Healthy food expensive

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Replies

  • cazzer69
    cazzer69 Posts: 162 Member
    Going back to the original Gluten Free question, thats simply market forces. Supply and demand.
    If I'm a baker making "normal" bread I can sell as much as I can make.
    But If I'm a baker only making XXXXXfree bread, then I have a limited market and therefore need to charge a premium to make it worth my while not to just make crusty white bloomers.
  • BamBam125
    BamBam125 Posts: 229 Member
    Why is this? I have a gluten intolerance, so I notice when I buy gluten free stuff, it's always more expensive than the normal kind. Also you can buy ramen noodles for less that a $1, but fresh fruits & veggies, not so much.
    I went to whole food today for the first time and everyone warned me it was going to be expensive and boy were they right. It seemed the healthier the food was, the more expensive it was. And, once again, if it was gluten free, you could almost bet it was gonna be higher than everything else. It's pretty ridiculous. I mean, I had the money to buy it. But what about people on a budget who want to be healthier? That's really not right. It's like they want people to be unhealthy, making all that stuff so affordable. Ok, rant over lol

    Actually I just got a whole BAG of fresh, ripe, Florida grapefruits for 99 cents.

    They were on sale at Publix for $2.99, but publix was also giving out coupons from the producer for $2 off. End result: a big bag of grapefruits for 99 cents. I've been having at least one a day all week. I have one coupon left and heard they'll be on sale for at least another week, so I'll go back for more in a couple days.

    As for Whole Foods, I hardly ever shop there. The only thing I've every gotten there was ground anise when all the other grocery stores in my area were out and I needed it for a recipe. Are there any other cheaper grocery stores in your area you could comparison shop at?
  • Mjhnbgff
    Mjhnbgff Posts: 112
    Healthy food is more expensive. I never really thought about it because I have never been a fast food/junk food junkie, but I see now just how much more fresh fruits and vegetables cost, let alone gluten-free and organic.

    I paid $4 for a whole pineapple, $6 for a tub of baby spinach and $4 for organic soba noodles at Whole Foods the other day. While $14 isn't much, you can feed yourself and a few kids off the Dollar Menu at McDonald's for $10 and here I only have pineapple, spinach, and soba noodles.

    This is also something I wonder about. Exactly how are poor people suppose to afford healthy food?
  • farway
    farway Posts: 1,264 Member
    Healthy food is more expensive. I never really thought about it because I have never been a fast food/junk food junkie, but I see now just how much more fresh fruits and vegetables cost, let alone gluten-free and organic.

    I paid $4 for a whole pineapple, $6 for a tub of baby spinach and $4 for organic soba noodles at Whole Foods the other day. While $14 isn't much, you can feed yourself and a few kids off the Dollar Menu at McDonald's for $10 and here I only have pineapple, spinach, and soba noodles.

    This is also something I wonder about. Exactly how are poor people suppose to afford healthy food?

    Buy fresh, depends, again, where you live, 99p for a fresh, whole, pineapple here in UK, 350 g baby spinach £1.50, no idea what soba noodles are so cannot compare

    We do not all live in US, so do not lump us all in the same boat

    There is a problem however with "poor" people having lower values and aspirations, so do tend to buy convenience food, this is not a good subject to get involved in unless you are of trollish persuasion
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Healthy food is more expensive. I never really thought about it because I have never been a fast food/junk food junkie, but I see now just how much more fresh fruits and vegetables cost, let alone gluten-free and organic.

    I paid $4 for a whole pineapple, $6 for a tub of baby spinach and $4 for organic soba noodles at Whole Foods the other day. While $14 isn't much, you can feed yourself and a few kids off the Dollar Menu at McDonald's for $10 and here I only have pineapple, spinach, and soba noodles.

    This is also something I wonder about. Exactly how are poor people suppose to afford healthy food?

    Quit buying organic, quit buying baby spinach, don't buy a whole pineapple. Shop for frozen fruits and veggies, they're just as nutritious and much cheaper. Buy regular whole foods. Eating healthy isn't spending a fortune on veggies raised by Tibetan monks and hand picked on the full moon. It's making better choices with what you can afford.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    I'm coeliac, and my solution is simple: stay away from the gluten-free crap. Most of it tastes like rubbish, it's over-priced, and you're better off making your own.

    Cheap healthy foods? Easy. Eggs. Potatoes. Bananas. Offal meat (hearts/liver/kidneys/etc). A bag of mesclun salad is about $2.

    ^^^ This. My husband has a wheat allergy and my granddaughter is celiac. We don't buy gluten free anything, it's expensive and it's highly processed crap food. I can't think of one thing that we're missing by not buying it. It means changing the way you eat a bit but you can totally live without substituting one kind of processed food for another.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
    Quit buying organic, quit buying baby spinach, don't buy a whole pineapple. Shop for frozen fruits and veggies, they're just as nutritious and much cheaper. Buy regular whole foods. Eating healthy isn't spending a fortune on veggies raised by Tibetan monks and hand picked on the full moon. It's making better choices with what you can afford.
    I also don't get the people who say eating healthy is so expensive, but here are a few tips anyway to keep the bills down:

    1. Frozen vegetables are just as healthy as fresh, so buy lots of them on sale
    2. Only buy produce while it's in season. The price will be lower due to the higher level of supply and the lower transportation cost.
    3. Buy healthy bulk items. Beans, brown rice, wild rice, buckwheat, etc.
    4. Meat can be frozen for several months, so buy it on sale, separate it into servings, and freeze.

    Join a farm co-op. i spend 15 bucks on the basics and usually get enough for the week. even with adding in granola and bread and the "extra boxes" i dont' usually go over 45 a week.. and I have tons and it lasts longer than a week. ($20 bucks on 5 loaves of bread and 28 oz of granola.. not bad). I freeze the bread until i need it.

    enough said
  • shellbatronic
    shellbatronic Posts: 193
    Gluten Free stuff is expensive because it's trendy. Look into a CSA, for a monthly or yearly fee you can get locally grown fruit and veg delivered right to you in season.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Healthy food is more expensive. I never really thought about it because I have never been a fast food/junk food junkie, but I see now just how much more fresh fruits and vegetables cost, let alone gluten-free and organic.

    I paid $4 for a whole pineapple, $6 for a tub of baby spinach and $4 for organic soba noodles at Whole Foods the other day. While $14 isn't much, you can feed yourself and a few kids off the Dollar Menu at McDonald's for $10 and here I only have pineapple, spinach, and soba noodles.

    This is also something I wonder about. Exactly how are poor people suppose to afford healthy food?

    Quit buying organic, quit buying baby spinach, don't buy a whole pineapple. Shop for frozen fruits and veggies, they're just as nutritious and much cheaper. Buy regular whole foods. Eating healthy isn't spending a fortune on veggies raised by Tibetan monks and hand picked on the full moon. It's making better choices with what you can afford.

    ^^^This. Stop buying...literally "buying" into all of the marketing bull crap...that's what you're paying for, not the food. You don't have to buy "special" food or shop at a special "health food" store to get proper nutrition. Yeah, there are some things I prefer to buy organic, but otherwise I don't worry about it. Also, buy staple type of foods, including produce. I would consider pineapple to be a luxury item...as well as baby spinach. Just buy regular old spinach and get some apples, oranges, and bananas.

    Also, nothing wrong with frozen veg and fruit...it's usually cheaper than fresh...you get more servings...and it actually has more nutritional value as the freezing stops the nutrition loss that occurs with fresh.

    Get your staples...here are mine:

    Brown Rice
    Potatoes
    Dried Pinto Beans
    Dried Black Beans
    Dried lentils/split peas
    Onion
    Spinach (or other leafy greens...forget the tubs, buy them whole and do the chopping and washing yourself...otherwise you're paying for someone else's work and packaging)
    Broccoli (frozen)
    Peas (frozen)
    Carrots
    Apples
    Oranges
    Bananas
    Poultry
    Pork
    Eggs
    Milk

    A very typical meal for me is grilled chicken, potatoes, and veg...this usually runs me about $4 per adult, male serving...about $3 for my wife, and about $2 for my toddler and around $1 or less for my baby (we puree it all and make him baby food). A dinner like this would probably be the most expensive meal of the day...breakfast and lunch are usually a bit cheaper.
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
    You don't have to shop at Whole Foods to eat healthy.

    And if your gluten free, why buy junk products that mimick the stuff you can't eat anyway. That makes no sense to me whatsoever.

    We are gluten free in my household and I spend about $90.00 every 2 weeks on farm raised meats, vegetables and fruit.

    My last shopping trip I got the following. I spent about $91.00 and the produce is for 2 weeks. The meat will last almost a month.

    Meat Market - spent $50.88
    2 chuck roasts (approximately 3 pounds each)
    3 pounds of bratwursts
    2 pounds of ground chuck
    sirloin steak (just over a pound)
    3 whole chickens cut up
    1 pound of italian sausage
    2 thick cut pork steaks
    2 pounds of bacon
    12 oz bag of coffee beans

    Community Coop - $23.70 every 2 weeks and different items each delivery
    Bananas
    oranges
    apples
    tangerines
    cherry tomatoes
    huge 2 pound bag of spring leaf lettuce mix
    yellow onions
    2 egg plants
    head of cabbage
    head of cauliflower
    2 brocolli crowns

    Market Crate from Farmers Market - $20.35
    red onion
    zucchini
    yellow squash
    cherry tomatoes
    huge head of romaine lettuce
    cucumber
    baby carrots
    2 idaho baker potatoes
    2 yukon gold baker potatoes
    green and red bell peppers
    strawberries.
  • lbesaw
    lbesaw Posts: 267 Member
    I am finding that I actually spend much less at the grocery store since I have started my program. I used to buy way more food than I needed because that's how my "inner fat girl" thinks. I purged all my cupboards and pantry and do not have anything in the house that I can't enjoy totally guilt-free. My concentration is on my nutrition so I buy only what I need for the week. If I do allow myself a treat I buy it only when I am going to have it preferably one serving and no take home extras. I cook from scratch a majoirty of the time and do take advantage of some single serving items like salads, and pre-portioned chicken or fish. I work full-time and need to be on schedule to make my workout times. It is totally do-able and I have adapted my meals and prep so I can have a healthy meal on the table within 30 minutes or less. I do cook ahead but not often-I prefer freshly made meals to leftovers but have made soups or chili that I portion out in single servings for freezing or reheating later if I'm pressed for time. I always have a "go to" meal that I can have when life interferes with my schedule.
  • tonyrocks922
    tonyrocks922 Posts: 172 Member
    Healthy food is more expensive. I never really thought about it because I have never been a fast food/junk food junkie, but I see now just how much more fresh fruits and vegetables cost, let alone gluten-free and organic.

    I paid $4 for a whole pineapple, $6 for a tub of baby spinach and $4 for organic soba noodles at Whole Foods the other day. While $14 isn't much, you can feed yourself and a few kids off the Dollar Menu at McDonald's for $10 and here I only have pineapple, spinach, and soba noodles.

    This is also something I wonder about. Exactly how are poor people suppose to afford healthy food?

    Maybe don't shop at the most overpriced grocery chain in the country? I live in the most expensive city in the US and I don't think I've ever paid more than $2.50 for a pineapple.
  • cazzer69
    cazzer69 Posts: 162 Member

    Meat Market - spent $50.88
    2 chuck roasts (approximately 3 pounds each)
    3 pounds of bratwursts
    2 pounds of ground chuck
    sirloin steak (just over a pound)
    3 whole chickens cut up
    1 pound of italian sausage
    2 thick cut pork steaks
    2 pounds of bacon
    12 oz bag of coffee beans

    ,

    Put this into perspective though, where I live, buying meat from the market, that lot would cost over $130.00 on its own.

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