Why is eating healthy so darn expensive?

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.

Have you tried ethnic shops? I used to live right between a Turkish supermarket and a Greek greengrocer - lovely fresh food, mostly unprocessed, for little money.

Also, cutting out meat made my food bill way, way lower <snip>

I second the ethnic grocery idea. Last week I got almost more bok choy than I could use for $2 (I would have sautéed it and frozen it if it had been in danger of going bad). And, while DH and I have not cut out meat, we eat a lot less. Today I stuffed a pork chop that weighed nearly 1 lb. before stuffing- yes, ONE pork chop. DH and I shared it and still had some left over. They came two to a pack and the other is in the freezer. I have no idea how anyone could eat one of those things. Portion control is a good cost-cutter.

I know that most coupons are for processed foods and we still buy some. I like canned soup for the convenience and a can of chicken noodle soup with a ton of sautéed veggies is 100 calories plus the veggies. (I use a nonstick spray to sautee.)

Finally, check out Whole Foods for items sold in bulk- couscous, bran, bulghur, dried beans, etc. I once bought a cabbage without looking at the price and nearly had a heart attack, but the bulk foods in the bins are competitively priced and you can buy as little as you need.

Edited to add: it's expensive to make food without additives because it has to taste good all by itself and it doesn't stay stable on the shelf as long. Saturday I compared the "plain" yogurt DH bought earlier (ingredients included sugar, cornstarch and another thickener I can't remember) to my favorite brand of Greek yogurt (which is only nonfat milk plus yogurt cultures). The Greek yogurt was twice as much per ounce even though it came in a bigger container (and you'd think the per-ounce cost would be less because of that).

I know, healthy food is more expensive. It's much cheaper than medical expenses, though. That's how I rationalize it. Hope it helps.

I go to costco and get a big thing of spinach or mixed greens for $4. That makes 10 salads a week (lunches for myself and my husband). A few cucumbers, some grape tomatoes, Scallions, are $2. I pair that with a lean protein - tuna, grilled chicken, etc.and I have a whole week's of lunches for $10. Just read the ads and plan a week of meals based on what is in season and on sale.

Wait, what? I've saved hundreds of dollars a month since I started eating healthy! I'm literally eating less food, so everything I buy lasts so much longer, and some of the meals I make last for 3-5 meals. I freeze a lot of stuff so it doesn't go bad. I also rarely ever eat out now, which saves a ton, but my grocery spending alone has dropped so much.

I do most of my shopping at Trader Joe's and local fruit & veggie stands. Eat less meat and you'll save tons of money (and your health!). There's no reason to eat a lot of chicken, and red meat is not good for you in any amount. Lentils, beans, quinoa, greek yogurt, eggs, and mountains of veggies.

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

I have often gotten register coupons that are "Save $3 off your next [produce/meat/etc] purchase." at my local Meijer store and if you receive Kroger coupons that are linked to your card you can get coupons (often times for a free item) for whatever you regularly buy, eggs, bagged salad and veg are a few examples! I've also seen coupons for Earthbound Farm brand organic produce.

It's all relative. If everything is portioned normally and you cut back on the dining out, the savings is there. I always have plenty of leftovers to get me through the week. A $10 lunch out in town can buy me 2-3 days worth of food at home (averaged out).

^^^ this! We thought the same thing: healthy food was too expensive! As a result we didn't eat out all week because we thought we were broke. End result: we had more money at the end of the week than we usually did simply because we hadn't gone out.

paying 2x the amount on our food is worth our heath any day!

whats more expensive spending a hundred and some on food or dying? think about it. you'll find that 170 bucks for food is worth it.