Eating healthy costs more

13

Replies

  • Syderelli
    Syderelli Posts: 439 Member
    awesome post.
  • Athena53
    Athena53 Posts: 717 Member
    Maybe the people who think it's more expensive to eat healthy shop at Whole Foods?

    I bought a cabbage there last month without looking at the price. Turned out to be a $7 cabbage. :frown:
  • misslibbyh
    misslibbyh Posts: 90 Member
    True dat! The only thing that really gets me though is produce... because i try to buy organic as much as possible to avoid toxins and GMO... so in that realm it really does cost more if you eat more fresh fruits and veggies. More than if i eat the mac n cheese, corn dogs and top ramen.

    Spinach is actually kinda pricey. I guess it depend on where you live how much produce costs. I live in the high desert. Not much locally grown produce here in the winter.
  • Athena53
    Athena53 Posts: 717 Member
    We have a local Farmer's Market during the warm weather months and I love it even though you don't really save much over the grocery store prices. I've found, though, that the shelf life is a lot longer because it wasn't trucked in from California or Florida. The quality is a lot better, too. I can't wait for tomato season!
  • HartJames
    HartJames Posts: 789 Member
    Eating healthy = eating mostly organic lean meats, dairy and fruits/veggies (for me) and that does indeed cost more. However, I also cut out most of the processed junk, only drink water and plan my shopping list according to my meals so I waste less and that tends to balance it out a little more. I also coupon! Can't wait to have a garden this year-that should help my bill a bit.
  • WhyWait
    WhyWait Posts: 58
    I think there are a lot of ways to eat healthy and keep costs down. Here are a few ideas.

    1. Truly plan out your meals for the week and shop. If possible, use the same ingredient in more then 1 meal, so you can use it all (like chicken).
    2. If you make a salad, and only use 1/2 a tomato for example. Chop the ingredients and throw in a bag to have the salad again tomorrow. Don’t waste the other 1/2 of the tomato!!! Save it for other recipes!
    3. Frozen is a great alternative to fruit/veggies. Just go low sodium.
    4. Keep out the junk and really you can afford more healthy stuff.
    5. If you make a meal, make a family portion and freeze the extra servings for future quick meals to go.
    6. Soups are great and make a huge batch cheaply for many meals.
    7. Buy larger amounts of healthy meats, and cook ahead for the week. Freeze and bring out a day before you can make it.

    Plus, overall healthy eating, healthy weights = Healthier YOU! That means less medical costs, medication costs….

    Hope these tips help!
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  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
    I just wanna know why grapes are so damn expensive. It's like $6 for a bag of grapes yet I can buy a cheap bottle of wine for $3. :sad:


    Other than that, I find we spend less buying healthy food!
  • amy1612
    amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
    I would rather make my own sauce with fewer ingredients and it not be full of other rubbish, than buy one because it has 'more veg' in it. A tin of tomatos, some garlic and onion ake a pretty good sauce. Add a courgette, amazing.

    Buying lots of fresh fruits, etc, CAN be expensive, but just look for deals and such.
  • mjoymarshall
    mjoymarshall Posts: 34
    I'm putting my 2 cents in: I agree, but disagree.. Since I've been trying to eat "healthier", our grocery bills are all over the place. It all depends on what's on sale and if I have coupons. Yes, ground turkey is cheaper than beef, but a bag of apples here costs almost double a box of Little Debbie snacks. Apples here, on sale, are $1.99/lb which is only 3 apples per lb. You can go to the dollar store and get knock off ho-hos for $1 a box (6 packs of 2).

    Even when I wasn't trying to lose weight, we still bought fdrozen veggies (I HATE VEGGIES IN A CAN!!). Fresh veggies, which are better for you, are double the price of the frozen ones..

    I really think everything is just a government conspiracy. There are never coupons for fresh veggies, lean meats, etc.. Only for overly processed food. I'm a stay at home mom of 2 toddlers. Money is tight since we only have one income. I try the best I can, but yes, when I know a frozen pizza for $3 can feed my entire family, sometimes that's what I have to do..
  • T1mH
    T1mH Posts: 568 Member
    I always buy extra lean meat and don't look at the prices. I don't understand why people cheap out when it comes to food.
    It's funny but I don't think most people cheap out on certain things. Like Coke or Dorrito's, they buy the brand name, they have to have it even if there is a similar product for half the price. But when it comes to meat or a can of green beans they buy the cheapest choice available.
  • JessicaRobin67
    JessicaRobin67 Posts: 275 Member
    Eating healthy does cost alittle more but in the long run it saves because for my husband and I, we have to pay any meds out of our pocket (we have insurance but doesn't cover meds)... so, if we can eat healthy maybe we won't have to buy meds so therefore, cheaper in the long run...
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Even when I wasn't trying to lose weight, we still bought fdrozen veggies (I HATE VEGGIES IN A CAN!!). Fresh veggies, which are better for you, are double the price of the frozen ones..

    Actually not true. The standard for frozen veggies is to have them from field to frozen within 6 hours preserving the nutrition. Fresh just means unprocessed. The carrot you buy "fresh" can have been sitting in cold storage for months and then bounced across the country on a truck for days. Frozen is often for more nutritious than fresh.
    I really think everything is just a government conspiracy. There are never coupons for fresh veggies, lean meats, etc.. Only for overly processed food. I'm a stay at home mom of 2 toddlers. Money is tight since we only have one income. I try the best I can, but yes, when I know a frozen pizza for $3 can feed my entire family, sometimes that's what I have to do..

    The government doesn't print coupons. Manufacturers do and they're the ones producing the crap food you buy. The farmer growing those carrots doesn't have any interest in offering you a deal because his profit margin is already next to nothing but the big manufacturers can do it because their mark up is so extreme.
  • janeite1990
    janeite1990 Posts: 671 Member
    Healthy is cheaper, to a point, but I think that is fine. Yeah, if you are buying lots of whey protein, supplements, coconut flour and oil, and Whole Foods goodies, it will cost more. I don't go that far. I get a big bag of Great Value brown rice really cheap. And it lasts a couple of weeks.

    My kids really like the healthier foods, too. For a while, it freaked me out that they could consume the whole $4 container of blueberries or strawberries in about 6 minutes. Then, I remembered that this is good for them and so what? Candy bars for the three of them would cost the same thing.

    Also, I don't usually serve the expensive stuff (like chicken breast or almond butter) by itself. Chicken breasts get cut up for a good stir fry with lots of veggies, that brown rice and an egg. They go further that way. Somewhere along the way we lost our home ec skills.
  • chopsim104
    chopsim104 Posts: 12
    I was about to ask a similar question.

    Im from the UK and cook for 2 of us but was wondering is it cheaper to cook from scratch or not? I don't mean buying ready meals that you stick in the microwave or anything like that, just things like the Birds Eye chicken fillet things for example, or stuffed mushrooms Tesco sell.

    Also, is it cheaper to shop at supermarkets generally or shops like fruit and veg, butchers... ?

    I LOVE the idea of cooking from scratch, eating healthy and being able to say "I made that" but we're shopping on a budget.

    Pack of about 10 frozen chicken fillets in asda for £5, sauces or marinades are so easy and cheap to make. I'd say it's deffo cheaper!

    Watch the salt in those frozen chicken fillets and the amount of water they pump into them to up the weight.
  • determined_erin
    determined_erin Posts: 571 Member
    I shop at Aldi for low cost healthy food.
  • alliegator1982
    alliegator1982 Posts: 77
    I shop at Aldi for low cost healthy food.

    me too, I get so much more there for my money!! And lean ground beef huh? how bout ground turkey instead, markedly cheaper and better for you too ;) I couldn't live with out my turkey bacon in the mornings!
  • VanessaGS
    VanessaGS Posts: 514 Member
    Eating unhealthy will cost you more in the long run when you're at the doctor 24-7.
  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
    A woman looked at my grocery cart one day and said, no wonder you are so skinny, look at all that healthy food. I smiled and agreed with her. To that she replies, well, I can not afford to eat healthy. I added up the groceries in my cart which came to 36 dollars, we added up JUST THE CRAP food in her cart, like chips, little debbie cakes and soda and just that came to 40 bucks. Then, realizing what she had done, she starts in on how she has to have snacks for the kids. In order to not start a fight about her feeding her children crap, I walked away.

    I am of the belief I can not afford NOT to eat healthy. My deductible is 4000 and have you seen the prices of prescription drugs these days?

    In saying that, I have made the choice to keep driving a car I have had for 14 years. I also do not spend much money on expensive hand bags or other accessories for show. We spend our money on investments, and the biggest investment we have is our health.
  • jwaters1006
    jwaters1006 Posts: 136 Member
    I just wanna know why grapes are so damn expensive. It's like $6 for a bag of grapes yet I can buy a cheap bottle of wine for $3. :sad:



    this. exactly :laugh:
  • DaBossLady24
    DaBossLady24 Posts: 556 Member
    It's like the woman who said she can feed her kids cheaper by going to McD's because it's $2 for a Happy Meal. Assuming she has 3 children and herself at a minimum that's $8 she could have spent if she also ate a Happy Meal. I'm thinking for $8 I could make a fairly decent meal with a lot more nutrition than anything McD's is serving!

    A lot of it comes down to laziness (expecting everything to be prepacked and convenient) and the false impression that you need to only buy organically grown, hand harvested by Tibetan monks on the rising of the full moon fruits and vegetables.

    You are wonderful for this.
  • DoomCakes
    DoomCakes Posts: 806 Member
    What makes 90/10 a better quality ground beef?
    Less fat = more meat, most people view the fat as waste.

    Edit: There is also a perception that less fat = healthier/better therefore they charge a premium for it because people will pay it.

    I just vote for taste. Honestly the less fat the less grease that builds up. I can't stand the taste of a greasy burger or meat loaf for some reason. But that's just a personal preference. :)
  • mrsclc
    mrsclc Posts: 73
    I like to remind myself that it's cheaper than your medical bills and medication will be later on due to poor food choices made now.
  • Athena53
    Athena53 Posts: 717 Member
    Eating unhealthy will cost you more in the long run when you're at the doctor 24-7.

    Yeah, but the insurance pays for it, right? :tongue: So it's free!

    Seriously- we have a High Deductible Plan and i don't like prescriptions anyway. I LOVE cheap prevention.
  • drchimpanzee
    drchimpanzee Posts: 892 Member
    I love Spring, Summer, and early Fall because it's wayyyyyyyyy cheaper to get fresh veggies from the farmers market. Plus I even tend to load up on some of the expiring stuff and freeze them. In the winter I tend to just get large bags of frozen veggies from the store. As far as being cheaper/more expensive to eat healthy I think it depends on how extreme you go. Sure, if you buy ultra organic grain fed free range chickens that were massaged daily and raised an isolated tribe of monks in Tibet yeah, you will probably pay a premium. Other than that it's mostly the same. The real investment is time and that's the real reason people don't want to eat healthy. They don't want to think about food. They want it to be easy. They want to yank something out of a box and have it be ready two minutes.
  • vicky1804
    vicky1804 Posts: 320 Member
    For me personaly the cost isnt that bad.
    My husband is a picky eater and wont eat many fruits and vegetables. It has caused arguements before as im concerned for his health but I cant make him change.

    So for me I buy 1-3 types of fruit and 1-3 types of veg depending on whats on offer/cheapest. Other things I have built up over time, brown rice, cous cous, quinoa, lentils etc and use chicken and fish from the freezer.
  • Riemersma4
    Riemersma4 Posts: 400 Member
    What makes 90/10 a better quality ground beef?
    Less fat = more meat, most people view the fat as waste.

    Edit: There is also a perception that less fat = healthier/better therefore they charge a premium for it because people will pay it.

    I just vote for taste. Honestly the less fat the less grease that builds up. I can't stand the taste of a greasy burger or meat loaf for some reason. But that's just a personal preference. :)

    85/15 ground beef, bought in bulk when it goes on sale, add some seasoning salt or garlic powder, make patties, toss it on the George Foreman grill (a dieters best friend)! Yum! Most of the grease runs off. Great taste and reasonable fat/calorie ratio.
  • fiferize
    fiferize Posts: 141
    eating healthy only costs more if you have a family like mine where everyone eats differently. There is me eating clean and lean, my husband who has a different schedule and refuses to cook for himself unless it involves microwaving so he eats processed/prepared foods, and the son who will only eat pizza, burgers, mac and cheese and chicken patties. So there ya have it. If you can get everyone to eat the same as you it's cheaper to eat healthy! I swear by it. The money you save eating clean and lean helps you afford all the fresh fruits and vegies.
  • jakidb
    jakidb Posts: 1,010 Member
    I totally agree with the post--the few cents is well worth it and pretty much evens out with what you normally spend :) (at least for me)
  • 714rah714
    714rah714 Posts: 759 Member
    I just wanna know why grapes are so damn expensive. It's like $6 for a bag of grapes yet I can buy a cheap bottle of wine for $3. :sad:


    Other than that, I find we spend less buying healthy food!
    Because you have to pay for all the grapes that they don't sell and which end up being thrown away..

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