Eating healthy costs more

tartsul

i think it can go either way, depending on how much waste you have from your fresh stuff, and how much monetary value you put on your time to research, shop, and prepare healthy meals.

Topher1978

I definitely used to think eating healthy cost more.

When you compare all purpose flour with an almond or coconut flour, for example, the amount of almond flour you get is half, and costs almost double. However, it is so much more nutritious in the long run to cut out most white flour (not all) that it works out in the long run.

The other day I bought some delicious cherries for about $3.99 a pound? I thought to myself while eating them, yes, these are expensive, but how much would I have spent on a wacky fruit bar that has half the flavor? For a box, probably the same $3.99.

These days, packaged foods are giving fresh foods a run for their money, so the best choice is always fresh as long as it doesn't go to waste (and ugh, I have had a lot of fresh basil go to waste lately ).

Sacrilege! Fresh basil is great in veggie juices, by the way!

bcf7683

If you're educated and know what to look for, it's not more expensive. It's when the misinformed people gravitate towards the "diet" food, such as everything Special K, protein/nutrition bars, "fat free/diet" foods. Yes, those are more expensive. And not necessarily "eating healthier". If you compare the amount of money I spend on natural ingredients (fruits, vegetables, beans, rice, etc) and how much an obese family would spend on Doritoes, soda, hot dogs, prepared foods, frozen dinners, etc. the difference would be staggering. Yes, leaner meat is more expensive, and non-dairy milk has a higher price tag. But those are honestly the only two things that I can think of that would cost more, for me personally.

Acg67

You know one of the things that everyone always says is 'eating healthy costs more' and then they point to the price of lean ground meat as compared to the more fatty stuff, and say look! Lean meat is almost a whole dollar higher per pound then the fattier stuff! I can't afford that!

I propose to you that in fact, the two types of ground beef cost nearly the same price and the grocery stores have us all buffalo'd.

Take your standard cheap meat, we will call it a 75/25 ratio of meat/fat, which is sold for $2.99 a pound. In that pound of 'meat' you get 12 ounces of meat, and 4 ounces of fat. If you are like me, you drain your meat multiple times to get all that fat out of there, which mean in order to end up with a pound of 'meat' you need to start with 21.33 ounces of the mix. What's the cost of 21.33 ounces of the meat/fat blend? $3.98

What about the better quality meat? Lets go with a 90/10 blend. In this scenario, you probably are paying $3.69 or a little more for this meat, but what you are getting is 14.4 ounces of meat and 1.6 ounces of fat to pour down the drain. In order to end up with a pound of meat only, you have to start with 17.78 ounces of meat, which will cost you $4.10.

So in reality, the expensive ground beef, is only about ten cents more per pound then the really cheap stuff. And granted, my prices might be skewed.

I guess if you eat the fat that I drain off, then yes, your price would be much lower to mix in that much fat. But yet again, it just goes to show that it really DOESN'T cost more to eat healthy. We just want to think it does.

What makes 90/10 a better quality ground beef?

Try a mid-rare burger with 80/20. It is nasty. Try a mid-rare burger with 90/10, it is perfection!! Perfection is better quality, in my book!!

Not sure if you're being serious or not

tartsul

I definitely used to think eating healthy cost more.

When you compare all purpose flour with an almond or coconut flour, for example, the amount of almond flour you get is half, and costs almost double. However, it is so much more nutritious in the long run to cut out most white flour (not all) that it works out in the long run.

The other day I bought some delicious cherries for about $3.99 a pound? I thought to myself while eating them, yes, these are expensive, but how much would I have spent on a wacky fruit bar that has half the flavor? For a box, probably the same $3.99.

These days, packaged foods are giving fresh foods a run for their money, so the best choice is always fresh as long as it doesn't go to waste (and ugh, I have had a lot of fresh basil go to waste lately ).

i have a great low cal and delicious pesto recipe that you can use for your basil, then throw it in the freezer!!! then just take out in the morning before work and it's defrosted and ready for dinner over some chicken. yummmmm

DarkAngel262

I compared my debit statements for three weeks with my debit list for the past three weeks of eating clean. Turns out I saved $72!

dietpepsi100

I buy london broil when on sale usually 2.79 a pound sometimes less. Then I grind it in my food processor. The meat is much better quailty and you can trim most of the fat away. I also don't eat out nearly as much as I did before I changed my lifestyle. So if I pay a bit more for groceries its fine because in the long run I am saving money! Its all in how you look at things. I have a friend that has mentioned cost and have helped her in many ways. Take oatmeal sure the stuff you put in the microwave is much more than the tube of oatmeal you have to cook yourself. I guess its all in what you want. I want to be healthy so I stay away from the convience of microwaves ect.

Anthonydaman

I fed my family (four of us), organic chicken, brown rice, and fresh pineapple for under $13 last week... I also might add that I had leftover chicken and pineapple for lunch the following day.

Chief_Rocka

What makes 90/10 a better quality ground beef?

Less fat = more meat, most people view the fat as taste.

Edit: There is also a perception that less fat = healthier/better therefore they charge a premium for it because people will pay it.

fixed

yankeefamily05

I think it is all how you look at it.

To feed 2 adults, and 2 kids (well really only 1, because the baby is still breastfed) we spend about 75 dollars a week. That includes 1 gallon of raw milk for my hubby and 4 year old. We also don't really eat a lot of meat. And we still even manage to get a lot of our produce in the organic section!! SCORE!!!:)

Before this, I was spending a little less, but the food was nothing but CRAP and we were also going out in midweek to buy junk food...So yeah, I think we are saving a little by eating healthy!

ldrosophila

First of all, I don't know where you shop but here there is a much bigger difference between those two types of ground beef. 75/25 might be $2.99/lb (on a good day) but 90/10 is at least $4.50/lb. Second, if I say that eating healthy is expensive it's because I can feed my family of 3 boxed pasta with jarred sauce for dinner for $2.50. We can not eat a lean meat with fresh vegetables (or even frozen vegetables) for that much unless there are some great sales happening. And organic is definitely out the window. It also is often more expensive to, say, make your own pasta sauce with fresh veggies vs buying it in a jar. A $2.00 box of cereal for breakfast goes much further than eggs and fruit and whole wheat toast. While the definition eating "healthy" can vary from person to person, it *is* very difficult to eat fresh and balanced meals on a super tight budget.

I agree it can be difficult, but I dont think its impossible. I prepare a lot of my own sauces and find much cheaper and goes further than a prepared version.

sbjmorgan

First of all, I don't know where you shop but here there is a much bigger difference between those two types of ground beef. 75/25 might be $2.99/lb (on a good day) but 90/10 is at least $4.50/lb. Second, if I say that eating healthy is expensive it's because I can feed my family of 3 boxed pasta with jarred sauce for dinner for $2.50. We can not eat a lean meat with fresh vegetables (or even frozen vegetables) for that much unless there are some great sales happening. And organic is definitely out the window. It also is often more expensive to, say, make your own pasta sauce with fresh veggies vs buying it in a jar. A $2.00 box of cereal for breakfast goes much further than eggs and fruit and whole wheat toast. While the definition eating "healthy" can vary from person to person, it *is* very difficult to eat fresh and balanced meals on a super tight budget.

Except you can buy a canister of oatmeal for $4 that will go farther than the $2 cereal, you can eat meatless which is always leaner than the leanest meat and still have a lot of protein. There are more ways than just chicken with broccoli and brown rice on the side - lentil curry, veggie and bean stew, veggie lasagna, falafel with pitas, lentil tacos and black bean burgers with veggies on the side keep my family fed just as well and are just as cheap as the "unhealthy" meals.

People who complain really ought to expand their horizons as far as dietary needs go. Can it be more expensive to eat healthy? Sure. But it usually is cheaper for me, because we eat meatless three-four days a week.

julesxo

I always buy extra lean meat and don't look at the prices. I don't understand why people cheap out when it comes to food.

niki87lewis

I was about to ask a similar question.

Im from the UK and cook for 2 of us but was wondering is it cheaper to cook from scratch or not? I don't mean buying ready meals that you stick in the microwave or anything like that, just things like the Birds Eye chicken fillet things for example, or stuffed mushrooms Tesco sell.

Also, is it cheaper to shop at supermarkets generally or shops like fruit and veg, butchers... ?

I LOVE the idea of cooking from scratch, eating healthy and being able to say "I made that" but we're shopping on a budget.

Pack of about 10 frozen chicken fillets in asda for £5, sauces or marinades are so easy and cheap to make. I'd say it's deffo cheaper!

HardRockCamaro

If they can afford a cellphone and cable then healthy food is not out of their reach. They just choose to spend 4x$3 on MaccyD's rather than $14 on veggies and real meat to make a bolognese or whatever. That way they have $2 extra per day to talk on their cell phone and the time to do that talking because they're not cooking.

Topher1978

You know one of the things that everyone always says is 'eating healthy costs more' and then they point to the price of lean ground meat as compared to the more fatty stuff, and say look! Lean meat is almost a whole dollar higher per pound then the fattier stuff! I can't afford that!

I propose to you that in fact, the two types of ground beef cost nearly the same price and the grocery stores have us all buffalo'd.

Take your standard cheap meat, we will call it a 75/25 ratio of meat/fat, which is sold for $2.99 a pound. In that pound of 'meat' you get 12 ounces of meat, and 4 ounces of fat. If you are like me, you drain your meat multiple times to get all that fat out of there, which mean in order to end up with a pound of 'meat' you need to start with 21.33 ounces of the mix. What's the cost of 21.33 ounces of the meat/fat blend? $3.98

What about the better quality meat? Lets go with a 90/10 blend. In this scenario, you probably are paying $3.69 or a little more for this meat, but what you are getting is 14.4 ounces of meat and 1.6 ounces of fat to pour down the drain. In order to end up with a pound of meat only, you have to start with 17.78 ounces of meat, which will cost you $4.10.

So in reality, the expensive ground beef, is only about ten cents more per pound then the really cheap stuff. And granted, my prices might be skewed.

I guess if you eat the fat that I drain off, then yes, your price would be much lower to mix in that much fat. But yet again, it just goes to show that it really DOESN'T cost more to eat healthy. We just want to think it does.

What makes 90/10 a better quality ground beef?

Try a mid-rare burger with 80/20. It is nasty. Try a mid-rare burger with 90/10, it is perfection!! Perfection is better quality, in my book!!

Not sure if you're being serious or not

Absolutely serious. It is the oly way I make them or order them.

HardRockCamaro

Being single I find most supermarkets set up for, at minimum, couples, when it comes to buying fresh meat etc.
Unless I want to eat the same thing every day.
And I don't freeze meat as I may as well just buy it frozen in the first place at that point.

I buy the smallest packs of chicken fillets etc to grill to make wraps and whatnot, but I buy pre mixed salad leaves as it's cheaper for me to do that than buy all the different types of lettuce etc as I'd end up throwing a lot of it away.

When it comes to anything pre-made, be it a sauce or a ready meal, I read the ingredients and nutritional info very carefully and always have a couple in the fridge for when I haven't had time to shop for ingredients or am feeling lazy.

Topher1978

I always buy extra lean meat and don't look at the prices. I don't understand why people cheap out when it comes to food.

Some people are less fortunate than you, and do not have your means. I have been eating mostly chicken for meat lately, as that is what will fit in my budget as a protein food. I did just buy 2 pork roasts... buy one get one free at Krogers. That will make some yummy tacos!!

Mokey41

First of all, I don't know where you shop but here there is a much bigger difference between those two types of ground beef. 75/25 might be $2.99/lb (on a good day) but 90/10 is at least $4.50/lb. Second, if I say that eating healthy is expensive it's because I can feed my family of 3 boxed pasta with jarred sauce for dinner for $2.50. We can not eat a lean meat with fresh vegetables (or even frozen vegetables) for that much unless there are some great sales happening. And organic is definitely out the window. It also is often more expensive to, say, make your own pasta sauce with fresh veggies vs buying it in a jar. A $2.00 box of cereal for breakfast goes much further than eggs and fruit and whole wheat toast. While the definition eating "healthy" can vary from person to person, it *is* very difficult to eat fresh and balanced meals on a super tight budget.

Except you can buy a canister of oatmeal for $4 that will go farther than the $2 cereal, you can eat meatless which is always leaner than the leanest meat and still have a lot of protein. There are more ways than just chicken with broccoli and brown rice on the side - lentil curry, veggie and bean stew, veggie lasagna, falafel with pitas, lentil tacos and black bean burgers with veggies on the side keep my family fed just as well and are just as cheap as the "unhealthy" meals.

People who complain really ought to expand their horizons as far as dietary needs go. Can it be more expensive to eat healthy? Sure. But it usually is cheaper for me, because we eat meatless three-four days a week.

So true, a $2 box of cereal has next to no nutrition but it sure is easy to pour a bowl full rather than cook oatmeal. A dozen eggs won't break the bank and 2 eggs per kid with a piece of toast isn't expensive and creates a good meal that won't leave them hungry in an hour. It still comes down to convenience over nutrition.

Topher1978

Being single I find most supermarkets set up for, at minimum, couples, when it comes to buying fresh meat etc.
Unless I want to eat the same thing every day.
And I don't freeze meat as I may as well just buy it frozen in the first place at that point.

I buy the smallest packs of chicken fillets etc to grill to make wraps and whatnot, but I buy pre mixed salad leaves as it's cheaper for me to do that than buy all the different types of lettuce etc as I'd end up throwing a lot of it away.

When it comes to anything pre-made, be it a sauce or a ready meal, I read the ingredients and nutritional info very carefully and always have a couple in the fridge for when I haven't had time to shop for ingredients or am feeling lazy.

When you make your own frozen meals, they are still so much better. And, if you make a very large batch, after 3 weeks, you have a good variety to choose from as long as you made enough. Also, you can make one food into a few different things. For instance, when I make crawfish ettouffe, I will make enough rice to make Mexican Fried rice as well, and make some burritos. If I am just making burritos, I will make enouch rice to make some curry dishes or som other wraps rice and meat wraps as well.

I do the same with salad when I get salad. Trying to incorperate it into my every day food... at least I am urging myself to try it!!