Why is it more expensive to eat healthy??

I found that when I first started out I was wasting a lot of food and money because things "sounded good" or "looked good," but I couldn't eat it all before it went bad. (I also live alone -- so I know it can be tough to finish things before they go bad!) I also had big plans to make X, Y, or Z, and would often not end up doing it because life got in the way. I've really had to make an effort to realistically look at what I will be able to eat each week. (I go grocery shopping once a week.)

I love fresh vegetables, so I cycle mine each week. Initially I bought everything -- bell pepper, tomatoes, mushrooms, cucumber, carrots, zucchini, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. I could never finish it all and wasted so much money. Now I pick two or three each week and limit it to that. I also started bringing some of them with me to work to snack on so they won't go to waste. Same with fruit -- I love fresh fruit, but now I buy maybe two items of fresh fruit each week -- i.e. a thing of blueberries and a few peaches, or a few kiwis and a thing of raspberries. I had to realistically start looking at how much I could eat before it would spoil. Frozen vegetables can be great and cheap, though. I love frozen corn and asparagus as side dishes for dinner. Look for sales and stock up. Each bag is usually multiple servings. Also keep an eye out for sales on non-perishable staples, like canned black beans.

I'm not a big meal planner (and could never do it to the detail that some people do), but before I go shopping I generally think about my week and how much I will eat. Is there anything in the freezer or pantry that I can use? How many meals will I be eating at home? How many salads do I plan on eating? Do I have a protein for each dinner? Do I need snacks for work this week? Am I packing my lunch this week? What one or two recipes do I plan to try this week? Etc... This really helps keep me limited on how much I buy. Unless something non-perishable is on sale or I need to replenish a staple in my cupboard, I generally only try to buy enough to get me through the week. (I realize it's probably cheaper to buy in bulk, but I don't really have the freezer space for it.)