Eating healthy costs more

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!!

luckyjuls

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

Would love the recipe! I used a bottled version of pesto the other week and although it was delicious, I could probably make it on my own for much less.

I felt so bad throwing out this basil, though. Used some for caprese salad, left it room temperature (because of how it goes bad in the fridge) like suggested and woke up the next day to find it covered in fuzzy mold, ew. . :noway:

HardRockCamaro

Freezing larger meals I've made is a good idea!

I've only ever done that with lasagne if I'm honest...

Gramps251

I always cook lots of protein then freeze it in smaller packages.

alli_baba

When it comes to burgers, I've always been told that the 80/20 blend is the best (the fat enhances the flavor of the beef). As to health concerns, I'm not sure there is a huge difference when using 90/10 or 80/20, especially if you consume burgers (or ground beef) occasionally. I personally would rather have a great, flavorful burger even if that means more fat.

I am also a bit skeptical of the claim that eating healthy always means greater expense. Pre-packaged food and eating out seems to cost quite a bit more than cooking from scratch using natural, healthy ingredients, IMO. Also, I think portion size and overall calories plays a role -- I personally would rather have a smaller portion of full-fat item than a larger portion of reduced-fat or non-fat item (they both may have the same calories, but a larger portion of a reduced fat item probably costs more). I'm more into quality over quantity.

TaniaB_79

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.

I meal plan and cook everything from scratch. Butchers and fruit and veg shops can seem to be more expensive, for example two chicken breasts at the butcher cost far more than at the supermarket BUT the breasts are much larger so by weight they are a similar price and the butcher ones also have much more flavour so when I am doing anything that involves dicing them to cook I use far less than supermarket ones.

Its also worth finding out the current supermarket offers and planning your meals around that if you can. For 2 people and a 4 year old with a VERY healthy appetite we spend about £60 a week, this weeks meals include chicken chasseur, salmon fillets with lemon risotto, chicken parmigiana, duck breasts with sweet potato and plum sauce and sausage casserole. If you are only just starting from scratch you will have a slightly higher cost if you invest in all your spices, seasoning, flours etc at once so I'd probably try to plan meals that have some similarities so you are not spending out all at once. If you have a Julian Graves shop nearby or a asian supermarket, they are great for large packs of spices that are a lot cheaper than say Schwartz stuff in the supermarket.

haroon_awan

Total bs.

1.5kg of white/brown rice = £1.50
1kg of frozen chicken breast = £6
12 eggs = £2
1kg of frozen broccoli = £1
Water = £0
Total cost = £10.50
That will be about 10-20 meals depending on the individual.

15" pizza = £12-15
Bottle of coke/pepsi = £2
Total cost = £14-17

That will be about 2-3 meals depending on the individual.

jsd_135

When it comes to burgers, I've always been told that the 80/20 blend is the best (the fat enhances the flavor of the beef). As to health concerns, I'm not sure there is a huge difference when using 90/10 or 80/20, especially if you consume burgers (or ground beef) occasionally. I personally would rather have a great, flavorful burger even if that means more fat.

For burgers, we mix the two kinds of ground beef: 80/20 (chuck?) and 90/10 (sirloin)--half for each type. The fat gives a nice juicy texture, the lean provides better flavor. My husband makes these, and they are the best burgers in the world. Nothing else added to the meat, except a little salt and pepper. We also just got a meat grinder, so we're now grinding our own.

chivalryder

Watch Food Inc. They will explain why garbage foods cost less. The only thing you can do to change it is to talk to your MP's about it, and to keep buying the expensive, healthy food. Try to get everyone else to do the same. If trends start leaning towards vegetables instead of chips, then legislation and subsidization will change.

nb9251

A lot of it comes down to laziness (expecting everything to be prepacked and convenient) and the false impression that you need to only buy organically grown, hand harvested by Tibetan monks on the rising of the full moon fruits and vegetables.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Athena53

When pre-packaged food is cheaper, it's because it's crap- all the good stuff "refined" out, additives thrown back in to make it palatable. You know the list: high-fructose corn syrup, fillers, artificial colors and flavors, preservatives that only a chemist can pronounce. I really shudder when I go through the Dollar section of our grocery store (hamburger-helper type stuff, cookies, jams) and read the labels. Some of the products come from China. Hmmm... melamine, anyone?

DH grew up poor. He can make meals with $2 worth of meat (bean soup with a ham hock), and stew with broth made from stuff people usually throw out (meat bones, vegetable ends that we keep in a bag in the freezer). There are only the 2 of us and any bits of leftover pork chop, chicken breast, etc. get frozen and put in pasta sauce, diced and put in a large salad, or stir-fried with veggies.

Oh, yeah- portion control is key. Chicken breasts are twice the size they were when I was a kid, and we get Iowa-cut pork chops around here. Both are way too much for an individual serving- IMO, it's just a way to get you to buy/eat more. One pork chop = one serving, right? Even if it takes up most of the plate and is 1.5 inches thick. Typically we split one chicken breast or one pork chop if they're oversized.

Certainly the fresh ingredients are more expensive than canned, but if you know how to prepare food and are diligent about storing and re-using leftovers, I think the costs balance out.

BohemianCoast

To the person in the UK who asked if it was cheaper to cook from scratch -- yes, it's hugely cheaper. For what you pay for a 'ready to cook' chicken meal, you can buy -- a chicken. Which will feed two of you 3-4 times (roast, in a pie, sandwiches, risotto, soup, fajitas...). But you have to spend a little time learning to cook, learn how to make food go further, plan your food for the week, and so on.

A *really good* site for people starting out with meal planning, though, is The Resourceful Cook. They give you a choice of how much to spend and how many people you're cooking for, and you can switch out recipes you don't fancy. If you choose the 'basic' storecupboard options, they won't expect you to have stuff in that you don't have, and then you can start building up your storecupboard week by week. Money Saving Expert has lots of good tips for saving money on groceries too.

One thing that makes a big difference for me is my local market; for £10 I can buy enough fruit and veg for a family for a week. That's not doable at a supermarket. But even at a supermarket it's worth watching out for things that are in season and hence cheap.

We started spending a lot less when we started on MFP. Some of it was less spend on processed/junky foods (thinks like crisps and cereals really add up), but a lot of it was just that our portion sizes were smaller and that's cheaper.

stephanieb72

Even if eating healthy DID cost more. Dying is free.... I am not interested in saving money THAT much!

Oh, right, dying a SLOW death because of obesity and all of the derivative problems is INCREDIBLY expensive.

See you at fresh veggies and fresh sections of the grocery!

Have a great day!

^^^^^ THIS!

Okapi42

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.

Thank you! To be honest, I went vegetarian mostly because it was cheaper and I was an impoverished student - but I've never liked meat in the first place, so it was a relief to get rid of it! 8 years and I still don't feel the need to go back. I am eating more Quorn now to get my protein up, but even that is cheap, especially compared to well-farmed meat. I'd never buy factory chicken, I don't buy caged eggs either.

iLoveMyPitbull1225

I think in the end it's just an excuse. Even if it is more expensive, if health is a priority to you, you will make it work for you and your budget, period.

babyshroom

I can see how eating healthy SEEMS to cost more money...possibly because people are ONLY thinking in terms of their weekly trips to the grocery store. I know before I started eating healthier, I would only spend 20-30 dollars every time I'd go...But I'd go more often...and then I'd be ordering pizza, or stopping at Tim's before work, buying food at lunch time, getting snacks from the convenience store, and I wasn't factoring in those costs (one pizza, breakfast and lunch every week day for a week can add up to around 75!). So my current bill of 50-60 per week at the store feels like more, but it really is much less.

purplecharm

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.

This!

I have actually been spending comparatively now that I am eating healthy. Perhaps it's because I just started eating healthy, but I find myself constantly going to the grocery store to buy the ingredients that i don't have for new recipes that I've been making. It's definitely making a dent in my wallet. But I am saving money by not buying fast food and soda pop.

hawkida

There's a bit of a flaw in your logic, though. It would be easier and cheaper to eat the fat that you're throwing away. It's not healthy, but that's the whole point - people buy a big pile of meat and eat it. If they are consuming a large proportion of fat within it then they have still gotten more food overall than if they went for lean meat.

That said, it is easy to eat healthy food cheaply - but that involves eating far more vegetables, doing more work from scratch, and cutting down on expensive things like meat.

Riemersma4

If people used legumes more effectively for getting proteins (think Lentils!), eating healthy can be very inexpensive.

As it has been said a dozens times on this thread, humans have an uncanny ability to convince themselves of whatever they want to believe, myself included.

I FIRMLY believe that I eat healthy food cheaper than i can eat unhealthy foods.

There you have it!

have a great day!

heypurdy

That theory really makes me mad. Fresh produce is so inexpensive at the market. You can get a lot of beans and veggies for the price of one fast food meal. No excuses!

SmartAlec03211988

My costs have gone WAY WAY WAY down...

Before eating healthy, my monthly costs for food were $225...

... now they're $113. Per month.