Why is healthy eating so expensive?
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Your prices in NS are MUCH cheaper than here.
Our chicken breast is no where near 5$ When it's on sale it IS 5.49 a pound. Otherwise it's double that.
A head of lettuce at our superstore is 3.99
Berries are horribly overpriced even though we grow most of them here.
When you get into healthy options it cost a ton more.
NS has a lot more options for shopping than we do. Cosco for example, which we are expecting here next year (yay)
WOW that is high, I guess it depends on where you live I can get chicken breast on sale for $1.99 lb, lettuce for $10 -
First off, you need to define what is 'healthy'.
Me, unless I see some real evidence (scientific studies etc), I won't be paying a premium for it.
There's plenty of evidence to show that more calories = more weight.
The evidence towards specific foods tends to be a lot more sketchy.
I'd generally say the expense only comes in if you want the food to be quick, healthy AND cheap.
If you just want healthy and cheap there's a massive variety of things you can try.
As above - cuts of pork can be bought cheaply and you can cut the fat off.
Keep an eye out for deals on lean mince and beef you can cut the fat off.
Turkey is a good shout over chicken to keep the cost down.
There's a large range of cheap vegetables, pasta and rice available.
Consider extra seasoning and stronger ingredients (say some raw onion in a salad) to make up for some of the taste that can come from fat.
3 months ago I was 16 stone. Now I'm just hovering around 13 stone - though am now eating a bit more and trying to sustain/grow some muscle.
One of my staples for losing weight was Kershaws ready meals. £1.25 each (4 for £5); I chose the ones that had 400 calories or less. Fat under 17g.
High salt content; but I don't suffer from high blood pressure, so it's not 'unhealthy' for me.
One for breakfast, one in the evening and maybe a subway at lunch (Turkey breast and ham), consider adding some extra salad etc.0 -
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.
That makes sense. I live in L.A. area, so produce isn't high and is available year-round. I've always wanted to visit PEI since reading the Anne of Green Gables books. I have heard that living on an island is terribly expensive. It's like that in Hawaii, too.0 -
It's really disappointing to be on a website were people are supposed to support you and then ask you about fast food prices. Is that an intentional slap in the face or just people trying to be rude and encourage us to buy that over healthier options?
The reason it was asked was because if the health foods are costing so much AND the fast foods are costing so much, then either way you're paying alot so, and this I'm sure you will consider rude too, suck it up and deal with higher cost or move.
I came from another country where I can spend $10 and buy an entire months grocery for me and another person and eat very well. You have no idea how much it hurt when I had to pay 100 to 200 a month for groceries. But you have to adopt to your surroundings. You have to find ways. I had to find ways to lower my grocery bill because if I kept buying healthy food at normal cost I would be broke and if I ate outside or unhealthy everyday I would be 600 lbs now.
Nobody is trying to slap you in the face, this is a discussion and to be honest, you're getting extremely defensive over nothing
It is rude because I never once said I refused to pay it. We were simply stating that not EVERYWHERE is affordable. I'd like to know where I complained about it and said I refused to pay it. Just pointing out that although you might be able to shop for health bulk foods cheaper, that not everyone can. But again, please point out in anything I said that I refuse to pay it and would rather eat fast food to save money. And yes, I do get defensive because I'm the one living in my area. Not you, so I'm aware of what I can obtain for what price and when it's not worth it. I dislike people trying to tell me that there's ways when they aren't living in a location that I am. When another person from my location is saying the same thing, then I would assume that I'm not the only one with this issue. It's easy to say "Hey! This works for me!" but when you don't know the economy or surroundings of a place, then don't state opinions like they're fact, because it's not so. ALL that I'm saying is it's not cheap to eat healthy here. But we put out the extra cash to ensure we stay healthy. That's all.0 -
It's really disappointing to be on a website were people are supposed to support you and then ask you about fast food prices. Is that an intentional slap in the face or just people trying to be rude and encourage us to buy that over healthier options?
The reason it was asked was because if the health foods are costing so much AND the fast foods are costing so much, then either way you're paying alot so, and this I'm sure you will consider rude too, suck it up and deal with higher cost or move.
I came from another country where I can spend $10 and buy an entire months grocery for me and another person and eat very well. You have no idea how much it hurt when I had to pay 100 to 200 a month for groceries. But you have to adopt to your surroundings. You have to find ways. I had to find ways to lower my grocery bill because if I kept buying healthy food at normal cost I would be broke and if I ate outside or unhealthy everyday I would be 600 lbs now.
Nobody is trying to slap you in the face, this is a discussion and to be honest, you're getting extremely defensive over nothing
It is rude because I never once said I refused to pay it. We were simply stating that not EVERYWHERE is affordable. I'd like to know where I complained about it and said I refused to pay it. Just pointing out that although you might be able to shop for health bulk foods cheaper, that not everyone can. But again, please point out in anything I said that I refuse to pay it and would rather eat fast food to save money. And yes, I do get defensive because I'm the one living in my area. Not you, so I'm aware of what I can obtain for what price and when it's not worth it. I dislike people trying to tell me that there's ways when they aren't living in a location that I am. When another person from my location is saying the same thing, then I would assume that I'm not the only one with this issue. It's easy to say "Hey! This works for me!" but when you don't know the economy or surroundings of a place, then don't state opinions like they're fact, because it's not so. ALL that I'm saying is it's not cheap to eat healthy here. But we put out the extra cash to ensure we stay healthy. That's all.
lol0 -
my food budget (b/l/d + 2 snacks) is £40/week ( for just me)
i don't know if that is good or bad.
i try to have 2 veges with every meal and a cheapish snack hummus and oatcakes ricecakes and homemade guacamole etc
i make stuff in bulk and freeze portions and have the same thing for a while ( make logging easier and i eat less because by the 3rd day it's not exciting! and then once i have a freezer full i have a few weeks of mix and match freezer meals - but i freeze everything. i but a pack of bagels and will have half for b/fast and the other half goes in the freezer ready for toasting another day!
i never buy yougurts as i don't like the taste of artificial sugar instead i buy big pots of 0% greek yogurt and portion it out with a bit of honey some nuts and frozen berries ( top tip - if you get tray of frzen berries once you open the trays put it into t bag and tie it up this will prevent it icing and clumping)
in the uk check out http://scrapbook.channel4.com/programmes/superscrimpers
some of the tips are quite good such as adding oats when you fry off mince for spag boll / chilli etc to bulk it out make it go further.
i find if i make everything myself it is OK budget wise but if i start buying processed packaged foods you ad on ££
also grocery shopping at a market can save you up to 60% and if you know weights before hand ( i.e plan and shopping list) you can get only what you want and not a packet of however much the supermarket wants to sell you = less waste!0 -
I have the answer...Co-Op! This lady at my husbands work told him about Bountiful Baskets. We LOVE it! ♥ I encourage everyone to see if they have one in your area. When I initially signed up I was reluctant mainly because of the "unknown". I wasn't sure how much we would get for the money we were paying. IT IS WORTH THE $15! You get more food, fresh food, for $15 from the co-op than you could ever go an buy at the store. Plus they use local farmers as much as possible. They even have the option to upgrade your basket to organic for $10 more!! http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/
I love this idea..but they aren't in MN
Makes me so sad, I'd join in a heartbeat!0 -
hopefully this doen't come across wrong.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.
invite mainland friends to stay and charge them in bulk items such as brown rice and other staples!
:-)0 -
Where I live in the middle east because of importing etc the prices are crazy! It's the equivalent of 30p for a chocolate bar or can of drink and unhealthy crap and about £6 for a small box of strawberries!!! Fish is really expensive too if you want like salmon! Makes me cross0
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Eating health is more expensive if you take out the staples.
The supermarkets don't help if you want to buy the healthy versions of your favorite foods by putting a premium on them up to 50% more.
Some supermarket are worse than others. Asda will reduce the price of their seasonal fruit and veg but other don't reduce but offer it on 2 for1 special eg: buy1kg of carrots and get another 1kg free. With the best will in the world most families would struggle to get through almost 5lb of carrots in a week before they go off.
I'm lucky where I live because I have a market and lots of ethnic shops and their fruit and veg is over half the price of the supermarkets. A red pepper in any of the supermarkets is 80p but 4 for £1 on the market.
Lots of mothers work full time and haven't got the luxury of popping down to the market every other day and rely on the big four.0 -
for the yogurt, buy the big tubs of it instead of the single servings. I used to buy single servings of everything because it's easier, and it is, but more expensive as well. What's is quorn or whatever, and what's wrong with meat?0
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When veggies are on sale, stock up and freeze them! I do all my cutting on Sundays so my veggies don't go bad. If bell peppers are on sale, I freeze them. Try canned veggies, frozen. Not as good as fresh, but better than chips and fries!0
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I hear you. I have a family and the other day I had gone to the shops to buy chicken, vegetables, herbs, and some fresh fruit for afters - it came to just under £30 - this was enough for one meal. I could have bought a giant pizza and bag of oven chips for £5!!!
sometimes we have to make some compromises I guess. x0 -
Can you pair up with anyone else in your area, then order what you want in bulk and have it shipped in? If the bulk price is cheap enough, then it might be worth the shipping cost. This would probably work best with staples like dry rice, beans, etc, but it might work for fresh and frozen goods too. Basically, you'd cut out the middle-man (your store) if it works.
If you know someone coming to visit (or who frequently travels to/from) places with cheaper prices, you might also be able to have them make purchases for you and bring them to you (possibly for a small fee). My extended family live in a very rural area, so while prices are somewhat of an issue, the bigger issue for them is variety. If we travel to see them in summer, we make sure to bring fresh peaches for example. (The sight of small round globes with dark pits did briefly freak out an airport security x-ray operator on one trip. Never knew fresh peaches could look so dangerous. She had a good chuckle when she opened the box to see what on earth we were carrying.) Other times, we make bring sauces or other items that we can easy pick up and, with a little care, take with us to them. We've even shipped huge 50lb bags of pecans in the shells!
When I was in high school, the marching band had a great deal on winter fruit from a vendor down in Florida, so, yep, we even ordered band fruit to go directly from our vendor to ship to family out west. I'm told it arrived timely and was not over-ripe and was the best quality grapefruit and oranges they had all season.
On the flip side, my grandpa has sent us home with a cooler packed to the brim with frozen beef because they raise it there, have an area butcher cut it up as directed, and then pack it up in a deep freezer in the garage for the rest of the year.0 -
I hear you. I have a family and the other day I had gone to the shops to buy chicken, vegetables, herbs, and some fresh fruit for afters - it came to just under £30 - this was enough for one meal. I could have bought a giant pizza and bag of oven chips for £5!!!
sometimes we have to make some compromises I guess. x
Tell me about it. I think I shop at the same shop you do
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Buy in season, in bulk...take a day aside to cook things you can freeze like chili, vegetable lasagna (light cheese, substitute noodles with long slices of zuchhini, moussaka, stew, soups...etc.
It takes some time, but is really worth it in the end.
There are also a lot of veggies that you can just blanch quick and freeze for later use.
Good luck, and enjoy!0 -
I think we have to view it differently. In the US as a nation we spend only about 6% of our income on food (well, the study I read was from 2007 so may be slightly different now.) That is really low seeing that eating good food is one of the most important things we can do for our health. I think of it as health insurance. You can pay now or pay later. If you eat crappy cheap food now, eventually you will pay for it with medications and co-pays from poor health.
I would give up hair appointments, new clothes, entertainment before I gave up quality food...which is why I am sporting 6 inch roots at the moment, haha.....what? It's ombre.
Hahaha
I spend about 25% of our income on food (fam of 4) but we cut costs on a lot of things to be able to do so. I also can't afford gym or exercise classes (except maybe the occasional yoga groupon or something) but I can do things like run around my neighborhood for free.
I find that staying around the "rim" of the grocery store keeps the bill lower too. Produce foods and plant based foods are generally a lot cheaper than the packaged crap in the middle. I do get some bulk stuff from Amazon (like the organic brown rice that I like, it's about 30% cheaper buying 5 at once from Amazon.) I like vitacost too. They have a great referral program too where I get $10-20 off my orders frequently. (Free shipping over $50 is great too.)0 -
Revamping my shopping MO helps. I find it easier to stop by the grocery store a couple times a week and buy fresh fruits and veggies... Spending maybe $15 each time. I used to go to Wal-Mart and get a cart and fill it up once every two weeks on crap foods and I felt like that drained my wallet and the produce wouldn't last.
Personally, I also feel like the idea fresh or healthy food is "expensive" is propaganda. I'm not going to get all conspiracy theorist about it, but I think the mentally should be that junk food is just cheap. You pay for what you get.0 -
I think we have to view it differently. In the US as a nation we spend only about 6% of our income on food (well, the study I read was from 2007 so may be slightly different now.)
Surely those results are skewed by the incomes of the very rich, who will naturally be spending a very low percentage of their income on food, because their income is so high. The majority of people, surely, couldn't really afford to spend as little as 6% of their income on food. For someone who gets a monthly income of $1,000, for instance, that would simply be $60 a month.
Surely it's the amount of money, rather than the percentage, that is meaningful. If someone is earning $10,000 a month, 6% would be $600, which would be an unnecessarily large amount of money to spend on monthly groceries..0 -
Nice options are always...
Chicken a whole one will save money. However the breasts arent that much more expensive
Tuna
Frozen Tilapia I saw a big bag at walmart the other day for like $4
Rice and Beans (pinto, kidney, white, navy, ect)
Turkey
Ham (I know a lot of people will cringe on this but you can get a lot of fairly lean protein for little money, relatively) (high in sodium but 1g of fat to 19g protein)
Peanut Butter
Of course some nice lean beaf and pork steaks
Dairy
I can buy a ton of veggies at walmart for <$15 inculding tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, cucumbers. We also get a lot of our veggies from costco like romain which saves money
Look for local farmer's markets
Canned and frozen fruits and vegetables are also inexpensive
It can be done just takes more planning, time, and a bit of creativity. Tonight were making shrimp stir-fry. I'm using part of the bulk frozen we bought $15 and canned grean beans, chopped onions, and any other veggies I can scrounge up. It will be a nice filling dinner for a little price.0
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