Think it's too expensive to eat healthy?
Replies
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Oh, and Aldi and Save a Lot don't have meat counters, but they have packaged meats. You want a pound, find the package that's closest to a pound. You want six pounds to go home and portion in out and freeze, buy the one that's closest to six pounds.
Believe you, me, we have limited means. My husband has been working only part time for a long time now (making a good hourly salary, but when your company only has 18 hours of work a week, it's not much). We're a family of SEVEN. Nitty gritty times, and I can feed us all for a measly 30 bucks a week in a pinch. Sure, we'd be limited on the fresh foods, but we wouldn't be squandering it away on nonsensical stuff.
Thank goodness, he started a new job a few weeks ago, and they're working his butt off. Only 110 hours on this coming check. :-D0 -
It may be cheap to eat fast food now... but hospital bills in the future will be expensive... Just eat healthy now!0
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It is when there is only one or two of you.... And we have no health food/ speciality store that sells cheap, bread that is "healthy" is $3.99 here, not $1 something. Yay for small towns eh?
I find it incredibly hard to believe that there are no generics in or near your town. I'm from cedar lake, MI, and there's even generics available there--or a bigger town is only a 20 minute drive. So you make a big trip to town once or twice a month and actually use your freezer...0 -
http://michigan.hometownlocator.com/mi/montcalm/cedar-lake.cfm <<< talk about podunk...0
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We are a decent sized town, we have a college, omg. We have a Walmart, we have a Jay C, but that doesn't make things cheap now does it?
We have a Save A Lot to, but they do NOT sell healthy bread or anything really healthy here, believe me I've looked and actually I priced compared and Save A Lot's prices are generally more expensive than Walmarts. At least here they are.
I don't make the prices.0 -
A fair point to those with means who complain about the affordability of healthy food.
The problem I see with comparisons like these, though, is that they assume that you can buy $0.55 worth of olive oil. Maybe in some places you can measure out your own seasonings and cooking oils to buy just what you need, but at most of the grocery stores I've ever frequented, the bulk bins (if there are any) are for 1) candy, 2) cereal, 3) grains. So yeah, I might be able to roast a great chicken at home, but in order to stock up my pantry to make things edible, I'm going to have to have a lot more money to devote to food at one time.
Also, in many places, there aren't nice grocery stores with meat counters who will give you 1/4 pound of this and half a slab of that. There aren't fresh fruits and vegetables to be found. You buy canned or pre-packaged or you get nothing. These places are called food deserts and they are way more prevalent that you might think.
This NY Times diagram from 2011 might be applicable for those of us fortunate enough to be able to buy things like entire bottles of oil, loaves of whole wheat bread, and quarts of milk at the local grocery. But for those who have to rely on assistance, who only have a small budget to devote to food at any given time, and who might only have a small convenience store in their neighborhood, sometimes McDonalds and the like is the most feasible option to feed your family.
Hey, you seem like you have compassion and a sense that not everyone's experience will mirror your own. My advice- leave this thread, run far away and live in the hills in peace. Escape the bitterness, inappropriate emotional responses and nitpicking that is in this thread. RUN! :laugh:
*returns to her happy place where folks are nice and talk to each other like respectable folks their parents are proud of*0 -
You realize prices are different all over right?
That first healthy meal would be 3 times that where I'm from.
Chicken is 13$ a pound here on a good day.
Romaine lettuce is 4-5$
2L of Milk is 5$
Whole grain bread 5$ a loaf 4 on a good day.
Fish and seafood is insanely expensive.
For myself and my boyfriend to eat healthy all month it's about 800$
Where do you live?.? Alaska? If you live there catch your own fish we did when we went there0 -
You could probably shave those 5 cents off the healthy meal by stealing salt and pepper packets from work.... just sayin
Haha brilliant!0 -
I have never seen a chicken cost $5. That picture is not taking into account national or global differences in food prices.0
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When our family used to eat at McDonald's, it was usually around $20 for 3 of us (and two were children), so I don't think $27 is out of line for a family of four. We weren't ordering anything extravagent either.
However, I think the real point is that we can't even begin to calculate the costs, both monetary and otherwise, that our rising rates of obesity have on our families and our country as a whole. In our family, I spend about the same amount eating healthfully as we did eating junky, but we don't have to pay for prescriptions, doctors' visits, time lost from work, etc. We all feel healthier and more energetic.
I saw a very overweight man at the grocery store joking with the checkout clerk about how bad his diet was, and saying it didn't matter how unhealthy he was because he didn't have a wife or kids. And I would never say it to him, but I thought that his carelessness contributes to health insurance rates skyrocketing of all of us. (Sorry if that sounds judgmental.)
It's true, and I can't afford health insurance, I ish all obese people would join MFP lol0 -
Lol I don't think you understand how this works...You can't buy 55 cents worth of salt and pepper. Try buying four slices of bread too- see how the grocery store likes that.
;D I like comedy what can I say?
Yeah, I do get it. I still stand by the idea that I would like someone to try buying four slices of bread and see how well it goes.
I get the idea behind this topic (which comes up about once a week here- complete with graphic) but it's not factual. The prices of food vary and to use an entire meal at a fast food place for comparison- all it does is let people puff up their chests about how lazy people are nowadays. It's an internet circle.. er... gathering. *koff*
To really make a valid comparison- take a food bill of convenience food vs grocery store whole food for an entire week or at least make it realistic in how people buy food.
If you are poor you can find a dollar for a hamburger but you might not be able to find ten dollars for the 'healthier' options.
This, is my main point- this data is flawed and I wish people would stop using it to have internet circle 'gatherings'.
Packaged, premade meals are more expensive than meals made from scratch.
My point is- sometimes it's easier to come up with a lower price point than to buy enough to make a healthy meal. Depends on the meal and we can't make a blanket statement and expect it to hold water for everyone.
Hamburger helper- 1.99
Beef- 2.00
You don't have to use anything but water. It may call for more but you don't have to.
3.99
Pasta- 1.00
Spices 1.00 (assuming all you buy is cheap chili powder)
Flour- (need some sort of thickening agent) 1.99 (assuming non-bulk purchasing)
Beef- 2.00
5.99
In this case- prepackaged is cheaper.
In other cases it's not cheaper.
No amount of chatter will convince me otherwise from my own experiences. Anecdotal but valid all the same for my life. It's not always about being lazy- sometimes it really is you only have five bucks- not ten.
That last posting makes me wnt to throw up lol0 -
We typically spend about $160-240 a month on groceries for the 2 of us (my husband and myself) (we live in New Jersey)
that breaks down to $40-60 a week. sure this can change if we need some extras, but I'm an excellent shopper (i always find a bargain)
I try to buy only healthy foods, and organic when it's available and I usually prefer to shop at trader joes and occasionally shoprite.
I'm also going to check out this store that i've heard about called Aldi's (they claim its cheaper)
I was at Aldi's today, some things are really cheap, I bought. Yoghurt okay to try it, the brands are different to anywhere else but so far mst of the stuff I've bought as been good0 -
My main thing about eating healthy being expensive is if you look at the price of cheap unhealthy grocery store items. You can get frozen pizza for $1, Ramen for like $.05, Mac and cheese for like $.70, where as you pay a TON more for fresh fruit and produce.
I agre with this 100%.. People here are saying "oh, well you don't spend as much on junk food and medical bills, so therefore eating healthier isn't more expensive.
But I'm talking about a side by side comparison of food in the grocery store.
As you said, mac & cheese or ramen noodles (unhealthy) is A LOT cheaper than fresh produce and lean meat. Period.
Also, it is very difficult when you are only cooking for one or two people, because you can't neccessarily buy some of the items in bulk. For example, when trying to lose weight, we don't eat potatoes as often as we used to, so if I buy a large bag of potatoes, chances are they will all go bad before I am able to use them all. So I'm unable to save the money by purchasing a large bag of potatoes, and instead, I must purchase a few loose potatoes, at a much higher cost. When we weren't trying to eat healthy, I could buy that large bag of potatoes and use it before they went bad (and save that money as compared to buying the loose ones).
Potatoes are just one example of this.
I buy for just me, I buy a couple of sweet potatoes which are better thn regular potatoes, I buy big packs of chicken, freeze it in one or two pieces, if I buy potatoes occasionally I buy a 5 lb bag and usually eat them r makes meals with them and freeze them in meals so they don't go bad.0 -
A fair point to those with means who complain about the affordability of healthy food.
The problem I see with comparisons like these, though, is that they assume that you can buy $0.55 worth of olive oil. Maybe in some places you can measure out your own seasonings and cooking oils to buy just what you need, but at most of the grocery stores I've ever frequented, the bulk bins (if there are any) are for 1) candy, 2) cereal, 3) grains. So yeah, I might be able to roast a great chicken at home, but in order to stock up my pantry to make things edible, I'm going to have to have a lot more money to devote to food at one time.
Also, in many places, there aren't nice grocery stores with meat counters who will give you 1/4 pound of this and half a slab of that. There aren't fresh fruits and vegetables to be found. You buy canned or pre-packaged or you get nothing. These places are called food deserts and they are way more prevalent that you might think.
This NY Times diagram from 2011 might be applicable for those of us fortunate enough to be able to buy things like entire bottles of oil, loaves of whole wheat bread, and quarts of milk at the local grocery. But for those who have to rely on assistance, who only have a small budget to devote to food at any given time, and who might only have a small convenience store in their neighborhood, sometimes McDonalds and the like is the most feasible option to feed your family.
So you (general "you" not directed toward anyone) can't go buy a 3.99 bottle of olive oil (the price at Aldi, Save a Lot, and generics at the traditional grocers) with the assistance you receive, but you can afford to go buy McDonald's with real money (because I know assistance doesn't pay for that)...
0 sense...
A loaf of whole wheat bread at Aldi and Save a Lot is 1.29. I don't think that's breaking anybody's bank either.
I agree, it makes no sense. If you can buy a value meal, you can buy a bottle of olive oil. You just have to plan a few meals ahead and learn to cook some simple meals. Not saying that's the poster above's problem but I think that's a lot of America's. It sucks planning meals and learning to cook them yourself when you're used to just running through whichever drive-thru fits your mood each time you're hungry.
Does McD's take food stamps in the US?0 -
I think some healthy things are expensive (I am in the UK), like fresh herbs (no garden), but I still manage to do all my meals for £100 per month. Mostly beans, wholewheat couscous, bulgar wheat. I have some unhealthy foods but not from fast food joints very often.
I am vegetarian, which might make it easier though as meat is expensive. It does involve planning, but I plan using myfitnesspal food diary so it's not a stretch for me and I have a crockpot which reduces a lot of the effort.0 -
Doesn't seem to matter whether we eat rubbish or reasonably healthy stuff here, the food bill comes to roughly the same over the course of the month. Yeah, the healthy stuff can be more expensive but we're not buying the cakes, crisps, chocolate etc so what we save there tends to make up for the added cost of the healthier food.0
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Where do you live and shop?!?!? That's ridiculous!
That's normal here. I'm on an Island in the east coast of Canada.
A 10 pound bag of potatoes here, and we grow potatoes, is 10-15$ depending on the potatoes.
What island would that be? Move to Nova Scotia, our prices are half what you are currently paying.
Did you really just ask that? It's the only island IN Canada and its right across from you.
Nova Scotia is connected to the mainland. You have many more means of obtaining produce and other bits. For example, trains. PEI doesnt have these and it's a major source for transporting goods. Any trucks crossing the bridge to our Island pays upwards of $80-$100. I just relocated back here from Ontario and its almost double the cost for groceries than it was there for the same thing. If its healthy or organic, expect to pay 3-4x more.0 -
When you measure it on a cost per calorie basis healthy food is more expensive. Energy dense, but nutrient poor, foods are just lower in price. The culprit isn't necessarily fast food.
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It is more expensive to eat healthily.....I go shopping with a friend she gets the same size trolley and fills it to the brim! I half fill mine is is usually over £80 while her shopping is £40-60...its full of frozen pizza'a and rubbish!! only time hers is more expensive is when she buys alcohol!0
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I think in the long run, it's more expensive not to. If you are too sick to work and have to pay high medical costs...what do you think?
I don't eat out a lot, because quite frankly there is very little that is good for you sold in restaurants, it's very expensive and I can buy healthy food and prepare it at home and be in control of how it is made. I very rarely am sick anymore and my diabetes and high blood pressure, I believe don't exist since I don't have to take meds for either anymore. A complete turnaround in my health in less than a year.
I would say it's more expensive not to eat healthy!!!0 -
I also think an issue with that graphic is the choices that were made. The healthy meal is fine, but if I'm really strapped for cash I can get a McDouble and a Value fry for $2 per person. That's $8 for a meal, and drink water. There's the problem I have. If I was going to eat garbage fast food it would most likely be off the dollar menu because I am strapped for cash, and so yea, it absolutely costs me more to eat healthy.0
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I don't know about prices in the US but in the UK no one could possibly argue that eating healthily is more expensive than McD junk food.
My farmers market does a big bag of vegetables for £2 (about $3).
If you don't have a farmers market you will have a Tesco near you where most of the time they do "3 for the price of 2" for veg. I bought a bag of carrots, a bag of potatoes and a huge savoy cabbage for a little over £2 again.
For £4 (about $6) you can buy a whole chicken, or £3.50 even if you don't care what kind of life it's had.
A whole chicken, a bag of carrots, a bag of potatoes and a cabbage = £6 / $9. I can make 3 days worth of food from that, never mind one take out meal.0 -
Uhhhh
2 Big Macs = 3
1 Cheeseburger = 1
1 6pc nugget = 2.50
2 medium fries = 3
2 small fries = 2
2 medium cokes = 2
2 small cokes = 2
Total cost: $15.50
What, did they leave a $12.39 tip for the guy in the drive through?
Even with your math the meals in this post are cheaper
Just thought I'd point that out since you were quick to put a jab in there for someone who is trying to help people. 0 -
You realize prices are different all over right?
That first healthy meal would be 3 times that where I'm from.
Chicken is 13$ a pound here on a good day.
Romaine lettuce is 4-5$
2L of Milk is 5$
Whole grain bread 5$ a loaf 4 on a good day.
Fish and seafood is insanely expensive.
For myself and my boyfriend to eat healthy all month it's about 800$
This!
Plus, a pl of local strawberries at my farmers market is $4, the ones flown up from Cali are $2.50. Free Range eggs in the supermarket are $3.50 and up, the ones I buy at the neighborhood farm stand are $4. Where I live, local farm-grown foods are a luxury, not a cost saving.0 -
Regardless of what a big mac meal costs in what city, there's other costs that the infographic doesn't account for. Namely, healthcare costs in the future for those on the McD's diet vs cook at home.0
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Where do you live and shop?!?!? That's ridiculous!
That's normal here. I'm on an Island in the east coast of Canada.
A 10 pound bag of potatoes here, and we grow potatoes, is 10-15$ depending on the potatoes.
What island would that be? Move to Nova Scotia, our prices are half what you are currently paying.
Did you really just ask that? It's the only island IN Canada and its right across from you.
Nova Scotia is connected to the mainland. You have many more means of obtaining produce and other bits. For example, trains. PEI doesnt have these and it's a major source for transporting goods. Any trucks crossing the bridge to our Island pays upwards of $80-$100. I just relocated back here from Ontario and its almost double the cost for groceries than it was there for the same thing. If its healthy or organic, expect to pay 3-4x more.
OK, I am from Vancouver Island, the "other" island in Canada. Everything is more expensive here, it has to get shipped on the ferries. We get your PEI potatoes, when local aren't available I buy them because I like to buy Canadian lol.
My groceries for a super healthy family of four are $200-$250 a WEEK. That's 30-35 a day. We go through ten pieces of fruit alone per day.
I could feed us all for $10 a day but it would be nothing but starchy carbs, for example Oatmeal for breakfast. Ramen for Lunch. Rice or Pasta for dinner, some beans. Currently we eat whole grain cereal or smoothie for breakfast, protein filled sandwich for lunch with veggies, lean protein and veggies for dinner. and Yogurt and fruit for snacks, endless endless yogurt. Thinking of buying a cow and making my own....
I always get all riled up on this topic, lol, because trust me I have sat down with the flyers and a calculator thousands of times to see if I could save money, and I keep coming to the same conclusion....it costs me more to eat healthy.0 -
Reguardless of where you live, lean chicken breast is much more expensive than leg/thigh quarters. 96% lean ground beef is a lot more than the 73% lean. 2% cheese is higher than the regular kind. High fiber whole wheat bread is almost $3 a loaf. The store brand white sandwich bread is a little over a buck. It costs less than $5 for my 17 year old daughter and I both to eat McDonalds for lunch. Yes, healthy eating is very expensive for us!0
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in the short term, it's cheaper to eat unhealthy. that's why so many people choose it because many people arent in financial circumstances where they can think too much ahead .
if i only have $30 to spend , i doubt i'm going to spend $20 on gas to run around the city to buy $10 worth of food, especially since that's gas i'd need to get to my job.
in the long term we all know it's cheaper to eat healthy. the problem is not everyone has the time or financial resources to run around looking for the best deal. i live in the hood of oakland. i can go multiple places to eat healthy because i'm single, no kids and have a relatively good paying job. these circumstances would be completely different if i were like some of the other women in my neighborhood who are single moms with low paying jobs and strapped for time0 -
It may be more expensive to eat healthy in the short run.... that is until your health starts failing and you end up with heart disease, diabetes, and/or cancer and then have to pay for the doctors visits, hospital stays, medications and other various treatments.... Yeah, I would rather spend the extra money on real food than $100 a pop for multiple medications and the like...0
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Yeah, this is soo off base. Yes it is more expensive to eat healthy, but for me, it's worth it.0
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