But eating right is so expensive...

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  • snazzyjazzy21
    snazzyjazzy21 Posts: 1,298 Member
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    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.

    Not where I live. I apologize if New Zealand doesn't have a walmart on every corner, and judging by what other people are saying, it's not true for them either.

    And it's not BS, it's fact. Care for some light reading?

    http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/123312/2/gillespie - current.pdf
    http://frac.org/initiatives/hunger-and-obesity/why-are-low-income-and-food-insecure-people-vulnerable-to-obesity/
    http://www.stfm.org/fmhub/fm2010/April/Andrew280.pdf
    http://www.foodsystems-integrity.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Making_Healthy_Food_More_Accessible_for_Low-Income_People.28645148.pdf
    http://www.foodsystems-integrity.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Making_Healthy_Food_More_Accessible_for_Low-Income_People.28645148.pdf
  • QueenWino
    QueenWino Posts: 106
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    Eating an organic, non GMO, heavily seasonal diet is more expensive but eating a frozen veggie, bulk meat on sale, best options at a major supermarket diet is, depending on one's views, just as healthy. I prefer the former, I am willing to spend a ton for it, but it works for my viewpoint in life. My food cost for the fresh berries alone is ridiculous, but when Costco had a food poisoning scare across 4 states w/a frozen berry blend, I was safe. A lot of my friends are worried they contracted hepatitis as several people in my community did. That, to me, is the true bs. Economical healthy eating shouldn't make one paranoid they'll contract a disease or infection.
  • pavrg
    pavrg Posts: 277 Member
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    I think it was pretty clear that I was talking about America where cheap food is abundant almost everywhere except major metropolitan and extremely rural areas. I have lived in 6 states with varied median incomes in areas of various population densities and never went without the basic staples of a western diet at a major grocery store available at locally affordable prices (and no I don't mean chips and chef boyardee). There are some foods that don't make it to certain places, but they don't make or break a nutritional diet. The notion that a supermarket in a lower income area doesn't carry chicken, beef, potatoes, rice, frozen or canned veggies and fruit, pasta, milk, and eggs at affordable prices is elitist bs. If you think you need access to fresh fish and organic produce to eat right then you should do more research on nutrition and less about how low income area grocery stores don't carry those products.

    I mean, yea, there are also people starving in Sudan right now because they live on arid land. Hardly relevant, and they probably wouldn't be *****ing about affording $5/lb organic kale, buying 30# of oranges to support not eating cheaper food with actual caloric value, and being too good to shop at big box stores if cheap food were available to them.

    But hey, open up a Wal-Mart franchise out in Australia and you'll be a millionaire. Apparently it's in demand.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    It actually just doesn't cost that much to eat right. When I was really broke, we ate beans, rice,eggs, cheese, lentils, raw, canned, and frozen veggies, and made our own bread and tortillas. My food bill was half what it is now that I can afford meat.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    Honestly the issue isn't so much affording food...it's having the time to prepare it. As someone who works 60 + hours a week and has other responsibilities outside of work (who doesn't?!) I just don't always have the time to prepare meals which means I often turn to fast food, frozen dinners etc but I have learned how to fit this into a healthy life style

    It's absolutely true we're all very busy. It's also true that the more you cook the less time it takes and the more 'quickie' meals you learn to make.
  • NicoleCooney92
    NicoleCooney92 Posts: 43 Member
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    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.

    Agreed: I'm not doing drive-thru breakfast in the morning, I"m brown bagging it to work, no more "after work" snacks on my way home from work, and no more pizza, chinese, or KFC for supper. Consequently, while my grocery bill has gone up, my net food bill has gone down.
  • brraanndi
    brraanndi Posts: 325 Member
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    I know someone is going to flip but I stopped buying organic and going places like Trader Joes and life got alot better. I recommend it to anyone who complains of prices.

    I can go somewhere like Superior Grocers and get 4 lbs of tomatoes for a buck ( exaggerating here but it was something similiar, literally had to fight people to get to them ), why would I go somewhere else if price was a concern?

    I still spend what I consider to be too much for two people ( 50-100 a week ) but I'm getting SO MUCH FOOD.

    It may not be perfect but it's a hell of a lot healthier than I was eating before.
  • Bobbiezilla
    Bobbiezilla Posts: 157 Member
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    Make a stock with that chicken carcass! :happy: I'm a total frugal geek....a Chicken carcass (or bones accumulated from dinners saved in the freezer) a couple of carrots an celery tops, 1/2 an onion, a quartered potato and a bay leaf in a stock pot filled with water and simmered for a Saturday makes an impressive amount of stock! Freeze it in containers and you can make tasty homemade soups and stews for next to nothing. Best part.....no sodium! Campbell's/ Chunky/ Habitant..... Pfffft, you got nothing on homemade soup!

    This is a tough conversation on a global scale like MFP. Personally I think it is way cheaper but more time consuming to eat less processed foods where I live (smallish town in BC, Canada) but I can see how in some parts of the world it is much different. In Northern Canada it is insanely expensive compared to the rest of the country for fresh foods and milk, we're talking $15 for a bag of apples (http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/07/30/nutrition-north-food-subsidy-auditor-general_n_3677106.html). Something needs to be done about that!
  • DawnOBRN
    DawnOBRN Posts: 290 Member
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    We have forgotten that food is supposed to provide us nutrition as well as energy to keep going. Where is the nutrition in a package of ramen or $5 carry-out pizza? Can you pronounce or recognize any of the ingredients in some of this "food" that is so cheap?
    There are a million websites providing guidance on how to eat healthy and plan meals on the web. People just need to put their priorities in order. I've made all the excuses myself with no time, etc. It is a pain in the *kitten* to plan and prep meals, I agree!!
  • ShinyFuture
    ShinyFuture Posts: 314 Member
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    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.

    ^^This
  • Bobbiezilla
    Bobbiezilla Posts: 157 Member
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    (Or have my husband get that elk to put in the freezer.)

    Lol..... I told my hubby I was on the lookout for friends who hunt and fish.... that's some healthy, local, free meat!
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
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    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?

    There's no guarantee that you won't suffer from at least one of those things even if you eat well. Life is more fun when you're fit.
  • snazzyjazzy21
    snazzyjazzy21 Posts: 1,298 Member
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    We have forgotten that food is supposed to provide us nutrition as well as energy to keep going. Where is the nutrition in a package of ramen or $5 carry-out pizza? Can you pronounce or recognize any of the ingredients in some of this "food" that is so cheap?
    There are a million websites providing guidance on how to eat healthy and plan meals on the web. People just need to put their priorities in order. I've made all the excuses myself with no time, etc. It is a pain in the *kitten* to plan and prep meals, I agree!!

    Calories come first and nutrition comes second for many people. I can get more 'energy' from a $1 cheeseburger than I can from $1 worth of fruit.

    And the 'can you pronounce the ingredients' reason is ridiculous. If I CAN pronounce them, does that mean I can eat it? What does my ability to pronounce words have to do with how good something is? Most people probably can't pronounce Oligosaccharide but I'm pretty sure that doesn't make it bad.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,022 Member
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    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.
  • ihateyoga
    ihateyoga Posts: 111
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    For me, it's a lot cheaper to buy groceries and cook at home.
  • LillyBoots
    LillyBoots Posts: 114 Member
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    There really are 2 distinct groups of people on MFP 1. Those that want to lose weight 2. Those that want to eat healthy and lose weight.

    Basic junk food will always be the cheaper option than fresh produce as it has a longer shelf life and takes up less space to produce. Increasingly time poor people will gravitate to prepacked meals.

    I eat organic and I've doubled the cost of my groceries doing so but that's my choice.
  • justwanderful
    justwanderful Posts: 142 Member
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    Just because you can access healthy foods, doesn't mean everyone can. Lower income areas have less access to healthy foods, and when they can get them, the prices are often greatly inflated. Never work on the assumption that everyone can eat healthy just because you can.


    I call BS on this. If it were true, the lowest income earners wouldn't have the highest percentage of smokers in their group.

    I shop at Trader Joe's for certain items and notice that the average shopper there is fit, to slightly overweight. In their carts are a mix of what many on this site would consider 'more healthful' items. They seem to have no problem paying for them.

    I shop at the local Mexican Supermarket because they have great produce & fresh meat prices. The average shoppers I see there are obese to morbidly obese. In their carts are a mixture of tortillas, sugary drinks, some produce and lots of carbohydrates. They also seem to have no problem paying for their groceries.

    The real difference in these shoppers: education, upbringing and attitude.
  • ShinyFuture
    ShinyFuture Posts: 314 Member
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    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
  • OMGeeeHorses
    OMGeeeHorses Posts: 732 Member
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    When I eat all organic produce, then yes I will agree it gets VERY EXPENSIVE!! but when I have one of those days were I don't care if its organic or not. I notice I save quiet a bit of money. I just make sure it is non- Gmo. That's why shopping is expensive for me, because I have my own morals than compared to others. Like today I got 2lbs of organic grapes for 1.99lb and the cheap kind were a 1.99lb as well, whenever it is the same or like 3 cents more I will always choose Organic. But others don't have that comfort. I have gone to many other states and what is cheap here in Maine is like 2 dollars more a lb for them. So really you have to be shopper savvy to get a great deal on great products. Also if its out of season then buy it frozen, frozen obviously will last longer and makes it easier for you to eat it when you want to.
  • OMGeeeHorses
    OMGeeeHorses Posts: 732 Member
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    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

    100% agree *claps*

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