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Why Eating Healthy Isn't Expensive/Grocery Haul
Replies
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We spend 200 Euro a week for two of us and our cat. This 200 Euro includes everything though: food, cat food, cat litter, paper products, the odd light bulb. and we have to buy bottled drinking and cooking water because tap water isn't drinkable safe. Not complaining though. Ordinary grocery store food here is good quality. Plus there are the fresh food markets every day except Sunday all year round.0
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diannethegeek wrote: »
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.
A lot of the stores that post online ads also have the ability to create a shopping list based on those ads that you can print out or save. There really are a lot of ways to make your life easier if you look and there seem to be more every day.1 -
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. Religiously. My credit card company actually does it for me and it pops up as a little graph on their website. I used to recommend Mint.com to people religiously though. When we're overspending or strapped for cash, it instantly shows us where we're blowing the budget.3 -
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.
I love those little surprises. I was at Aldi yesterday and saw a dozen eggs for $0.69. Instead of buying the 1 carton that I planned on, I bought 4.7 -
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.
I think a lot of us got a wake up call that our grandparents generation may have been right about a few things. Aldi is also in Florida and they do a great job with meats.3 -
It all matters where your priorities are and how long your list of excuses are. Your groceries just prove that when you're determined you find a way!3
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We all differ on what is considered healthy & fresh. From the OP's pics of frozen & packaged food with tons of GMO laden ingredients & preservatives... not to mention that anything frozen depletes vitamins & minerals by at least 40%... I don't eat anything but fresh & that isn't cheap anywhere.
Despite cost, I still do fresh & almost all organic, but... I live alone & pay 2-4 times what a family of 4 lives on, based on what others have revealed about their food bills. If we want to eat healthy (organic & fresh, in my book), it's a huge % of our monthly expenses, unless you make far more $ than I do.2 -
Someone was telling me about Aldi last night at a game of thrones watch party. I haven't been since the late 1990s and back then it was decidedly not good- weird processed cheeses that don't melt, terrible off brand cereals, frozen veg that turned to mush. I am told that Aldi is now basically amazing and has food that is equal to or better than Publix for less money... So I am definitely checking that out!!
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BranwynTaffy wrote: »not to mention that anything frozen depletes vitamins & minerals by at least 40%.
.
Citation?8 -
BranwynTaffy wrote: »We all differ on what is considered healthy & fresh. From the OP's pics of frozen & packaged food with tons of GMO laden ingredients & preservatives... not to mention that anything frozen depletes vitamins & minerals by at least 40%... I don't eat anything but fresh & that isn't cheap anywhere.
Despite cost, I still do fresh & almost all organic, but... I live alone & pay 2-4 times what a family of 4 lives on, based on what others have revealed about their food bills. If we want to eat healthy (organic & fresh, in my book), it's a huge % of our monthly expenses, unless you make far more $ than I do.
I'm not worried about GMOs
I'm not worried about preservatives
I'm not worried about organic
Organic does not equal healthy
Preservatives do not equal unhealthy
GMOs do not equal unhealthy
I also would hardly consider what I bought "GMO laden ingredients & preservatives".
But if you only feel comfortable buying fresh and organic, that's fine for you. I'll continue to save money and buy my GMO laden, preservative filled food.18 -
BranwynTaffy wrote: »We all differ on what is considered healthy & fresh. From the OP's pics of frozen & packaged food with tons of GMO laden ingredients & preservatives... not to mention that anything frozen depletes vitamins & minerals by at least 40%... I don't eat anything but fresh & that isn't cheap anywhere.
Despite cost, I still do fresh & almost all organic, but... I live alone & pay 2-4 times what a family of 4 lives on, based on what others have revealed about their food bills. If we want to eat healthy (organic & fresh, in my book), it's a huge % of our monthly expenses, unless you make far more $ than I do.
So much wrong with what you are thinking here. Frozen vegetables don't lose their nutrition, it has actually been shown in many cases they retain more of them because they are frozen more immediately than the "fresh" food we buy in supermarkets. Unless you are able to buy from the farm, there is a good chance any food you buy from a supermarket has been sitting long enough to lose significant nutrients as well.
I won't try to change your mind on GMO's, but I haven't actually read anything that convinces me GMO = unhealthy and I have read a lot of articles on most sides of that. "Organic" isn't always the safest answer either. Just buying something that states organic doesn't mean it hasn't been exposed to chemicals or even worse disease that could be dangerous.
It is very possible to eat healthy without buying fresh and organic. It might not be trendy, but it is still feasible.14 -
That said, thanks for sharing your insight! This is super useful information, especially for people who need a primer in grocery shopping. (I could have used some in my twenties, for sure.)
The only problem I have with this post -- and I don't know if this has been addressed in the pages herein -- is that $122 is a lot of money to drop at once, even if it's going to last for weeks. For people who are living at poverty levels, they may not have the time, the kitchen space, or the chunk of change needed to buy at bulk and sale prices. There's also a lot of systemic issues -- a high weight is correlated with poverty, which often goes hand-in-hand with food deserts and scarce resources. For some people, this practical approach to grocery shopping really is out of reach.
(I say that not to disparrage the OP; I'm honestly impressed with their effort and planning skills! But MFP users on the forums always seem to write off people's problems with groceries as laziness when there are a lot of other factors at play.)4 -
AmazonMayan wrote: »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.
Agreed! Im in the chicago burbs and walmart is significantly more expensive than aldi or trader joes!2 -
Someone was telling me about Aldi last night at a game of thrones watch party. I haven't been since the late 1990s and back then it was decidedly not good- weird processed cheeses that don't melt, terrible off brand cereals, frozen veg that turned to mush. I am told that Aldi is now basically amazing and has food that is equal to or better than Publix for less money... So I am definitely checking that out!!
Their brands are still weird. They do, however, have good meats and other basics for cheap.0 -
This food looks great and very healthy, but I'd be curious to know how many calories per day (roughly, on average) this works out for you. You've bought a HUGE variety of low-calorie vegetables and fruits, eggs, and about 8 lbs of fresh meat and a little bit of canned fish. But I don't really see ANY fat sources (beyond the ice cream). I personally don't think this grocery load would be sufficient for me to get enough calories and provide the necessary healthy fat in my diet.0
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BranwynTaffy wrote: »We all differ on what is considered healthy & fresh. From the OP's pics of frozen & packaged food with tons of GMO laden ingredients & preservatives... not to mention that anything frozen depletes vitamins & minerals by at least 40%... I don't eat anything but fresh & that isn't cheap anywhere.
Despite cost, I still do fresh & almost all organic, but... I live alone & pay 2-4 times what a family of 4 lives on, based on what others have revealed about their food bills. If we want to eat healthy (organic & fresh, in my book), it's a huge % of our monthly expenses, unless you make far more $ than I do.
... this isn't true at all. Frozen veggies don't use preservatives (unless they come with sauce, which I usually don't buy) and no, freezing doesn't deplete vitamin and minerals.This food looks great and very healthy, but I'd be curious to know how many calories per day (roughly, on average) this works out for you. You've bought a HUGE variety of low-calorie vegetables and fruits, eggs, and about 8 lbs of fresh meat and a little bit of canned fish. But I don't really see ANY fat sources (beyond the ice cream). I personally don't think this grocery load would be sufficient for me to get enough calories and provide the necessary healthy fat in my diet.
Assuming that OP has oil and butter and other staples like that already. And there's pork in there too (and protein bars, which often have nuts in them).
I mean, it's not that different from my diet. I get most of my fat from dairy and meat, which isn't exactly 'healthy' I guess. Bit of nuts and oil and avocado too but it's definitely not my staples. Avocados are expensive.. but I'd definitely have some cheese or yogurt in my grocery list.1 -
sunnybeaches105 wrote: »
It's blue, damn it . . .
Agreed. But trying my damndest I cannot convince my sister in law it's not white and gold. Anymore than I could convince someone of wealth and geographic luck that eating healthy is sometimes more expensive than not dollar for dollar, or that anyone could convince me that $45 a week is enough to feed healthy food to 2 adults in a grocery desert.
Seriously cannot even describe the depths to which a conversation about something so inherently personal and individual with so many variables it's not funny is a waste of time.4 -
BranwynTaffy wrote: »not to mention that anything frozen depletes vitamins & minerals by at least 40%
Actually, it's been pretty well established that frozen often keeps more of the vitamins and minerals than fresh as the moment it's harvested, it's flash frozen. Whereas with fresh, there is nothing to stop the depletion of vitamins and minerals.
http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/nutrition_news_information/fresh_vs_frozen_vegetables_are_we_giving_up_nutrition_fo
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/frozen-vegetables-are-hot
http://www.livestrong.com/article/379533-do-frozen-vegetables-have-the-same-nutrition-as-fresh/http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2449843/Frozen-food-IS-better-Higher-levels-vitamins-antioxidants.html
The issues come from when there is additional fat or salt added to the vegetables.7 -
CoffeeNCardio wrote: »
Agreed. But trying my damndest I cannot convince my sister in law it's not white and gold. Anymore than I could convince someone of wealth and geographic luck that eating healthy is sometimes more expensive than not dollar for dollar, or that anyone could convince me that $45 a week is enough to feed healthy food to 2 adults in a grocery desert.
Seriously cannot even describe the depths to which a conversation about something so inherently personal and individual with so many variables it's not funny is a waste of time.
This is one of the least time wasting threads on MFP. OP was giving comparisons and it has resulted in a discussion about saving money. Sort of like comparing dry cleaners in different cities for a stain on a blue dress. Wait. Different blue dress. Never mind. What were we taking about again?
Oh yea, waste of time threads on MFP. Would you sleep with the above poster? Kiss, bang, marry, or twaddle? Do clouds really always have a silver lining?4 -
sunnybeaches105 wrote: »
This is one of the least time wasting threads on MFP. OP was giving comparisons and it has resulted in a discussion about saving money. Sort of like comparing dry cleaners in different cities for a stain on a blue dress. Wait. Different blue dress. Never mind. What were we taking about again?
Oh yea, waste of time threads on MFP. Would you sleep with the above poster? Kiss, bang, marry, or twaddle? Do clouds really always have a silver lining?
The argument about the money is the waste. The information OP posted was very cool.
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ReaderGirl3 wrote: »
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!
DR follower too! Currently paying off the mortgage! 3 -
CoffeeNCardio wrote: »
Agreed. But trying my damndest I cannot convince my sister in law it's not white and gold. Anymore than I could convince someone of wealth and geographic luck that eating healthy is sometimes more expensive than not dollar for dollar, or that anyone could convince me that $45 a week is enough to feed healthy food to 2 adults in a grocery desert.
Seriously cannot even describe the depths to which a conversation about something so inherently personal and individual with so many variables it's not funny is a waste of time.
Yeah. Price per calorie, the fast food dollar menu or mac'n cheese is still probably the best value for your buck, pretty much everywhere you go. The only exceptions are probably oatmeal and beans, but I don't really know anyone who would want to eat oatmeal and beans every day... and the main thing really is that most people don't want to go through soaking and cooking beans when you can go to McDonald's and get fries and a burger for $2.
But in my case? My grocery bill decreased by over 50% when I started MFP.
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I love this post. I spend between $150-$200 on food for our family of 4 (not including baby formula for the youngest, so really 2 adults and a toddler). Also doesn't include paper products.
In addition to buying frozen and learning how to freeze meats, we also do the following:
1. Buy whole chickens/turkeys. Chicken and turkey meat is much more expensive by the pound than if you buy a whole one and clean it yourself (most of the time I just do this with my hands, since cleaning a turkey or chicken to the bone with a knife is a lot more work). We use the bones to make broth or sauces, save the gibblets for making gravy or for broth and/or soups, and we use the meat for a huge variety of recipes. During Thanksgiving or Christmas, we buy 2-3 turkeys, when they are marked down, cook them, clean them, then freeze the meat in airtight containers. It lasts for months with just the two adults and young child eating them. Works great in a ton of recipes also. Likewise, skip bags of cut lettuce. Buy whole heads of lettuce and cut it yourself.
2. Buy nearly expired meats. Often grocery stores will have meat that is about to expire deeply discounted, and, as long as you either cook it up and eat or freeze before the expiration date, it's perfectly fine.
3. Generics. Generics are awesome.
4. Meal plan BEFORE you shop based on what is on sale (check fliers) , what you already have, and your nutritional needs/preferences. Making a good shopping list and sticking to it (avoiding impulse buys) is important.
5. Try to give up pre-made drinks. If you still like to have some, look for powdered or concentrated mixes you can make yourself. They are cheaper by unit volume produced than pre-packaged drinks (examples: gatorade, juice, etc.)
6. Buy in bulk, especially dry goods, BUT only if you have room to store the items, will actually use it all before expiration, and if it's really cheaper than not. Sometimes bulk food stores like Costco have awesome deals, but sometimes not. Check the per-serving cost, not just the sticker price.
7. Buy dry beans in bulk instead of canned. Beans are awesome by themselves, in soups, etc. and they are cheap. They are easy to cook too.
8. Cook in bulk. Cooking bulk portions one or two days a week not only cuts down on your electric bills, but it helps with reducing the stress of cooking from scratch every single day, which, at least in our case, helps us stay on track and not go for convenience fast food, thus saving us money.
9. Eat homemade food as much as possible. Not only is it better for tracking your intake, but it's much less expensive per serving. I pack up my lunches on the weekends when I cook, so I can just grab and go throughout the week. It's really helpful.
10. Don't buy individually packaged items. If you buy larger containers and repackage to single serve containers yourself, you can often get more mileage out of your purchase (example: chips, yogurt, etc.).
11. If you cook something like bacon, don't throw out the grease. Let it cool, store it, and save it for baking, greasing pans, etc.
CAVEAT: all of this takes time, effort, access to inexpensive food, and access to the cooking facilities and space to cook and store things, but this works pretty well for us. I don't always have the time to do it all during the week, but, when I can, it does significantly cut down our food bills.5 -
Assuming that OP has oil and butter and other staples like that already. And there's pork in there too (and protein bars, which often have nuts in them).
I mean, it's not that different from my diet. I get most of my fat from dairy and meat, which isn't exactly 'healthy' I guess. Bit of nuts and oil and avocado too but it's definitely not my staples. Avocados are expensive.. but I'd definitely have some cheese or yogurt in my grocery list.
But butter, nuts, and olive oil are pricey items, and if we're being honest about the cost tally for healthy food, they should be included! Last time I bought olive oil, it was $15.
I'm just saying I don't think there is enough 'on the table' to fulfill my caloric/nutritional needs for a few weeks.
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BranwynTaffy wrote: »We all differ on what is considered healthy & fresh. From the OP's pics of frozen & packaged food with tons of GMO laden ingredients & preservatives... not to mention that anything frozen depletes vitamins & minerals by at least 40%... I don't eat anything but fresh & that isn't cheap anywhere.
Despite cost, I still do fresh & almost all organic, but... I live alone & pay 2-4 times what a family of 4 lives on, based on what others have revealed about their food bills. If we want to eat healthy (organic & fresh, in my book), it's a huge % of our monthly expenses, unless you make far more $ than I do.
Agree-what you consider healthy I don't consider necessary, or optimal (my family is healthy eating the types of foods we eat, which includes frozen stuff, GMO stuff etc), but to each their own
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CoffeeNCardio wrote: »
The argument about the money is the waste. The information OP posted was very cool.
As if time spent in the forums for anyone who has already gotten themselves fit is a super productive activity? I'm here because it's slow in the office and I've already read 6 news sites and T-Nation, surfed for any used equipment I can't live without, pondered my kid's birthday party, and overthought my training calendar for the next month. Next up, coffee and an early exit to watch my kid practice.2 -
BranwynTaffy wrote: »We all differ on what is considered healthy & fresh. From the OP's pics of frozen & packaged food with tons of GMO laden ingredients & preservatives... not to mention that anything frozen depletes vitamins & minerals by at least 40%... I don't eat anything but fresh & that isn't cheap anywhere.
Despite cost, I still do fresh & almost all organic, but... I live alone & pay 2-4 times what a family of 4 lives on, based on what others have revealed about their food bills. If we want to eat healthy (organic & fresh, in my book), it's a huge % of our monthly expenses, unless you make far more $ than I do.
We may all differ but some of our ideas are backed by good evidence. Your anti-GMO and pro-organic bent not so much. The bit about freezing depleting vitamins and minerals by 40% is from The Food Babe? Sounds like her brand of crazy.9 -
Yeah. Price per calorie, the fast food dollar menu or mac'n cheese is still probably the best value for your buck, pretty much everywhere you go. The only exceptions are probably oatmeal and beans, but I don't really know anyone who would want to eat oatmeal and beans every day... and the main thing really is that most people don't want to go through soaking and cooking beans when you can go to McDonald's and get fries and a burger for $2.
But in my case? My grocery bill decreased by over 50% when I started MFP.
The "best" money per calorie would probably a cheap bottle of cooking oil. Price per calories doesn't mean all that much.5 -
3dogsrunning wrote: »While I don't disagree with your overall premise, you have to take into account where people are. Some of your prices are what I could only dream of.
Skinless, boneless chicken on sale is at least $4 a lb. Sometimes you are looking at $15 for 3 breasts.
Tuna, on sale, is almost twice as much.
99 cents for a dozen for eggs!
Not to mention the berries, bananas, asparagus, even the cucumbers (99 cents for one is a sale).
Damn.
I was thinking the same thing! It's $5.99 for strawberries here...1 -
3dogsrunning wrote: »While I don't disagree with your overall premise, you have to take into account where people are. Some of your prices are what I could only dream of.
Skinless, boneless chicken on sale is at least $4 a lb. Sometimes you are looking at $15 for 3 breasts.
Tuna, on sale, is almost twice as much.
99 cents for a dozen for eggs!
Not to mention the berries, bananas, asparagus, even the cucumbers (99 cents for one is a sale).
Damn.
Yep, I was going to say I pay $5-$10 per bag of frozen veggies, depending on the size. I also pay $26 for 4 kg of frozen chicken when it's on sale. Fresh chicken is double. So that's $2.95/lb at the best I can find. Cheapest tuna is $0.97/can. $3 for the cheapest dozen of eggs. Fruit is crazy right now. I paid $6.68 for strawberries (large container) two days ago.
Now that being said, the junk food is more expensive too... lol.0
This discussion has been closed.
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