Why Eating Healthy Isn't Expensive/Grocery Haul
Replies
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Some people are replying as if the OP said you could eat Organic Gwyneth Paltrow smoothies for every meal if you are homeless and unemployed.17
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Some people are replying as if the OP said you could eat Organic Gwyneth Paltrow smoothies for every meal if you are homeless and unemployed.
Yeah. It always amazes me that expensive food is expensive, and that getting a certain amount of calories from healthy food is more expensive than getting the same amount of calories from unhealthy food, when the main criterion of unhealthy food is that it's calorie dense.8 -
Also, coupons. COUPONS!!
Seriously, with all of the Sale/Coupon matchup blogs out there, it's seriously the easiest thing ever. All you have to do is cut the coupons out. You can even print alot of coupons these days. I shop weekly and buy mostly based on sale/coupon. I regularly save at least $30 in coupons because of that. So easy. Just google the store you shop at plus matchups, for example "Shoprite coupon matchups" or "Kroger coupon matchups". Even Target has matchup blogs and clearance finds.
I just made shopping even easier for you, you're welcome.
My wife does coupons and CVS and hannaford, Shaw's we save 100$s every month it takes her about 8 hours to clip and organization and we shop around can't believe the money we save3 -
Heartisalonelyhunter wrote: »booksandchocolate12 wrote: »AmazonMayan wrote: »Eggs 89 or 99 cents per dozen around here unless you shop at expensive walmart or the likes - I swear I don't know why people still think it's cheap there nowadays. It's really not. I'd go broke shopping for groceries at Walmart.
I don't think I've ever heard "walmart" and "expensive" used in the same sentence before, LOL. That said, I never go to Walmart because the one near me is always mess. The first time I walked in there, I thought the store had just been robbed, LOL.
I live on Long Island. The prices that the OP quotes are things I can only dream of. She's correct when she says that the coasts are more expensive. But I agree that with a little research and ingenuity, you don't have to break the bank to eat healthy and lose weight.
I think Walmart is really expensive for fresh produce. It's a total rip off. I shop in Aldi and it's about half the price (a pack of 3 red bell peppers is $1.29 in Aldi. They cost that each in Walmart. Their bread is 89 cents a loaf compared to $1.49 for the Walmart own brand) It's totally false that Walmart is a cheap place to buy food.
My wife works in a vision center in Walmart there food is garbage got lot of horror stories about it and it's not cheap we shop around and coupons save big $$0 -
salembambi wrote: »oh look a thread of someone declaring its easy to eat healthy and totally cheap cause they can do it in their area , with their income, education & access to stores, congrats
You can eat healthy no matter what your budget is or were you live saying you can't is just an excuse not too12 -
Even as a student barely able to get by I was able to buy good fresh foods on the regular. And it doesn't get much lower income than that, in fact I'm getting more now that I'm unemployed than I did as a student, I live a minute of walking away from the town center so prices are higher here than in the outskirts, so there's my experience Re: some passive agressive comments last page.
My weekly grocery budget was something like 20-30 bucks, depending if I buy treats or had certain more complicated recipes I wanted to make. The most expensive single item I got on my last trip was a pack of ice cream for 3 Euros.
In contrast, 3 Euros could buy me 5 liters of milk, 2 pounds of cheese, 1 pound of ham, 30 free range eggs, a pack of fresh meat, 3 heads of fresh lettuce or broccoli, 2 loaves of my favorite ciabatta with peperoni baked in or way more if I just took a cheap one, 5 pounds of frozen fries or about as much other frozen vegetables, depending on the kind. Or 6 packs of instant Ramen, cause I like them and add my own veggies and meat to them.
The only "healthy food stuff" that is sorta expensive here is meat.5 -
endlessfall16 wrote: »ReaderGirl3 wrote: »endlessfall16 wrote: »Do you folks know and keep a budget on groceries? It's a sensitive topic in my family so I gave up even talking about it. I don't know how to respond to sayings like ... "well, we're not throwing away money. It's for the foods we eat. We're not wasting". Get this over that? "It's not the same".
Is it also "false economy" to save on foods, only to overeat then exercise hard to "waste" the calories? Someone pointed that out to me.
Yep, we budget $90 a week for our family of 5. This also includes things like toilet paper, cleaning supplies and laundry detergent. It does NOT cover things like pet food and eating out, those we budget separately.
I shop mostly at Meijer, Aldi and then Family Fare (smaller, local chain that's higher priced but runs good specials here and there, and it's our closest option as well).
We live in an area that has an amazing growing season where I can get fresh produce cheap at a local farmers market (like a grocery bag overflowing for $10), but off season we eat a LOT of frozen veggies. Meijer will sometimes get as low as .79 a bag and I buy 20-30 bags then.
I buy 75% of our fruit frozen at Dollar Tree-bags of frozen blueberries, strawberries etc for $1. I bake with them, mix them in oats and yogurt etc. And then I buy fresh bananas and apples at Meijer. We also do U-Pick farms in the summer for cherries, strawberries and blueberries (I freeze 10lbs each of the strawberries and blueberries, to use in the fall). This brings the cost down to $2 or less a pound and it's a fun outing with the kids
Bread outlets are a great option as well-our local one has the 'fancy' whole grain options for under $1 loaf (organic is $1.39)
Aldi is where I get our snack stuff-chips, cookies and cookie/muffin mixes, box cereal, packed lunch snacks etc. I also get our shredded cheese and frozen fish there.
Coupons are something I need to get back into-I used to be one of those crazy coupon ladies (I was buying 10 Sunday papers at one time and would walk into the store with my 20lb coupon binder oiy!), but got burned out and stepped away from all of it. Getting the itch to get back into it, at least a little bit.
Great post OP and it's fun to see different people's shopping experiences, based on where they live!
That's awesome, ReaderGirl (and that one "Awesome" is from me). You're running a tight ship, very inspiring.
Dave Ramsey followers here with a plan to be totally debt free, including mortgage, in around 7 years The first thing I'm doing when that's all taken care of is raising that darn grocery budget lol! 5 -
I think the idea is more like...I can feed a family of four for $4 if I feed them white pasta with canned no-name sauce and shaker fake parmesan. And I can come up with a LOT of options like that. It is absolutely cheaper.3
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eveandqsmom wrote: »I think the idea is more like...I can feed a family of four for $4 if I feed them white pasta with canned no-name sauce and shaker fake parmesan. And I can come up with a LOT of options like that. It is absolutely cheaper.
Or option B. whole grain pasta on sale for $1, with jar pasta sauce on sale for $1, frozen California blend veggies on sale for .79, and toasted whole grain garlic bread, around .60 cents (bread outlet .89 loaf/5 slices for my family for one meal, with a bit of margarine and garlic salt that I mix together myself).
Grand total for my family of 5... $3.39 for a nutritionally sound dinner that's filling (and I can make it work with my calorie parameters as well). Buying things when they're on sale is a biggie-when frozen veggies go on sale for .79 a bag I buy 20-30 bags. Same with the pasta/sauce (Meijer frequently runs a 11/$10 sale and both of these items are included). I always go through the ads when I put together my grocery list and menu plan.
Prices do vary between locations/countries, but there's always ways to make healthy eating work on a budget. You may just need to get a bit creative
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AndrewMartin3 wrote: »Heartisalonelyhunter wrote: »booksandchocolate12 wrote: »AmazonMayan wrote: »Eggs 89 or 99 cents per dozen around here unless you shop at expensive walmart or the likes - I swear I don't know why people still think it's cheap there nowadays. It's really not. I'd go broke shopping for groceries at Walmart.
I don't think I've ever heard "walmart" and "expensive" used in the same sentence before, LOL. That said, I never go to Walmart because the one near me is always mess. The first time I walked in there, I thought the store had just been robbed, LOL.
I live on Long Island. The prices that the OP quotes are things I can only dream of. She's correct when she says that the coasts are more expensive. But I agree that with a little research and ingenuity, you don't have to break the bank to eat healthy and lose weight.
I think Walmart is really expensive for fresh produce. It's a total rip off. I shop in Aldi and it's about half the price (a pack of 3 red bell peppers is $1.29 in Aldi. They cost that each in Walmart. Their bread is 89 cents a loaf compared to $1.49 for the Walmart own brand) It's totally false that Walmart is a cheap place to buy food.
My wife works in a vision center in Walmart there food is garbage got lot of horror stories about it and it's not cheap we shop around and coupons save big $$
I certainly agree a lot of the food is garbage. Doesn't your wife get an employee discount? And it's still cheaper to shop elsewhere even with that?0 -
eveandqsmom wrote: »I think the idea is more like...I can feed a family of four for $4 if I feed them white pasta with canned no-name sauce and shaker fake parmesan. And I can come up with a LOT of options like that. It is absolutely cheaper.
Now you've challenged us frugalistas LOL! This is just with this week's Meijer ad.
or Option C: I can feed my family of 4 for $4 with:
- 2 lbs chicken thighs ($0.89/lb): $1.78
- 1 lb broccoli ($0.99/lb): $0.99
- 1 lb potato ($3.49/8lbs *more than I would normally pay): $0.43
and dessert
- 1 lb apples ($1.19/lb): $1.19
Total: $4.39
That's with not shopping around and going to one single average grocery store and working with what's available in the flyer. All real, whole foods and a lot of meat (which is typically the expensive part). Budgetbytes.com is a great website for low cost, healthy meals.7 -
AndrewMartin3 wrote: »
You can eat healthy no matter what your budget is or were you live saying you can't is just an excuse not toosalembambi wrote: »oh look a thread of someone declaring its easy to eat healthy and totally cheap cause they can do it in their area , with their income, education & access to stores, congrats
Perhaps if they ate better they wouldn't be so negative lol. I agree, excuses - much easier than implementing a lifestyle change.3 -
eveandqsmom wrote: »I think the idea is more like...I can feed a family of four for $4 if I feed them white pasta with canned no-name sauce and shaker fake parmesan. And I can come up with a LOT of options like that. It is absolutely cheaper.
Now you've challenged us frugalistas LOL! This is just with this week's Meijer ad.
or Option C: I can feed my family of 4 for $4 with:
- 2 lbs chicken thighs ($0.89/lb): $1.78
- 1 lb broccoli ($0.99/lb): $0.99
- 1 lb potato ($3.49/8lbs *more than I would normally pay): $0.43
and dessert
- 1 lb apples ($1.19/lb): $1.19
Total: $4.39
That's with not shopping around and going to one single average grocery store and working with what's available in the flyer. All real, whole foods and a lot of meat (which is typically the expensive part). Budgetbytes.com is a great website for low cost, healthy meals.
Well done!2 -
I am on disability and make less than $700 a month and live in Canada so groceries are more expensive and am still able to eat "healthy" on a strict budget.8
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Heartisalonelyhunter wrote: »AndrewMartin3 wrote: »Heartisalonelyhunter wrote: »booksandchocolate12 wrote: »AmazonMayan wrote: »Eggs 89 or 99 cents per dozen around here unless you shop at expensive walmart or the likes - I swear I don't know why people still think it's cheap there nowadays. It's really not. I'd go broke shopping for groceries at Walmart.
I don't think I've ever heard "walmart" and "expensive" used in the same sentence before, LOL. That said, I never go to Walmart because the one near me is always mess. The first time I walked in there, I thought the store had just been robbed, LOL.
I live on Long Island. The prices that the OP quotes are things I can only dream of. She's correct when she says that the coasts are more expensive. But I agree that with a little research and ingenuity, you don't have to break the bank to eat healthy and lose weight.
I think Walmart is really expensive for fresh produce. It's a total rip off. I shop in Aldi and it's about half the price (a pack of 3 red bell peppers is $1.29 in Aldi. They cost that each in Walmart. Their bread is 89 cents a loaf compared to $1.49 for the Walmart own brand) It's totally false that Walmart is a cheap place to buy food.
My wife works in a vision center in Walmart there food is garbage got lot of horror stories about it and it's not cheap we shop around and coupons save big $$
I certainly agree a lot of the food is garbage. Doesn't your wife get an employee discount? And it's still cheaper to shop elsewhere even with that?
I'm not who you were asking, but when I worked there the discount only applied to general merchandise. Grocery was not discounted.0 -
In Canada the employee discount was 10% when I worked at Walmart. It isn't even equivalent to the tax!0
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singingflutelady wrote: »In Canada the employee discount was 10% when I worked at Walmart. It isn't even equivalent to the tax!
Do you have tax on food? I'm in Michigan and we only pay sales tax on prepared foods, like the deli hot case.1 -
vinegar_husbands wrote: »
Walmart is more expensive here than most grocery stores (like King Soopers). I'm not even sure why.
That's their model. Build a store, sell everything super-cheap, run smaller stores out of town. Then raise the prices.
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I read the ads from 4 different stores every week. Most of the time when I go to a grocery store the only things I buy are sale items and like OP I will stock up. I also bought a small cube freezer to be able to store more. Most stores, even community stores have online coupons and member clubs that you can join for additional savings.2
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knelson095 wrote: »Heartisalonelyhunter wrote: »AndrewMartin3 wrote: »Heartisalonelyhunter wrote: »booksandchocolate12 wrote: »AmazonMayan wrote: »Eggs 89 or 99 cents per dozen around here unless you shop at expensive walmart or the likes - I swear I don't know why people still think it's cheap there nowadays. It's really not. I'd go broke shopping for groceries at Walmart.
I don't think I've ever heard "walmart" and "expensive" used in the same sentence before, LOL. That said, I never go to Walmart because the one near me is always mess. The first time I walked in there, I thought the store had just been robbed, LOL.
I live on Long Island. The prices that the OP quotes are things I can only dream of. She's correct when she says that the coasts are more expensive. But I agree that with a little research and ingenuity, you don't have to break the bank to eat healthy and lose weight.
I think Walmart is really expensive for fresh produce. It's a total rip off. I shop in Aldi and it's about half the price (a pack of 3 red bell peppers is $1.29 in Aldi. They cost that each in Walmart. Their bread is 89 cents a loaf compared to $1.49 for the Walmart own brand) It's totally false that Walmart is a cheap place to buy food.
My wife works in a vision center in Walmart there food is garbage got lot of horror stories about it and it's not cheap we shop around and coupons save big $$
I certainly agree a lot of the food is garbage. Doesn't your wife get an employee discount? And it's still cheaper to shop elsewhere even with that?
I'm not who you were asking, but when I worked there the discount only applied to general merchandise. Grocery was not discounted.
It's only 10% and the quality is not good0 -
endlessfall16 wrote: »Do you folks know and keep a budget on groceries? It's a sensitive topic in my family so I gave up even talking about it. I don't know how to respond to sayings like ... "well, we're not throwing away money. It's for the foods we eat. We're not wasting". Get this over that? "It's not the same".
Is it also "false economy" to save on foods, only to overeat then exercise hard to "waste" the calories? Someone pointed that out to me.
Yes, we have a grocery budget.
I don't overeat and then exercise hard to "waste" the calories. I train hard and eat to support my training and thus my fitness and overall health and well being.4 -
I know this isn't an option for everyone, but my chest freezer was probably the best investment I ever made when it comes to saving money on food. I buy the markdown meat and freeze it.
I also meal plan so I'm using up all the produce in one week instead of having a little here and a little there left over to spoil. I bought these things called blue apples from Amazon that suck up the ethylene gas that causes produce to overripen and spoil for the more finicky produce like avocados and berries, they seem to be working really well.
I buy maybe half my produce at Aldi. However, some of their produce is in large packages that's way more than my boyfriend and I will eat so I go to Target to get the small/individual packages. I also buy what dry goods I can at Aldi. No meat, dairy or frozen since Aldi is near my work but still 45 min from home. Target is where I get the rest of my groceries, and Publix if they're having good BOGO specials. Publix is also good for hard-to-find items.
I use coupon apps, I've saved $275 with Ibotta alone and $650 using Target Cartwheel and that's not even all the apps I have!3 -
eveandqsmom wrote: »I think the idea is more like...I can feed a family of four for $4 if I feed them white pasta with canned no-name sauce and shaker fake parmesan. And I can come up with a LOT of options like that. It is absolutely cheaper.
Now you've challenged us frugalistas LOL! This is just with this week's Meijer ad.
or Option C: I can feed my family of 4 for $4 with:
- 2 lbs chicken thighs ($0.89/lb): $1.78
- 1 lb broccoli ($0.99/lb): $0.99
- 1 lb potato ($3.49/8lbs *more than I would normally pay): $0.43
and dessert
- 1 lb apples ($1.19/lb): $1.19
Total: $4.39
That's with not shopping around and going to one single average grocery store and working with what's available in the flyer. All real, whole foods and a lot of meat (which is typically the expensive part). Budgetbytes.com is a great website for low cost, healthy meals.
Yeah, planning your meal around sales is the way to go. And stocking up on frozen/non perishables when they are on sale too.
And check supermarkets if you're in the area anyway. I just drove by the one next to my gym yesterday and scored chicken breasts at $1 a pound (!!!) and a bag of russet potatoes at 89c. And I was driving by anyway so all I had to do is stop in the parking lot.2 -
I live by myself and in the past two years of not eating healthy or working out I found that I was eating out or ordering in a lot. Even though I like to cook I just found that I didn't want to cook just for myself so I got into this habit. I came on this app to lose about 20 plus pounds and get back on my normal eating healthy kick. The problem I always seem to run into is grocery shopping and finding good deals, and also not wasting food because it goes bad in refrigerator. I don't get any newspapers or mailings for sales, so for someone in my situation does anyone have any advice for me on how to shop smarter and get good deals, too??
Also, I'm brand new to this app, especially the community forums, so any advice or direction on how to maneuver through or make the most of my experience here. Thank you very much for any help!! 0 -
And please add me. I'm not quite sure how to do that from in here?0
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jwagner1204 wrote: »I live by myself and in the past two years of not eating healthy or working out I found that I was eating out or ordering in a lot. Even though I like to cook I just found that I didn't want to cook just for myself so I got into this habit. I came on this app to lose about 20 plus pounds and get back on my normal eating healthy kick. The problem I always seem to run into is grocery shopping and finding good deals, and also not wasting food because it goes bad in refrigerator. I don't get any newspapers or mailings for sales, so for someone in my situation does anyone have any advice for me on how to shop smarter and get good deals, too??
Also, I'm brand new to this app, especially the community forums, so any advice or direction on how to maneuver through or make the most of my experience here. Thank you very much for any help!!
Most stores post their sales ads online. You can check out your local stores and see if they do. If not, some stores have the ad available for you to grab as you walk in the door.1 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »endlessfall16 wrote: »Do you folks know and keep a budget on groceries? It's a sensitive topic in my family so I gave up even talking about it. I don't know how to respond to sayings like ... "well, we're not throwing away money. It's for the foods we eat. We're not wasting". Get this over that? "It's not the same".
Is it also "false economy" to save on foods, only to overeat then exercise hard to "waste" the calories? Someone pointed that out to me.
Yes, we have a grocery budget.
I don't overeat and then exercise hard to "waste" the calories. I train hard and eat to support my training and thus my fitness and overall health and well being.
Good thinking. I'm coming around to it as well.
It's just sometimes I couldn't help thinking it's a waste with "entertainment" foods. I know entertainment is a value that you get, but it's not always straight forward and you can't tell. Kinda like paying $10 for a 2 minute wheel ride at a fair!
Thanks for making me think.0 -
One thing about bulk meat, even if the bulk prepackages are too expensive/too much meat (I have trouble going through 5 lb packages of meat with just myself), check your grocery store's meat counter. At least at Kroger and Meijer, the bulk packaging price will apply and you can ask for a specific/smaller amount. For example, I wasn't about to buy the $10/5 lb packages of chicken breasts this week, but I went to the meat counter and asked for 2 lbs and got it for the same price per pound. Saved me some $ on my weekly shopping trip and saved that chicken from getting freezer burnt.3
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ronjsteele1 wrote: »One of my best friends has 12 kids. She shops what's on sale and then builds her menu around that. While I don't do that personally, it's actually a very wise thing to do when you're trying to save money. Person for person, they feed their family with about the same amount of money as I feed my family of 5.
I don't have kids and I do this. If you live in the Southeast IHeartPublix.com releases the publix flyer 3 days early (monday instead of thursday). Every monday morning i log on, take stock of everything that is super cheap/on sale/bogo and add it to my list. I menu plan my entire week around that list and my macros, and then go to the grocery the following Sunday. So I effectively have a whole week to menu plan, which was really helpful with coupon releases. I kept a whole coupon folder on top of shopping the flyer
We started doing this back in 2009 when I couldn't find work and we were living paycheck to paycheck and filling the gap with credit card debt. Our household income has quadrupled since those dark days, our grocery bill hasn't budged because I can't bring myself to stop shopping like this. Now I know why my grandmother (raised in the great depression) saved cottage cheese containers her whole life.3
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