Eating Healthy is Too Expensive

Helawat

I'm on a fixed income and I can't afford to eat healthy anymore. I'm not talking about going to Trader Joe's for fancy food, I'm talking about going to Walmart for fruit, veggies, good meat, and food we need for a balanced diet.

This is bull****.

Helawat

I'm on a fixed income and I can't afford to eat healthy anymore. I'm not talking about going to Trader Joe's for fancy food, I'm talking about going to Walmart for fruit, veggies, good meat, and food we need for a balanced diet.

This is bull****.

icandoit

I hear you. We have learned how to shop around. I am feeding a family of 4 and 2 dogs on $130 every two weeks.
Eggs are cheaper at longs than the grocery stores.
Beans are cheaper in bulk-
spices are cheaper in bulk
grains are cheaper in bulk
found costco is cheaper on nuts and frozen fruit and veggies.
If you have swap meets or farmers markets-check out fruit and veggies there
if you have a save mart-they do price to sell. Fruit and veggies that are getting a little ripe-I got 4 avocados for 69 cents-4 tomatoes for 69 cents-8 bananas for 59 cents.
Get creative and you can do it. It takes time, but it is well worth it.

Today at costco I bought 60 lbs of dog food
6.5 lbs of chicken breast
12 pounds of chicken thighs
3.5 lbs of dry roasted almonds
7 lbs of frozen mixed veggies
5 lbs extra lean ground turkey breasts
for $68
$20 of it was dog food

I got 7 different spices
oatmeal
multi grain hot ceral
box lipton green tea
apples
pears
bananas
milled flax
2 whole wheat bread for the kids
1 gallon milk
cilantro
lunch meat
2.5 lbs cheese
3 lbs fish
frozen corn 1 lb
hot sauce
juice box
lanudry soap
5 lbs red potatoes
5lbs yellow onions
4 red bellpeppers
$38.73

Damonica

too bad you feel that way

Damonica

too bad you feel that way

hazed175

I find the same problem, especially with a family of 5 (me, my husband, and three teenage boys). I find I buy less, and the boys have less to eat that they like, which has always been an issue. I keep trying to figure out more options, by searching online or whatnot, but have yet to come up with a good solution. I They do not complain too much, but I find I have less to eat that is low calorie without seperate food. Especially since I started logging what I eat ( only three days on this site) I keep plugging away, though. Wish I had a better solution for you. If I find something, I'll gladly share.

ms213804

I unerstand all too well! As a poor college kid, I barely have any money. I made up a grocery list last night and have no clue how I am going to find the money to buy it all.

MontanaGirl

Yup - when we move to the ranch I told hubby we are getting chickens and a milk cow!! The price of milk has gone up over $2 a gallon here and eggs have gone up like 40%. Its insane!! We will also have a large garden. Won't be there in time for that this year, but next year!!

rayneenie

I'm not talking about going to Trader Joe's for fancy food, I'm talking about going to Walmart for fruit, veggies, good meat, and food we need for a balanced diet.

This is bull****.

I totally agree we can almost not afford to eat healthy food. I could have bought 2 months worth of groceries for what I spent on 2 weeks worth today if we were eating like we used to. It is pretty hard to get your calories with the small amount of food you can buy. I think it is really crappy that you can eat junk for cheaper than you can eat healthy.:mad:

ms213804

Yup - when we move to the ranch I told hubby we are getting chickens and a milk cow!! The price of milk has gone up over $2 a gallon here and eggs have gone up like 40%. Its insane!! We will also have a large garden. Won't be there in time for that this year, but next year!!

There are also kits you can buy online to make cheese with....food and family fun and burning calories all at the same time

deanea

You are right,:grumble: and I eat all of these mini meals throghout the day, it costs way more!

filergirl

When I was in university, I was so poor my friends called me "Bag of Rice Mel." Denoting, of course, the massive bag of rice that was the staple of my diet.

A diet rich in whole grains and vegetables, and less centered on meat and processed foods, is considerably cheaper than you'd think. The catch is that you have to spend more time at the stove . . .

I only had $35 a week to spend on food, and here' s how I did it:

-Home cooked oatmeal for breakfast, or a cup of cereal, with banana slices on it. Bananas are cheap, and they're full of potassium and calories.

-Leftovers for lunch, along with another piece of fruit. If I had to eat out, I would get a bagel, which would fill me up.

-Dinner consisting of curry or stirfry or pasta, with veggies, or a piece of chicken or fish, with a big baked potato. Potatoes and root vegetables are cheap!

The trick is to eat less prepared foods.

deanea

When I was in university, I was so poor my friends called me "Bag of Rice Mel." Denoting, of course, the massive bag of rice that was the staple of my diet.

A diet rich in whole grains and vegetables, and less centered on meat and processed foods, is considerably cheaper than you'd think. The catch is that you have to spend more time at the stove . . .

I only had $35 a week to spend on food, and here' s how I did it:

-Home cooked oatmeal for breakfast, or a cup of cereal, with banana slices on it. Bananas are cheap, and they're full of potassium and calories.

-Leftovers for lunch, along with another piece of fruit. If I had to eat out, I would get a bagel, which would fill me up.

-Dinner consisting of curry or stirfry or pasta, with veggies, or a piece of chicken or fish, with a big baked potato. Potatoes and root vegetables are cheap!

The trick is to eat less prepared foods.




Welcome back to the posts! Thanks for the reminders:flowerforyou:

lotusfromthemud

I always try to think that being healthy saves me money in other ways: less money on healthcare, etc.

It's like the old chestnut: "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance."

I'm not trying to be glib here, and you won't get the greatest variety, but you can do it. And, mehughes is right, you have to invest the sweat equity in your food. I lived off of brown rice and lentil casserole for what felt like months at one point when my funds were particularly low.:flowerforyou:

But, I do think that the fact that processed poison is cheaper than actual food, is total BS. Agreeing with you there.

filergirl

Also . . .

I have been complaining to anyone who will listen about the quality of produce in general at my local grocery store, and the price of the fresh herbs I like to buy.

So I had a silly idea. What if I grow some of this stuff myself? I have been reading up on basic seeding techniques and I think I am prepared to plant a small garden on my terrace once the warm weather comes. I really think I'll be less inclined to let that head of lettuce go to waste when I've raised it up myself.

Dill, chives and basil shouldn't be too hard, either.

I've also been thinking of trying one of the organic food box delivery services, which gives you a big ol' crate of local and/or organic goodies once a week for $30 or so.

I think we're all going to have to learn to make do with "less," in the not-so-distant future. I figure I better learn to be self-reliant, now.

Pardon me if that sounds a little doomsday, but, er, Google "The Great Depression." :noway: A cow and a chicken? Man, if I had a backyard . . .

yesIcan

I agree with you! eating lots of fresh produce and stuff is very expensive! I'm just a student with an extremely fixed income but I work around it. I buy frozen veggies and eat a couple pieces of fruit a day. The rest I buy like whole grain bread and have a sandwhich for lunch.. add some granola bars during hte day and eat cherios with milk for breakfast. Try to put in as much healthy fresh stuff as possible while staying within my financial limit. :S I also don't buy cold cuts for my sandwiches, I either make tuna salad or egg salad or go straight peanut butter.
Its not the way I'd prefer to eat but it's good enough now until I can afford to buy better.

yesIcan

accidently posted twice (my bad)

jmlancour

Personally.... since i started eating better I eat less... don't buy as much food. The food I buy may cost a little more but I have been spending less money eating health. It actually saves me money.

kimber607

Hi

I actually think I spend less as well....buy much less processed foods....buy less foods on sale or to experiment with (mostly junk)
I buy lots of staples at Costco or in bulk when on sale...clip coupons
I don't eat out much anymore...fast food etc.,...which saves $

Kim

TinaM

It's a sad fact that, while you can eat healthy for pretty cheap if you are prepared to spend the time, the processed JUNK is so much easier and often cheaper. Anyone interested in Big Food and their influence on government regulators (Who are supposed to be looking out for us!!!) check out this guy: Dr. Yoni Freedhoff at http://bmimedical.blogspot.com/ He's Canadian, but I don't imagine things are too different in the states.

On this topic, especially check the March 31 post. It's exactly on topic.

(I sound like a total doom and gloom conspiracy theorist, but sometimes where there's smoke...)

uwhuskygirl

I do apologize if this sounds ignorant, or maybe it's just because the area of the country I'm in hasn't really seen any effects of a recession, but I find that eating unhealthy is way more expensive than eating healthy. In my area the junk food is way more expensive than the fruits and veggies. I spend around $50-75 a week on groceries (depends on how much wine and special cheeses I buy), but it's more than enough for me and BF to eat all week (3 meals each) and for 2-3 snacks a day. If I tried to spend $50-75 on junk food, I wouldn't get enough food to eat and it would all be crap.

Could it be that it's more due to the recession than the actual food?

jbuehrer

I agree....

jbuehrer

I do apologize if this sounds ignorant, or maybe it's just because the area of the country I'm in hasn't really seen any effects of a recession, but I find that eating unhealthy is way more expensive than eating healthy. In my area the junk food is way more expensive than the fruits and veggies. I spend around $50-75 a week on groceries (depends on how much wine and special cheeses I buy), but it's more than enough for me and BF to eat all week (3 meals each) and for 2-3 snacks a day. If I tried to spend $50-75 on junk food, I wouldn't get enough food to eat and it would all be crap.

Could it be that it's more due to the recession than the actual food?

yes it is!! I agree!!

There is three adults living in my home.

We just Stopped going out to eat... a dinner at a restaurant can cost us anywhere between $20-$60 (depending on where we go of course) $60 can buy us about 4 days of food. So buying the expensive health food wasn't so bad.

We stopped buying snacks... That helps a lot!!

And we buy bulk meat from local farms and in the summer we buy fruit from stands and can them for the winter... We are not from a big city so this can be difficult some years... we often have to travel to find blueberries and cherries Blueberries fresh here are $1 a quart and Black Cherries are $3 a quart rather than the $6-8 a quart at the store

twin2

I think Icandoit needs to take us shopping with her. I have started thegrocerygame.com and it has helped on what I spend but with the prices going up so much I am acutally spending about the same every week for - 2 adults, 2 children (1 teenage), 1 cat, 1 dog, 1 fish and 3 rabbits. Usually close to $120.00, and that is being reserved on fresh fruit and veggies, and meat. I buy frozen veggies and usually just apples and bananas each week. Then you have to consider the rising gas prices too, especially if you have to drive far.:explode:

jbuehrer

I think Icandoit needs to take us shopping with her. I have started thecoupongame.com and it has helped on what I spend but with the prices going up so much I am acutally spending about the same for 2 weeks, 2 adults, 2 children (1 teenage), 1 cat, 1 dog, 1 fish and 3 rabbits. I would like to know where uwhuskygirl lives, milk here is almost $5.00 a gallon. (georiga)

Milk is about $5 here in Michigan. I buy Soy milk at $3 a half gallon and organic milk is about the same.

uwhuskygirl

I think Icandoit needs to take us shopping with her. I have started thecoupongame.com and it has helped on what I spend but with the prices going up so much I am acutally spending about the same for 2 weeks, 2 adults, 2 children (1 teenage), 1 cat, 1 dog, 1 fish and 3 rabbits. I would like to know where uwhuskygirl lives, milk here is almost $5.00 a gallon. (georiga)

I live in Seattle and just got my milk on Sunday for $3 a gallon.

kerrilucko

I see where you're coming from but......... Eating unhealthy is expensive too. I used to be a poor college student but please, think of all those 20$ pizzas u ordered for 1 night of munching or the 2 burgers for 6$ you picked up at A&W.

MontanaGirl

Yup milk here at Walmart is $4.85/gallon at Costco its $5.70 or so for 2 gallons. When we can get to Costco, we buy it there with a 12 y/o and a 4 y/o.

The cheese making kit sounds interesting and fun. The kids would love it!! We also have a little icecream maker so when we have free milk etc., we can make our own. So much better and healthier than buying it for the most part - cheaper too!! Do you have any more info about where to find the kits ms213804?

Helawat

Thanks for all the advice! It's just that living off $600.00 a month and paying for rent and utilities makes healthy eating seem almost impossible sometimes.

REB89

one suggestion i would have too is to not have too much meat. It's pretty expensive and there are plenty of other cheaper ways to get protein such as eggs and canned tuna. Just a suggestion!

littlespoon

Yup - when we move to the ranch I told hubby we are getting chickens and a milk cow!! The price of milk has gone up over $2 a gallon here and eggs have gone up like 40%. Its insane!! We will also have a large garden. Won't be there in time for that this year, but next year!!

I live in Perth Australia and our milk is $3.59 for 2 litres (thats just over half a gallon). Cheese is $10 a kilo!!
Crazy!!!