Why is healthy eating so expensive?

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  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
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    Eating healthy is NOT expensive. Atleast not for me but then again, I stick my but to meats and produce section and I stay away from the pre-packaged foods that say "Health food" or whatever

    source: http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=what_20_will_buy_at_the_drivethru_and_at_the_supermarket

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  • 77tes
    77tes Posts: 7,945 Member
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    Do a search -- Awhile back there were several threads that had 100's of really great suggestions.

    Healthy eating isn't really more expensive. You are eating less -- that's got to be cheaper. You are avoiding fast food -- that's cheaper. You are eating less meat -- and meat is the single most expensive item on your food bill. However, "stylish" eating is more expensive, so stick to tried and true old-school foods. Beans are cheap. I buy chicken breasts at Costco. I hit the farmers' market, and come home with so much healthy food for decent prices.
  • MrGarciasWifey
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    Eating healthy is NOT expensive. Atleast not for me but then again, I stick my but to meats and produce section and I stay away from the pre-packaged foods that say "Health food" or whatever

    source: http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=what_20_will_buy_at_the_drivethru_and_at_the_supermarket

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    LOVE ♥
  • iiiEllie
    iiiEllie Posts: 224 Member
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    Eating healthy is NOT expensive. Atleast not for me but then again, I stick my but to meats and produce section and I stay away from the pre-packaged foods that say "Health food" or whatever

    source: http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=what_20_will_buy_at_the_drivethru_and_at_the_supermarket

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    You do realize that pricing like that doesn't exist everywhere right?

    The first picture alone, strawberries where I'm from are 3.99$ a pound when ON SALE.
    1 pound of lean ground beef is 8$ when ON SALE
    Everything on that list is at least two times more expensive, up to 4 times more expensive where I'm located.

    As the pictures go on the items are even more expensive here. Ground turkey - I might as well cut off my arm and trade it instead of paying 12$ for it. I WISH we had prices like that.
  • magj0y
    magj0y Posts: 1,911 Member
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    A 5lb sack of potatoes is close to the same price of chips in my area.
    Get a rice maker and learn how to make foods such as beans, cous cous, and polenta.
    You can buy a 4 pack of frozen bread dough, thaw and cook. A big box of bisquick goes really
    really far, and you can add stuff to not make it taste so plain.

    Frozen produce will is also $$friendly. especially store brand.
    Buying stuff in bulk and learning how to make some food from scratch will make your wallet happy.
    I have found that eating many crappy foods more expensive.

    If you live in farm land, hit up the farmer's market, you can typically get good deals, especially
    with local produce that is in season and produce food all season long.

    **excess potatoes can be mashed and frozen.
  • ToughTulip
    ToughTulip Posts: 1,118 Member
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    @iiEllie

    Mind if I ask where you are from? Sounds so crazy high there!
    What are the prices for rice, beans, oats, and such? Those are my staples xD
    Curious :)
  • doorki
    doorki Posts: 2,611 Member
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    We buy our chicken and meat from Costco and vacuum seal it for the freezer. Also, have you looked at the calorie difference between "fat free" and Whole fat yogurt? It is often not that much of a difference so if the full fat is cheaper, just get that.
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
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    You do realize that pricing like that doesn't exist everywhere right?

    The first picture alone, strawberries where I'm from are 3.99$ a pound when ON SALE.
    1 pound of lean ground beef is 8$ when ON SALE
    Everything on that list is at least two times more expensive, up to 4 times more expensive where I'm located.

    As the pictures go on the items are even more expensive here. Ground turkey - I might as well cut off my arm and trade it instead of paying 12$ for it. I WISH we had prices like that.

    Ah ok. Well then, stick to eating KFC and dominoes everyday. I'm sure you're right and that stuff is cheaper than cooking your own meals

    As for people who don't like to make excuses, there are alot of options. A meal for me costs about 80 cents per meal (when I'm eating 5 meals a day). Chicken drumsticks, beans, rice, spices, farmers market, go outside and look for local growers. You'll find plenty of deals

    I used to spend about 15-20 bucks A DAY eating like crap. It didn't tasted good and wasn't good for me. Now I cook my own and eat out only once in a while. I'm a happy camper and I spend wayyy less on food
  • janeite1990
    janeite1990 Posts: 694 Member
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    My bill got cheaper when I started eating healthy. Like the pictures posted right before, I buy generic/store brands of many items. This saves a lot. I watch for meats that are just a day away from the sell-by date to get a discount, and then I cook it immediately or freeze it. I buy chicken breasts in bulk. We eat canned salmon some, which makes great baked patties and is cheap protein.

    Don't forget that if you have been eating out and and you cooking more, your restaurant budget needs to be included in your grocery shopping budget.
  • iiiEllie
    iiiEllie Posts: 224 Member
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    @iiEllie

    Mind if I ask where you are from? Sounds so crazy high there!
    What are the prices for rice, beans, oats, and such? Those are my staples xD
    Curious :)

    I'm from PEI, it's an Island on the east cost of Canada, takes about 2 1/2 hours to drive from end to end.

    Rice, beans, oats - It depends what kind you're buying, a large box of brown min rice is 12$ Haha.
    Most of the beans are only canned, those are pretty cheap, 2-3$ a can depending on the bean.
    I just bought two bags of quick oats, 1pound bags, 7$ for two.
  • gigiangelique
    gigiangelique Posts: 233 Member
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    Buy seasonal fruit/veggies Beans are high protien and CHEAP eggs are great! Also buy lean meat on sale a freese! and any who you will save $ on healh care in the long run
  • jkleman79
    jkleman79 Posts: 706 Member
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    The other way i look at this all the time is that it takes less REAL food to become as full and satisfied as it does to eat junk or processed food. Your body knows and understands what it is getting and knows when to say stop. They say it is nearly impossible to over eat real food. A little test I give people is make something from scratch and buy something processed that is similar to it and see how much you eat of each. You mau be surprised how much less food you eat of the real stuff. So yes you pay more but use half as much.
  • iiiEllie
    iiiEllie Posts: 224 Member
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    You do realize that pricing like that doesn't exist everywhere right?

    The first picture alone, strawberries where I'm from are 3.99$ a pound when ON SALE.
    1 pound of lean ground beef is 8$ when ON SALE
    Everything on that list is at least two times more expensive, up to 4 times more expensive where I'm located.

    As the pictures go on the items are even more expensive here. Ground turkey - I might as well cut off my arm and trade it instead of paying 12$ for it. I WISH we had prices like that.

    Ah ok. Well then, stick to eating KFC and dominoes everyday. I'm sure you're right and that stuff is cheaper than cooking your own meals

    I do cook my own meals, every goddamn day. - Hence why we spend 400$+ monthly to keep eating like this. Check previous posts before you try to pass judgement. :)
  • ModoVincere
    ModoVincere Posts: 530 Member
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    @iiEllie

    Mind if I ask where you are from? Sounds so crazy high there!
    What are the prices for rice, beans, oats, and such? Those are my staples xD
    Curious :)

    I'm from PEI, it's an Island on the east cost of Canada, takes about 2 1/2 hours to drive from end to end.

    Rice, beans, oats - It depends what kind you're buying, a large box of brown min rice is 12$ Haha.
    Most of the beans are only canned, those are pretty cheap, 2-3$ a can depending on the bean.
    I just bought two bags of quick oats, 1pound bags, 7$ for two.

    why min rice? Regular brown rice is dirt cheap.
  • PastryWizKid
    PastryWizKid Posts: 23 Member
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    I found that's it's not so expensive after I cut out all the junk food and fast food the food cost actually evens out plus when u weigh and portion all of you food most of the time it goes a long way but then again im buying food for two people
  • ToughTulip
    ToughTulip Posts: 1,118 Member
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    @iiEllie

    Mind if I ask where you are from? Sounds so crazy high there!
    What are the prices for rice, beans, oats, and such? Those are my staples xD
    Curious :)

    I'm from PEI, it's an Island on the east cost of Canada, takes about 2 1/2 hours to drive from end to end.

    Rice, beans, oats - It depends what kind you're buying, a large box of brown min rice is 12$ Haha.
    Most of the beans are only canned, those are pretty cheap, 2-3$ a can depending on the bean.
    I just bought two bags of quick oats, 1pound bags, 7$ for two.

    oh wow! I'm from the US in the midwest area, and 2 lbs of rice goes for $1.18 a bag, 1lb bag of beans is $1.28, and a giant canister of oats is $2.48.

    Difference in location can be crazy! :)
  • Kryssaxo
    Kryssaxo Posts: 54
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    You do realize that pricing like that doesn't exist everywhere right?

    The first picture alone, strawberries where I'm from are 3.99$ a pound when ON SALE.
    1 pound of lean ground beef is 8$ when ON SALE
    Everything on that list is at least two times more expensive, up to 4 times more expensive where I'm located.

    As the pictures go on the items are even more expensive here. Ground turkey - I might as well cut off my arm and trade it instead of paying 12$ for it. I WISH we had prices like that.

    Ah ok. Well then, stick to eating KFC and dominoes everyday. I'm sure you're right and that stuff is cheaper than cooking your own meals

    As for people who don't like to make excuses, there are alot of options. A meal for me costs about 80 cents per meal (when I'm eating 5 meals a day). Chicken drumsticks, beans, rice, spices, farmers market, go outside and look for local growers. You'll find plenty of deals

    I don't see anywhere in there that said "I've decided to just eat out everyday instead". Our prices here are ridiculous so paying the extra money to stay healthy is expensive, but it doesn't mean we just say **** it and eat out instead. We pay the extra to insure we are filling our bodies with good quality foods but we don't have the great prices that other people have. That is pure ignorance. She was simply stating that healthy eating isn't affordable everywhere.
  • iiiEllie
    iiiEllie Posts: 224 Member
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    Nothing is dirt cheap here. There's no regular brown rice in our stores. White only. We're insanely limited here with what you can buy. Our farmers market is 2-3 times more costly than shopping in store.
  • GnochhiGnomes
    GnochhiGnomes Posts: 348 Member
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    Would you rather pay slightly more now, or alot later on when you're having to fork over thousands in health care costs after years of eating tv dinners. Think of it that way.

    That doesn't work if you live in a country where you have a NHS. :ohwell:
  • magj0y
    magj0y Posts: 1,911 Member
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    Eating healthy is NOT expensive. Atleast not for me but then again, I stick my but to meats and produce section and I stay away from the pre-packaged foods that say "Health food" or whatever



    vre_buy1.jpg

    vre_buy2.jpg
    vre_buy3.jpg
    vre_buy5.jpg

    You do realize that pricing like that doesn't exist everywhere right?

    The first picture alone, strawberries where I'm from are 3.99$ a pound when ON SALE.
    1 pound of lean ground beef is 8$ when ON SALE
    Everything on that list is at least two times more expensive, up to 4 times more expensive where I'm located.

    As the pictures go on the items are even more expensive here. Ground turkey - I might as well cut off my arm and trade it instead of paying 12$ for it. I WISH we had prices like that.

    Kryssaxo,
    You live in a place that has a a different economy. However, It's hard to understand that all foods that are raw are more expensive than fast food, prepackaged foods such as potato chips, twinkies and ice cream.