and they say eating healthy costs more??

The only chicken I've seen that cheap is large (>3 lb) leg quarters packages that have a use by date of the same day.

No. I buy reduced price boneless skinless breasts and freeze them so they dont have to be used same day. If more Americans did this with meat and produce their food would last so much longer.

I don't know where you live but they never have that at my local groceries or Walmart. Fresh chicken here always costs more than pre-frozen, so it makes no sense to buy fresh and freeze when it costs more than the $2.33/lb they want for the stuff that's already frozen.

Chicken $.98/lb?!?
I WISH.

Oh, and I don't have a problem spending $600/month on food because it's healthy and what we "want" to eat. I'm just pointing out those prices are pretty unrealistic for most Americans. I did get some strawberries on sale the other day- $1.50 for a small carton. I was in shock they were so cheap! SO obviously there are sales, but overall those prices are way too low to be realistic.

See where I live I can buy strawberries for .99 a carton. I think it really does depend where u live. Obviously prices will vary, but I do however fully believe healthier things cost less.

I can agree that overall, healthy eating is beginning to save me money. I've made the change to try to eat healthier (and got my husband on board!) and with this last grocery trip I actually cut $50 off of my bill by not buying chips, cookies, cereal, etc... I bought more fruits and veggies than normal (fresh and frozen so they won't go bad so fast). I did get my chicken breasts on sale for $1.79/lb though so that probably helped some.

I buy a whole chicken for about $5. I can make about five meals with it. First meal is baked, veggies and brown rice. I use the left overs for pot pies, salads, tacos. I boil the bone and make soup. I think eating healthy take more time.

The cheapest, most disgusting whole chicken I can find is $14.

-The picture is misleading. That's a 2-3 lb package of chicken.

- Chicken breasts are on sale here every other week at either one of our two major grocery chains for 1.99/lb. Regular price is about $3.50/lb.

- We have a farmer's market that costs 2 or 3 times over the grocery stores. I like the idea of supporting local farms, but I can't afford to shop there every week.

-The name brand whole-grain bread is $4.00. Store brand whole-grain is $2.50.

-Grapes go on sale at random times. Sometimes down to a dollar a lb, then the next week back up to $4.

My husband recently passed away and it was a wake up call to me to change my lifestyle and eat better and exercise more. It also cut available monthly income by two thirds. To reduce my expenses I joined a food co-op. I receive a large basket of half veggies, half fruit once a week. It costs me $16.50. I live alone and have trouble actually eating all the food so I freeze some and share some with friends. Last week my basket had a pound of strawberries, a pound of asparagus, a huge head of green leaf lettuce, a bunch of celery, a bunch of radishes, a bunch of bok choy, two heads of garlic, two red bell peppers, 4 mangoes, a large bunch of bananas, and three lemons. I made 6 quart jars of green salad and still had a big salad that served two for lunch. I had roasted asparagus three times and stir fried bokchoy and garlic.

This week I was able to add 5 loaves of whole grain bread to my basket for an additional $10.00

This weekend I learned of an organization in my area that "rescues" food. The produce is donated by both farmers and wholesalers. It isn't perfect looking but it's really good. Some of the veggies were so ripe that had to be prepared and frozen or cooked right away, still good stuff. They had grapefruit, tangerines, tomatoes, cucumbers, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, zucchini, red and orange bell peppers, and summer squash. I got 60 pounds of produce for $10.00.

I was amazed at how much food ended up in my fridge plus I was able to share with friends. From now on I'm thinking outside the grocery store for much of my food. I have added links for the two organizations I used and maybe you can make use of them or find something similar in your area!


The 3000 Club Food Rescue: : Reclaiming a Greener Future
the3000club.org

www.bountifulbaskets.org