Why is it cheaper to eat unhealthfully...

yoovie

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.

Im incredibly poor.

for $5 I can get 6 eggs, a box of whole grain pasta, some tomatoes and mushrooms, 2 rolls of wheat bread and 5 slices of turkey and a bag of mixed nuts.

I can have a tomato mushroom and egg omelette on a roll for breakfast, and eggs leftover for tomorrow.
a turkey and tomato sandwich and nuts for lunch
and pasta with homemade sauce for dinner and eggs and pasta leftover for tomorrow.

Or I could get a double cheeseburger, a value fry and a 4 pc chicken nuggets at the BK dollar menu plus tax.

jbarlow715

It's NOT!!!!

For lunch I made a healthy "pizza" and a flavored water (using REAL fruit). I cost less than $1. You cant get a frozen pizza and a store bought water for less than $5.

It's just EASIER to eat unhealthy. Don't be lazy!!!

yoovie

First off...im not sure that "unhealthfully" is a word...but, as the subject states: Why is it so much cheaper to eat crap than it is to buy healthy foods and prepare them yourself? You can go to McDonalds and buy a cheeseburger and fries for a lot cheaper than going to the grocery store and buying foods to make a meal. It just aggravates me...

Because you're not comparing meals to meals.

Ground beef (90% lean) costs under $5 a pound here. An 8-pack of hamburger rolls is $1.50. Tomatoes are $3 a pound. Romaine lettuce is about $2 a head.

So for $15, I can buy the ingredients necessary to make 8 quarter-pounders from ingredients that are all markedly superior to what McDonald's uses. That's $1.87 a burger.

I haven't been into a McDonald's in a long time, but I think their quarter-pounder is about $3 at most places, right?

$5.79 in NYC

ccarre81

that's a bunch of ****!

If I pick up mcd's for my family it will cost be about $20 for a meal:noway: ... I can make at least 3 meals at home for that price.

Put a little effort into your meal planning and grocery shopping... it's definitely cheaper, don't care where you live!

_Wits_

And I didn't read the whole thread completely, but OP..if you need help or ideas....let us know! =p

yo_andi

I didn't read the thread, just your original post.

It's not cheaper overall, it's cheaper in the moment and requires less energy (hence the term "convenience foods"). If you need help figuring it out, please add me. I'm happy to help!

GeorgiaElliot

Food that you put in your body that does nothing good for it is a waste of money. Just because it fills you up doesn't mean its a better value. Your body uses whatever you put into it to rebuild itself. If you were building your dream home you wouldn't build it with cardboard and scotch tape because it's cheaper, so why build your soul's house out of McDoubles? Neither will last very long.

missmgray

I recently discovered that the 99 cent store here where I live has a fresh grocery section to the back. I went in not expecting much and came out with:

Large canary melon
3 lb bag of red rose potatoes
large bunch of cilantro
6 brown onions
6 cloves of garlic
3.5 oz. tin of cashews
2 large avocados
2 lb. bag of plums
1 doz. medium eggs
1 15 oz can of large black olives

All for $10. I am super picky about my produce, and it was all beautiful.

I find that when my family goes out to eat or has fast food our $$ vanish before our eyes, but if I look for sales, hit a few different stores, use my freezer and eat in for most all of our meals we can get by much more cheaply.

Not to mention, since I have not been eating fast food but once or twice a month now, I find I get an upset stomach when I do. Lame but telling.

I do feel lucky that we have a variety of markets to choose from here in southern California. I love Super King, the absolute cheapest place for produce and deli items and meats hands down.

penrbrown

And I didn't read the whole thread completely, but OP..if you need help or ideas....let us know! =p

Oh! I so agree with this! Instead of arguing about what's cheaper, maybe we should all be offering tips and suggestions for those who would like to eat healthy but think they don't have the cash for it???

Grlnxtdr0721

In the long run, eating unhealthy costs more. Think about it...eating out at places like McDonald's every day 5 days/ week just isn't healthy for your body. And, in the long run, can cause health risks and such. You really aren't paying more for healthy items. It's just that seeing them in the grocery store, it seems that way. With a lot of the meats and vegetables, you can buy plenty at one time and freeze them, creating meals for a while. My suggestion would always be to shop local when possible- check the print ads and see when the store you like is having a meat sale. Check out your local farmers markets. Look into places like Amish and Mennonite farmers markets. And sometimes, depending on your town, local farmers for meat.
Eating unhealthy isn't cheaper- it's just easier.

talkytina9

It is cheaper to healthy..when you figure in medical costs that you will be paying for one of those weight loss surgeries..

Eleisabelle

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.

This. It really is cheaper to eat healthy foods. It's the "healthy" PROCESSED foods that cost a lot more. If you buy vegetables and eggs and meats and dairy and seasonings and cook them for yourself (yes, bake your own breads, make your own sauces) you can save a lot of money.

It's also helpful to have a garden if you have space for one or can get a plot in a neighborhood garden; even just a planter garden can help save money on vegetables and herbs. You'd be surprised the amount of produce you can get from just one square yard of land.

ivikatasha

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.

myfitnessnmhoy

I think the common theme here is that, if you wish someone else to prepare your food for you, then the cheapest way to eat is fast food or frozen dinners. The food quality will tend to be pretty crappy, and the nutritional value is going to be bad, but if you can't or won't prepare your own meals than you have to pay for someone else's labor plus the cost of ingredients.

McD's is about the cheapest because their ingredients are made as cheaply as possible. This is intentional because they need to keep prices down. To mask the quality of the ingredients, they'll add fillers and flavorings to make it appealing.

A restaurant that uses higher-quality ingredients will, of necessity, charge more.

However, the one big savings you can get is in the labor, which is easily half the cost of the meal. You can make a burger out of ingredients as good as any restaurant for far less than the cost of a McDonald's burger.

But you have to spend 15 minutes shaping patties and cutting up lettuce and tomatoes to do it.

13inchestogo

It's funny because I find its easier to eat healthy for cheap, I am a vegetarian so it's unfair to say really because meat is quite expensive.

MyM0wM0w

I don't think it is. You're buying multiple meals when you buy from the grocery store. Y es, it's more expensive if you eat THREE hamburgers at a time.....and have to go shopping again the next day but I just went shopping a few days ago...

Whole wheat hamburger buns: 2.50 for an 8 pack
Organic grass fed Ground beef: 7.00 for 1 lb
Tillamook cheddar cheese: 3.00 for 12 slices

Russett Potatoes: 1.50 for 3 large potatoes

Total that up and it's 14.00 but it makes EIGHT cheese burgers with EIGHT sides of fries. All properly proportioned for ONE serving.

That comes to 1.75 per meal.....cheaper than a crappy cheeseburger and fries off the dollar menu. Keep in mind my prices were for organic and top quality meat/cheese/bread. You could definitely buy much cheaper at most stores.

YouAreTheShit

First off...im not sure that "unhealthfully" is a word...but, as the subject states: Why is it so much cheaper to eat crap than it is to buy healthy foods and prepare them yourself? You can go to McDonalds and buy a cheeseburger and fries for a lot cheaper than going to the grocery store and buying foods to make a meal. It just aggravates me...

Fat and sugar are among the least expensive raw materials to work with. Your health is all about profitability to food manufacturers. Period!

k8blujay2

First off...im not sure that "unhealthfully" is a word...but, as the subject states: Why is it so much cheaper to eat crap than it is to buy healthy foods and prepare them yourself? You can go to McDonalds and buy a cheeseburger and fries for a lot cheaper than going to the grocery store and buying foods to make a meal. It just aggravates me...

Actually, this is untrue. For around the price of a value meal I can buy cans of corn ($1 ea.), tomatoes ($1-$1.50 ea.), beans ($1.25 ea.), 1 lb of meat (poultry is usually cheaper though) ($2-4 per lbs), a packet ($0.80 ea) or two of seasoning (such as ranch or taco or both... or make it from stuff on hand) and have a meal for 4-6 people. And this is at Target and Safeway... not even Aldi.

If you do it right, you can eat MUCH MUCH cheaper at home than you do out.... meals that I make around $5-6 per meal and the feed me, my husband, my toddler, and we usually have left overs later... you can get rice and dried beans (and even potatoes) for incredibly cheap and while there are foodstuffs that are going up in price, so will "cheap" fast food....

And while fast food may seem cheaper in the short run, eating it consistantly will lead to a life of heart disease, diabetes and other health issues, which are by far more expensive that cooking at home.

LilacDreamer

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.

It didn't always used to be that way. produce prices used to be much more reasonable, even just a few years ago.

SassyCalyGirl

depends what you consider a "value"!