Healthy foods ARE more expensive.

Just gotta know what to buy.

Avocados are expensive anywhere you go. Gotta stick to the cheap stuff! Lettuce, beans, potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes, etc. Beef is especially expensive, but not always "healthy." Check out chicken. I can typically get like 5 chicken breasts for about 7 bucks.

Fruit will be expensive depending on if its in season or not. Same with veggies. Also if its regional. Mangos, for example, arent grown in the US, theyre imported, so theyre more expensive than say apples from Washington. You should always try to buy whats in season and local.

In the end, like everything else you buy at the store, you gotta keep an eye out for sales and specials. You cant always buy what you want to buy and expect the best price. Sometimes you just need to buy whats in season and work your meals around that.

I think you have to be creative with produce. Mangos are not in season so you will definitely have a hard time finding tasty and cheap mangos. Look for seasonal fruits and veggies and use them. Besides, its more fun this way.

Like others said, look for farmers market too. During summer you will see small stalls all over the country where you can buy super cheap fruits and veggies. Take advantage of that!

As for healthy foods being expensive. First, you have to define "healthy foods". Many on this site do not consider ANY foods unhealthy (includes McD's, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut) however judging by your post, I think its safe to assume you're referring to home cooked foods as healthy. When I used to eat out often, I could easily spend $20 in a day for food. A trip to a burger joint could EASILY run me close to $10 and assuming 2 times a day meal, its $20. Wen I cook at home, I can eat all kinds of meats, breads, fruits and veggies for that price and it'll last me at least 3 days including breakfast. I never really ate TV dinners because those just taste gross

Hope some of the posts helped. Good luck

I live in Allen, TX and mainly shop at Sprouts Farmers Market, Market Street and Asia World Market. Asian markets generally are the cheapest all-year-round but the other farmers markets have weekly bargains on all sorts of food items, too.

Healthy food is more expensive than processed food for the most part, but the money you save now eating processed foods you will pay later in medical expenses. 
Buy as much fresh foods as your budget allows, preferably organic, like salad greens, in-season fruit and vegetables.
Can or jar (low sodium): Tomatoes, beans, pasta sauces, tuna, salmon, sardines
Frozen: Off-season vegetables and fruits, chicken, lean meats.
And since you are eating less to lose weight anyways, you are already saving money.

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

not sure or never heard of farmers markets and what they are. I'll google it, thanks. I live in Nevada here lol

They have them in Nevada. Definitely google it and also see if there are any health food stores in your area - like Whole Foods, etc.

Whole Foods is incredibly expensive.

Whole Foods IS quite expensive. In my opinion. it's worth it, but I don't spend money on much of anything besides food. I agree that a produce co-op would be cheaper, and everything is in season. Sometimes they'll deliver you something like 6 pounds of lettuce, but, hey, you get to test out every recipe using that particular item. If you have Trader Joe's in your area, that's worth checking out too.

Also, is it possible you were looking at organic food? That is more on average, even though I find that it tastes better and often lasts longer. If you truly can't afford organic, if it were me, I would skip that and still get the produce. Just make sure you wash very thoroughly any veg/fruit skin you plan to eat. (I also wash things like avocados, since you cut through the skin and into the fruit, but I think most people don't.)

Also, if you buy bulk rice, beans, peas, nuts, etc, they're much, much less expensive.

In Houston, I shop Costco, HEB and Fiesta only now. The other grocery stores (Krogers Albertsons,Target) haver really good sales, but in general, the stuff I buy regularly is always more costly.

I am addicted to avocados, but when in off season, i just get my fix on them at lunch when I am eating a business lunch!

Also, I have learned to buy Greek Yogurt (fage 0%) in the large tub rather than the individual servings.

I have learned to only buy what we need and look for what is in season and it seems like I keep getting more and more basic. I don't need Jelly for our toast anymore, we get our sweet fix with fruit at breakfast. I don't buy a large thing of fresh berries unless I intend to eat them in the next 24 hours - I just buy the flash frozen ones on sale. I buy bananas and peel and freeze half of them immediatly for smoothies later.

I am going to try the delivery option on fresh fruits and veggies...

BTW, because I am not "mindlessly" buying junk food and stuff "just in case" our grocery bill has done down about 25 to 50%...

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

not sure or never heard of farmers markets and what they are. I'll google it, thanks. I live in Nevada here lol

http://nevadagrown.com/eventcategory/farmers-markets/

I don't live in Nevada, but where I live I spent about $30-$60 a week for two and we only shop at healthy food stores/farmer's markets. I also third the suggestion about Asian food markets, the prices are really reasonable in most of those.

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.

This. And buy frozen. They are generally cheaper and full of nutrients.

Vegetables and that don't seem to be too steep at the moment, where I am at least.

But spelt flour and coconut oil on the other hand - and other healthies of that nature - are so expensive I really can't find a way to purchase them without anxiety of having no more money

Have you looked at online stores? Amazon has a rather extensive grocery section, since it's winter you would not need to worry about it going rancid. As far as flour, I like http://www.nuts.com/cookingbaking/flours/ because wheat-free flours tend to be more expensive where I live. http://www.nuts.com/cookingbaking/grains/spelt/flour.html

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

not sure or never heard of farmers markets and what they are. I'll google it, thanks. I live in Nevada here lol

They have them in Nevada. Definitely google it and also see if there are any health food stores in your area - like Whole Foods, etc.

Farmers markets are the best! I love going to those, I also recently met someone where I work that has a huge garden and we make a deal that way and I buy veggies from him. Also I live in the "country", so there are tons of farms and barns, and 85% of them have a garden and sell their veggies on the side of the road in front of their house for cheap!

3 dollars on an avocado, or 3 dollars on a soda & a chocolate bar? I know what I'd choose for a snack... :indifferent: Your health is most important!

I know my walmart doesn't carry organic, but your mights have?
At mine its 97 cents for an avocado and about 1.68 for a pound of apples.
At my organic market its about 3 for an avocado and 3 or 4 for apples..

As with any grocery shopping, look for the deals that week (beware deals on produce
usually mean it's about to go off). Check out the frozen fruits and vegetables.

trust me i cant eat clean 100% of the time. because i love to have something unhealthy once in awhile too. But i do love healthy foods and im trying to find a good balance too. Plus by the price of clean eating i cant eat healthy all the time. I just want to try to eat clean MOST of the time. Thanks for your advice!

See this link regarding "eating clean:"

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/822501-halp-my-sandwich-isn-t-clean

You don't need to eat organic and frozen is your friend when it comes to veggies. They flash freeze vegetables within hours of picking so they actually have more nutrition than the fresh stuff that's been riding around in a truck for days. You don't need to buy a lot of meat. A small piece sliced up and added to a stir fry or salad goes a long way. Frozen fish fillets, look for the cheaper kinds, here I can always get Pollock fillets at a very reasonable price. A can of tuna can go a long way in a casserole with some noodles. Canned beans or lentils are cheap, filling and provide protein. Rice has to be about the cheapest food on the planet if you buy a bag and cook it yourself (not instant rice). Potatoes & eggs are cheap for the nutritional value.

You have to shop around and not get hung up on wanting a mango or a certain type of apple. I'm in a place were not much is actually local produce and I can get apples for $1/lb but they aren't the fancy types. Tropical fruits aren't even on my radar most of the time unless there's a super sale.

You also have to remember that you're eating less of most things if you're staying in your budget. Even eating a lot of healthy food will still lead to weight gain.

I didn't have time to read all the comments, so don't know if someone said this or not.

Due to having Crohn's Disease I cannot eat a lot of fresh produce for various reasons.

I only eat canned veggies and fruit for the most part.
I get veggies with no salt added and fruit either in liquid or no sugar added syrup.

Fresh is always the best way to go, but any fruit or veggies is better than none.
Stock up on canned goods or frozen and buy fresh when you can.

I have a single mom friend, who is on welfare, and she eats VERY healthy. She reads the ads, shops at a store called Aldi's, and probably does her shopping at three different stores. It's worth her time and she is proving that even a single mom on welfare can eat healthy, so when people tell me it's too expensive, I don't believe it.

Get informed, read ads, be willing to drive to more than one store, and you can eat healthy for not a lot of money.

Like someone else said you will save money in the long run because if you don't start taking care of yourself you WILL end up with health problems.

Great job on getting healthy. You can do this.