a food pricing update one month into MFP

scottstephens79

Hello all,
I'm about a month into the MFP lifestyle and figured I'd give some comparison numbers to others who might be curious.
I'm a Seattle area single guy w/o kids. I'm naturally a frugal person and for the last several years I could get by eating "normal" foods for about $8-10/day and was reasonably happy with the quality and variety I was getting. Now that I've been eating healthier for five weeks my foods have jumped up to ~$15/day with about $8-9 of that coming from my juicing organic veggies.

Some observations (which could easily be wrong from biased eyes):
My savings from buying plain oatmeal vs Special K/Basic 4 was offset mostly by the increased cost of fat free cow milk to soy/almond/coconut milk. Overall, my breakfast bowl is a pinch cheaper when I actually use portion control.

My sandwiches morphed from meat/cheese/sourdough bread based to peanut butter and honey on wheat bread based. Still adjusting to taste but this switch pulled out 1500mg sodium a day. Cost wise they appear the same, I can't ever seem to find raw honey or multi-grain bread on sale.

I'm about to give up on greek yogurts. Not only are they twice/triple the price of store brands but I can't quite get used to the sour cream texture and taste aspect of it.

Overall, its probably not a surprise to most, the cheapest stuff per pound is veggies and fruits. Then breads/grains, then milk/dairy, then meats/cheese. Nuts are the most expensive part of my diet.

skinnyack

wow- you are awesome I love numbers- but I'm too lazy to do this myself

BrideToBe101212

I don't want to live near you! That is $450/month ( of 30 days!) for 1 person. I would never be able to afford that.

scottstephens79

@bridetobe,
Yeah, the cost of food is kinda annoying but I am feeling so much better these days so I don't complain too much. Eating this healthier diet has given me more energy; I no longer feel the need for power-naps on my days off from work. I could easily bring the price back down a bit from buying regular produce instead of organic and by not working out as much (and lowering my calorie intake to the recommended 1800), but I'm in a good grove and will stick with this plan for awhile.

k8blujay2

But in the long run, you are less likely to need medications to "correct" health problems as a result of unhealthy eating... :-D

And I agree about the price of greek yogurt... :-/ I tried it when it was really on sale at Target (it was Chobani brand) and I loved it, texture and all... but I just can't justify paying $1.29 for the single servings and around $6 for the tubs (that's what they cost in my area, which has a lower cost of living than many places (especially along the coast)).

AllTehBeers

I know right where you're coming from. Most of my diet is fresh fruits and veggies. I only buy enough for maybe a few days so I don't waste money on it going bad but even then ill hit about $40 a trip. Since I'm eating less though, the expenses on meats and cheeses are a lot less. I haven't kept a running total but I'm sure I hit about $150-$200 a week on groceries.

melsinct

I don't want to live near you! That is $450/month ( of 30 days!) for 1 person.

I spend much less than this in an expensive region of the country (Connecticut), feeding 2 people, and almost exclusively shopping at Whole Foods.