Eating healthy is expensive!
CherylG1983
Posts: 294 Member
What do you guys do to cut costs? I can't afford to eat like this every week!!
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Replies
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So is diabeetus0
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What are you buying that is expensive? What's your definition of healthy?
Lower costs things I consider healthy:
Canned veggies. Lettuce by the head instead of bags of salad. Whole carrots instead of baby. Sale fruits instead of full price blue berries or whatever. Rice, dried beans. Watch for sales on chicken breasts and thighs (often cheaper and yummier). Frozen fish fillets. Higher fat ground beef is cheaper, a little harder to fit into your calories but cheaper. Old fashioned oats.0 -
I eat a lot of chicken, beans or lentils, and frozen veggies. I buy chicken dark meat and use the bones to make broth to cook the beans in, and I eat a little more fat and a little less protein than I'd really like to if I were affluent.0
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Frozen vegetables (rarely do I buy fresh) and fish and chicken are cheap. Offal is VERY cheap. Eggs as well. I've found that the largest percentage of my grocery budget that's the least amount of value is actually dairy, and if I skip dairy (except butter for cooking) I have more room in the budget to buy other things.
Not saying dairy is unhealthy, just expensive.0 -
in season fresh produce is usually cheaper, frozen fruit/veggies, canned veggies/beans, canned tuna, peanut butter, oats, nondairy milks, whole grain pastas, offbrand or on sale pasta sauces to spruce up at home. there's lots of canned or frozen options that i consider a basic necessity and they last longer, AND don't break the bank. buying in season and sometimes offbrand/store brand saves me a lot of money.0
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It's all the veggies! I buy fresh and frozen. Only chicken breasts in bulk, and ground turkey. And fresh fruit. I guess eating more of these things means I have to buy more, and it just keeps adding up! Sheesh!0
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No it's not0
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Bag of salad costs £1 and will probably last for 3 meals. Add some couscous (£1.40 per kg, will last for about 20 meals). Meat - chicken portions (drumsticks, wings, thighs - £4 for 2.5kg should last about 8 meals).
I suppose it depends what healthy means to you - organic, free range will cost a hell of a lot more but then it's nice to let a couscous wander around in a field. Filling, nutritious and within calorie goals - what I suggested is fine.0 -
What do you guys do to cut costs? I can't afford to eat like this every week!!
Shoplift.0 -
yeah, I saw this blog 100 days of real food and she did the "budget challenge" and her meals did not appeal to me at all.
I think it depends on if you were eating at home before, because eating healthy is cheaper than eating out all the time, for me.
I got a garden so I can grow some of my own veggies but in Colorado, it's a small part of the year.
cooking light had a list of affordable dinners, but that doesn't mean healthy, necessarily, just lower cal...0 -
What are you buying that is expensive? What's your definition of healthy?
Lower costs things I consider healthy:
Canned veggies. Lettuce by the head instead of bags of salad. Whole carrots instead of baby. Sale fruits instead of full price blue berries or whatever. Rice, dried beans. Watch for sales on chicken breasts and thighs (often cheaper and yummier). Frozen fish fillets. Higher fat ground beef is cheaper, a little harder to fit into your calories but cheaper. Old fashioned oats.
^^^^THIS!
plus I'd add canned sardines ($1 can makes a good dent in my lunch!), canned beans and a bag of kale, with some chopped onion, garlic, and chicken broth makes a big pot of yumminess that can provide lunch for a week.0 -
"Eating healthy is expensive" is a myth. Some of the least expensive items in the grocery store are in the produce department. You can also get great deals on frozen fruits and vegetables. Look through the weekly circulars that come in your mail every week, there are always good deals on good, healthy foods.0
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Here's a cookbook put together specifically to show people on food stamps (SNAP) how to eat healthily and good on a very low budget ($4/day, which is about what SNAP allows people).
https://8e81c55f4ebf03323905b57bf395473796067508.googledrive.com/host/0B2A2SnkA9YgxaHdzbEhGSmJOZDg/good-and-cheap.pdf0 -
Compare it to the way you used to eat. You'll find its no more expensive than that.
Snack example: One apple and a one serving of peanut butter. Depending on all sorts of things the most your paying is $2
Instead of the $1.25 for a soda and $1.99 for chex-mix.
Now obviously you buy more fresh food more often because they go bad quicker. So sometimes the bad foods seem to last longer but in reality its just their preservatives.
If you seriously want to save money though get into gardening.
My neighbor got a local plot in our city and goes there to grow. I have consider this too. Being able to grow my own veggies not only would do good for the world but for me and my family too. Plus save some money.0 -
I can understand where she is coming from. I don't think she means fruits and veggies. Just to replace other items it does costs up to two times more. Example, I buy Laura Scudder's - All Natural Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Smooth. The only ingredients in it are peanuts and less than 1% salt, this jar costs about 2x what a regualr jar of JIF peanut butter cost. Same thing with sugar free jelly, yogurt ranch, pita bread, extra lean ground beef, turkey bacon etc....
So yes, I do agree that eating healthy is expensive. I love and eat my fruits and veggies, but i do like to eat other foods as well. Also so many fruits and veggies have very little calories, that you can eat more and more of them, thus meaning you will continuously keep buying these items. And yes they do add up, fast!
The only thing, i can tell you is to shop at food stores like Aldi. Here this store is pretty cheap with their fruits and veggies. Also think about the long run of your health, a few extra bucks on healthier foods is better than a lifetime of diabetes :ohwell:0 -
Cooking from scratch using basic ingredients is not more expensive (unless you've been conned into organic this and organic that) but it does take planning and takes time.0
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Skinny taste recipes - good for the body and budget0
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I'm only 5 days in.. But whenever I stuck to a 'diet' and spend extra on fruit/veg/healthy eating.. I think about how much I save on junk food!! I would normally get pizza or other delivery at least once a week...£20 easy... McDonalds lunch...£5.... I could do a few good healthy meals for £25 lol ???????????? (and more! Scary when you look at you debit card statement!! Waste a fortune on junk food without even realising!)0
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rice
potatoes
eggs
pumpkin
All cheap around here.
meats in bulk on special
I think the prepackaged foods in the frozen section are the biggest rip offs personally. Things like crumbed chicken. So much cheaper to buy chicken and breadcrumbs/oats separately and do it yourself.0 -
Learning how to shop takes time. It can seem expensive at first because you don't know when your local stores have sales or what produce is better to buy canned/frozen or what the minimum you need to have on hand to make a decent meal is. Give it a couple of weeks, most people have a fairly standard set of foods they eat regularly. You'll figure yours out and then know to stock up on oatmeal when it's 50% off or skip the raspberries because you always forget to eat them before they go bad anyway.
For me this means always having the following on hand: steel-cut oats, bananas, honey (maple syrup if I find a good sale), eggs, chicken breasts (always bought in bulk when on sale so never more than 0.99/lb), peanut butter, bags of frozen vegetables, rice, dried beans, cans of tuna, potatoes, butter. During really poor times I've managed fairly well with just beans, rice, and frozen vegetables. It wasn't particularly interesting food, but it was cheap and filling.0 -
Tips from someone who cooked for 6 then 4 adults.
Example Dinner: 120 - 130gms of beef mince per person, 1/2 cup of frozen or fresh vegetables each, 62.5gms of spaghetti or 1/2 cup cooked rice or pasta. this is one meal and works out to be $1.60 per person or $6.40 for 4 adults.
- Check out local markets for fresh produce.
- Go to places like Aldi (if there is one near you) or buy homebrand (basic branded) frozen or canned vegetables.
- Plan you meals in advance and spend one day prepping your meals.
- I use the calculator app on my phone to work out the price per 100gms to find the cheapest price.
- Take your time shopping, there is no need to rush.
You'll find in time that things become easier and you become more savvy about shopping. I sometimes got to three different stores to find the cheapest prices.
On average we spend for 4 adults:
- $100 per fortnight on meat from the butcher
- $30 per week on fresh fruit and vegetables
- $15 per fortnight on bread from the local bakery
- $10 per fortnight on milk
- $100 per month on incidentals (pasta, frozen and canned fruit and veg, TP, toothpaste, condiments etc)
You can do anything when you plan ahead.0 -
You can do it....
Portion control is key...this is how I survived ! There is always enough to eat, but controlling portions helps stretch the budget.
Nothing is wasted....make stock and soup from bones, veggies leftover meats. Lunch is always leftover dinner.
Buy in bulk and freeze. The best investment I made was a knife designed to fillet fish...it makes turning chicken and pork into cutlets so easy. I got it at a fishing tackle store.
Plan menus each week, start with what you have, decide on the other days, make your shopping list accordingly.0 -
just no. :huh:0
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I have found the opposite to be true...I am no longer buying the junk food and eating fast food...my food budget has gone down :-)0
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I'm lost why people say its expensive. Fresh veggies aren't expensive. Besides that I buy bags of frozen boneless skinless chicken breast, a few packs of ground turkey and some fish. I probably save since I'm not piling up on junk food.0
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It depends on your definition of healthy.
I eat very little meat, and base my meals around starches. Rice,cereal, potatoes, pasta,bread, corn and beans.
I eat 2 servings of fruit most days, and stick to cheap stuff like bananas, frozen orange juice cans,raisins,apples.
I buy a head or two of iceberg a week for salad, instead of bags.
Frozen veggies are good too, I usually get peas.
For fat- I use olive oil mayo or canola oil sparingly. Hummus as a spread. Light margerine.
For dairy-fat free milk and yogurt, with almost no cheese.(I save the cheese for the kids)
For meat- we don't this eat much, or often. Once a week I eat eggs/whites, the rest of the week it's beans or tofu, and once a week we eat frozen tilapia fillets from walmart,frozen salmon fillets, and invidually frozen chicken breasts from costco. Sometimes a Morningstar veggie burger!
Snacks- I keep pretzels, trail mix, and tortilla chips in the cupboard for my family. I make oil popped popcorn on the stove most everyday for my kids.
We spend 80 bucks a week on average, some weeks it's as high as 120, others it's as low as 40. I also include diapers/toilet paper/dog food/beer into this.0 -
I'm only 5 days in.. But whenever I stuck to a 'diet' and spend extra on fruit/veg/healthy eating.. I think about how much I save on junk food!! I would normally get pizza or other delivery at least once a week...£20 easy... McDonalds lunch...£5.... I could do a few good healthy meals for £25 lol ???????????? (and more! Scary when you look at you debit card statement!! Waste a fortune on junk food without even realising!)I have found the opposite to be true...I am no longer buying the junk food and eating fast food...my food budget has gone down :-)
This and this. It's a trade-off of expenses.0 -
My bills are MUCH lower since cutting processed crap. Buy whole chickens or dark meat for cheap meat. Buy frozen veggies that don't come with sauce in the non-steam bags in store brand. You don't need steam bags and you can make your own sauce.
For fresh veggies and fruit stick to what's in season. Out of season produce is ridiculously expensive, as are many desirable cuts of meat.
Look for the weekly specials or grocery store card deals. Clip coupons.
Seriously, I never pay more than $50 a week for myself (which includes a few expensive items for the boyfriend like Odwalla Superfood... I tell him it's just cleverly disguised sugar but he won't kick the habit lol)0 -
Fresh produce is expensive. Consider it a splurge. And buy frozen, where possible.
Americans spend less of their income on food than any other developed country. When food is expensive you eat less and enjoy it more. We spend our money on broadband internet, smart phones, satellite tv, etc.0 -
I don't agree. I buy smart; in season and on sale...nothing processed or in cans. Plus since I eat all natural food, I eat less.....What do you guys do to cut costs? I can't afford to eat like this every week!!
I actually spend less money than before.0
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