AS CHEAP AS OLD DIET! People will probably say my current diet is much more satisfying but I couldn't give a crap about what I eat, I was happy eating vegemite sandwiches and pasta everyday, but I was gaining weight from all the carbs.
CARBS ARE CHEAP But not JUNK

monicalosesweight

I think it depends on what you buy and whether you're eating it quickly or tossing it. I know we've gotten real good at dicing up leftovers and making sure we freeze them before they go bad (bell peppers for example). Also, I buy giant bags of frozen veggies so that we don't over prepare and sometimes it is cheaper. It just depends on what you're eating and how quickly you go through it. We freeze it if we can't get to it so that we can at least make sure we use up our fresh produce. Grapes for example are great in the freezer and if you're not eating them fast enough - pop them there and you'll still get use out of them.

NattyLeilani

I don't find healthy eating to be any more expensive than unhealthy eating. Sure, there's more prep work involved when you're cooking meals, but my grocery bill hasn't changed much at all (and I'm feeding myself plus my 3 kids and husband). I've just replaced bags of chips with apples and candy with fruit. *shrug* I mean, if you're going to Whole Foods as opposed to Wal Mart or Super Target, yeah....you bet your bill will be higher. I go to Wal Mart and get almost all in season fruits and veggies. For my family of five, I spend around $150/week.

waldo56

Because people that sell expensive food have convinced you that that their food is healthier.

Healthiness is subjective and in the eye of the beholder. One person's healty food is another's unhealthy food.

The relationship between food and health is very poorly established, especially at finer scale than the diet as a whole. The idea that this particular food is healthier than this particular food is largely build on the backbone of decades of propaganda; the public has come to believe the propoganda as fact. For the most part it is laregly a baseless assertation. Every item that is not acutely poisonous is just as healthy as every other item when removed from the context of diet. There is no such thing as healthy or unhealthy food, only healthy or unhealthy diets.

126siany

- I see a lot of people bringing up meats as expensive, and indeed they are. That's why I have found many different recipes using beans, lentils as the main source of protien. SO much cheaper.
...
And as myfitnesspal has taught me, PORTION CONTROL!

Meats are so expensive, but when its on offer (or in the reduced section) I buy loads and freeze it. I have a freezer full of bags of lean mince meat!
Smaller portions make everything cheaper too!

Or cook meals with it that freeze well.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

It really shouldn't be. Buy fruits and veggies that are in season, shop around, you'll find you can actually eat healthily for a lot less. good luck x

Agreed. Stick to what is local and in season for the most part. Meat markets, farmers markets and local stores that get their food, fresh from local farmers is quite healthier, fresher and tastes much better.

BogQueen1

Just went to Costco yesterday. Picked up 8 boxes of whole grain pasta for $9.69, so $1.20 a box, same price as regular white pasta in the grocery store. Picked up 8 cans of organic diced tomatoes, and 12 cans of organic tomato sauce for about $6 for each box. The ground beef there is 93/7 and comes in at under $3 bucks a pound. You can get a 10 lb bag of frozen chicken breasts for about $20 bucks, so $2 a pound. Potatoes are like $6 for a 20 pound bag or something ridiculous like that. Oh and I got a bag of pears for $6. I think it's like a 5 or 6 pound bag. Not sure exactly how it compares to store bought, I don't buy pears frequently, but $1 a pound for fresh fruit is generally never a bad bargain. I picked up 4 cans of beans from Wal-Mart for 68 cents each. Brown rice is $2.99 for a 2 pound bag at my grocery store. More expensive then white (a bit) but cheaper then Rice a Roni by far.

Buy fresh veggies and fruits on sale, splurge occasionally on the ones you REALLY can't live without. Buy the rest frozen or canned.

Summation? Avoid buying prepackaged frozen meals. Buy canned and dry goods in bulk to save big $$'s. Buy meats in bulk as well and potion out then freeze. We invested in a Foodsaver so we can vaccuum seal things and they last longer frozen.

Also a point. To effectively buy in bulk and make it a good bargain, you MUST be aware of the prices of items at the store. Otherwise there is a good chance you will pay just as much as normal. Everyone has to be price savvy these days, otherwise the sneaky grocery stores will charge you $.99 for a dozen eggs... and $2.99 for the 18 pack... when you could just buy 2 packs of 12, get more eggs for less money! Sneaky stores.

AmyP619

It really isn't...... since my husband and I started our journey in May our weekly grocery bill has not changed. You're basically replacing one type of food for another, so it really evens out....unless you're trying to eat organic everything. Instead of buying chips, cookies, and junk food, we now buy fruits and veggies or healthier snacks. Instead of buying ground beef we now buy ground turkey. We eat a ton of chicken, so we buy that in bulk at the local "bulk" store. It's really not that much more expensive!

alaskaang

Eating can be expensive or not whether you eat healthy or not.
Ice cream: Ben & Jerrys micro sized container is $4.99, Generic brand gallon and a half for $2.99.

Chicken: Brand name at the grocery store $3.79 a pound, Family pack of generic, $2.99 a pound, Family pack of generic at Sam's Club $1.99 a pound. Basically the same product, three different prices.

And healthy means different things to different people.

For example, organic cage free omega 3 eggs, $6.99 for 18 pack. Same producer, conventional eggs, $8.99 for 5 dozen. Healthier in this instance is more expensive only if you believe that the first is healthier. Many would argue that cage free only means there is a tiny door in the coop that most of the chickens never use and also that it's not really a good idea to feed chickens flax meal. In that case, the 5 dozen is definitely cheaper for same. If you think the first is more healthy, then yes it's more expensive.

Produce: if you are strictly buying organic at the grocery store then, typically it's more expensive than the conventional counterpart but not always. Apples for instance are the same price where I shop whether you buy organic or conventional. Aside from organic, produce varies greatly depending on what you buy and what is in season. Asparagus is currently $4.99 a pound. Green cabbage is only $.69 a pound.

Pasta, rice and potatoes are cheap. Some would say none are healthy, some would say all are, and others would say one or more is and the other is not.

There are too many variables and differences in opinion to make a blanket statement that eating healthy is more expensive.