Why is eating healthy so darn expensive?

go thru your circulars and plan your menu for whats on sale. if u can get a great bargin on chicken stock up. hope that helps a lil

i've never seen coupons for unprocessed meats, seafood, FRESH vegetables and FRESH fruits.

coupons are mainly for processed items high in hidden sugars which i wouldnt necessarily consider healthy. just because something is packaged as low fat doesnt mean it's healthy.

besides that, couponing seems like a enormous time suck. if i have to spend hours a week cutting coupons, comparing pricing and running from this store to that store in an attempt to get the cheapest deal then it's really not worth the $100 i'd save since a)gas costs money and b)although my limited free time doesnt have a cash value, it's still valuable.

i agree with others who've noted that the amount you pay extra for good quality food more than makes up for doctors visits and prescriptions.

i'm single and i pay anywhere from $200-$300 a month on groceries. the higher amount is when i'm stocking up on staples that will last a long time like cashew butter, nuts, protein powder, frozen chicken thighs, ground turkey, seafood etc. for the fresh fruits and veggies you can save a lot by buying stuff when it's in season. you can also look for places that will deliver a box of fresh produce to you once a week or every 2 weeks. these are usually from local farmers in a coop so you can get good quality fresh items for cheaper than going to the grocery store.

it also helps to make menus before hand and make meals making the most of what you will be buying so that things dont go bad.

Beans. Whole grain rice. Lentils. Oatmeal. Vegetables and fruits in season, on sale. Less meat, or even no meat. Eggs are usually a good buy. Don't let the yogurt fool you -- it is full of sugar, often almost as much as a candy bar!

You need to come up with recipes for the cheaper ingredients. Cabbage is usually a really good buy, and so are carrots. Try making some rice and cheap vegetable stir fries, homemade soups and homemade bean dishes. One of my favorites is something I call Lentil Cabbage Casserole. Cook up about a half cup each of lentils and brown rice, mix them together, then chop up one medium cabbage and two onions, steam them for about four or five minutes. Mix them all together with a little butter, salt, and enough pepper to see flecks of it and to get a kind of warm taste. Dinner for four, for just a few bucks!

Plan your week's menus around what fresh produce is on a good sale that week.

I have found that coupons are for processed foods that I wouldn't choose to eat. They are over-priced, too.

tell me about it...four bottles of coconut water costs 18 bucks in cosco -___-

Believe me, I understand your pain. I spent 40 dollars on four bags of groceries today, just for myself for this week. It's frustrating. The economy makes it much easier for us to make unhealthy choices. Coupons are often for junk foods, but keep looking and you can find good deals. Even if you don't find coupons, sign up for mailed sales flyers and you can always choose which store has the best deals.

It doesn't necessarily get easier, but it becomes less frustrating in time.

This is about what I spend a week on myself. Bread, eggs, bacon, lunch meat, fruit, vegetables, chicken and popcorn is basically my list every week, with variables depending on what I feel like.

I went grocery shopping for myself my husband and two kids today. Just for today though Friday food cost about $170! I usually spend $100 but I started healthy eating today and counting calories and lets just say chicken salmon and veggies cost a crap load more than pasta and pizza crusts

That's actually not that bad. My wife and I have 3 kids. It's typically $200/week for our groceries. Though we've started buying in bulk for chicken, frozen veggies and other items (oatmeal, granola, eggs etc). That's saved us a lot of money especially when you wait for the sales and use coupons. The chicken we get lasts for almost 2 weeks (we freeze it) and the veggies we always measure out the serving size listed on the bag. We know how much our kids eat and by simply measuring out our servings for each meal we don't waste any. If someone is a little hungrier we have fruit or nuts for a quick snack.

I thought the best things in life were free...turns out that's a lie :-)

Believe me, I understand your pain. I spent 40 dollars on four bags of groceries today, just for myself for this week. It's frustrating. The economy makes it much easier for us to make unhealthy choices. Coupons are often for junk foods, but keep looking and you can find good deals. Even if you don't find coupons, sign up for mailed sales flyers and you can always choose which store has the best deals.

It doesn't necessarily get easier, but it becomes less frustrating in time.

This is about what I spend a week on myself. Bread, eggs, bacon, lunch meat, fruit, vegetables, chicken and popcorn is basically my list every week, with variables depending on what I feel like.

I tend to stock up on bags of frozen vegetables, both the SteamFresh bags and just plain frozen veg; I add peppers and onions to just about everything to bulk up for less calories. I cut out bread which has actually saved me a decent amount of money. I buy chicken and fruit mostly every week. I love Cuties, those adorable little clementines. Only 80 calories for two of them and they satisfy my sweet tooth fairly well. The only processed food I really buy anymore is Special K red berries cereal. Other than that, my cart is generally very healthy. I'm lucky to spend 40 bucks this week; it's usually about 60 for me, but this particular week was tight.

You may not get coupons for fresh chicken/meat, etc., but it does go on sale. I always check the circulars and if some form of antibiotic-free chicken or ground turkey or even ground beef goes on sale, I stock up. Same with fruit/veg--a little harder to stock up on, but if you eat what's in season as others have noted it's generally cheaper.

Even Whole Foods has some really good prices if you shop their circular and their Friday one-day sales (last week I stocked up on chicken breast and Kind bars, and some 50-cent mangoes). You just have to get a little more used to planning your meals around what's cheap that week.