STOP saying healthy food is more expensive

I honestly just bought $30 worth of fresh veggies, whole grain bread, meats, milk and cheese. I know it will last my hubby and I at least an entire week....

I calculated how much it would cost to get mac and cheese and chips and soda and crappy foods, I could get about the same amount of food, but a bag of chips goes so fast and it's not filling and makes you feel uber icky. I know that if I bought $30 of junk food, fast food, quick meals - I would not be able to sustain more than a few days between two people.


So, please stop with the excuses that eating healthy is too expensive. Grow a garden, pack some carrots, stay up an extra 10 mins to prepare a meal for the next day. Jeepers Creepers, quit complaining and research what groceries you have locally and what seasons good food comes in season/what freezes for winter when fruits and veggies go up in price.

When I go through a co-op I can get enough produce for a week with on $16.50.. but that deonst' unclude meat/bread/ and other stuff. and i don't get to pick which produce i receive. If I got organic (which I usually do) it's $26.50. Adding in meats and other stuff i'm well over $50 bucks a week. I'm probably over $100 if i really were to sit down and add it all up. I'm feeding myself and a teenage boy. I like to eat.. so $30 bucks a week.. not gonna fill me up. Plus i eat a ton of salads and fruits and I go organic for most of it. So there's that too.

Ever notice there are a TON of coupons for cereal, chips, cookies, boxed pasta/potato meals but NO coupons for fresh meats, fruits/veggies or dairy. This is why eating healthy costs more. You cant get discounts on these items.

Dude, we don't even get vouchers in England, ha! Not that I know of anyway

Mine went down quite a bit, but I spend $30 - $40 a week for one person. I used to just wander through the store and throw anything in the cart that looked good whether or not I would eat it that week. Now I rarely buy meat (didn't buy much of it before), and only shop based on the recipe(s) I'm making for the week. I usually only cook 2 maybe 3 times a week since leftovers carry me through the rest of the week. Planning ahead helped me, but that won't be the same for everyone, and I'm lucky to live in a area where food isn't a fortune.

Hmmmm well speaking for myself, healthy food doesnt have as long of a shelf life as junk food so I tend to buy healthy more often. I'm not complaining that it costs more to eat healthy because in the long run it saves me from some potential health problems in the future. Eating healthier now AND exercising helps to thwart future health related issues which will be costly, health insurance or not.

Living in California... it has to be at least $50/week for two people!

It can be more expensive depending on what you're comparing it to. I used to feed my teen boys and I those $3 all in one boxed dinners. I can't make a healthy meal for 3 people for $3. I'm glad that your grocery bill hasn't gone up but don't assume everyone shopped the same way as you.

You can't? Rice, beans & scrambled eggs for 3 people would be less than $3.00 if you're buying your beans and rice in bulk (and probably healthier than some sodium laden packaged stuff)

But then I'd be living off of rice, beans and scrambled eggs. I eat my fair share of scrambled eggs, but I like a little more variety.

I'm a big proponent of eat whatever works for you. Different people, different tastes, different lifestyles. To each their own.

That said, I gave up boxed cerals ages and ages ago, not because of any particular nutritional reason but because they are quite expensive per box. I shop on the outter aisle because I enjoy cooking and like making my own meals (and I use a lot less sodium and sugar than the frozen dinners). I've had an herb garden for years so, other than for an annual such as basil, I don't even have to replant the stuff. It's just... there (Parsley even tends to re-seed itself). And I lucked out at a plant sale this spring and got tomato plants for 50 cents each and so far this summer I have picked over 100 grape, cherry, and roma tomatoes out of my own back yard.

http://timessupermarkets.mywebgrocer.com/Circular.aspx?c=151949&n=4&s=279685869&g=9ec15e22-3e73-41be-aae1-95f9d2b88fbf&uc=5CDA5149


I shop here. I spent 85 dollars on food, for myself, for two weeks. That included almost no meat, aside from frozen chicken and canned tuna. That 80 dollars got me half a gallon of milk, a pack of tortilla shells, a loaf of bread, two things of instant pudding, strawberries, 3 grapefruits, turkey bacon (cause it was 4 dollars and real bacon was 7), a bag of spinach, lettuce, 3 bags of udon noodles, cottage cheese, shredded cheese, tea bags, frozen garlic bread, two bags of broccoli, two cans of green beans, chicken thighs, and few cans of tuna.

The fresh stuff alone was over 20.

You don't live where I live. You don't know what foods costs here.

Um yea it is indeed more expensive to eat clean and healthy. I have a family of five here and it would be cheaper and less time consuming to feed my kids pop tarts and chips. I don't. But many people don't have the extra cash to feed their families healthy food all the time. And not everyone grow a garden. Stop judging. Why not donate some of your time to a local for pantry to see how people unlike you live and feed their families.

Prices in Canada can be frightening... there's no way I'd feed my boyfriend and I on $30 a week. And as a student, sometimes I do end up cutting corners on my groceries and buying what I can when i can't afford the good stuff, unfortunately.

Oh my...where do you live, cause where I live fresh fruits and Veggies are SO expensive and don't last long in freshness (like 3 days or less) and so that makes it even more expensive... I will buy frozen, but that's still on the high side!

I can not have a garden where I live as I live a trailer court and it is not allowed...

Ever notice there are a TON of coupons for cereal, chips, cookies, boxed pasta/potato meals but NO coupons for fresh meats, fruits/veggies or dairy. This is why eating healthy costs more. You cant get discounts on these items.

Nope it's always new products too. They dont offer reduced rates on any fresh groceries.

Reasonable Quality Steak: $26.99 a pound
Potato Chips: $3.99 a bag

Just sayin!

Yep. Sorry to disagree with the poster, but eating healthy (i.e. organic, locally-grown produce, grass-fed beef, quality dairy, etc.) is way more pricey. In California I spend $100/week if I'm lucky for the two of us (and my boyfriend doesn't consume meat!)

If you go to Walmart and buy cheap, non organic, factory farmed, huge industrial foods (and foods based around lots of soy and corn) then yes, it'll be cheaper.

I don't know about a heathy typical diet, but being a vegetarian has definitely saved me a lot of money. Meat is expensive, beans are super cheap.

OP you are comparing apples to bunnies here. When people go on a health quest they very likely change a whole lot of things. The big thing is they eat fewer calories. You can't compare the cost of 3000 calories to the cost of 2000 or less calories or whatever the drop was. Most people drop at least 500 calories a day, some just drop a couple hundred and exercise more. So, what your body needs changes or you become more aware of what you really need. My food costs are about the same. But, I am eating 1000 calories or more less a day. I was gaining weight before, so that isn't a drop in TDEE calories it's a drop in total calorie intake. So point is calorie for calorie healthier foods can cost more.

It can be more expensive depending on what you're comparing it to. I used to feed my teen boys and I those $3 all in one boxed dinners. I can't make a healthy meal for 3 people for $3. I'm glad that your grocery bill hasn't gone up but don't assume everyone shopped the same way as you.

It's easier to buy and prepare the boxed meals, but I doubt it's less expensive than buying comparable macro sources in bulk. It's your life and choices, but rice, beans, frozen veggies, a chicken in bulk are extremely cheap. If you're interested in a calorie/dollar comparison, you do have options.

Even in bulk you would be hard pressed to feed on $1 per person. Chicken alone would probably cost that much. I don't buy those foods anymore because my budget allows for better items, but there's limited fruits, veggies and meats that you can purchase that would be that cheap.