Healthy Eating for Cheap

jerzeygirl619
jerzeygirl619 Posts: 17 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Why is healthy food so much more expensive than junk food? Fresh food does not come with coupons. Any suggestions on how to keep my grocery bill down while still eating healthy?

Replies

  • corderdeb
    corderdeb Posts: 57 Member
    Actually I do get coupons from my rewards card at King Soopers (Kroger). Not much $1.50 off $10 produce but every bit helps.
  • michellesz
    michellesz Posts: 429 Member
    Our Walmart matches any food store price on any item. I search online weekly ads for other local store sales & print the ads to bring in to have matched. That goes for any item whatsoever including meats, produce & is extremely cost saving with buy 1 get 1 free deals. Also helps to cut coupons if you can & to buy a little more up front for family size or reduced priced sale items for cheaper costs & then split the packaged meat yourself & store in frozen ziplock bags for when needed. I also keep an eye on produce that I buy that is going to spoil before it does like fresh fruits & peel & freeze them to use later in smoothies. :smile:
  • Carrieendar
    Carrieendar Posts: 493 Member
    Look for bulk produce suppliers in you area. We have one that delivers-- for 20$ last week I got 2 eggplants, 2 zucchini, 4 beets, 2 pints of blueberries, a pound of green beans, 2 heads of lettuce, a pint of grape tomatoes and 6 ears of corn. That is with delivery included!

    Frozen veggies are also a very good option. I also do some canned. I use unsalted canned corn in veggie tacos along with canned black beans. Canned tomatoes are a great option for sauces.

    Buying the items to make pizza dough (I make mine 100% whole wheat for added nutritional value) can save a ton of money. YOu have to invest in the yeast adn flour, but then you can make a ton and they freeze well, great for quick meals.

    whole grain rice and pasta are very cheap and so versatile. Greens are some of your cheapest veggies but they just take a little work.

    In the meat department, you just always have to watch for sales and not be afraid to buy in bulk and break down the packages to smaller portions and freeze.
  • PaulaKac
    PaulaKac Posts: 79 Member
    Look for a Farmers Market in your area. In my area, I can find one either Saturday Morning or Friday Early Evenings. The produce is usually cheaper and fresh. If you don't have a Farmers Market, check with neighbors who have gardens and they may sell you produce and may even give you their extra.
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  • bamagrits15
    bamagrits15 Posts: 131 Member
    Look for bulk produce suppliers in you area. We have one that delivers-- for 20$ last week I got 2 eggplants, 2 zucchini, 4 beets, 2 pints of blueberries, a pound of green beans, 2 heads of lettuce, a pint of grape tomatoes and 6 ears of corn. That is with delivery included!

    I am jealous of those prices!
  • Carrieendar
    Carrieendar Posts: 493 Member
    the delivery place is great but its take what you get kinda thing, but we love all kinds of produce so it works for us. in philly, we had a place you could go and they bought in bulk and passed savings on to you. You had to deal with lines and huge boxes to puta ll your stuff in, but it was worth it.
  • Sarasota_Guy
    Sarasota_Guy Posts: 82 Member
    I believe that's why we have an obesity epidemic in this country; far too easy to eat things off the .99 cent menu at the fast food places, coupled with our general lack of personal responsibility. It takes much more time and resources to plan out and eat healthier food.

    But, you can't put a price on health, so the final decision we need to be making is obvious.
  • mnwalkingqueen
    mnwalkingqueen Posts: 1,299 Member
    We have an Aldi in our are the produce is very cheap and lasts. I can buy all the stuff for a salad and it will last me a whole week at work for less than $5.00 little more if I buy cheese.
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  • bamagrits15
    bamagrits15 Posts: 131 Member
    I came to post a very similar question. I'm glad to see it isn't just me.

    I ask around a lot to find deals on locally grown produce. There is a website where you can search for pick your own farms in your area. I try to buy what I can in bulk that can be frozen. Look for farmers markets that run weekly. If you go towards the end you can make on offer on whatever is left and they will likely take it to keep from carrying the stuff home. Look for produce stands too in your area. They are sometimes cheaper than farmers market prices. You can find them by just asking around on social media usually.

    http://www.pickyourown.org/
  • Laurenloveswaffles
    Laurenloveswaffles Posts: 535 Member
    Five finger discount.
  • IGbnat24
    IGbnat24 Posts: 520 Member
    It's actually easy to eat healthy on the cheap. Buy in bulk when possible for things you can freeze or that have a long shelf life and pay attention to sales.

    Chicken breast: $2/lb
    Head of lettuce: $1
    Sweet potatoes: $1/lb
    In season fruit: $1/lb
    In season veggies: $1/lb
    Dry beans/rice: $1/lb (makes A LOT)
    Peanut butter: $3/jar
    Milk: $3/gallon
    Eggs: $1.50/dozen
    FF plain yogurt: $2/pint

    Prepackaged, ready to eat food is more expensive that fresh food all day long. You can easily eat well for less than $50/week.
  • bamagrits15
    bamagrits15 Posts: 131 Member
    There is a great blog I follow moneysavingmom.com and she post good ideas on menu planning and saving on healthy eating.

    Example: She posted about a printable coupon which can be used towards a sale coming up at Walgreens. Turkey bacon for $0.29! Yes please!
  • gizmo_2014
    gizmo_2014 Posts: 37
    I personally do not see how eating healthy is more expensive. We actually spend less now that we eat fresh produce and lean meats then we did eating frozen and processed foods. The key is proper planning and shopping.

    You don't need to shop at places like Whole Foods. We buy all our groceries from WalMart. Great quality for the prices! We also only buy in season or on sale produce. Sure, we love strawberries but we do not buy them at their regular price of $4. We buy bagged apples which are much cheaper then the single ones. We do not buy pre-washed/prepared salads because they are more expensive. We do not buy pre-shredded cheese for the same reason.

    Stock up on meat and non-perishables when they are on sale. Portion and freeze meat. Make meals where you can stretch ingredients. Stir frys are great for that! You don't need a whole piece of chicken or steak per person and adding rice stretches out your budget. Buy dried beans, not canned. Eat vegetarian now and again to save on meat costs. Don't buy lunch meats... bake a chicken breast or turkey breast and thinly slice.

    Make what you can yourself to save money!

    Meal plan and shop smart and it will be cheaper.
  • hallo_spacedog
    hallo_spacedog Posts: 40 Member
    Use rice as a staple instead of bread. It doesn't really get cheaper than a giant bag of rice.
  • WonkaCat
    WonkaCat Posts: 42
    In the summer, I buy as much produce as I can from farmer's markets. Cucumbers 2 for $1, things like that. Where I live, we have three grocery stores, so I look through their online sales flyers and plan my meals by what is on sale. For instance, blueberries are on sale 2 pints for $4 at one store, whereas the others have pints for $4-$5. It takes a bit of extra effort but well worth it. When chicken goes on sale, I will pick up more and freeze it.
  • candistyx
    candistyx Posts: 547 Member
    I think it's a fallacy and a popular myth, but it's not true at all. I find eating good food to be much less expensive than junk food. It's been shown in many different ways, but it has to do with the way you are thinking about the issue. When you buy food, you are buying meals, in some cases, some of those meals may last several days. When you look at buying one meal at Mc D's, that seems cheaper, but it's far more expensive if you were to eat all your meals there.
    I find its cheap to buy carbohydrate that is healthy (vegetables basically) but the protein is very expensive. Not that there is a lot of protein in junk food, but damn I find I always end up scrimping by using less of the protein stuff just because it costs more.

    one meal's worth of rice = £0.10
    one meal's worth of beef £5
    one meal's worth of tuna = £1.50
    (cheapest source) one meal's worth of eggs £0.40

    I can only eat so many eggs before I get tired of them.
  • eliseofthejungle
    eliseofthejungle Posts: 113 Member
    It's actually easy to eat healthy on the cheap. Buy in bulk when possible for things you can freeze or that have a long shelf life and pay attention to sales.

    Chicken breast: $2/lb
    Head of lettuce: $1
    Sweet potatoes: $1/lb
    In season fruit: $1/lb
    In season veggies: $1/lb
    Dry beans/rice: $1/lb (makes A LOT)
    Peanut butter: $3/jar
    Milk: $3/gallon
    Eggs: $1.50/dozen
    FF plain yogurt: $2/pint

    Prepackaged, ready to eat food is more expensive that fresh food all day long. You can easily eat well for less than $50/week.

    Um, yeah, double those prices (except for the eggs - they're $2/dozen) and you'll be close to what they are here.
  • bmannen1
    bmannen1 Posts: 77 Member
    It's actually easy to eat healthy on the cheap. Buy in bulk when possible for things you can freeze or that have a long shelf life and pay attention to sales.

    Chicken breast: $2/lb
    Head of lettuce: $1
    Sweet potatoes: $1/lb
    In season fruit: $1/lb
    In season veggies: $1/lb
    Dry beans/rice: $1/lb (makes A LOT)
    Peanut butter: $3/jar
    Milk: $3/gallon
    Eggs: $1.50/dozen
    FF plain yogurt: $2/pint

    Prepackaged, ready to eat food is more expensive that fresh food all day long. You can easily eat well for less than $50/week.

    Everything that you mentioned is way more expensive where I am for example

    a dozen eggs - $4.50 - $5.50
    A gallon of milk - $5.50

    I wish it was that cheap:(
  • piersonj
    piersonj Posts: 62 Member
    It's actually easy to eat healthy on the cheap. Buy in bulk when possible for things you can freeze or that have a long shelf life and pay attention to sales.

    Chicken breast: $2/lb
    Head of lettuce: $1
    Sweet potatoes: $1/lb
    In season fruit: $1/lb
    In season veggies: $1/lb
    Dry beans/rice: $1/lb (makes A LOT)
    Peanut butter: $3/jar
    Milk: $3/gallon
    Eggs: $1.50/dozen
    FF plain yogurt: $2/pint

    Prepackaged, ready to eat food is more expensive that fresh food all day long. You can easily eat well for less than $50/week.

    Where do you live. Even on in season and sale I can't get food as most of those prices. The only time I see chicken breast at $2.00 per pound is when it has about 12 hours left on its sale by date.
  • kenyainez
    kenyainez Posts: 222 Member
    I used to think it was more expensive also until I sat down, planned out my meals and then shopped according to my list. Many of the items I purchase aren't over $4. Brown rice, fruits, veggies, whole wheat pastas, and so on can be very cheap. Now when you get into tofu, portobello mushrooms, quinoa, and gluten free rice flour and the like it can be a little pricey for such the small amount; but then again I don't use these things very often and am very selective to the kind that I buy. I recommend you just decide what you'd like to eat, make a shopping list, find the best sales and deals and you'll realize it's not expensive, or should I say anymore expensive than anything else. Have you seen the price of a big bag of dorito's lately? LOL
  • ryblueeyes
    ryblueeyes Posts: 257 Member
    http://bountifulbaskets.org/
  • Zx14chick
    Zx14chick Posts: 255 Member
    The trifecta for me is not being very good in the kitchen, not enjoying being in the kitchen and there only being the two of us who tire of leftovers very quickly. If I could bring myself to enjoying cooking, I think we'd be in great shape (physically and monetarily).
  • jr235
    jr235 Posts: 201 Member
    Aaah it makes me nuts when people say this because unless you are buying the trendy 'health' food or ridiculous out of season imported fruit/veggies eating healthy is sooo much cheaper than processed food, even fast food.

    Eggs, beans, lentils and rice are as cheap as they come. A whole chicken, or even a cooked rotisserie chicken, will last you for several meals. You can even order different grains through whole sale supply or amazon and get them good and cheap. Get fruits/veggies in season and on sale, and supplement with frozen.
  • candistyx
    candistyx Posts: 547 Member
    A whole chicken, or even a cooked rotisserie chicken
    You must be thinking of someone else, me and my partner can make a chicken last at most 3 meals (not including making stock) and free range chicken (less a heath issue than an ethics one) is still like 10-12 quid per chicken.

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