Groceries Are Killing Me
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Just wanted to say, that eating that much yogurt is really not good for you.
especially if its sugar free or non fat, in fact if any thing is sugar free like that, it contains high fructose corn syrup and other thing sto make up for it, which block the receptors in your brain that tell you, you are full. Causing weight GAIN.
Possibly, you didn't read carefully. I purchase unflavored, plain, regular yogurt. There's no corn syrup in it.0 -
I don't know if most city folk know when things are in season. I've only been learning recently, and I'm 47 years old. I started growing things, and have been slowly learning about the seasonality of fresh produce. But, before that, I never paid attention. Mainly, I think, because I can buy everything all year around, so it's difficult to know when corn is in season, as an example.
And by the way, I don't have a garden, I grow in pots on my patio. You'd be surprised how much stuff you can grow that way.0 -
try to google your local stores and 'coupons' or 'savings' for websites that help you match coupons to ads. For example I use iheartpublix.com and iheartsavingmoney.com totallytarget.com - I consider it to be a part time job. I put some time into the coupons and I get paid in savings, but I really understand if you can't do it timewise.0
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My local farmer's market has very reasonable prices on produce. It doesn't last as long as the stuff in the stores, but it's grown in a more sustainable way and I'm supporting my community- bonus.
I also had a co-worker tell me about a CSA- community shared agriculture. You pay for 6 months at a time, but basically it works out to a HUGE basket of produce (plenty for 2-3) for about $15 a week.
Main thing to keep your produce costs down is buy what's in season.
I've also found that for ethnic or specialty foods those items are cheaper at their respective markets- i.e., egg noodles are way cheaper at the asian market than Safeway,whereas tortillas, chiles, etc. are all better priced at the Mexican market.0 -
I went to Whole Foods last weekend to buy some No Hormone/No Antibiotics beef and chicken. The cheapest beef I could find was $14 a pound, and the chicken was $8 a pound. Obviously, I walked out without any meat.
Either you pay for it now in quality food costs, or you pay for it later in medical bills.
Oh my gosh! My hubby says that to me all the time.. including this morning when I was hesitating on spending almost 12$ on two loaves of low GI sprouted bread0 -
Buy from Costco, the Farmers Markets, buy on sale- Safeway often has buy one, get one free of Jennie-O turkey breast. Try 'bountiful baskets' ... it's a great co-op and really cheap!0
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Just wanted to say, that eating that much yogurt is really not good for you.
especially if its sugar free or non fat, in fact if any thing is sugar free like that, it contains high fructose corn syrup and other thing sto make up for it, which block the receptors in your brain that tell you, you are full. Causing weight GAIN.
Possibly, you didn't read carefully. I purchase unflavored, plain, regular yogurt. There's no corn syrup in it.
Which people typically don't read before they post.
+1 for plain, regular greek yogurt.0 -
Canned veggies aren't good for you, especially canned tomatoes.0
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I honestly can't believe that. Eating healthier caused me to SAVE money on groceries. WHAT are you buying? are you making smart decisions? Usually fresh and natural foods are cheaper than the processed junk ones.
True!
Compare the price of a bag of potatoes, to a bag of tater tots!
I also cook big meals, (the the pressure cooker rocks!)
and I always have leftovers. It works out to be cheaper
in the end. Now most fruits and veggies are in season,
so they're much cheaper than usual. Yes, being able
to have a garden helps!0 -
I went to Whole Foods last weekend to buy some No Hormone/No Antibiotics beef and chicken. The cheapest beef I could find was $14 a pound, and the chicken was $8 a pound. Obviously, I walked out without any meat.
Either you pay for it now in quality food costs, or you pay for it later in medical bills.
Oh my gosh! My hubby says that to me all the time.. including this morning when I was hesitating on spending almost 12$ on two loaves of low GI sprouted bread
Well you can always bake your own bread. What's the saying..."buy the butter, bake the bread."
I also don't buy $12 bread but we do splurge on good food in my house. I'm known to buy a $12 salad once in a while if it's good local ingredients. Homemade cheese and local veggies, and grains.0 -
Sadly it does cost more to eat well. Froot Loops cost much less than actual fruit.
WAIT...are you saying Froot Loops don't ACTUALLY contain fruit? I need to sit down...:noway:0 -
Bump for later0
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Make your own yoghurt, you can buy a yoghurt maker that contains a litre tub - you use UHT milk, a bit of milk powder and some bought yoghurt to start you off and it works out considerably cheaper. Look up 'making yoghurt at home' on google. You don't even need the maker, you can do it in your oven if it has a very low heat setting or alternatively in a vacuum flask.
You can make yogurt in a Crock Pot! I do this once every two weeks or so, and then strain the yogurt through a colander and paper towels in the fridge to make my own Greek yogurt. It's definitely cheaper than buying a tub of Greek yogurt every week.
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/you-can-make-yogurt-in-your-crockpot.html0 -
My grocery bill has almost doubled as a result of my new eating habits - and I'm eating far less food overall! I look for coupons and special deals; I try to buy in bulk where possible; but there is no getting around the math. Healthy fresh food just costs more, at least where I live. If there's a secret I'm missing, I would love someone to clue me in!
Maybe what we need to do is have some example grocery lists and receipts.
I don't have anything in detail to hand, but some examples:
Buy often or in large quantities:
- 1% milk, yogurt
- Cheese (American for "staple" use in sandwiches)
- Wheat crackers, multigrain bread, oatmeal, store-branded cereals
- Rice, beans, flour, nuts
- chicken (fresh if it's on special, frozen skinless breasts otherwise), sausages, store-brand deli lunch meats
- Apples, bananas, whole carrots, heads of romaine lettuce, whole cucumbers, heads of celery, heads of cauliflower and broccoli, strawberries when they are on sale, frozen peas and corn (store brand, nothing added).
- Dark chocolate chips (our primary "sweet" in the house)
- Store-branded salsa
- Morningstar veggie crumbles (pricey, but cheaper and healthier than ordering a pizza when we work late and are in a hurry)
- Salad dressing (I like Marie's Super Bleu, my wife uses balsamic vingear)
Buy for "once a week" eating
- Red meat, olives, brie or another "fancy" cheese
- Baked corn chips, sun chips, or similar
- Frozen pizza dough, canned pizza sauce, veggie pepperoni, and shredded cheese
Examples of "hurried" or "splurge" meals (our most expensive, since they use the most expensive ingredients):
- Roll out pizza dough on stone, smear with canned sauce, throw cheese and pepperoni, slide into oven.
- "Mexican Salad": Chop up lettuce. Heat up veggie crumbles. Toss in a little frozen corn and heat that up. Serve plates of lettuce with veggie crumbles on them along with some salsa and yogurt, and a small handful of baked corn chips.
- Baked Brie (take a small wedge of brie, put tinfoil on the sides, throw some chutney or even jam on it, bake. Serve with olives, olive oil, and wheat bread. Start with a salad (romaine and dressing).
Staple meals would include things like chicken soup (a few frozen chicken breasts, chopped carrots, chicken bullion cubes, water, and pasta), rice-and-beans with yogurt, chicken-and-veggie stir fry over rice or pasta, a couple of sausages and a salad, or many and varied combinations of any or all of: chicken, sausage, rice, beans, pasta, cheese, yogurt, olive oil, salsa, vegetables, and various sauces. Breakfasts are homemade pancakes with sausage and real maple syrup (we buy two gallons a year, our big annual food splurge at over $100!), or low-sugar cereals or oatmeal, or eggs.
Not counting alcohol and our one meal a week out, I think our family of three eats on something like $100 a week. We could cut that back considerably by skipping the red meat and fancy cheese and olives.0 -
This thread really shows the difference in the price of food from state to state/province to province. For those of us that have high food prices we just have to do the best we can. For me here in Ontario, fruit is very expensive and it's all trucked up from the USA, except for grapes that come from Chile. Soon we'll start getting our local produce in, but for the long winter months it's mighty expensive.0
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I have learned that it is cheap to be fat......being healthy is quite costly. In fact most countries you tell who is poor because the are skin and bones. Our country is probably the only one where you have to pay to be skinny. You have afford surgery to be skinny! Health food is 3x's the cost of junk food. I constantly see news stating the obesity problem in country yet if our government was really concerned about health and obesity they would turn the tables. Make all healthy foods affordable and jack up the prices on junk and fast food. Healthy should be affordable for everyone, everywhere! Ok that was my first little rant.....hehehehhe Have a fantastic day everyone!!!!
I agree with this, I can barely afford to eat as clean as I would like. So sometimes i just can't do it every week. I would suggest walmart and costco or bj's for better priced stuff. Bj's has CHEAP milk, bread, tortilla's etc and you can freeze them. I know the grocery store by me sells 2 1/2 dozen eggs for about $3 so I rather by that then a dozen for $2. You just really have to shop around and when stuff is on sale buy as many as you can and stock up0 -
Holy crap!! I spend an average of $100 a week for a family of 4 along with 3 cats. I agree with the others about buying in bulk and freezing larger quantities. I buy bags of frozen chicken breasts and I can make many meals with one bag. I buy yogurt when its cheap and stock up for a few weeks.0
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I went to Whole Foods last weekend to buy some No Hormone/No Antibiotics beef and chicken. The cheapest beef I could find was $14 a pound, and the chicken was $8 a pound. Obviously, I walked out without any meat.
Either you pay for it now in quality food costs, or you pay for it later in medical bills.
Oh my gosh! My hubby says that to me all the time.. including this morning when I was hesitating on spending almost 12$ on two loaves of low GI sprouted bread
Well you can always bake your own bread. What's the saying..."buy the butter, bake the bread."
I also don't buy $12 bread but we do splurge on good food in my house. I'm known to buy a $12 salad once in a while if it's good local ingredients. Homemade cheese and local veggies, and grains.
oh I bought the bread..I dont have the time or energy to attempt sprouted bread with a low GI, I was only going to buy one loaf though lol ....I dont eat it much so its enough to last me at least 10 days or a bit longer. I've just learned to buy the best I can but eat less of it. So I also buy the pricey Liberte Greek yogurt I love, the 6$/dozen farm eggs from a local farm. Sometimes its hard to stretch between paycheques but I have lots of frozen veg and brown rice for those times too
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Ok, a lot of people on here have been astounded by your grocery bill and inability to spend less while eating healthy... so I'll bite the bullet and admit I have been fighting the same problem.
Whenever I decide to eat healthy my grocery bill shoots up. I've slowly been learning what I can buy in bulk (nuts, dried fruit, etc) and what I have to buy fresh (fresh fruit/veggies/meat). I avoid going to the store hungry (big oops!) and only buy what I need, not just because something's on sale. For me, personally, going "Oh Look! On Sale!" type shopping makes me spend way more than I wanted to. I also wait until my fridge/cupboard is low in stock, which reduces the risk of wasted food (you stare at it, but eat something else... then it goes bad).
Don't feel bad you're in this conundrum. It happens!
Good luck! Feel free to message me if you need to commiserate a little.
(Edited to add, I live in the expensive San Francisco Area in California)0 -
I am really lucky that I live in Phx. While growing anything can be a challange they have the 3000 club that hosts market on the move. For a $10 donation you can get up to 60 lbs of produce. You are limited to whatever is available but I always stock up and freeze anything that we are not going to use quickly enough. While it happens almost every saturday I usually go every other or so depending on what I found and what is in season. Money has gone from tight to almost non existant in my house right now so we have been cleaning out the cupboards and freezer. Really hope that something will give way soon though so I can go to one again soon as my freezer is almost empty.0
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I don't know where you get your groceries, but fresh produce is WAY more expensive than buying frozen or canned! Our grocery bills are usually around $100 - $150 (for a family of 4) and I'd say at least $50 of that is produce alone.
Fresh vegetables are not healthier than frozen, though they may taste better. In fact, "fresh" produce purchased at a market may actually contain less nutritents than frozen, depending on how fresh it really is and how it's stored. Much of it is shipped a long way before it hits the grocery store shelves and loses some of the nutrients along the way.0 -
God my fiance lost his job now til next Friday I am left with only $80 for groceries and next month will only have $300 for the whole month between gas and groceries.0
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God my fiance lost his job now til next Friday I am left with only $80 for groceries and next month will only have $300 for the whole month between gas and groceries.
I'm so sorry! :flowerforyou:
Try going for dry beans. They are cheap and make a lot of food. We usually get the $3 package of black beans, and it makes a whole crock pot full of food that we eat off of for a week.0 -
Aldi is a fantastic store! Also, believe it or not, I get a lot of good stuff at the dollar tree and family dollar. It takes a little extra time searching through th junk food they have, but I can usually score some organic applesauce and low sugar cereals.0
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I shop for myself only as well. I found Walmart to be the lowest place to get everything I need. I only shop for a two week period and I spend about $70-90. Its usually on the higher end when I'm picking up items that I only have to buy once in awhile, but out of at the time. I would say make a detailed list prior to going. Go online for coupons. I've found this to save me money, whether its $2 or $10, every bit helps.0
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For fish, I buy frozen bags of talalpia and swai at Target that have 5-6 fillets in each. It costs way less than salmon, and less than half of what the individually packed thawed fillets do. For poultry, the best fiscal way is to buy a large bird, bake it, chop it up, and freeze it in bagged portions. Store brand cheerios have the same nutrition, but cost way less. Also, for granola bars I sometimes cruise the "clearance" shelves and snatch up the latest failed granola bar types for 10-20% off.
I think what hurts us the most as dieters, is that we like preportioned packages so we can easily track our intake. Those portions ramp up the costs. Buy bigger containers of food and portion it yourself. Also, shop at different stores. Here there are 3 main stores 1)publix, 2)super target, 3)walmart. They all sell some things cheaper than the rest, but then charge more for others to make back that difference. I've learned which items are the cheapest at which stores and then do a quick loop and stock up. Also, go to farmers markets for vegetables and fruit - that alone has saved me $20-40 a week.0 -
I live in the UK, and I don't know how food prices compare with the US, but I spend slightly less now I'm eating healthily than I did before. I've replaced all the junk with fresh and frozen fruit and veg. I no longer buy soda, crisps, chocolates, biscuits etc. I spend about £600 a month, but that for a family of 6-8, depending if my 2 adult children come by for dinner too!0
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1) Bulk buying
2) Stocking up on what's on offer.
3) Reduced aisle - this has saved me loads recently in meat. Buying meat which is on the last day it can be sold (use by is a day later) If you're not going to eat it right away, freeze it.
4) Frozen foods. Buying veg, fruit, meat that is frozen is a lot cheaper than fresh. I still mostly buy fresh because I prefer it, but if I needed to cut back even more on spending I'd go frozen. I already keep a frozen bag of peas, and mixed veg in the freezer, mostly because when I run out of fresh, I need something if the shop is shut!0 -
Mark downs! =D I buy bags of frozen veggies that are $.97 a bag, fresh mark down produce (my boyfriend works at Lowes Foods where the snooty people shop, so if it doesn't look perfect I get it CHEAP!), and I go with a lot of $1 ea frozen dinners.. I know buying lots of frozen meals can get expensive but when its just me it isn't that bad... Just gotta be smart with it, coupons help.. look for markdowns, dollar stores sometimes get good stuff cheap too.0
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Sadly it does cost more to eat well. Froot Loops cost much less than actual fruit.
WAIT...are you saying Froot Loops don't ACTUALLY contain fruit? I need to sit down...:noway:
Oh GOD That made me giggle =D0
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