Why is it cheaper to eat unhealthfully...
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Here's an example:
My lunch today:
1 cup arugula - works out to about $0.34
1 cup succotash made with black beans, corn, lima beans, mushrooms, squash - works out to about $1.37
2 whole beets - $1.29 (more expensive because I bought organic)
Tuna cake - works out to about $1.75 because it contains quinoa which can be a bit expensive (unless you get it from Trader Joe's...cheapest I've seen by a lot!)
1 small avocado - on sale for $0.99 each this week
32 oz of ice cold water - from the water cooler in the office kitchen
= $5.74
That's $0.05 less expensive than *just* a Whopper (no meal) at BK in NYC as mentioned earlier. I don't think I need to do the nutritional comparison for you...0 -
When I visited America I found that grocery stores overcharge by a lot. $1.50 for a single green pepper? Yeah, ok, I got a 4-pack for $1.29 at home (Canada) yesterday! :grumble:
Try a farmer's market. You'll have to shop on pre-scheduled days, but you'll actually pay reasonable prices for good, wholesome food.
That's actually on the high end... While still more expensive, I don't pay more than $1... but at Target I can buy them for $0.75 each or less... at least I can where I am... but then we have an over abundance of grocer's in my metro area.0 -
It isn't. A fast food meal for four people usually costs $20-30. I can make that same meal at home for about half that, maybe less.
My husband just left on a five day camping trip. I got him a whole bunch of processed foods (as healthy as I could make them) and it cost me $120, my budget for one week's worth of groceries for my family of five. Five days worth of processed food for one person cost as much as a week's worth of produce, meat, cheese, bread, milk, juice, etc. for five people. To me, that is insane. and, it shows just how affordable fresh, real food is.0 -
My lunch:
Grilled chicken breast
romaine lettuce
1/2 tomato
1/2 squash
1/4 onion
dressing
Chobani
Total cost - 3.25 (you could add in a few pennies for gas on the grill if you'd like)
I am very full. To be as satisfied at McDonalds, I'd need more than the .99 cheeseburger. Most of their meals are now $5 or more, but even if we go off the dollar menu - 2 McDouble - 1.98, fries, 1.09 (small), assume water for 0. That gives me basically the same price, but I feel good, the food tasted great, and I'll be full longer. I could have saved .60 by eating regular yogurt instead of chobani. I disagree with the statement that it is cheaper to eat crap.0 -
It is cheaper to healthy..when you figure in medical costs that you will be paying for one of those weight loss surgeries..
even if you dont figure it in!! I wish people didnt try to void one excuse with another.
once you fill your cabinets with cooking staples, the sky is the limit and you only need to go out and pick five or six bucks worth of stuff.
youre just gonna have to learn how to cook if you want to eat healthy.
I dont understand why more people dont like to do it.
Im friggin excited everytime I get to cook- and ten times more so if I get other people to eat it!0 -
When I visited America I found that grocery stores overcharge by a lot. $1.50 for a single green pepper? Yeah, ok, I got a 4-pack for $1.29 at home (Canada) yesterday! :grumble:
Try a farmer's market. You'll have to shop on pre-scheduled days, but you'll actually pay reasonable prices for good, wholesome food.
That's actually on the high end... While still more expensive, I don't pay more than $1... but at Target I can buy them for $0.75 each or less... at least I can where I am... but then we have an over abundance of grocer's in my metro area.
It also depends on the season. Pepper can be anywhere from 50 cents to $1.50 in the grocery store here, depending on if they're in season. The farmer's market is much cheaper, though. I can get a HUGE zucchini at the farmer's market for 25 cents.0 -
They make it as cheap and easy as possible to eat badly. The only half descent fast food is Subway and that takes 10 minutes at least to get out of there. I often wonder the same. I saw in the news where some low income areas have banned the addition of more fast food places because that is all people eat and it has become a health problem.
To eat healthy, I have to go shopping. Sometimes at multiple stores..bring it home store it properly...prepare it properly. It takes time. OR I can run to McDs and be outta there in about 2 minutes with 2 dbl cheese and large fries.0 -
Haven't really read the thread much... but going to point out that many of these fast food places have value menus.
So when you compare eating healthy to the most expensive thing at McDonalds, it doesn't work out that well.
For $1 each you could have a McDouble, McChicken, small fries, etc from McDonalds.
So if you are going to make comparisons, don't pick and choose.
Fine. We'll pick and choose your choice then.
McDouble: Two 1.6-ounce patties, so 3.2 ounces or 1/5 of a pound of meat (pre-cooked weight) per burger. One slice of American cheese. One bun.
I'll compare that to a similar-quality meat (though mine won't have fillers). One pound of 80% lean beef is $3.89 currently here. So 1/5 pound is 77 cents.
An 8-pack of hamburger rolls is $1.50. 18 cents a burger roll.
Cheese is $6 a pound and American cheese has 48 slices of cheese per pound, so that's 13 cents for the cheese.
So I can make the same burger with better meat for 8 cents more than McDonald's, and that's based on them planning on losing money for each burger because they hope you buy the fries and soda.0 -
THIS IS WHAT I WANNA KNO! If you look at the store, the healthy stuff seems to always b more expensive than the junk lol
I don't know about that... around here a bag of chips is around $3-4 (depending on when it is on sale)... but a bag of grapes is about the same price.... and the grapes go farther as far as number of snacks. A pound of bananas are around $0.50... where as a single candy bar is $0.79 (or more).
Again, I primarily shop at Target or Safeway... so I am quoting prices in my area for these stores. You may find them somewhere else for more or less.0 -
It’s because of the US agricultural policies and the way the US Gov is subsidizing the food we eat.
Check out this You Tube Video of Michael Pollan called Twinkie vs. Carrot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH-Qv3f73x4 0 -
About $6-$10 at mcdonalds will get you one fast food meal.
$20 at Grocery store will get you 4+ meals ( ie. chicken breast, Veggies, brown rice) ~$5/meal
It can be cheaper to buy healthier foods at the market over fast foods. Home cooked healthy meals take prep work and some people don't have the time. That is why a lot of people prep their food for the week. No reason not to eat healthy when it is already made ahead for you.
“Anyone can find an excuse. It takes a special person to find the time”
― Linda Poindexter0 -
I truly do not think it's cheaper to purchase and consume unhealthy food. My grocery bill went down $100/month when I stopped buying junk.
It is much more time-consuming to prepare healthy food, so I guess if you want to make the argument that time is money ......0 -
When I visited America I found that grocery stores overcharge by a lot. $1.50 for a single green pepper? Yeah, ok, I got a 4-pack for $1.29 at home (Canada) yesterday! :grumble:
Try a farmer's market. You'll have to shop on pre-scheduled days, but you'll actually pay reasonable prices for good, wholesome food.
That's actually on the high end... While still more expensive, I don't pay more than $1... but at Target I can buy them for $0.75 each or less... at least I can where I am... but then we have an over abundance of grocer's in my metro area.
It also depends on the season. Pepper can be anywhere from 50 cents to $1.50 in the grocery store here, depending on if they're in season. The farmer's market is much cheaper, though. I can get a HUGE zucchini at the farmer's market for 25 cents.
Oh I agree. That's why I always use the qualifier of where I am... even out of season I don't generally have to pay more than a $1 for a green pepper (red peppers on the other hand)... and you have heard of a food desert, right? Well, I like to think of my area as a food rain forest. :laugh: But produce does vary greatly even here as well.
ETA: I wish our farmers markets were that cheap... they are hellaciously expensive here... While you might be able to buy a carrot the size of your head, it costs WAY more than even 2 pounds of Green Giant fresh carrots would be...0 -
There's a reason obesity is considered an epidemic. And it's not that much more expensive to eat healthy, you just have to know how.0
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I don't know if anyone said this already, but the US government subsidizes corn, soy, and I believe wheat farmers. That means cheaper corn, soy, and wheat by-products, including white flour, corn syrup, and processed foods that use soy.0
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You could try supplimenting some of your fresh veggies and fruits with canned or frozen...they don't taste as good but you still get the nutrition and they are normally cheaper! You could also freeze or can your own when there is a fire sale on them...then you would have cheap preserved produce and know exactly how they were handled.
On that note - try growing a garden - and then canning or freezing. You'd be surprised how far one tomato plant, a few peppers, and one zucchini plant will go!
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I find that these threads, while making good points, tend to oversimplify this issue. For a lot of people, yes, it can be the same or even cheaper to buy fresh food and make it at home. But if you're living at or under the poverty line (or even a little above depending on the region), that stops being true at a point.
Someone pointed out the difference ounce-for-ounce between a McDonalds burger and one at home. The thing is, you cannot go to the grocery store and pull one bun out of the bag, one slice of cheese out of the pack, and one serving of beef from the fridge. The total amount you're spending will be greater even if it works out to less money per serving. For some people, that is simply not workable. If you've got one dollar to live on for the day, you'd be crazy to get the 70-calorie apple over the 450-calorie double cheeseburger.
On top of that, subsidies make certain foods vastly less expensive than others. It is a fact that corn and its derivatives are much cheaper than, say, fresh vegetables. It's not healthier, but foods full of it will stretch your dollar further.
For people who eat out twice a day and spend $8 every time, buying groceries and cooking at home will very likely be cheaper. But if we're talking "unhealthy" as not just fast food but things like that $.10 pack of ramen or the $.33 box of macaroni and cheese that'll feed four people, there's no denying that fresh is indeed more expensive.0 -
Hallelujah! Can I get an Amen up in here? I've been saving a good 100.00 a week with my family eating at home and I've lost 6 pounds. So what if I have to wash a few more dishes or stand in the kitchen a little bit. Hey, idea! Work it into your exercise log. Score!I truly do not think it's cheaper to purchase and consume unhealthy food. My grocery bill went down $100/month when I stopped buying junk.
It is much more time-consuming to prepare healthy food, so I guess if you want to make the argument that time is money ......
A head of lettuce costs 1.50, tomato 2.50 a pound, cucumber 1.00 apiece, chicken breast 6.00 a pound, potatoes 3.50 for a 5 pound bag. There ya go, dinner for 4=15.00.0 -
Holy crap! Where do you live?!
Same list where I live in FL:
2 lbs chicken breast $10-$12 Winn-Dixie
*3 lbs potatoes $3.47 Walmart
8 ears of corn $4 Walmart
1 individual peach $0.88 Walmart
1 Gallon Milk $3.48 Walmart
1 lb ground beef (97%) $4.07 Winn-Dixie
32 oz tub fat free yoplait $2.48 Walmart
18 oz oats $1.18 Walmart
2 lbs frozen peas $4.56 Walmart
1 lb dry kidney beans $1.28 Walmart
total $34.40-$36.4
Here is Iowa
Chicken breast is $1.99 per pound so I get 2 pounds for about $4 (can find it cheaper on sale in frozen bags)
3 lbs of russet potatoes is $2.97
8 ears of corn is $3.50
Peaches were 88 cents a pound most of the summer
I buy half gallon of milk for $1.72, BUT i stocked up when HyVee had it for 88cents
Giant canister oats is $2.48
2 lbs frozen peas are $1.98
1 lb beans is $1.28
Beef I have no idea. That stuff isn't worth the price on my tight budget xD
A little pricey, BUT we had a terrible drought this year. Expect a lot of prices to go up everywhere around the states.
Best thing to do is to get all the local ads in the area and ad match with walmart. I save a ridiculous amount of money while shopping by doing that
This last qoute is about what it is in North Central Texas... though I know lean ground beef (90/10 and leaner) is around $4 a pound (conventional)... the only thing I spend more on in this list is Milk, I spend $2.99 for a gallon, but I get milk that where the dairy farmers don't use hormones or antibiotics for their cows... but even then regular milk is around $2.50 anyway. Only after Aldi's started popping up did we see a price drop to 99 cents, but that's done now.0 -
The reason a burger and fries at McDonald's is cheaper than making one yourself is because McDonald's buys a billion times more ground beef, cheese, buns, etc., than you do, so they get everything much cheaper by volume. They don't pay much for it , so they don't have to charge you much for it. If you go to the store and only buy a couple pounds of ground beef, one bag of hamburger buns, and a package of cheese slices, of course it's going to cost you more per burger. But let's not delude ourselves into thinking a homecooked burger using the same QUALITY of products that McDonald's uses is appreciably healthier.
You want healthy and cheap? Plant a garden.0 -
I don't find it it. I got to the store with a tight budget and spend less now on healthy foods than I did before on junk. I buy milk, eggs, cheese and rice for staples. Then stock up on meat and frozen bagged veggies. Bags of frozen chicken breast and whatever meat is on managers special. I can make meals for a week or more just from those few things...0
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I find that these threads, while making good points, tend to oversimplify this issue. For a lot of people, yes, it can be the same or even cheaper to buy fresh food and make it at home. But if you're living at or under the poverty line (or even a little above depending on the region), that stops being true at a point.
Someone pointed out the difference ounce-for-ounce between a McDonalds burger and one at home. The thing is, you cannot go to the grocery store and pull one bun out of the bag, one slice of cheese out of the pack, and one serving of beef from the fridge. The total amount you're spending will be greater even if it works out to less money per serving. For some people, that is simply not workable. If you've got one dollar to live on for the day, you'd be crazy to get the 70-calorie apple over the 450-calorie double cheeseburger.
On top of that, subsidies make certain foods vastly less expensive than others. It is a fact that corn and its derivatives are much cheaper than, say, fresh vegetables. It's not healthier, but foods full of it will stretch your dollar further.
For people who eat out twice a day and spend $8 every time, buying groceries and cooking at home will very likely be cheaper. But if we're talking "unhealthy" as not just fast food but things like that $.10 pack of ramen or the $.33 box of macaroni and cheese that'll feed four people, there's no denying that fresh is indeed more expensive.
Except unless you are homeless or making just above poverty level, most people that are having trouble get some type of nutritional assistance to help pay for sustenance. And while, no you can't just pull out one bun.. if you don't use a whole package, you can certianly freeze the rest. I had a Government professor once talking to a lady in a grocery check out line complaining about how her nutrition assistance money doesn't go far enough... she had steaks and fresh fruit (which isn't necessarily a bad thing) and other items in her cart that would only feed for one meal. He said he took her and taught her how to shop (buying ground beef and canned produce that go farther and spoil less quickly)... Now, I think the point of this is that most people are just plain ignorant on how to shop cost efficiently... Yes, for the first time or two it might seem like it's more expensive. But once you have the staples established, it is much cheaper.0 -
It's actually much much much cheaper to eat wholesome healthy foods. It will just take you a While to figure it out. It seems like a learning curve everyone has to go through.
please share the secret!0 -
I figure it this way....I go to Mickey D's and get a burger -- that feeds me for one meal. I go to the store and buy a pound of hamburger, whatever fixings I want, and buns and the meat should make at LEAST 4-5 patties which feeds me for more meals. An 8-pack of buns is good for 8 meals and the condiments can last for weeks of many meals. So in the end, if you calculate it out per meal, it's still cheaper to make it at home where you can control things like what kind of fat content by what kind of meat you buy and using low fat mayo; and add in fiber by getting whole wheat buns, and cook the burger without added sodium. It also occurred to me this year finally, that I can get berries ALOT cheaper by taking the kids out to the patch for U-Pick rather than getting them at a supermarket or even the farmer's market. You pay alot just for the convenience of having someone else do the labor and transport it. As far as green peppers go -- no idea. I usually find the green peppers pretty cheap, but the red, yellow and orange ones are exponentially more which I find unfathomable. It's just color --why the huge diff in price? I remember being shocked at first many years ago when I first started shopping for more fresh, ingredient foods than relying on the processed, packaged and canned stuff....but it really does seem to last longer and provide more meal material over the long run so it averages out and you get the health benefits on top of it. My pet peeve now that I am paying more attention to labels and what's in food is that there seems to be an inverse relationship between fat and sodium -- if one goes down, the other goes up and the healthy, whole-grain, low fat, reduced sodium options seem to cost MORE. But it is all a marketing move I'm sure...they produce and stores stock what they think will sell. My question is this...what would happen if all the stores got together and refused to stock the unhealthy stuff anymore and only stocked the shelves with low-fat, high fiber, low sodium options.....sure people would probably gripe and moan at first and try to boycott but if they were all doing it and it's all that was available, it's not like people are going to STOP eating altogether!! Society would have to adapt and become healthier whether they wanted to or not!! I KNOW -- that's Fantasyland material....but just sayin'....
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It depends greatly on how you're doing it... for instance, I have friends with gardens who ALWAYS have extra veggies and one with a peach tree in their yard.. I get my "produce" from them and get the bagged salads from the grocery when on special (gonna eat it right away anyways.. what's a manager special for lol) then watch what i eat from there... and like someone said.. its the fillers that are cheaper... if was real meat it wouldnt be so cheap. I have questioned the same thing but have learned the curves to healthy eating and I have to eat more but I feel better in the end... hope this helps. God bless your journey0
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a lot of people told me about shopping at aldi because i'm on a budget. been there a few times now and i think it's great. i wouldn't buy meat or eggs from there because i'm not too sure on them but the frozen stuff is great. the fish is so cheap.
try writing out meal plans so you only buy what you need?
i guess you just have to shop around and find some good deals 0 -
It's actually much much much cheaper to eat wholesome healthy foods. It will just take you a While to figure it out. It seems like a learning curve everyone has to go through.
please share the secret!
My big "secret" is that I plan out my meals before I go grocery shopping. I know that at Trader Joe's, where I shop, most produce comes in packages. (I don't like that, it means lots of plastic waste to recycle.) So, if I'm planning one meal with zucchini and yellow squash, I know I should plan at least one more meal with those same ingredients so that the extra doesn't get wasted. I plan meals that can use chicken, and I get frozen chicken breasts because it's cheaper.
Mainly, I save money because I cook. I don't buy frozen dinners, boxed anything. I make it all myself. It's easy. It's healthy. And it's far more delicious.0 -
I am always so confused when I hear people say that eating fast food is cheaper than eating healthy. I grew up in a house where almost every meal was homemade. They were simple meals, but almost always made from scratch. If we did eat out,, it was a weekly treat. Even now, I prefer to make my meals at home and I find that it is cheaper to stock my fridge with the basics (milk, eggs, veggies, etc) and leave eating out to a special occasion or a treat with friends or family.0
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Sorry, I guess I worded that wrong. I meant weather changes as part of normal patterns over hundreds/thousands of years. La Nina and El Nino have huge impacts on agriculture, but they're regular fluctuations in weather. I grew up in a farming town, and you could predict harvests based on how much snow fell in the mountains, how much rain fell in Spring, If it did or didn't get dry enough right before harvest. Regardless of impacts from what is now called climate change, there will be patterns of feast or famine just based on things mother nature has thrown at us for a long time.However, what about the people that have $5 to feed themselves for the day? That dollar menu becomes mightly temping. Not saying its right, but its part of reality.
This is very true. When I was incredibly poor, i used to get so hungry I went to the corner liquor store - if which there were several withing a 3 block radius, with no produce in sight - and bought candy just to shut my stomach up.
Now that I have more money and know better, I make eating well a top priority.
Your point about global warming/drought affecting food prices is also something that people should be paying more attention to.0 -
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