But eating right is so expensive...
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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.
I never said low income earners spend their money wisely, but they do have less access to healthy foods. I put links in a post above if anyone's interested in facts outside their personal experience.
eta: yes, it looks like I have my groucho pants on today, my apologies. :flowerforyou:0 -
Okay honestly what you eat really has nothing to do with your income!! it has to do with your knowledge and want to eat healthy foods and stay active! I mean come on, I was raised in a very healthy home and then I got out in the world and bam! look at the ticker it shows and tells all.. I figured forget moms healthy meals and hello soda, candy, pizza and microwave!! We CHOOSE what we want to be, not because of our income. But because of the drive in us to either succeed or fail. I mean don't get me wrong I know there are health issues and other things that play a role for others ( I have one myself) but in the long run it all comes down to YOU!0
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Okay honestly what you eat really has nothing to do with your income!! it has to do with your knowledge and want to eat healthy foods and stay active! I mean come on, I was raised in a very healthy home and then I got out in the world and bam! look at the ticker it shows and tells all.. I figured forget moms healthy meals and hello soda, candy, pizza and microwave!! We CHOOSE what we want to be, not because of our income. But because of the drive in us to either succeed or fail. I mean don't get me wrong I know there are health issues and other things that play a role for others ( I have one myself) but in the long run it all comes down to YOU!
So, how do you eat healthy food when you don't have a car and the only places to get food that you can walk, bike, or take the public transportation to are fast food and 7/11?0 -
Okay honestly what you eat really has nothing to do with your income!! it has to do with your knowledge and want to eat healthy foods and stay active! I mean come on, I was raised in a very healthy home and then I got out in the world and bam! look at the ticker it shows and tells all.. I figured forget moms healthy meals and hello soda, candy, pizza and microwave!! We CHOOSE what we want to be, not because of our income. But because of the drive in us to either succeed or fail. I mean don't get me wrong I know there are health issues and other things that play a role for others ( I have one myself) but in the long run it all comes down to YOU!
So, how do you eat healthy food when you don't have a car and the only places to get food that you can walk, bike, or take the public transportation to are fast food and 7/11?
Well I myself normally walk the 8 miles it is to the store and get what I want and put it in a backpack. I only have one car and my husband normally has it all day for work. *shrugs* I mean it depends on who you are and what you are willing to do for your health. I understand most people can't do that and I have no ill will towards them. But it has nothing to do with the income. It has to do with other means that stop you from being able to get to the healthy food.0 -
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!
I can get at least 1.5-2 meals out of a whole chicken for a family of four (including a ravenous teenage son), and I always freeze the stock after cooking the chicken. I usually boil the bird, cool, and shred the meat. Any shredded chicken I don't use for that night's meal goes into the freezer, which ends up being around a pound, depending on the size of the bird- usually more than enough for a second meal, and often, a workday lunch.
Considering chicken stock is, on average, $1.00 a can (about 2 cups?), saving and using the stock is where I "make my money back" on the cost of the chicken. It's the cheapest, most versatile protein you can buy.
The last couple of years, I've also bought an "extra" turkey during the holiday season for later in the winter- they are even cheaper than whole chickens when they're in season. You have to do some prep work, but it's so inexpensive it's worth an hour of a weekend afternoon to do it.
ETA: It's NOT that expensive to eat healthy. It takes a little time, some nutritional education, calculations, and mostly, experience. Put some time and effort into it if it's something you care about. Read healthy food blogs (there are some FANTASTIC ones out there!), type up a dinner schedule (this REALLY helps me, including on cutting costs!) and take your time in the grocery store, to really think about what you're buying, when you will be using it, if it fits in with your lifestyle goals, and if it's cost/time effective for you. It all simply takes some practice.0 -
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!
I can get at least 1.5-2 meals out of a whole chicken for a family of four (including a ravenous teenage son), and I always freeze the stock after cooking the chicken. I usually boil the bird, cool, and shred the meat. Any shredded chicken I don't use for that night's meal goes into the freezer, which ends up being around a pound, depending on the size of the bird- usually more than enough for a second meal, and often, a workday lunch.
Considering chicken stock is, on average, $1.00 a can (about 2 cups?), saving and using the stock is where I "make my money back" on the cost of the chicken. It's the cheapest, most versatile protein you can buy.
The last couple of years, I've also bought an "extra" turkey during the holiday season for later in the winter- they are even cheaper than whole chickens when they're in season. You have to do some prep work, but it's so inexpensive it's worth an hour of a weekend afternoon to do it.
thanks a million!! I am so doing that this year!! both the stock and the turkey0 -
You're welcome! I rarely buy chicken/turkey stock anymore, which saves me big money- I use it in an awful lot of recipes- especially in the winter when I do a lot of soups. I ladle it into sandwich size ziplocks, lay them flat on a cookie sheet, and freeze them. Once they are frozen, they are pretty easy to find room for if I have to rearrange. If I'm feeling lazy, I just use bigger ziplocks.0
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Okay honestly what you eat really has nothing to do with your income!! it has to do with your knowledge and want to eat healthy foods and stay active! I mean come on, I was raised in a very healthy home and then I got out in the world and bam! look at the ticker it shows and tells all.. I figured forget moms healthy meals and hello soda, candy, pizza and microwave!! We CHOOSE what we want to be, not because of our income. But because of the drive in us to either succeed or fail. I mean don't get me wrong I know there are health issues and other things that play a role for others ( I have one myself) but in the long run it all comes down to YOU!
So, how do you eat healthy food when you don't have a car and the only places to get food that you can walk, bike, or take the public transportation to are fast food and 7/11?
Well I myself normally walk the 8 miles it is to the store and get what I want and put it in a backpack. I only have one car and my husband normally has it all day for work. *shrugs* I mean it depends on who you are and what you are willing to do for your health. I understand most people can't do that and I have no ill will towards them. But it has nothing to do with the income. It has to do with other means that stop you from being able to get to the healthy food.
Is it uphill both ways?;)
ETA: You live in MAINE, and you walk 8 miles to get groceries? In the winter?0 -
Okay honestly what you eat really has nothing to do with your income!! it has to do with your knowledge and want to eat healthy foods and stay active! I mean come on, I was raised in a very healthy home and then I got out in the world and bam! look at the ticker it shows and tells all.. I figured forget moms healthy meals and hello soda, candy, pizza and microwave!! We CHOOSE what we want to be, not because of our income. But because of the drive in us to either succeed or fail. I mean don't get me wrong I know there are health issues and other things that play a role for others ( I have one myself) but in the long run it all comes down to YOU!
So, how do you eat healthy food when you don't have a car and the only places to get food that you can walk, bike, or take the public transportation to are fast food and 7/11?
Well I myself normally walk the 8 miles it is to the store and get what I want and put it in a backpack. I only have one car and my husband normally has it all day for work. *shrugs* I mean it depends on who you are and what you are willing to do for your health. I understand most people can't do that and I have no ill will towards them. But it has nothing to do with the income. It has to do with other means that stop you from being able to get to the healthy food.
The two factors the USDA uses in determining if an area is a food desert are income and proximity to grocery stores. Income is a factor in one's access to healthy food. To make ends meet, people making minimum wage typically have to have two or three jobs, and thus are unlikely to have time to walk 8 miles to the store. Yes, these obstacles can be overcome, but that in and of itself can put a lot of strain on a family. My point is, there are many factors that affect whether or not someone has access to healthy food, and income is one of them. It's a complicated issue, and it will take many methods to solve it.0 -
Eating well costs quite a bit more money than eating the standard American diet, which is why most people don't do it.
I would say this is false. Barring regional food deserts, where people don't really have the option to select healthy food, I think people generally choose unhealthy food because it tastes good and is convenient. I very occasionally shop at Whole Foods, and the people shopping there are buying the same **** everyone else at normal grocery stores are buying. Sure, their chocolate muffins have no preservatives and are organic, but it's a premade chocolate desert (breakfast item? Muffins confuse me). And their frozen dinners are $7/box, but they're still frozen dinners. The quality of ingredients might be better or the standards of the companies might be loftier, but it's still convenience foods. And these are, generally, consumers with plenty of money to purchase basic, healthy foods. But they're buying less healthy, convenient, tasty options. Because they are people with the option to do so.0 -
Okay honestly what you eat really has nothing to do with your income!! it has to do with your knowledge and want to eat healthy foods and stay active! I mean come on, I was raised in a very healthy home and then I got out in the world and bam! look at the ticker it shows and tells all.. I figured forget moms healthy meals and hello soda, candy, pizza and microwave!! We CHOOSE what we want to be, not because of our income. But because of the drive in us to either succeed or fail. I mean don't get me wrong I know there are health issues and other things that play a role for others ( I have one myself) but in the long run it all comes down to YOU!
So, how do you eat healthy food when you don't have a car and the only places to get food that you can walk, bike, or take the public transportation to are fast food and 7/11?
Well I myself normally walk the 8 miles it is to the store and get what I want and put it in a backpack. I only have one car and my husband normally has it all day for work. *shrugs* I mean it depends on who you are and what you are willing to do for your health. I understand most people can't do that and I have no ill will towards them. But it has nothing to do with the income. It has to do with other means that stop you from being able to get to the healthy food.
Is it uphill both ways?;)
ETA: You live in MAINE, and you walk 8 miles to get groceries? In the winter?
ha ha its up hill one way!! In the winter I will snowshoe sometimes to get little things if its a nice sunny day out. But most days I will wait till saturday when I can have the car0 -
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*0 -
Well, I can tell you that tomorrow, 9/12/13, I will have been doing this for 18 months, and I can tell you that I have spent way less money eating healthy than I did before. A lot less money. If you are eating correct portion sizes and cooking from scratch, I don't know how it could be more expensive. Buying sale items, preparing and freezing individual portions.
Sorry, I just don't buy the more expensive theory.0 -
I'm betting you dont live in Australia then. I get 8 chicken THIGHS... yeah not even breasts....for $14..... yeah not cheap.... but damn cheaper than that price for 2 breasts.
Forget other stuff..... hell even peaches are $8 a kg.0 -
Oh another one of these arguments. Yes it is more expensive, it just depends on how much you want to eat healthy and you can make it happen. In the UK we have the NHS so dont pay for medicine. It comes out our taxes0
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I love your writing style. I agree eating healthy is more expensive.
For me, a bigger problem has been convenience and lack of planning.
But I also think that with good planning, costs can be brought down so they aren't as much.
Good luck in your weight loss!0 -
It's only more expensive if you buy into organic produce, whole wheat pasta, 'healthy' TV dinners, and other fad stuff that really has no effect on anything.
If you just shy away from junk like cookies, chips, etc. and stay away from eating out, then eating healthy is significantly cheaper for you. My entire dinner tonight cost me less than $3.50/serving and comes in at under 650 calories.
Organic is a fad? Lol. I'll be sure to let my naturopath know that and my father in laws John Hopkins oncologist know that.0 -
Eating healthy would be cheaper for me if I didn't buy organic. The biggest change is the time it takes to prepare meals now instead of unwrapping them. I can do this because I only work part time, but it would be much harder if both parents worked full time. Sometimes, there's a 15 minute window between activities to actually eat. So, I can understand why it seems daunting to eat healthy.0
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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?
Dude, right on. For me personally just with quick calculations I've saved over 3K by not having a monthly blood pressure medication or having to buy supplies for my CPAP machine. Those are the only things that I figured out but I know there is more.
People that say it's to expensive to eat healthy are just looking for an excuse to keep eating the way they are. Great Post.0 -
Absolutely, eating home is a lot cheaperthan eating out. Cooking healthy is much better than going out for ha,burgers and pizza... Grab spices.. Cook a curry. Healthy and delicious..0
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I find healthy eating cheaper than eating junk
I dont buy pop (soda), chips (fries), crisps, chocolate, cheese, pudding etc
I stock up on veg and meat and I cook as much as I can from scratch my food bill is less than it used to be as its more thought out and controlled0 -
It's also easy enough to find chicken breast for $2.00/lb if you watch for when it goes on sale. Whole chickens are often less than $1/lb (of course, you're going to be tossing the carcass, so it's not entirely a fair comparison, but still...)
I'm so jealous of American pricing!! 1kg (2.2lbs) of chicken in Australia is around $12.00. On a really great special, you can get it for around $9, but for me that means driving to somewhere that is probably more than $1 petrol away!0 -
I find healthy eating cheaper than eating junk
I dont buy pop (soda), chips (fries), crisps, chocolate, cheese, pudding etc
I stock up on veg and meat and I cook as much as I can from scratch my food bill is less than it used to be as its more thought out and controlled
This is how I feel. Chicken breast is $1.99 a pound at Walmart. Frozen veggies are a buck a small bag and maybe $5 for a HUGE bag. Farmers markets are pretty cheap if you go the fresh route. The argument I usually hear is how a salad at a restaurant costs more than a burger. So? Cook at home and skip the mark up on either.0 -
My grocery bills have remained pretty flat, but I do most of my shopping at Costco so that helps a lot.
The thing is, my bills are the same (junk vs. healthy) but I haven't felt full all year. This eating only what I need thing is hard. If I were eating healthier foods in the quantities I was eating of junk food before, my bills would definitely be higher. I shudder to think what the bills are going to be like when I get to maintenance and can increase my calories.0 -
For me personally, food and fitness are two places I am willing to spend more money. I will shop at TJ Maxx and Marshals until the day I die for my clothes and drive my car until it's falling apart. But even when I was making much less money than I do now it was much cheaper for me to buy whole foods and cook for myself than it was for me to eat fast food, buy frozen dinners and other prepared meals or food items. And this was in a supposed BFE town in Montana.
I understand that not everyone has good financial situations and we all live in different ares. But I also bet that if people ran out the cost of prepping your own meals and yes even the time it takes if you use things like slow cookers while you are at work, the cost and time of fast food and prepared food items really isn't that much cheaper. Just takes a little bit of planning to do... which is work... which most people don't want to do.0 -
I can't buy whole wheat bread or other 'healthier' carb products because they're simply too expensive, when eating one day may literally come down to whether I have those 25 cents or not.
My food bills increased despite buying the cheapest of the cheapest because the junk food I filled up on costs significantly less than the vegetables and fruits I now stock up on regularly, whether that's frozen or fresh produce.
Before I started this healthy weight loss journey I was already down 40lbs simply because I had not enough money to buy food and suffered from a severe depression. Changing my lifestyle forced me to juggle incredibly with my resources and I had to make sacrifices in other areas. Not buying new clothes despite the fact I only own one pair of jeans that literally slide off my hips when I walk 100 steps is one of them.
I made it happen, but where I managed to survive off 50 euros a month on groceries, I now have to spend at least double that to live healthy. I wasn't living healthy before, completely deprived of vitamins and other nutrients. I looked like crap after the first 40 pounds came off.
I don't live in the US where supermarkets offer regular foods for so damn cheap it almost makes me cry in desperation when I read about it, so I can't speak for anyone else. I just know that my situation is pretty tight, and I feel very insulted when someone tells me that living healthier costs less. It really doesn't for me.0 -
I'm not guessing, I've kept financial track: I spend less now that I'm eating healthy foods than I did when I was eating junk. Alcohol, chips and dip, candy is outrageously expensive. I find it amazing how little per pound it costs to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.0
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I spend a lot on groceries, about 80-100$ for one person a week. I buy mostly organic and I do sometimes buy frivolous ingredients, but it makes me happy. Sometimes I can cut that down to 40$ and still eat healthfully with the bulk organic grains I have on hand from when I had a higher bill. There are some places in this country where only fast food and liquor stores are available and all full of junk food. This is where people need to write or call to the stores and demand they carry what they need and they also need to start getting political and tell their local government that their community does not cater to the health needs of them and their families. If there is a huge cost issue here, you can grow your own vegetables (it really does work). There are community farms if you do not have yard space. When there is a will, there is a way.
If you don't have time then cook your foods only one day a week on the weekend. You'll be saving money and still have the convenience of pre-packed meals during the week that you can plan to fit your caloric intake goals. Look up meal prep mondays for ideas.
And remember no one needs "super foods" to eat healthfully. Organic is not a fad, but goji berry, chia seeds and other exotic ingredients tot his country are. Regular fruits and vegetables are all super foods, even bulk carrots and celery.0 -
Eating healthy would be cheaper for me if I didn't buy organic. The biggest change is the time it takes to prepare meals now instead of unwrapping them. I can do this because I only work part time, but it would be much harder if both parents worked full time. Sometimes, there's a 15 minute window between activities to actually eat. So, I can understand why it seems daunting to eat healthy.
Quite a few foods that are raised "organic" don't actual involve any different practices than what is involved in standard agricultural operations: http://whole9life.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/whole9-seasonal-produce-2012.pdf0 -
If you are willing to cook and explore options, eating healthy food is not expensive. It is a myth. (What is expensive is cell phone plans and satellite TV/radio, the latest gadgets, interest on your credit card, etc).You can make lean meats go a long way. I think the truth is that home cooking on a daily basis is a dying art. We depend on processed and prepared foods and forget that we can actually buy the limited number of ingredients we need to prepare something and benefit from that. Finding the TIME is probably the problem for a lot of people, but, as in the rest of life, it's all about priorities. You really can cook for a day and eat for a week. Think about it.0
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