Why is it cheaper to eat unhealthfully...
Replies
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My family is greek so we eat a lot of Lamb. My parents bought a lamb from a local farm, it was about 200 bucks, enough meat for the entire year. Since most lamb comes from New Zealand and is quite expensive in the store, it was a lot cheaper going this route and we supported our local farm.
:gasp: !!!! I'm jealous. I'm still looking for somewhere close by that has lamb (not to mention remembering to do so when it's "in season"). I love me some lamb when I can find it, though. nomnomnom
Dragonwolf how about 15 miles away?? http://www.jorgensen-farms.com/
I love you!
Granted, I hadn't been looking very hard (while it's one of those things of "I should find a place that has good lamb," it hasn't been the high priority things, you know?), so it's no surprise I missed it, and yeah, I know you probably took all of 30 seconds on Google, but this is even better than I expected! Honey, herbs, lamb, wool.... *drools*
I'm glad to help! I'm all about supporting local businesses.0 -
You get what you pay for. "Junk" is cheap. "Food" will nourish you. I can buy junk jewelry, junk clothing, a junk car, and junk furniture that will never quite do the trick, OR get myself something that I'll enjoy and will last for a long time. Too often I've settled for a quick fix and ended up paying more in the end as I've ended up not being satisfied. Same goes for junk food.... you're not satisfied so end up just spending more and more. Choose quality. You're worth the investment!0
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I find it SOOOOO much cheaper to prepare meals at home. AND! My food has a LOT less fat, sodium and carbs. You have to look at the portion price vs. the grocery bill. A bag of groceries can make a lot more meals than a bag of fast food. I can feed my family of 5 (3 teenagers) dinner for $10. Lunch is probably under $3/kid. I think I could even feed my family organic food for less than what take out for 5 would cost.0
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The OP's logic is flawed. For the price of a 1/4 lb cheeseburger meal at McDonalds, one can buy 1/2 lb ground round, 1/2 lb low fat cheese, and a bag of buns. Potatoes are dirt cheap. If you go all out and buy enough for 8 meals, the cost per meal is far less than the cost of the McDonalds meal, and the ingredients are a higher grade.0
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Eating healthier can be cheaper and more tasty than fast food. The problem is that it sometimes isn't "fast". Yeah..you can grab a protein bar, those are pretty healthy, and fast....but not cheap. When I'm talking about healthy food, I mean you're just going to have to do some actual cooking, some serious meal planning, and try some new foods. This makes it not even close to as easy as grabbing a Mickey D burger....but better for you, and more satisfying too. Nothing wrong with an .occasional fast food burger. But you can't do that every day and be eating healthy OR saving money.0
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Eating healthier can be cheaper and more tasty than fast food. The problem is that it sometimes isn't "fast". Yeah..you can grab a protein bar, those are pretty healthy, and fast....but not cheap. When I'm talking about healthy food, I mean you're just going to have to do some actual cooking, some serious meal planning, and try some new foods. This makes it not even close to as easy as grabbing a Mickey D burger....but better for you, and more satisfying too. Nothing wrong with an .occasional fast food burger. But you can't do that every day and be eating healthy OR saving money.
That reminds me of the "service triangle" that is common in my industry. It's something along the lines of you have three things that are in balance in a project - quality, speed (of completion), and price. If one goes up, one or both of the other two must go down to compensate.
In the case of eating healthy, you have pretty much the same thing. If you want super low prices, you're going to pay for it either in time (you have to spend the time to make things), and/or in quality (Walmart 75% lean ground beef from a CAFO, instead of Trader Joe's organic 93% lean ground beef), or you can pay more to have it super fast, but it's still low quality (ie - McDonald's).
It's all about balancing the three to get the best for whatever compromises you're willing or have to make.0 -
Short answer, government grants
see this article http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/22/farm-subsidies-junk-food_n_975711.html0 -
idk about you but paying 1 dollar for less than a fourth of a pound of meat.. or for 2.60 buy a whole pound of meat... fries are 1 dollar as well.. a months supply of brown rice or even white rice is about 2 dollars.. Its convenience over cost, if you look at it it is much cheaper to make meals at home.0
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It is simply not cheaper to eat unhealthy food.To prove a point, from my local grocery store:
1/2 gallon of Skim Plus - $3
Gallon of Whole Milk - $3.99
loaf of 100% whole grain bread (Arnold's) - $4.49
loaf of white bread - $1.99
Any reasonable person would just buy the cheaper version of those products, as the variation in nutrition is minimal and not worth the price differential. What should be compared instead is the price and nutritional value of a meal made from scratch versus prepackaged/takeaway food.
If you make all your meals from scratch, they work out significantly cheaper than unhealthy food!
What I do every Saturday morning is work out every meal I'm going to eat for the week. Then I go to the market (great quality and half the price of a supermarket) and buy all the raw ingredients to make those meals. I normally spend about AUD$100 which gives my wife and I 6 dinners and 6 lunches for the week (and the buying power in Australia is a lot less than the US). For example, minestrone soup is a regular at our table; it's really tasty, nutritious and it costs about $5 to make 6 serves!
If I bought a takeaway meal for my wife and I here, it would cost $25 for one meal and I'd be hungry in an hour.
Ok, you eat white bread and drink whole milk everyday and we'll see who loses weight.
I eat white bread and drink whole milk.
And I am lean and fit
your point?0 -
The OP's logic is flawed. For the price of a 1/4 lb cheeseburger meal at McDonalds, one can buy 1/2 lb ground round, 1/2 lb low fat cheese, and a bag of buns. Potatoes are dirt cheap. If you go all out and buy enough for 8 meals, the cost per meal is far less than the cost of the McDonalds meal, and the ingredients are a higher grade.
I'm not sure where you shop, but I cannot buy all that food for the cost of a cheeseburger meal at McDonalds.
Besides, you missed the OP's point. It's more than just about McDonalds. It's the fact that a bag of apples costs more than a bag of chips. A pound of lean meat costs more than a pound of non-lean meat. The healthier versions of foods, in general, do cost more.
Of course there are ways to plan and shop to keep the costs down. But for someone who has never done this, when you only have 30 minutes to get the grocery shopping done, it's cheaper to buy chef boyardee than it is to buy the meat, flour, tomotoes, etc. needed to make ravioli.0 -
To prove a point, from my local grocery store:
1/2 gallon of Skim Plus - $3
Gallon of Whole Milk - $3.99
loaf of 100% whole grain bread (Arnold's) - $4.49
loaf of white bread - $1.99
75% lean Ground beef (value size pack) - $3.89/lb
93% lean Ground beef (not available in a value pack size) - $5.79/lb
These are way more than a 30 cent difference. Again, this has nothing to do with the costs of long term health, etc.
I am just comparing apples to apples here, and the price differences are very obvious. But yet people keep saying this isn't true. Maybe it isn't true for you if you have access to farms and who knows what, but for many people, this is reality.
This annoyed me, mainly because I have never seen skim milk cost more per GALLON than whole. In fact it is usually less, and 2-1/2 gallons of anything almost always cost more than 1 whole SOOOOO from my local grocery store...lets compare apples to apples so to speak:
1 gallon Milk:
Skim $2.42
1% $2.49
2% $2.64
Whole $2.58
1/2 gallon Milk
Skim 2/$3 (sale)
1% 2/$3 (sale)
2% 2/$3 (sale)
Whole 2/$3 (sale)
Soy (store brand) $2.39
Almond (store brand) $2.49
Bread:
Cheap white sandwich bread $1.15
Cheap wheat sandwich bread $1.15
Country white bread (Natures Pride)- $2.89 (plus on sale this week Buy one get one free!)
Whole wheat bread (Natures Pride)- $2.89 (Same Sale)
Store brand version of Natures Pride (all types) $2.49 (but not on sale this week)
73% lean Ground beef - $2.99/lb
93% lean Ground beef - $4.99/lb
(BUT you are getting 20% more meat (because of the fat), so the price difference is about $1.50 not $2 /lb)0 -
When I visited America I found that grocery stores overcharge by a lot. $1.50 for a single green pepper? Yeah, ok, I got a 4-pack for $1.29 at home (Canada) yesterday! :grumble:
Try a farmer's market. You'll have to shop on pre-scheduled days, but you'll actually pay reasonable prices for good, wholesome food.
Thank you!! It's freaking ridiculous!
I guess it depends where you shop. I've never, in my life, seen a single green pepper priced that high.0 -
It is aggravating to know that is accurate. What we pay in "cheap" food because its affordable to most comes out of the healthcare costs later....0
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Basically fast food is pumped full of chemicals to make them last longer. It has a longer shelf life then fresh fruit and veg. Plus its mass produced by machines. The cheapest option is not always the best. However i have learned that growing my own fruit and veggies has many benefits. My kiddos enjoy getting involved, it is actually way cheaper, Looking after them with basic gardening duties also burns calories. Not to mentions its quite satisfying to sit and enjoy the fruits of your labour.0
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It's actually much much much cheaper to eat wholesome healthy foods. It will just take you a While to figure it out. It seems like a learning curve everyone has to go through.
^^^This! I spend way less at the market than I used to when I was buying junk food and prepackaged items.0 -
First off...im not sure that "unhealthfully" is a word...but, as the subject states: Why is it so much cheaper to eat crap than it is to buy healthy foods and prepare them yourself? You can go to McDonalds and buy a cheeseburger and fries for a lot cheaper than going to the grocery store and buying foods to make a meal. It just aggravates me...
You just need to learn how to make simply meals and how to stretch it out. If you do so it can become cheaper then fast food.0 -
The OP's logic is flawed. For the price of a 1/4 lb cheeseburger meal at McDonalds, one can buy 1/2 lb ground round, 1/2 lb low fat cheese, and a bag of buns. Potatoes are dirt cheap. If you go all out and buy enough for 8 meals, the cost per meal is far less than the cost of the McDonalds meal, and the ingredients are a higher grade.
I'm not sure where you shop, but I cannot buy all that food for the cost of a cheeseburger meal at McDonalds.
Besides, you missed the OP's point. It's more than just about McDonalds. It's the fact that a bag of apples costs more than a bag of chips. A pound of lean meat costs more than a pound of non-lean meat. The healthier versions of foods, in general, do cost more.
Of course there are ways to plan and shop to keep the costs down. But for someone who has never done this, when you only have 30 minutes to get the grocery shopping done, it's cheaper to buy chef boyardee than it is to buy the meat, flour, tomotoes, etc. needed to make ravioli.
Chef boyardee isnt that bad of a food besides the sodium content. Just have some veggies with it and you have a balance meal.0 -
Bumping to read later.0
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It's actually not cheaper to eat at McDonalds, it's only more convenient. If you're a family of 4, you could order off the 99 cent menu with everyone getting a coke, hamburger and fries - $3.00 a piece x 4 people = $12 for one meal feeds everyone. Take the same $12 and buy a bag of potatos, milk, onions, celery, cheese and chicken bullion and make potato soup. That potato soup, which is filling and satisfying, is much healthier than the hamburgers and fries and will feed the same family of 4 not just for one meal, but for two or possibly even three.
Add in the collateral damage to health due to long term consumption of junk food and you begin to see that fast food is not cheap at all, just easy.0 -
To prove a point, from my local grocery store:
1/2 gallon of Skim Plus - $3
Gallon of Whole Milk - $3.99
loaf of 100% whole grain bread (Arnold's) - $4.49
loaf of white bread - $1.99
75% lean Ground beef (value size pack) - $3.89/lb
93% lean Ground beef (not available in a value pack size) - $5.79/lb
These are way more than a 30 cent difference. Again, this has nothing to do with the costs of long term health, etc.
I am just comparing apples to apples here, and the price differences are very obvious. But yet people keep saying this isn't true. Maybe it isn't true for you if you have access to farms and who knows what, but for many people, this is reality.
This annoyed me, mainly because I have never seen skim milk cost more per GALLON than whole. In fact it is usually less, and 2-1/2 gallons of anything almost always cost more than 1 whole SOOOOO from my local grocery store...lets compare apples to apples so to speak:
1 gallon Milk:
Skim $2.42
1% $2.49
2% $2.64
Whole $2.58
1/2 gallon Milk
Skim 2/$3 (sale)
1% 2/$3 (sale)
2% 2/$3 (sale)
Whole 2/$3 (sale)
Soy (store brand) $2.39
Almond (store brand) $2.49
Bread:
Cheap white sandwich bread $1.15
Cheap wheat sandwich bread $1.15
Country white bread (Natures Pride)- $2.89 (plus on sale this week Buy one get one free!)
Whole wheat bread (Natures Pride)- $2.89 (Same Sale)
Store brand version of Natures Pride (all types) $2.49 (but not on sale this week)
73% lean Ground beef - $2.99/lb
93% lean Ground beef - $4.99/lb
(BUT you are getting 20% more meat (because of the fat), so the price difference is about $1.50 not $2 /lb)
Where do you live! I haven't seen milk under $3 on sale in years and bread isn't under $2 here. You may want to find out the area of the original poster because obviously it matters.
Now, I don't buy fast food anymore. I hate that a bag of apples and oranges is $6.99 (that was yesterday!). But I try to buy as little processed as possible. I use coupons, sometimes the farmers market and my church has fresh veggies donated sometimes. Luckily, my mother has a good sized garden:)0 -
I hear what you're saying. I think you just didn't state it well with the McDonald's reference.
Yes, if you're struggling to get by it's a lot easier and cheaper to make a family meal from a 99 cent box of mac and cheese then it is to work the produce section, let alone the organic part.
However, if you learn to shop in bulk instead of on demand, learn to cook in bulk and preserve, it gets easier. But, more importantly, if you can break away from the cravings for the bad stuff completely it gets even easier. I don't want the mac and cheese cuz it's crap. But even more important, I don't want the cheese - mac or not - cuz it's major crap. So yay! I can now leave the dairy behind. More money for the good stuff.
But even beyond that, if you truly, truly want to advocate for your own health and your body - and your family - stop even considering things like McDonalds. If you truly want to advocate, don't eat anything you didn't make yourself. Drive through is for banking, not nutrition.
The most helpful thing I've read yet!....My bf and I always eat out, so to be more healthy and "so we thought" save money we went to the store.....For chicken fajitas we got chicken breasts, veggies, cheese, tortillas, and some side I can't remember. All that was $30 something bucks....needless to say we continue to eat now, but buying in bulk does seem like good cost saving solution.0 -
It's actually much much much cheaper to eat wholesome healthy foods. It will just take you a While to figure it out. It seems like a learning curve everyone has to go through.
I agree with this
Chicken breast, oats, rice, beans, lentils all cheap
There are entire websites and blogs dedicated to learning how to shop and eat healthy, fresh foods from the local grocery store. Some of them are well worth reading.
Can you post a couple of the really good ones? I'd like to learn!
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When you make a full recipe at home with healthy foods you are most likely to get 4 + servings for around $10. At McDonalds you only get 1 maybe 2 servings + a pile of fats for that price. Unless eating off the $1 menu in which case you may order more just to fill you up. If you are cooking only for one it is probably cheaper. However if you cook a full recipe you can usually freeze the leftovers to be eaten at a different time in which case you are getting more food for your money than at McDonalds.0
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There are also a ton of websites that compare grocery ads to recipes. In fact, depending on your area, I have a friend who has a blog doing just that. She lives in the Raleigh, North Carolina area, so she uses those ads. I use her recipes. (Her site: http://www.coupon-kitchen.com/) Granted, they aren't always health conscious, but it's a start and we can always tweak
I also suggest, as some have already, planning your meals and trying to buy things to freeze. For example, I keep a bag of frozen chicken tenders in our freezer (about $7 a bag) and use it to make grilled chicken salads with. I can usually make 4-5 salads out of a bag, depending on if it is just the hubby and i (our 3 year old wont eat salad, but gets some of the chicken). And I also stock up on SeaBest frozen fish fillets (4-6 in a bag). These are great and come in all sorts of varieties. Our favorite is the tilapia or salmon. They thaw out quick and don't take long to fix. Also, look for coupons because they are out there and can be really good deals. 0 -
Studies have shown that, as a proportion of income, Americans spend far less than, say Europeans. Only around 10% of income, compared with around a third fifty years ago. The truth is that you need to spend more to get good quality food - just ask the French or the Italians.
And lean ground beef is more expensive because it's coming from a more expensive cut. Personally I'd use the fattier version to make hamburgers because you need the fat content to make them juicy. Just eat them less frequently!0 -
To prove a point, from my local grocery store:
...
Maybe it isn't true for you if you have access to farms and who knows what, but for many people, this is reality.
This annoyed me, mainly because I have never seen skim milk cost more per GALLON than whole. In fact it is usually less, and 2-1/2 gallons of anything almost always cost more than 1 whole SOOOOO from my local grocery store...lets compare apples to apples so to speak:
...
Where do you live! I haven't seen milk under $3 on sale in years and bread isn't under $2 here. You may want to find out the area of the original poster because obviously it matters.
Now, I don't buy fast food anymore. I hate that a bag of apples and oranges is $6.99 (that was yesterday!). But I try to buy as little processed as possible. I use coupons, sometimes the farmers market and my church has fresh veggies donated sometimes. Luckily, my mother has a good sized garden:)
My real point was that 1 gallon of whole milk does not cost less than 1 gallon of skim milk, likewise 1 loaf of a healthier version of the same brand/type of bread is not going to be that different in price. It doesn't matter where you live, the ratio of cost should be comparable, yes I expect corn to be cheaper in Illinois since that is where it comes from and potatoes to be cheaper in Idaho but overall bread is going to be the same price relative to itself in a given location. $1 in one city is worth more than it is in another, that is part of living in a country as large as ours however if something cost $1 in VA and the healthier version is 30% more then I would expect the same item to cost roughly 30% more than the unhealthy option in another location (i.e if $2 then $2.60)
I live in Virginia, currently, I also compared the prices to those where my mom lives (KY) and some friends (Atlanta) and while they obviously are different (KY lower, ATL higher) they are all comparable differences between the healthy option and the unhealthy one. but just so everyone is happy:
According to the food emporium website (I have no clue what level grocery store this is, I just picked one in New York City (since food prices there are among the highest in the US) that had prices posted for online ordering. I used the 14th and Park location)
Natures Pride Bread-All types-- $3.99
Generic Americas Choice White Bread $1.59
Do not have Generic Wheat Brad posted
Milk
1gallon
whole $3.59
2% $3.59
1% $3.59
skim $3.59
Milk
1/2gallon
whole $1.99
2% $1.99
1% $1.99
skim $1.99
Almond $3.99
Soy $4.49
Beef
Ground Round $4.29/lb (2.99 if a member) fat % not listed
80% ground $6.99/lb
Butcher ground beef $7.99/lb fat % not listed but would be the healthier option in my book, totally worth $1
And to take it 1 step further:
Eat Smart Veggie Chips $3.99/7oz bag
Goya Plantain Chips $1.89/5oz bag
UTZ potato chips-Kettle cooked $3.49/8.5oz (this is the cheapest brand they have)
UTZ Ripple Chips $.99/3.75 oz bag0 -
Don't worry ...SOMEONE here hears what you are saying ! (Me!)
I wasn't debating the reason WHY these items are more expensive. I understand why they are more money. But everybody keeps overlooking these facts!Everybody (or most) are missing the point!
A package of 93% lean ground beef is MORE EXPENSIVE than the same size package of 80% lean beef.
A package of multigrain or whole wheat bread is more expensive than a loaf of White wonder bread.
A gallon of skim milk is more expensive than a gallon of whole milk.
These are straight up facts - same package sizes, but cheaper for the "less healthy" items.
How can you say that isn't true??
I am not talking about how much it costs overall to feed my family with healthy foods, vs. fast food.
I'm talking about the one-to-one comparision of buying these healthy items vs. unhealthier items.
That's because it's more expensive for a company to use real ingredients instead of man-made chemical *kitten*. It costs more or them to use real ingredients, so they pass that on to the consumer. That's why it's important to avoid processed food as much as possible and just cook it yourself!
And as far as milk goes, I've never seen skim cost more. But, it's possible since it requires more processing.
I don't choose to overlook these facts, I just choose to make the investment in my health and my longevity instead. I'd rather pinch pennies elsewhere (e.g. entertainment budget, clothing, no cable etc).
THAT"S NOT WHAT I"M SAYING.
Don't worry ...SOMEONE here hears what you are saying ! (Me!)0 -
The OP's logic is flawed. For the price of a 1/4 lb cheeseburger meal at McDonalds, one can buy 1/2 lb ground round, 1/2 lb low fat cheese, and a bag of buns. Potatoes are dirt cheap. If you go all out and buy enough for 8 meals, the cost per meal is far less than the cost of the McDonalds meal, and the ingredients are a higher grade.
I'm not sure where you shop, but I cannot buy all that food for the cost of a cheeseburger meal at McDonalds.
Besides, you missed the OP's point. It's more than just about McDonalds. It's the fact that a bag of apples costs more than a bag of chips. A pound of lean meat costs more than a pound of non-lean meat. The healthier versions of foods, in general, do cost more.
Of course there are ways to plan and shop to keep the costs down. But for someone who has never done this, when you only have 30 minutes to get the grocery shopping done, it's cheaper to buy chef boyardee than it is to buy the meat, flour, tomotoes, etc. needed to make ravioli.
I agree with this...0 -
fit people say its cheaper to eat healthy
overweight people say its not
discuss0 -
fit people say its cheaper to eat healthy
overweight people say its not
discuss
I'll chime in here....Fit people know that they do not need to buy the junk and overweight people are looking for as many excuses as possible to not eat healthy!0
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