True or an excuse?

sarahgilmore

Also, I think a lot of people put too much meat on their plates - about 120 g raw weight meat is an adequate serve for most people, not a half chicken breast at around 250-300g.

Isn't that dependent on their macro/calories goals, which is largely outside the scope of this conversation?

Your suggestion is roughly, what... 4 oz? That's a typical service according to manufacturers. At ~20g protein per 4oz serving, I'd have to eat 10 of your meals per day to hit my protein mark (obviously that takes away protein from other sources, but I'm oversimplifying for the sake of this conversation). That ain't going to happen. So while you don't have to agree with me eating 8oz of chicken breast or a 12oz steak, for those of us with higher calorie/protein goals a traditional serving just doesn't cut it.

Oh yeah I'm aware that people in your situation have very high protein goals, but the question was about people using it as an excuse not to change their lifestyle - a typical person/family just trying to eat healthier rather than junk food, this would be adequate, if you know what I mean.

LIke of course your steak meal is going to cost more than your frozen pizza, but there's a whole lot more to it, too. You could get the same macros with real food that the pizza provides, for cheaper, would be a fairer comparison. Likewise to get the same macros you're after from junk and processed food, would cost a lot more than you're paying for your steak : )

crzyone

Wow, nothing in America is cheap anymore!!!!

I think it depends upon what you would normally eat. For me, I could buy a bag of Ramen noodles and canned soup and a bag of generic cookies for a bit of money and have it last for two weeks. Buying fresh produce and meat and vegetables is A LOT more expensive.

But, if had been used to eating out all the time, then that kind of comparision might not be the same.

So, for ME, eating healthier IS more expensive.

Bonita_Lynne_58

Given similar volumes of food, healthy eating is WAY more expensive for me as proven by my grocery bill. Steaks, fish, chicken breast, etc is a whole lot more expensive than frozen pizza.

I've noticed this. But as one poster said there ways to cut cost and eat healthy. I look for sales on chicken breast and stockup (need a freezer for that), buy whatever fresh fruit and veggies are on sale. Stock up on frozen fruit and veggies when I find sales and use coupons when possible.

sarahgilmore

I think it's neither. It's a lack of education or time in many cases. My mom managed to feed 5 us well and healthy on a VERY tight budget. She also made her own tortillas, pinto beans, biscuits (from scratch not BisQuick), etc. We ate a lot of white flour but our foods didn't have a lot of chemicals and such added. We also lived in Northern California where product is cheap in season. The thing is she knew HOW to cook and how to shop, looking at more then just the price per jar of peanut butter but how much it cost per ounce. She also had my dad to help out. Not everyone was taught to cook or how to shop. I have multiple friends that can not cook because their parent didn't want to take the time to teach them and now they are a single parents with small children that work full time. It's easy to say "You're making an excuse" but some time the possible just isn't feasible because the knowledge isn't there.

I'm sure if you put a glass of water and a glass of pop on a table and asked your friends "which is better for you child" they'd be able to pick the right one. likewise, a poptart and an apple. a cookie and a piece of cheese. a cup of yoghurt and a bag of chips. none of which require any knowledge of cooking.

JoyousRen

I'm sure if you put a glass of water and a glass of pop on a table and asked your friends "which is better for you child" they'd be able to pick the right one. likewise, a poptart and an apple. a cookie and a piece of cheese. a cup of yoghurt and a bag of chips. none of which require any knowledge of cooking.

Indeed. but a poptart is cheaper than an apple, a cookie is cheaper than a piece of cheese and a serving of chips is cheaper than a cup of yogurt.

devilwhiterose

I think it's neither. It's a lack of education or time in many cases. My mom managed to feed 5 us well and healthy on a VERY tight budget. She also made her own tortillas, pinto beans, biscuits (from scratch not BisQuick), etc. We ate a lot of white flour but our foods didn't have a lot of chemicals and such added. We also lived in Northern California where product is cheap in season. The thing is she knew HOW to cook and how to shop, looking at more then just the price per jar of peanut butter but how much it cost per ounce. She also had my dad to help out. Not everyone was taught to cook or how to shop. I have multiple friends that can not cook because their parent didn't want to take the time to teach them and now they are a single parents with small children that work full time. It's easy to say "You're making an excuse" but some time the possible just isn't feasible because the knowledge isn't there.

I'm sure if you put a glass of water and a glass of pop on a table and asked your friends "which is better for you child" they'd be able to pick the right one. likewise, a poptart and an apple. a cookie and a piece of cheese. a cup of yoghurt and a bag of chips. none of which require any knowledge of cooking.

Eh, alot of it also has to do with time. And that issues stems beyond the topic of this discussion.

It's alot easier to throw your kid a poptart in the morning to eat on the way than get up extra early to make him a wholesome breakfast. An apple just isn't as satisfying as a sugary poptart. Same way with dinner. Microwaves are the American's saving grace. lol ALOT of people need convenience foods. Unfortunately, most convenience foods aren't healthy. We've also been accustomed to taste. Crappy foods taste good when that's all you know. My sister would gladly eat a candy bar over a granola bar because that's all she's ever known. Doesn't make it right... It's sad, but when dad worked his *kitten* off and left you to fend for yourself, you more than likely weren't making meals. It was whatever can of food was good at the time.

devilwhiterose

And no...I don't give my kid poptarts. I've upgraded to a cup of dry cereal on the go. :laugh:

Slove009

I'm sure if you put a glass of water and a glass of pop on a table and asked your friends "which is better for you child" they'd be able to pick the right one. likewise, a poptart and an apple. a cookie and a piece of cheese. a cup of yoghurt and a bag of chips. none of which require any knowledge of cooking.

Indeed. but a poptart is cheaper than an apple, a cookie is cheaper than a piece of cheese and a serving of chips is cheaper than a cup of yogurt.

I disagree. Poptarts can be $3+ for a box of 3-4 packs (6-8 poptarts). You can buy a bag with more than 10 apples for $3.99 or less if it's on sale. For kids, they have drinkable yogurts. The cheese part? I am a cheese nut and I would be lying if I said I don't shell out extra cash for it. (I get the gourmet and specialty cheese to have as a treat with wine or cocktails, so it's not cheap or healthy typically). Granted, there are the string cheese snacks that are out there (which I hate for some unkown reason) but I don't know their costs. I do know it's not very expensive the buy the 1lb block of cheddar or colby jack considering how much of it there is.

ReinasWrath

More expensive but there are some ways you can get around it if you wanted it to work bad enough

ReinasWrath

More expensive but there are some ways you can get around it if you wanted it to work bad enough

Rosbrook1985

My household shopping bill has gone up about 15 pounds a week. The 'junk' foods got cut in half because OH is such a fussy eater and we have seperate dinners. Saying that i buy fresh and not frozen due to limited freezer space. I don't begrudge the extra though, I'm thinking of the long term benefits!

sarahgilmore

I think all this goes to show, that it's not that its more expensive, though.

It's easier
It's 'funner'/tastier
It's quicker
All reasons why healthy food can be shunned.

Cost, comes further down the list and IS an excuse.

There ARE cheap, wholesome, healthy and filling foods that are cheaper than a bunch of convenience foods. The problem is that people can't/won't take the time to learn, find and prepare them, NOT that they cost too much.

JoyousRen

I disagree. Poptarts can be $3+ for a box of 3-4 packs (6-8 poptarts). You can buy a bag with more than 10 apples for $3.99 or less if it's on sale. For kids, they have drinkable yogurts. The cheese part? I am a cheese nut and I would be lying if I said I don't shell out extra cash for it. (I get the gourmet and specialty cheese to have as a treat with wine or cocktails, so it's not cheap or healthy typically). Granted, there are the string cheese snacks that are out there (which I hate for some unkown reason) but I don't know their costs. I do know it's not very expensive the buy the 1lb block of cheddar or colby jack considering how much of it there is.

I have to disagree. Here, you can buy an off brand of poptarts of $2. On sale, apples run for about $1.29/lb. That is 3-4 small apples. A drinkable yogurt is still more expensive than a cookie. I''m not sure how many servings are in a bag of chips but I know you can get a large bag for $3 on sale and the 1lb block of cheese generally runs for $5-6.
And none of this gives a child an actual meal. These are all snacks.

JoyousRen

I think all this goes to show, that it's not that its more expensive, though.

It's easier
It's 'funner'/tastier
It's quicker
All reasons why healthy food can be shunned.

Cost, comes further down the list and IS an excuse.

There ARE cheap, wholesome, healthy and filling foods that are cheaper than a bunch of convenience foods. The problem is that people can't/won't take the time to learn, find and prepare them, NOT that they cost too much.

and that is why I said that it is neither. They don't cost more but it doesn't mean that is an excuse. Though, it can be.

crzyone

The question did not ask if healthy foods cost "too much." It asked if it cost more. For some of us, "Yes." For some of us, "No." No need to have attitudes about it. We all have our opinion and our pocketbooks to prove it either way!!! LOL

cemummy

this has been an interesting read, im in new zealand so prices will be a little different. if i compare takeaways to healthy eating at home - healthy eating is cheaper but if i compare crap eating at home to healthy eating at home - crap eating is way cheaper.
just to give you an idea of how prices are here -
2lt milk $5.95,
chicken breast $19 per kg
fish fillets range from $20kg - 40kg
1kg block of cheese $12
1.5 kg bag of apples $5.90
avocado $1.40 each
tomatoes are currently $3.99 per kg but 3 months ago cause of the floods in oz they were $16 per kg!!!!
2lt coke - $1.90
packet of biscuits $2.20
chips $1.50
frozen pizza $3
5 pack of noodles $1.90

it is more expensive to eat healthy, but i also think people use it as an excuse - im a single mum with two kids and we manage to eat healthy. theres some creative shopping here and there and when meat/fish is on special i buy in bulk and freeze.

NiciS72

Reading all of the responses here made me REALLY want to analyze this further. If you don't know me, I'm an accountant/financial analyst and it's in my nature to want to prove/disprove things like this with numbers! SOOOO, I pulled out my receipts and pieced together the prices for the meal I made my husband and I last night. To be fair, I had to guess at a few things, so I went higher than it probably is to make my point. Here's how it broke down:

Chicken Parmesan-8 servings for $7.96 or just under a dollar a serving. For those of you eating more than 4-5 ounces of protein double that and it's $2 a serving

A nice salad with mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, peppadeux peppers, onion and basil goat cheese with Lite Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing $2.01

Fresh Strawberries & Pineapple $1.83

Total Meal per person $4.84

Not bad if I do say so myself. I don't know ANYWHERE where I can get that kind of healthy meal for under $5 but at my house! Happy eating ya'll!

Classalete

It's just like anything else...frivolous spending will cause your finances to deplete quicker with less to actually show for it. You've got to time the things you buy and the quantity you buy in.

For example, my local meet market was having a .99 per lb boneless skinless chicken breast sale. So I bought 50lbs and stored most of that in my deep freezer. That sale obviously doesn't come around often, and that type of meat on average is around 1.99-3.99 per pound, quite the savings when bought in bulk.

Another example, frozen vegetable should be a staple is just about everyone's diet. They usually have them on sale 10 bags for 10 bucks...Pretty hard to beat that deal.

Those big ticket canned items should be purchased at a place like Costco or Sams Club. Non-perishables should be hunted and purchased in bulk when the sales permit.

Conclusion: It's only as expensive as you make it. Start reading the Sunday paper and hit your food stores accordingly.

PS: Being single and having a good job doesn't hurt much either. ;D

jacksonpt

Reading all of the responses here made me REALLY want to analyze this further. If you don't know me, I'm an accountant/financial analyst and it's in my nature to want to prove/disprove things like this with numbers! SOOOO, I pulled out my receipts and pieced together the prices for the meal I made my husband and I last night. To be fair, I had to guess at a few things, so I went higher than it probably is to make my point. Here's how it broke down:

Chicken Parmesan-8 servings for $7.96 or just under a dollar a serving. For those of you eating more than 4-5 ounces of protein double that and it's $2 a serving

A nice salad with mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, peppadeux peppers, onion and basil goat cheese with Lite Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing $2.01

Fresh Strawberries & Pineapple $1.83

Total Meal per person $4.84

Not bad if I do say so myself. I don't know ANYWHERE where I can get that kind of healthy meal for under $5 but at my house! Happy eating ya'll!

First off... that's awesome, great cooking!

But what does that prove or disprove? Sure, you made a good meal for 2 people for $10. For $10 do you know how many chicken nuggets I can get at Wendy's?

There really is no right or wrong answer here. Though, my gut tells me that if you bought the cheapest crap meal you possibly could and compared it to the cheapest healthy meal you could (buy everything on sale and in bulk)... assuming total calories and protein content were similar, the crap food would still be cheaper.

jacksonpt

PS: Being single and having a good job doesn't hurt much either. ;D

funny... I was thinking through your whole post that being a single father doesn't allow me the time to do that. But your point is still a good one... it can be (relatively speaking) as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be.