Why is it more expensive to eat healthy??

Impman66

I started my campaign for weight loss on 22nd June, so just over 5 weeks ago, and I am pretty much on target. BUT, I don't know about anyone else, but my shopping bill has gone up massively!!
Now all we ever hear about in the UK is how the nation is getting fatter, and how we all need to lose weight and exercise more, yet it is not made any easier for us when the healthy foods are more expensive then the 'junk'.
I now eat more fresh food then ever before, but due to the nature of my work I find that it doesn't last as long as I want it to, which sort of defeats the idea of losing weight, as I hate wasting food.

Sooooo have any of you got any ideas on how I can still get a well balanced diet, yet decrease my spending on food. Are there other alternatives to the Biggest Loser and Slimfast meal replacement shakes I use everday (these are horrendousley expensive!)
I have tried making my own shakes and smoothies with fat free yougurt, and fresh fruit, but they don't come out all that well.

I save money by doing all my exercising at home, but any other pointers will be more than welcome.

Thanks again!!

ElizabethRoad

You don't need meal replacements. Real food is much cheaper.

staceybrewer

I have a $400 per week grocery bill due to the same issues. I started using ViSalus shakes a couple of months ago. They average about $2.50 a shake and I replace two meals a day with them. It has actually cut my grocery bill some. I can't quantify it yet. It's summer, so our family has different than normal patterns. If I had to put a $ amount on it, I would say it saves me about $100 per month. And, if you get 3 friends to order with you, your shake product is free. So, I have not been paying for it the last 2 months at all!

Might want to check that out.


SB

MoveTheMountain

This is a huge problem everywhere - clean food is a lot more expensive than junk food. I think a lot of it has to do with logistics: it's more complex to move fresh food around, and therefore it costs more. Plus, you can't cram the same amount of fresh foods into a truck/railway car as you can frozen food trays, so, again, cost per mile goes up.

From the manufacturing end, a lot of junk food is made of by products that food companies would normally just throw out, or from chemicals that they can make for next to nothing in huge vats. Low cost of materials plus an automated process plus a small square box that's easy to ship plus all that salt helps to preserve it = cheaper at the point of sale.

Depressing, but true.

rumpusparable

First, skip the shakes. Try more online recipes for smoothies, there are thousands out there so keep fiddling if you feel you *must* use something like that.... which you don't.

Then, what are you buying that costs that much? A bag of brown rice makes a few meals and costs about $2-3. A bag of beans does likewise. Don't bother buying juice as it's overpriced and high calories for what little nutrition you get out of it. If you're having a problem with fresh fruit and veggies going bad, buy less at a time and go shopping more often for the fresh stuff. I shop about 3-4 times a week to pick up enough bananas and salads to last a couple days... no wasted food, more money saved.

My husband and I, before my gastric bypass, spent about $100 or less a week in food. He's vegetarian, I'm vegan, so most everything was fresh produce.

MoveTheMountain

You don't need meal replacements. Real food is much cheaper.

I agree. From a supplements perspective, you can build your own shakes wayyyy cheaper than buying meal replacements or 'mass building' products. Plus, that way, you know what's in it, and you can control the amounts.

Start with a good but affordable protein powder (Optimum Nutrition's Gold Standard springs to mind), add some fruit (banana, strawberries, blueberries), some oatmeal maybe, some almond butter, etc. You'll be up to several hundred high quality calories very quickly.

SamanthaAnnM

I've actually found that buying real unprocessed food is cheaper. Most of my groceries come from the produce, dairy, and meat/seafood departments with a few other staples like almond butter, olive oil, chia seeds, tea, and hummus. The products that are expensive "healthy" foods are sometimes not really that healthy! Obviously if you buy all the specialty organic products at the health food store it'll get expensive but just because it's in a fancy package that says "all natural" doesn't mean you need to have it.

MoveTheMountain

if you get 3 friends to order with you, your shake product is free. So, I have not been paying for it the last 2 months at all!

Might want to check that out.


SB

Sounds too much like a pyramid scheme.

McLifterPants

This is a huge problem everywhere - clean food is a lot more expensive than junk food. I think a lot of it has to do with logistics: it's more complex to move fresh food around, and therefore it costs more. Plus, you can't cram the same amount of fresh foods into a truck/railway car as you can frozen food trays, so, again, cost per mile goes up.

From the manufacturing end, a lot of junk food is made of by products that food companies would normally just throw out, or from chemicals that they can make for next to nothing in huge vats. Low cost of materials plus an automated process plus a small square box that's easy to ship plus all that salt helps to preserve it = cheaper at the point of sale.

Depressing, but true.

^^ this. My grocery costs have doubled since I started eating healthy, partially because the food costs more and partially because it actually goes bad. A few tips for shaving a few bucks off the grocery bill that I have learned are to buy your beans and grains dried instead of canned, to buy your meat in bulk and freeze it (I freeze my bread too. Don't trust any bread product that takes more than a week to mold!!), and to plan your menus around certain ingredients (i.e. lots of things with basil this week!) so that you use things up and don't end up having to throw food away because it spoiled.

JanSmelly

Pay the doctor or pay the grocer.

melsinct

I've actually found that buying real unprocessed food is cheaper. Most of my groceries come from the produce, dairy, and meat/seafood departments with a few other staples like almond butter, olive oil, chia seeds, tea, and hummus. The products that are expensive "healthy" foods are sometimes not really that healthy! Obviously if you buy all the specialty organic products at the health food store it'll get expensive but just because it's in a fancy package that says "all natural" doesn't mean you need to have it.

Agreed.

The short answer is it isn't more expensive. eat real food, not boxed stuff and not meal replacements.

http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/17/11745871-is-healthy-food-really-more-expensive?lite

http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib-economic-information-bulletin/eib96.aspx

jogglesngoggles

Because it's real...that is the exact problem we have these days is food manufacturers have figured out how to feed more for less by "creating" food!! Processed crap will always be cheaper, it's much cheaper to produce mass qty's of chemically created food, then it is to grow!!

Just like the post above me states....things like lean cuisine's and meal replacements are not healthy!! A lot of packaged foods claim to be, but they're not. Eat real food. We actually buy our own grass fed cows, yes it costs money upfront, but so much cheaper in the long run.

This time of year especially you can eat clean relatively cheap. Produce is in abundance in most places and priced fairly well. and just my opinion, it may cost you more right now, but will cost you less in the long run when you aren't having to spend all your money at the doctor and paying for prescriptions!! Best of luck!!

TheArmadillo

you can eat healthily reasonably cheaply but it takes more effort.

firstly frozen fruit, especially things like berries, are much cheaper than fresh but nutritionally as good. most supermarkets now do a basics/smartprice/savers version (depending on which supermarket you use). Tinned (in juice not syrup) is also a reasonable alternative, though the basics versions tend to be in syrup.

Frozen veg is also nutritionally as good as fresh, sometimes better when frozen within a couple of hours compared to veg that has been hanging around for weeks. Also it stops wastage.

Fresh try to keep in season and see if you have a local greengrocer that sells stuff for cheap or stick to the stuff on offer.

Tinned soups are cheap but full of salt and other crap, but fresh soups are expensive. However making your own veg soup is cheap - a glug of olive oil, an onion (35p), a couple of tins of chopped tomatoes (50p) and some dried herbs/spices (build up the basics and they will last for ages) will give you 4 portions of a tasty cheap soup. Much better you eat that for lunch than shakes.

Carb wise you can buy big bags of rice from indian or asian supermarkets. From standard supermarkets you can pick up a kilo of white rice for around 40p. Wholegrain is more expensive but still a cheap meal. Potatoes are a cheap food in the unprocessed form.

Protein is where it gets more expensive - chicken breasts are one of the most expensive forms of unprocessed meat in the uk. Whole chickens work out relatively cheap per portion. Cook a whole one, remove the skin and shred for use in dishes or cold for sandwiches. Chicken thighs (lidl sell 1kg for £2.65) - again cook up, discard skin and bone and shred ready for use.
Lean meats are usually more expensive than their fatty counterparts but stuff like e.g. beef skirt aren't too bad. Cheap cuts also require slow cooking. If you have a slow cooker (you can pick them up for around £10) then you can really take advantage of them. Stick to whole joints with the fat on the outside and its easy to remove when cook. Decent quality sausages are also reasonably low in fat (look for those that aren't bulked out with carbs though) - black country farmer ones (gluten free) are good.

Don't discount cheap fish - especially tinned like tuna, pilchards, sardines. Buy fish fillets (plain ones) frozen (iceland are cheap for these) and they are cheaper than fresh. You can cook them from frozen.

Eggs are cheap and cheerful. Cheese (the value mature cheddars are not too bad) isn't too expensive.

Beans and pulses (buy dried and soak yourself to save even more money) are very cheap and cheerful - things like dahl are great nutritionally and cost a few pence.

However it tends to be the stuff that needs to be slower cooked, pre soaked or similar that is cheaper and it takes planning and forethought.

geekyjock76

Pay the doctor or pay the grocer.

Yep, in the long-run I think spending a bit more on groceries will be better for your long-term health. Diabetic medication alone is quite expensive.

Impman66

wow thanks so much for the excellent replies and advice, I will certainley take heed of these.

Good luck to everyone else by the way

fay_pigu

Definitely shopping on a regular basis (GF goes every day). If you don't have as much time, precooking lots of your food into meals and freezing them gives the advantage of portion size control, food keeping longer and something you can zap so quick when your back from work rather than going for the unhealthy quick option.

Meat is expensive, try a good butcher - if you can't afford organic, look at free range. Also bulk up your meat with more vegies, rice, beans, etc

Google: bulk out meat meal plan

Pay the doctor or pay the grocer.

Yep, in the long-run I think spending a bit more on groceries will be better for your long-term health. Diabetic medication alone is quite expensive.

UK so we pay for our doctors in tax - you'll come to appreciate it once you get it, honest. Diabetics get all medication free in England as well. Life expectancy cut by 10-20 years, with a nasty slow ending if not looking after yourself that's the kicker.

The one disadvantage is that we tend to treat illness rather than do screening and prevention for things, which I think US does better but that's UK sure other countries take a more longterm view.

emma155

The shakes will be expensive because the manufacturers advertising is basically saying "drink/eat this and you will be thin!" and of course alot of people will pay what ever the price to be thin.

My tips are:

- Soup! not sure if you are in uk but a tin of soup is usaully around £1
-Jacket potatoes
-frozen fish (the easiest kind to cook)
- and more soup (there are so many different kinnds to try)

It will always be expensive if you make things complecated like, a had full of nuts and dried fruit for a snack and a passion fruit for dessert - like many diet plans tell you to have. its to

j_wilson2012

Supply and demand. costs more to make the healthy food (as in, takes more to shave the fat off the meat, as opposed to just leaving it there). that is all it is.

MassiveDelta

BR3ANDA

Buy in bulk, separate, and freeze.

AstyPasty

Double standards isn't it - we're forever being told we're getting fatter as a nation and yet, as you say, fresh stuff is so expensive to buy.

Armadillo's post is full of great tips. A big vote for Lidl and Aldi - their fruit and veg is a load cheaper than the big main supermarkets, plus their tinned tuna is a lot cheaper.

I agree that it can be more expensive to eat healthy but I now search around for the offers (I don't do shakes or mixes at all), especially chicken which I bulk buy and bung in the freezer if I find a good deal or, as Armadillo says, a whole chicken works out cheaper.

Good luck!

WendyTerry420

I just did *exactly* this when I went shopping.

Here's what I did. I created a menu for two weeks. (I get paid every two weeks.) Then I made a grocery list based off my menu items. I spent HALF as much money as I normally would have spent by doing that. Not a single coupon, no hunting for sale items, just planning.

WendyTerry420

TRUTH!!!!!!

DeadMarsha

A few things:

LEARN TO MAKE YOUR OWN FOOD FROM SCRATCH... if you can follow directions you can follow a recipe... If you are willing to put in the extra time to cook and make food for yourself you will save LOADS of money. Cooking is just like anything else; if you practice you will get better at it. I'm confident enough now to alter recipes or make "Rock Soup" (whatever is in the pantry) because I have been trying out a few recipes a week.

Learn to buy foods that are in season and learn where to buy foods locally. We got potatoes, a head of fresh lettuce (no wilts! I am weird about wilty lettuce), a 10-lb watermelon, onions, and a bag full of summer fruits for $13 today at our Farmer's Market. All organic.

Learn to like foods in their most basic forms. That way you can spend less on extra flavorings or pre-made meals.

It is possible! People think clean & healthy equals gourmet... just learn how to make foods that are in season and learn to make stuff from scratch, and retrain your tongue to like simpler, subtler flavors.

WickedSpinSistr

It's expensive because not enough people do it. If more people ate real food it wouldn't cost as much.

Fake food is cheap because it isn't food. So, actually, you're getting more food for your money when you buy healthy things. Think of it that way.

Oh, and buy store brand items when possible.

WickedSpinSistr

Yes - and I agree with buying in season.

j_wilson2012

BTW---- in the States, more people are obese than are healthy. Our healthcare system is out of order. In most cities, you cant go a mile without running into a fast food joint, and they make it easy to go "Super Size".
And how does the worlds leading American fast food company,and the #1 cause of consumer weight gain in America, sponsor the worlds largest athletic competition? What, they got money? Would have been nicer to see Subway as the sponsor.
"This is what you can do when you get older, kids! Be the best! Oh by the way: if you buy the large fries with that Big Mac, you have a chance to win MORE FRIES!"

AReasor

We save money by cooking big healthy meals and using them as work meals(pot pie, meat loaf, chicken and dumplings, chili).

It's amazing how low in calorie lots of different foods are if you cook them yourself.

WickedGarden

I did throw away a LOT of food at first, i just got used to eating smaller portions.

my number one rule: the freezer is your friend!

I buy a few days worth of produce, and create meals from that. One example is organic romaine lettuce, organic red bell pepper, organic celery stalks, and a frozen salmon patty. The produce I can buy for around $5 (which will make 5 salads) and a 14ct package of the Wild Alaskan salmon patties is around $15, so that salad cost me about $2...the same salad would cost $10-12 at the market or a restaurant. (I no longer use dressing on salad-it's a waste of calories, i just use pepper and lemon crystals).

When veggies are on sale, buy extra to freeze for a stir fry, soup, or crock pot meal.

Costco is an excellent source for frozen berries, organic eggs, meats, bread, and Greek yogurt. I buy 99% of my protein shake ingredients from there (soy milk, Greek yogurt, cinnamon, berries) so I pay less than $2 for each protein shake.

I pretty much only buy veggies at the market, and go to Costco for everything else, I buy fruit there too, and I do go thru it all before it goes bad.

good luck!

JanSmelly

A few things:

LEARN TO MAKE YOUR OWN FOOD FROM SCRATCH... if you can follow directions you can follow a recipe... If you are willing to put in the extra time to cook and make food for yourself you will save LOADS of money. Cooking is just like anything else; if you practice you will get better at it. I'm confident enough now to alter recipes or make "Rock Soup" (whatever is in the pantry) because I have been trying out a few recipes a week.

Learn to buy foods that are in season and learn where to buy foods locally. We got potatoes, a head of fresh lettuce (no wilts! I am weird about wilty lettuce), a 10-lb watermelon, onions, and a bag full of summer fruits for $13 today at our Farmer's Market. All organic.

Learn to like foods in their most basic forms. That way you can spend less on extra flavorings or pre-made meals.

It is possible! People think clean & healthy equals gourmet... just learn how to make foods that are in season and learn to make stuff from scratch, and retrain your tongue to like simpler, subtler flavors.

All of this.

amruden

ohh and I have Coupon for the Morning Star!!