Healthy foods ARE more expensive.

WendyTerry420

There's absolutely nothing wrong with eating frozen veggies. They actually have more nutrition than fresh unless you picked it out of the garden yourself because they're flash frozen, usually within 6 hrs of picking, rather than bouncing around on a truck for days. It's probably the cheapest veggie option you can get.

Seems everyone has been brainwashed to think eating better means only organically grown fresh food harvested by elves on a moonlit night. You can easily buy "real" food on a budget if you make good choices. Buying ingredients and preparing the same quantity of food that you get in one of those boxed meals would be cents worth of real food.

QFT

thelovelyLIZ

Honestly, it depends on where you shop. I find, in my area Trader Joe's is way cheaper than other grocers. It's also worth mentioning that while a TV dinner may seem cheaper, I find it's often cheaper in the long run to make meals from scratch. You spend more, but you also get more than one meal out of it. I know when I was in college and cleaned up my diet by cutting out processed foods my grocery bill dropped pretty significantly.

A word of warning, I love farmer's markets but in my experience they're more expensive. Even when I lived in an area where the field they were growing the food in was literally across the street, it the same, if not more expensive than the grocery store. Here in LA they're all much more expensive since they have to be driven in. The produce is amazing, but it's not always cheaper.

VelociMama

There's absolutely nothing wrong with eating frozen veggies. They actually have more nutrition than fresh unless you picked it out of the garden yourself because they're flash frozen, usually within 6 hrs of picking, rather than bouncing around on a truck for days. It's probably the cheapest veggie option you can get.

Seems everyone has been brainwashed to think eating better means only organically grown fresh food harvested by elves on a moonlit night. You can easily buy "real" food on a budget if you make good choices. Buying ingredients and preparing the same quantity of food that you get in one of those boxed meals would be cents worth of real food.

I second this post!

Frozen veggies are great and very economical. Some grocery stores also carry unsweetened frozen fruit that works well in smoothies. It's a good cheap way to get fruit in your diet also.

I also second trying to find a farmer's market if you can. Not all areas have them year-round.

aldousmom

I don't have that experience. I buy fruit, veg, beans, and bread/oatmeal and that's WAY cheaper than what I used to buy. My grocery bill is way down. And, so is my pants size.

AuntieMC

bump

cleotherio

I love the idea of shopping at our farmers' market, but it's way more expensive than the grocery store, even in the summer. I could pay $6 for a bag of non-organic spinach there, or $2 for almost the same quantity at Aldi. I buy most produce at Aldi, or get what's on sale at the regular grocery store. Speaking of avocados--they've been selling for 99 cents here for the last several weeks (upsate NY). Blackberries imported from Mexico have also been on sale everywhere (2 packs for $3). We have a Trader Joe's half an hour away, but it's not worth the drive when my other stores are 5 minutes away. We don't have Whole Foods, but I've been to one and I hate it because it's ridiculously overpriced. We have a Fresh Market, which is just as bad.

ryanherbert

I have a market super close to where I live (Melbourne, Australia) which is awesome. There's several acres of just fresh produce, the prices are very reasonable and I would say cheaper than buying lazy food.

Here's a few things I've learnt over the past few years:
* Go to a fresh food market rather than the supermarket - cheaper and better quality
* Buy only what is in season - they're plentiful in supply and therefore cheaper
* Prepare your menu at the start of the week for EVERY meal. This will work out cheaper and healthier than if you have to buy extra meals on the run.
* Make sure your weekly menu reuses items that you don't use in their entirety (e.g. if you use half an avocado, have a recipe the next day which uses the other half) to avoid wastage
* Make enough dinner to also cover lunch the next day
* Canned and frozen fruit and veg are fine!
* No need for magically grown organic stuff that's double the price. Keep it clean and you'll be sweet
* You can always grow your own fruit and veg if you have a backyard. I have a very small courtyard but I'm growing my own tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, capsicum and herbs at the moment!
* Herbs are your saviour - they can liven up a simple clean meal and make it taste amazing

Good luck!!

2BeFit4Jesus

Funny thing I noticed, at least in my area, is that the grocery stores all sell fruit and vegetables for less than what Walmart does.

aldousmom

I love the idea of shopping at our farmers' market, but it's way more expensive than the grocery store, even in the summer. I could pay $6 for a bag of non-organic spinach there, or $2 for almost the same quantity at Aldi. I buy most produce at Aldi, or get what's on sale at the regular grocery store. Speaking of avocados--they've been selling for 99 cents here for the last several weeks (upsate NY). Blackberries imported from Mexico have also been on sale everywhere (2 packs for $3). We have a Trader Joe's half an hour away, but it's not worth the drive when my other stores are 5 minutes away. We don't have Whole Foods, but I've been to one and I hate it because it's ridiculously overpriced. We have a Fresh Market, which is just as bad.

I buy most stuff at Aldi, too. They have almost everything I need.

jojorocksforeva

Well yes ofcourse healthy food is going to be more expensive than junk food!!

neverstray

I don't buy this arugument and it would be really difficul;t to convince me. It's the appearance of being more expensive. But, for about $10, I can eat for 3 or 4 days. Try that eating *kitten* food. Good luck. It's a process taht you have to learn about. it's not only cheaper, but also easier. You just have to learn to cook your food. That's all. If you do that, it's about at least twice as cheap, maybe 3 times cheaper. I am blown away when people say it's more. I just think they don't really understand it or something.

keem88

agreed with others too about the smaller asian, hispanic markets. going to a larger chain like walmart, the produce won't be nearly as good and will cost you more. i am scared to by produce from walmart, it creeps me out. i usually go to shoprite and i can find some good deals on produce that is in season. you can always chop it up too and freeze it, like peppers and onions and make your own mix, that way it doesn't go bad

keem88

I don't buy this arugument and it would be really difficul;t to convince me. It's the appearance of being more expensive. But, for about $10, I can eat for 3 or 4 days. Try that eating *kitten* food. Good luck. It's a process taht you have to learn about. it's not only cheaper, but also easier. You just have to learn to cook your food. That's all. If you do that, it's about at least twice as cheap, maybe 3 times cheaper. I am blown away when people say it's more. I just think they don't really understand it or something.

i think people see it over the short time, like oh that is cheap from the dollar menu, i can get lunch for 2 or 3 bucks. but i go to the grocery store once a month for bulk shopping, and then maybe a few times in between to get more milk eggs and bread. i shop for 2, and generally our monthly food bill (including vegetarian meatless items which costs more than buying real meat) is 300 or less a month. it helps that i do the shop from home, so i can browse by unit price and take my time, find the best deals and since i spend over 100 when i do that, there is no fee to go pick it up, and it is all bagged already for me to take home. i found myself lowering my monthly grocery bill doing that, because i was not rushing through the store and overlooking any sales.

k8blujay2

In my experience, they aren't, as healthy food stretches a lot farther than junk food. Junk food is usually eaten within two days... whereas fruits and vegetables and other whole food staples will last the whole week.

Here, I can buy a pound and a half of banana's (which is usually about 4 banana's depending on size) for the same price as ONE candy bar in the checkout aisle. They last a heck of a lot longer than that one candy bar too.

quirkytizzy

In my experience, they aren't, as healthy food stretches a lot farther than junk food. Junk food is usually eaten within two days... whereas fruits and vegetables and other whole food staples will last the whole week.

Here, I can buy a pound and a half of banana's (which is usually about 4 banana's depending on size) for the same price as ONE candy bar in the checkout aisle. They last a heck of a lot longer than that one candy bar too.

I've had the absolute opposite experience. I am the only one who eats even relatively healthy in my household, so going through 10 dollars of fruit and staples in a week would be overwhelming to me. The food would spoil much faster than I could reasonably eat it. I also have to purchase more of it faster in order to keep eating those foods.

That is assuming I have the money to buy my own foods, which I usually do not. The BF and I have to eat together, we simply don't have the income to split it up for different meals.

10 dollars of tv dinners and Mac N Cheese, milk and cereal feeds me for much longer. It simply keeps longer.

k8blujay2

In my experience, they aren't, as healthy food stretches a lot farther than junk food. Junk food is usually eaten within two days... whereas fruits and vegetables and other whole food staples will last the whole week.

Here, I can buy a pound and a half of banana's (which is usually about 4 banana's depending on size) for the same price as ONE candy bar in the checkout aisle. They last a heck of a lot longer than that one candy bar too.

I've had the absolute opposite experience. I am the only one who eats even relatively healthy in my household, so going through 10 dollars of fruit and staples in a week would be overwhelming to me. The food would spoil much faster than I could reasonably eat it. I also have to purchase more of it faster in order to keep eating those foods.

10 dollars of tv dinners and Mac N Cheese, milk and cereal feeds me for much longer. It simply keeps longer.

Hmmm, I guess if it's not eaten often then that would be true... But I know that when I would buy all processed foods, I would feel like I got a whole lot of nothing and for more money... in our house it just wouldn't last as long, but if I made cookies (instead of buying the packages) then they would last longer than the box of oreos. I feel like I have leftovers if I make something from scratch rather than buy a pre-packaged version.

neverstray

Yeah, mac & cheese is gone. But, I can cook a whole chicken, and then every day just add brocolli, or cooked carrots, or whatever, and eat that for a few days. A whole chicken is like $5. The veggies cost very little, plus add rice. I mean it's so cheap I just don't get how anyone can say that pre-packaged food is less.

BlueObsidian

I've had the absolute opposite experience. I am the only one who eats even relatively healthy in my household, so going through 10 dollars of fruit and staples in a week would be overwhelming to me. The food would spoil much faster than I could reasonably eat it. I also have to purchase more of it faster in order to keep eating those foods.

Do you have a freezer? Why not take advantage of it? Many fruits and veggies freeze extremely well (and frozen berries are a yummy snack), so you can buy the larger quantities when they are a good deal. Just spread them out in a single layer on a baking tray until they are frozen, then dump them in a Ziploc bag to store. In the winter, when fresh prices are high, browse the frozen produce for brands without added sugar and salt. Same nutrition, a high quality because they are flash frozen, and no spoilage issues.

Or, you know, just buy $5 of produce instead of $10. Buy single fruit instead of bags, etc. Skip the ridiculous pre-bagged veggies and buy individual amounts. I've never had trouble with fruits and veggies spoiling quickly. If stored properly, most of them are good for a week.

now_or_never12

I can buy a weeks worth of groceries for myself and my husabd for on average $75. That includes meats, veggies and tons of fruits along with some of the not so healthy things.

Those frozen mac and cheese things for example usually run about about $1.25 where I am (I am in Canada). They contain very small servings and are loaded with crap. I can buy a large bag of noodles for $1 and a bottle of sauce for $3. Sure it's three times the price of the frozen meal but the bag of noodles and bottle of sauce would make at least 6 servings.

Healthy food can be very inexpensive. I find frozen meals to be far too expensive. A package of chicken breast for example may cost you $6 but should last two to three meals. A bag of apples that will cost $5 say will last you a week. Shop the sales and buy what is in season to lower the cost. For what a Pizza costs or a sub you can get food for a few meals.

If you plan it right and stop making excuses you can eat healthy on a budget. A lot of people do it.

kmbweber2014

You can find tons of coupons online, and I buy a lot of frozen veggies this time of year. I have a garden during the summer which helps a ton (I know not everyone can do this), but we only have 3 - 4 months of summer so the rest of the time I use frozed stuff. Everything I have read says they are just as good for you and they are fairly inexpensive.

msshiraz

For many reasons, I do not shop at Walmart. Always low quality, bad business- always! I do not save when I shop there. You save on their store brand of packaged foods, which is primarily their customer base. They do not cater to better health.

I buy almost all my salad stuff (and I eat salads every day) at Costco. 6 pack of Romaine, 2.99. Bag of bell peppers, 2.99. Spinach- 3 lbs, 1.99 (and you can put that in everything, eggs, sauces). Whole Pineapple- 2.99 each. (list goes on- but for $45 a year- I save a ton on groceries by shopping there)

I buy chicken when its on sale- Sunflower/Sprouts/Albertsons has sales of boneless chicken breast that is 1.99 a lb. I stock up whenever they have the deal- and separate out the sizes for myself and freeze. I buy meats maybe 1X a month- and I save a ton by shopping this way. I also hit the local farmer market often- there is one near my house. The most I ever see for apples is $1.29 a lbs.

You can eat healthier- you just have to shop the seasons- I don't eat strawberries or peaches in winter, because they are out of season. It takes time to find the best deals in your area, and those hidden secrets, but you can do it. If Walmart is the only option- eat bananas as your fruit- until something else goes on sale. Buy frozen veggies rather than canned.

It is much cheaper to eat healthy that not- and what you will spend on groceries overall (when you cut out all the other foods you don't need) you will see a big savings I used to think the same way- I was wrong, it took time- but that is why we are here to help support