But eating right is so expensive...

First, it's important to define eating healthy because that is different for everyone. I think eating healthy is getting your proper ratio of protein, carbs, fats, vitamins, and minerals while staying around your daily caloric intake needs. I do not define eating healthy as buying organic produce, GMO free meats, whole wheat pasta, no frozen stuff ever, etc. It's not necessary to buy any of that stuff in order to get proper nutrition.

Just because you can access healthy foods, doesn't mean everyone can. Lower income areas have less access to healthy foods...

Elitist bs. Walmart is the king of low-income neighborhood retail and you can find plenty of affordable, nutritious food there.

It is definitely more expensive to eat fresh fruits and vegetables than processed/junk foods especially if you do not shop at big box stores like WalMart of Costco which I do not.

So you avoid the cheapest grocery outlets and claim your food costs more because it's healthier? No, your food costs more because you have an aversion to big box grocery outlets that have a more efficient supply and production infrastructure. I shop at Target because it's the cheapest option near me. They have plenty of fresh produce, they have even cheaper frozen veggies (green beans, broccoli, corn peas, carrots) which are just as nutritious, albeit at the expense of some texture when cooked.

No one is getting fat or succumbing to health problems by choosing frozen vegetables with a longer shelf life over fresh produce.

Btw, many of the ones that market themselves as local joints are also owned by mega companies.

I switched to a plant based diet a month ago, no dairy,eggs, meat, cheese, fish or chicken and thought I'd have lower bills at the grocery store but just the contrary. I was spending about 40-50 a week and the last 4 weeks I've spend over 70-80 each week. Produce is expensive, if you want fresh, In my neck of the woods a small bunch of kale is $4, 3 small sweet potatoes cost me almost $5, a bag of oranges was $6. it adds up pretty fast. But on the other hand I can't put a price on how much better I feel physically & ethically so I'll keep forking out the dough

Most of what you are eating can't be digested by the human body, which is why fruits and veggies are so low in calories. So yea, massive amounts of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables that spoil quickly and are expensive to ship are going to cost more. But people don't have to eat a plant-only diet to eat healthy. In fact, it's probably not recommended by your average nutritionist.

So again, the only way eating healthy costs more is if you are sticking to TV dinners or you are buying snooty organic products. And the solution to that is A) learn to cook and stop buying overpriced produce. Again, my dinner tonight cost less than half of the average fast-food combo per person and came in at under 650 calories: Sausage and peppers with a side of baked ziti.

Dry black beans: about 99 cents per lb. Makes about 5 cups of prepared beans.
Frozen chicken breasts: about $8 for a bag containing 6-10 breasts.
Frozen blueberries: $11 for a 5 lb bag at costco. (I bought a bag in July that I'm still working through)
Whole wheat pasta costs maybe 25 cents more than white pasta.
Brown basmati rice is also about $1per pound, delicious and lower arsenic content than regular brown rice.

I spend LESS on food when I'm eating healthier because I eat out less frequently and my junk food budget is a fraction of what it was. I used to buy chips every time they were 2 for 5. That's $5 I can spend on fresh produce. I would buy 1-3 candy bars every timeI went to the store. I can buy a carton of greek yogurt instead. It ddoesn't have to cost much more if any.

I also disagree that it is more expensive.

Ultimately healthy choices provide a lot more nutrition which keeps you full MUCH longer than processed food. You are actually eating a fraction of what you would otherwise. At first it feels like it's so much more pricey, but once you get into the habit of what to buy and start eliminating the "other" things from your shopping trip, you really notice how much less it actually is.

Just some grist for your mill, next time you think eating well costs too much. I carry this information around with me for when I'm feeling whiny about my grocery bill.

Estimated lifetime cost of diabetes for an individual diagnosed at age 30, including out-of-pocket medical costs and lost productivity: $305,000. (American Diabetes Association)
Estimated lifetime cost of a heart attack: $700,000 to $1 milion, depending on the severity. (American Heart Association)
Average cost of one year of treatment for a woman with colorectal cancer: $51,327. (National Institutes of Health)

Average increase to my weekly grocery bill so the three of us can eat decent food: $30. If I spent that every week until I turned 100, that would be $103,080. Probably worth it, eh?

Eh, I pretty much think people who whine about how much "healthy" food costs are in the same category as people who complain that they don't have time to work out. When something matters to you, you miraculously find a way to make room for it in your life. If you don't want to eat vegetables, great. But don't act like the reason you don't eat them is because you can't afford them.

Eh, I pretty much think people who whine about how much "healthy" food costs are in the same category as people who complain that they don't have time to work out. When something matters to you, you miraculously find a way to make room for it in your life. If you don't want to eat vegetables, great. But don't act like the reason you don't eat them is because you can't afford them.

^^and this