Eating healthy is expensive...

I don't find it more expensive at all. I do shop "smart" and frugally...but even when I get specialty, gourmet, and convenience items it is still roughly the same as I've ever spent, and often cheaper.

If you think eating healty is expensive you should investigate the cost of diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol and other ailments cause by not eating healty. Compare the cost in quality of life and dollars and make your choices.

I don't think I've ever seen chicken breast for $2/lb. Or any other part of the chicken. I still don't agree that eating healthy has to be expensive. If you buy into all the crap that is advertised, then yeah, it might get expensive. Eat simple and buy as much of the basics as you can at once if it's cheaper to do so.

Not really.

Chicken breast $2//lb
In season fresh veggies less than $1/lb
Etc.

I often see this: chicken breast, 2$/lb. Very very occasionally I can find it on sale at 1.99$ or 2.49$ and I stock up, but my family of 6 may well eat 10lbs of this a week. Not to mention the cost of fresh produce, dairy, etc.

i guess i need to take into consideration where i live, you're right. im in downtown Toronto, so youre right, there is always a markup up regardless of where you shop in the city.

but still...it is expensive...add to that, protien bars, shakes etc...it can really add up for the month.

Protein bars & shakes are not necessary for "eating healthy". Eating healthy means buying basic ingredients and cooking them yourself and, even in a downtown urban area, can be far less expensive than buying pre-packaged convenience foods, and you can find fresh ingredients at any grocery store (you don't need to buy organic at overpriced "health food" stores)

I think it really depends on where you live, all my friends who live in larger cities complain about their food bills. I'm really lucky to live in a rural village & with the village market open 4 days a week plus all the local farm shops so all my fresh produce I can get really cheap if I just get what is seasonal or what they have offers on. I Only go to the big supermarkets to get the stuff I can't get anywhere else.

I'm vegetarian (and can't tolerate cow dairy) and it's still cheaper to prep my stuff from fresh 'in season' produce, beans, rice, nuts and sheep's milk cheese than it is to buy packaged foods. I mean, yeh, a Michelina's sale at 1.50$ a meal is cheap, but I would need to eat at least 2 or even 3 to fill-up. I can eat a super meal at home for that.

*Edited for spelling mistakes :embarassed:

It is only expensive if you are vegan, buy strictly organic, or buy free range/grass fed meats.

Otherwise it is fairly inexpensive.

See my above comment, I feed a family of five on $550 a month completely vegan. Not expensive.

That is actually pretty admirable. Though I am curious as to the daily caloric and macrinutrient spreads you are able to achieve that way.

Myself, I don't eat as much as I should. My diary is completely open to view, if you're curious. As fas as my boys are concerned, I make a lot of foods from scratch. My older boys (9 and 8) eat about 1000 to 1800 a day (varies because, well, kids get wildly picky and things and their appetites change from day to day). I make a lot of foods from scratch. I often make very rich pasta sauces to get healthy fats in them, and I pack peanut butter, homemade hummus sandwiches. I sneak in avocados and other veg/fruit that they wouldn't voluntarily eat into said hummus or in tomato sauces and smoothies. I use a cheap, soy protein powder that I buy in bulk in smoothies as well, and because it's flavorless, I can add it into hummus and sauces. There is a Grocery Outlet in town that gets a lot of the other purchased stuff from other stores (I assume that's how it works?), and sells a lot of vegan specialty items very cheaply like the burgers and nuggets and ice cream and things of that nature. And soy milk can be found at the dollar store and I stock up whenever I find hemp milk at Grocery Outlet. Bananas are a main staple fruit as well and pretty high calorie. Breakfast cereals and granola and nuts and seeds in bulk are also awesome. Oh, and potatoes! Lots of potatoes! And beans and lentils in bulk. I'm lucky to have two older boys that like a variety of food.

My youngest (4) is a far pickier eater. I have to do a lot of bargaining to get him to eat, but he'll eat about 800 to 1200 calories a day. I sneak protein powder into his milk which is where he gets most of his calories from because he is so anti-food these past six months. That and cereal, "nuggets," peanut butter sandwiches, bananas, and pumpkin seeds are pretty much all he eats. It seems like a decent varierty, so I'm not too worried ATM.

im going to have to quit smoking and drinking premium beer.

but seriously...no wonder there are so many overweight / obese people out there, eating healthy drains your wallet.

Eating crappy drains your health.

Seriously though...with planning, there is no need for healthy eating to cost any more than eating junk food.

Chicken breasts on sale, fresh produce in season, brown rice= affordable.

But I'm with you on the smoking costs...before I quit nearly 3 months ago I was spending $17.55 PER DAY.

I'm feeling freaking rich these days, lol.

im going to have to quit smoking and drinking premium beer.

You should quit smoking anyway...just think of all the good beer you can buy with the money you're not spending on emphysema, lung cancer, and heart disease. :smokin:

As for protein bars & organic produce, you can eat healthy without those...but you've already received plenty of good advice. Good luck.

Not really.

Chicken breast $2//lb
In season fresh veggies less than $1/lb
Etc.

^^This is how I feed my entire family of 5. Rice and beans and some generic oatmeal or box cereal, $1 bread, eggs, milk, and Greek yogurt fill out the rest of the shopping cart. That's like $50. The rest of the budget (the "other" $50) is spent on beef, "fancy" fixin's, and maybe a treat or two (ice cream or chocolate or chips or some fast food).

Wayyy cheaper than daily takeout, frozen lasagnas and pizzas, and whatever else you can think of (although, we eat some of those things still, too, just far less often and in smaller quantities).

Not really.

Chicken breast $2//lb
In season fresh veggies less than $1/lb
Etc.

Where you buying your chicken breast? My local Hyvee is like $3.50/lb

Check your local grocery ads weekly. There are sales fairly often with it at 1.99/lb. And pork loin roasts for the same or around 2.49/lb thatyou can slice into chops.

Aww thanks you the bestest.