STOP saying healthy food is more expensive

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  • doowop713
    doowop713 Posts: 268 Member
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    I also don't know if some of you realize it, but some folks don't have internet, computer access, or much of an education to figure out what is in season, what is considered healthy, how to budget for produce, etc... Some folks don't have cars to get to the store or bounce around from farmers market to co-op to grocery store to butcher etc.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
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    What kind of meal is rice, beans, and eggs? and with teen boys?

    It's calorie-dense, cheap as dirt, and easy.
  • supremelady
    supremelady Posts: 211 Member
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    I see a lot of people saying they "make" a lot of their from scratch and that is fine IF you have the time. $30 is low i went to the store on sunday and just for my fruits this week i spent $25. Location/time/amount of family members have to be considered.

    As long as people recognize this is a time and desire choice, not a direct cost/calorie choice, then it's fine.

    If someone is looking for cheap food and ends up with packaged chips, that's a massive failure of a financial decision.


    I disagree, i can shop and make decisions on my time and budget not someone else's. It requires both time and money. But at the end of the day its an individual choice. And unless you live in every state and every city and county its ridiculous to believe you can say what is affordable everywhere.
  • Laroka
    Laroka Posts: 60 Member
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    Healthy eating is about the same for me too. However, it also depends on where you live. Some places healthy food cost a lot more.
  • doowop713
    doowop713 Posts: 268 Member
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    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.

    True, though I am not a vegetarian!
  • SherryR1971
    SherryR1971 Posts: 1,170 Member
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    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.

    ^^this
  • shutupandlift13
    shutupandlift13 Posts: 727 Member
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    I enjoy cooking, I enjoy eating quality, nutritionally dense meals that are delicious. I have the same view on food as I do my fitness, its a cost I'm willing to pay up front to avoid potential medical bills later. Meaning my health is more than just calories, its macro and micro nutrients. I do eat "junk food" but its not the backbone of my diet and I guarantee my grocery bill has shrank because of it.

    For those of you complaining about the cost of big box grocery stores, check out farmers markets, buy local. I am able to buy grass fed ground sirloin from a local farm here in Cleveland for about $4.30/lb. In NM I was paying $4.90/lb for Wal-Mart ground angus, pretty low quality angus at that.

    The steak and potato chips comparison is just absurd.
  • lyndausvi
    lyndausvi Posts: 156 Member
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    Does the OP know this is an international board and there are different costs of living?

    Is use to live in a place that a gallon of milk costs $5 and it only lasts about 5 days. Vine tomatoes went for $6.99lb. Pineapples were $10 a piece. Steak was $20-30 lb depending on the cut. Ground beef and chicken about $6 lb. Nothing ever went on sale. The shelf life of produce was measured in a few days. Never got to a week. Next to nothing was locally grown. Don't forget the 60 kph in electric to cook and run the fridge.


    Now I live in Indiana and things are pretty cheap because of the local farmers.

    So yeah, it's great you can get things at a low cost but it's ridiculous to think worldwide people can get all that stuff at the same cost.
  • miss_jessiejane
    miss_jessiejane Posts: 2,820 Member
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    I like turtles.
    turtle4.gif

    That's the cutest thing ever.
  • jeslaughter
    jeslaughter Posts: 131 Member
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    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.
    I guess I live in a pretty nice place cause I get coupons all the time from Safeway for fresh veggies, salads, meats and fruit on line. Yeah, most of the deals are on the processed canned and boxed stuff but they do offer these deals for those of us that have a Safeway card and have singed up to get their deals sent to them weekly via email. I use coupons at my Safeway all the time and I will also check prices with a lot of grocery stores near me to make sure I am getting the best deal I can for my groceries...
  • breeshabebe
    breeshabebe Posts: 580
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    I understand where the OP is coming from... I think that it would be better to say.. STOP using excuses. I know that I have heard this excuse from ALOT of people who spend WAY more on "junk" food then they would if they just made a sensible meal. While we may not all be able to eat on 30$ a day.. we can agree that saying "healthy food is more expensive" isn't a reason to remain unhealthy or overweight.
  • doIlhands
    doIlhands Posts: 349 Member
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    yeah... no. If I want 5 chicken breasts it costs $12-15. There goes half of my budget. A gallon of milk is more than $5.

    WELCOME TO BC!
  • toaster6
    toaster6 Posts: 703 Member
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    I hate that argument as well. In my household of four, we usually spend about $300 ($400 at max) a month on groceries-- most of it is healthy foods, but certainly there's "junk" in there too. That breaks down to ten bucks to feed four people a day. And since we aren't on a strict budget, I know for a fact we could trim that number down. Other people do the same:

    http://health.yahoo.net/experts/yourbestfitness/99-cent-diet-could-it-work-you

    If you really want to eat healthier, a small food budget can still get you there.
  • GadgetGuy2
    GadgetGuy2 Posts: 291 Member
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    I see a lot of people saying they "make" a lot of their from scratch and that is fine IF you have the time. $30 is low i went to the store on sunday and just for my fruits this week i spent $25. Location/time/amount of family members have to be considered.
    I use a canner and a freezer so that I can make batches of 30-40 servings per cooking session. Larger batches would not add significant time, though I would need to buy a 2nd canner so they can both be canning in parallel. Roughly, I spend about 40 hours per year (i.e. 3.3 hrs per month) making the following:
    1.) Bread
    2.) Chili
    3.) Boston Baked Beans
    4.) Refried beans (Frijoles)
    5.) Chicken Soup
    6.) French Onion Soup
    7.) Belgium Waffles
    8.) Spaghetti Sauce
    9.) Salsa
    10.) To Die for Cinnamon Rolls

    The secret, cook large batches. It's been so successful, I'm looking for my family's next "high volume, high cost" food item to start making myself.

    P.S.-The wife, seeing the success, has started to make individual meal servings (not batching it up like me yet).
    P.P.S.-We've never enjoyed the taste of home prepared food so much. No going back for us.
  • GetSoda
    GetSoda Posts: 1,267 Member
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    Reasonable Quality Steak: $26.99 a pound
    Potato Chips: $3.99 a bag

    Just sayin!

    Amen!!
    Whoa! Is that gold plated unicorn steak? Angus rib-eye in my area is $9 on sale. I'm glad I live in the cheap seats!

    Grass fed usda choice. The really good stuff- prime- 40/lb.
  • Pixilox
    Pixilox Posts: 51 Member
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    It really depends where you live, even which neighborhood you shop in. For two people my grocery bill is just over $100/week and that includes fruits and veggies. I would love to have Chicken Breasts but no way am I paying $5/lb for them! Most of our meals are bean/veggie/pasta based and while I balk at paying so much for fresh stuff in the end it's worth it.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
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    This is a non-issue for me. Food is something I'm willing to spend money on. I'll make sacrifices in other areas if I have to, but I've invested too much time and money in my education and my career to say that I can't afford to eat what I want. I'll get rid of cable, Internet, phone, trips, etc., before I cut back on groceries. I do try not to be wasteful with the food I buy because wasting food is just dumb, but that's about as financially concerned as I'm going to get on the subject.

    I agree with this. I'd rather spend a bit extra on good, healthy food. I have 2 children and I refuse to feed them crap. We may not be rich, but we earn enough to have decent, home cooked meals.

    I have never eaten unhealthily anyway, so I don't know how much it would cost to eat junk for a week.
  • mandasalem
    mandasalem Posts: 346 Member
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    There's a reason there's a correlation between socioeconomic status and obesity. If you're on a limited budget, a few things become true.
    - Shelf life is important. You want the most you can get, for the least you can spend, for the longest it will last. NO WASTE.
    - Fill factor is important. High-density, high-calorie foods are usually cheaper. Beans, rice, pasta, cheese, etc. You eat less of those than you do of salad to feel full.
    - Gardening is most likely out. If you're poor, you probably have no place to start a garden, or you lack the tools, etc. to cultivate one. Even if you do, good luck watering it and paying for the water.

    I could go on, but those three really address the few points I saw in the initial post that needed attention.
  • MsEndomorph
    MsEndomorph Posts: 604 Member
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    You have obviously never been poor and tried to feed an entire family.

    When my husband was growing up, they would buy bulk beans and rice and tortillas. Throw in some eggs and that was breakfast lunch and dinner for DAYS. Cost pp per meal? Like twenty five cents. Or hot dogs! One pack of hot dogs and buns and a can of chili? $3. Or spaghetti! Back before meat wasnt through the roof expensive, it was a $6 meal they could eat on for days. Or a giant pack of sausage. Or the dollar menu at McDonald's.

    There's "rich people" junk food' and "poor people" junk food. People really strapped for cash don't indulge in shopping carts full of name brand sodas, TV dinners, oreos, and Twinkies. They also don't want to munch on carrots like a rabbit. They want hearty, filling meals that stick so their kids aren't asking for a snack in 2 hours.
  • ncmedic201
    ncmedic201 Posts: 540 Member
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    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)

    Oh trust me we ate a lot of rice & beans, pancakes, eggs, spagettie etc. OP is stating that I could have bought fresh fruits and veggies just as cheap. Processed foods and items that are not fresh are much cheaper than trying to feed a family fresh veggies and meat etc.

    Spagetti with $1 can of sauce would only cost $2...add another $1 for bread and again it was a $3 meal that lacked "fresh" foods.

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