Healthy foods ARE more expensive.

I would try farmers markets. All organic and locally grown, usually fairly priced. I live in Washington BTW

trader joes and sprouts markets (maybe called sunflower in NV) are pretty good.... they have double advertisement wednesdays which are awesome!

Eat different types of fruits and vegetables when they are season and they will be a lot cheaper.

It is summer where I am so things like tomatoes and avocado are really cheap and at their peak, however I never buy those things in winter as they are way too expensive and the quality sucks.

i know leaner meat is more expensive now that i switched to it,BUT SO WORTH IT!

Recently I happened to go to Walmart and a local grocery chain. I was always under the impression was much cheaper, until this trip. What I noticed is perishable items like apples, avocados, and other fruits and vegetables were 25-65% LESS at the grocery chain. Walmart on the other hand was cheaper on non perishables. It may pay to shop around a little bit.

Farmers markets are over for the year in Ca. They end now until Mar of next year. The reason produce is so expensive right now is because nothing grown in the northern hemisphere is in season. So summer fruit is being imported from S America... Much more expensive to ship and for you to buy. If Walmart is to expensive try Target. Here in S Ca they are about the cheapest around. Clip coupons and buy sale items.

I'm in Southern California, too, and there are still farmer's markets by me! I know at least the one in Mission Viejo is still running and also Tanaka Farms still has their produce stands open. Though they are both closed for the next two weeks due to Christmas.

I agree, especially in terms of calorie per dollar. It's a lot cheaper to buy 2,000 calories worth of 'junk food' than it is to buy 2,000 calories worth of lean meats and fresh veggies. That's why you have to find the middle ground. There's really no need for expensive, organic, farm-raised stuff. Canned and frozen veggies are just fine too. A box of poptarts in your grocery buggy isn't going to kill you. Everybody on MFP has suddenly gotten so obsessive over eating 'clean' it seems, but I just aim for balanced.

Frozen fruit and veggies are almost as good for you as fresh and cheaper than out of season produce. Beans, lentils and tofu are WAY cheaper than beef. Try substituting them occasionally.

My results are far different. I keep track of my household expenses and my spreadsheet is updated through the end of November. I still need to do December and won't until the month is over.

I started buying healthier foods for myself at the beginning of September, which means I've spent three full months swapping in fresh fruits and vegetables, yogurt, and other healthier foods (like certain canned and frozen vegetables and vegetable drinks) for what by and large had been processed foods and sweets.

I took my average grocery expense for the first eight months of the year (pre-change; add the 8 months and divide by 8) and the average for the past three months (post-change; add the 3 months and divide by 3). My average grocery expense post-change comes to 41% less than it had been before.

That's close to half off my grocery bill from changes in my food habits alone. I also buy groceries for a second person, whose eating habits remain the same as before.

Part of the decrease comes from the fact that I am just plain eating less food than I used to. Switching from processed to fresh foods also removed many of my food cravings, so I don't feel as hungry as I used to.

farmer's market. produce is usually cheaper if you buy local.
as far as organics if that is something you are looking into, it is not necessary to purchase things that have a strong peel organic (like bananas, onions, avocados, etc).
buy fruits and veggies that are in season, they are cheaper.
i usually get avocados for a dollar each at shoprite.
compare flyers for stores before you go out and purchase to find the best deals
if possible, if you have a yard or anything, grow your own produce as well

Rice and beans? Cents a pound.

Someone mentioned hispanic markets. Great tip! Actually, any place white people don't shop will have produce at least half priced a regular chain grocery store. It's ridiculous. And the selection is way better for produce! Try asian markets, persian markets, and hispanic markets. All excellent whole food cheap cheap cheap.

frozen fruits and veggies are cheaper and are just as nutritious, if not more so..they are frozen at peak quality, fresh from the field, whereas fresh stuff that's out of season in your area is often shipped in from thousands of miles away and has therefore been sitting around and wasting away for awhile.
also some healthy items like eggs, yogurt, beans, lentils, quinoa, etc. are super super cheap. and you usually get multiple meals out of any one unit of buying something so it often evens out ultimately (i.e. one pack of chicken breasts makes about 4-6 servings of chicken, so it might cost $7, but each meal will only have max 2 dollars worth of chicken in it)...plus a lot of the stuff that makes up the bulk of frozen dinners is super cheap to buy for yourself and assemble, like rice and pasta and the aforementioned frozen veggies. the actual amount of meat can end up being really tiny.
also, for meat (and produce that holds up under freezing), go to a warehouse store (e.g. Costco) and buy in BULK and then freeze stuff. I have a giant bag of chicken in my freezer that could probably make me at least 8 meals for like half the cost of buying in the grocery store, and it will last for as long as I need it to.
also, if you really want to go the extra mile, you can try talking to your grocery (I've only known this to work with a locally owned co-op, but you can certainly try with a chain store) about striking a deal where they give you the produce that they've deemed unsellable. they throw TONS of stuff away every day if it's bruised or nearing overripeness. I have a cousin who used to work produce and he would always end up bringing home entire cases of mangos and stuff every day because they were just giving them away in the back. drove my aunt crazy, but who doesn't want free mangos? well, I don't, because I don't like mangos. but I gather that most people do

Eggs are pretty cheap, and potatoes are too - two bucks for a kilo of white potatoes and (unfortunately) six bucks for a kilo of sweet potatoes.
Offal is REALLY cheap, too. Animal heart/liver/kidney/brains/etc are dirt cheap and taste amazing, provided you have the guts to try them.

EDIT: Wow. I see what I did there. O.O