Why Eating Healthy Isn't Expensive/Grocery Haul

unawind wrote: »

navaris wrote: »

Food costs are highly variable depending on where you live. In the Canadian north, for example, the cost of fresh foods is incredibly high. In the very far North, a bag of grapes can go for as much as $30. In my own town, a head of lettuce is $3 in season and eggs are $5. I bought a pack of chicken breasts today for $12 (2 lbs) and that's a good deal. Milk is $5 a gallon.

Foods high in sugar or salt tend to last longer on the shelves, which mean they can be sold for much cheaper and can last longer for people that might only have a chance to shop once or twice a month. Fresh foods are often imported, especially when they're out of season, and that costs more money than producing processed foods domestically.

If I only bought foods that were in season and local, I'd starve in the winter time.

Eating whole foods is always preferable and always healthier, but there's a reason that obesity is linked to poverty and that's because unhealthy foods are cheaper and more accessible to people that are struggling financially.

+10000.

When I worked in Alaska and traveled to the North Slope, I understood immediately why chronic disease is a problem among the Alaska Native population. A case of water costs $24, fruits and veg? Ridiculously expensive and rotten. Gallon of milk? $10 each. Sodas were cheap, of course, as well processed foods. It was a well-known fact that anyone traveling up there should bring a cooler of fresh fruit and vegetables up for our colleagues, because otherwise they'd never get it. You know how, in Game of Thrones, Sansa LOVES lemon cakes? Because in Winterfell, they don't get citrus fruits. It's like that IRL.

Okay, I can see your point for Alaska but that is not so much the case in the lower 48. I live in Wilmington, NC, and will use Wilmington as an example as I hear the argument that healthy foods are too expensive here, and the truth of the matter in my area is that it is less expensive to buy whole foods as opposed to processed foods that have a long shelf life. These people have the access to the same stores I do, even factoring in that they may not have a car. I think part of the problem is ignorance - people see the specialty diet foods and that is what they are considering health foods. I think other factors is also that many people don't want to spend the time prepping and cooking. It's also a big lifestyle change. If somebody has subsisted the majority of their life on processed foods and hyper palatable foods, odds are an apple is not the first thing that comes to mind when they want a snack.

Many people do not want to put in the effort to eat healthy. It would mean learning about nutrition, planning, prepping, cooking, and modifying your life and tastebuds to accommodate healthy eating. I would much rather someone be honest about eating junk than making up excuses that are false. The notion that eating healthy is expensive is so pervasive in financially strapped individuals, that I have to wonder how many individuals just dismiss the idea of healthy eating because that is what everyone around them says?

mkakids 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.

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!

DR follower here too. Been debt free for 11 of our 20 years of marriage (only ever had house debt anyway in the first 9 yrs). Gotta love those debt free screams. :-)

elphie754 wrote: »

I agree that this information is good, but not everything is doable for everyone. We have food budget in our house for three people (my self and two significant others) and we try to make the most of deals when we see them.

All three of us work 60+ hours a week. Spending time to go coupon hunting is just not feasible at all. I see a lot of you say you spend time one day a week doing coupon/bargain hunting. For me lto take and hour or so each week to do this would severely cut into other things I have to do.

So it's not a priority to you- nothing wrong with that. There actually apps that allow you to create a list of your groceries and link you to the coupons, and it lets you save the list to use in the future, and you have the option of being notified when coupons are available. It takes such a small amount of time, you probably spend much more time on this forum in a given week. It only takes me 30 minutes to coupon per week, and we save hundreds of dollars every month. Because of couponing (for everything, not just food), I am no longer in a position where I have to work, I choose to work. Previously, we were barely getting by after meeting monthly obligations, now we are in a position to really knock out debt and and save for later. I guess it's all about priorities and planning. I personally want as little stress in life as possible, it's worth it to me to take the time now to plan than to simply just exist jumping through hoops having stress. Good luck to you - your situation sounds tough.

AndrewMartin3 wrote: »

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 good

Wow, only 10%? I hate that store. One of my friends is a human rights lawyer and he spends a huge amount of time suing them (or trying to, they spend a lot on lawyers) for the way they treat their workers.

LPflaum wrote: »

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!!

GoT watch party??! Totally jealous!
Aldi is amazing although you don't know what they will have on offer until you get there. Last week raspberries were 49 cents a pack and a 5lb bag of potatoes was 99 cents. You can get some great deals.

sunnybeaches105 wrote: »

CoffeeNCardio wrote: »

sunnybeaches105 wrote: »

CoffeeNCardio wrote: »

sunnybeaches105 wrote: »

CoffeeNCardio wrote: »

sunnybeaches105 wrote: »

CoffeeNCardio wrote: »

This. Entire. Thread.

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.

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.

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.

If everyone who was already fit stopped coming on the forum there would be no one left to explain things to those who have yet to achieve their own goals.

Which is why many of us are here when we have down time.

Although epic trolling by some is also entertaining.

And arguing about nothing . . .

Whatever happened to the gif wars?

No longer allowed.

eldamiano wrote: »

"Healthy eating is so expensive", say people who would then go and spend £20 on a takeaway pizza rather than something they can make on their own from the supermarket....

Healthy eating is expensive here. For me to buy 6 skinless chicken breast it's 30$....but I won't spend it on takeout either...

I wait for it to go on sale for 15$ and buy 2.

eldamiano wrote: »

SezxyStef wrote: »

eldamiano wrote: »

"Healthy eating is so expensive", say people who would then go and spend £20 on a takeaway pizza rather than something they can make on their own from the supermarket....

Healthy eating is expensive here. For me to buy 6 skinless chicken breast it's 30$....but I won't spend it on takeout either...

I wait for it to go on sale for 15$ and buy 2.

But skinless chicken breasts are not the only product considered healthy. Besides, healthy eating is just as much about quantity. There is nothing wrong with eating a burger either. There is just something wrong with eating 10 of them.

The chicken is an example, not that she eats only chicken. I can make the same argument for fruit and veg where I live. I'd guess 80% of the produce in my grocery stores is imported (brought over via ferry). Higher food prices (along with other products) are a price I pay for living on an island. I've figured out ways to eat "healthy" within my budget and living circumstances. It certainly won't meet most people's idea of "healthy" but it works for me and mine.

zyxst wrote: »

I wonder who's flagging certain, non-abusive posts as abusive? The OP or her white knight? ^

I suspect misflagging is not done by regulars, as it demonstrates a lack of knowledge about how the flagging system works. As we are not allowed to educate posters on how to use the flagging system, the mods have said to Flag > Report > Other to report misflagged posts and they will clear the flag and educate the misflagger. In my report comment, I say "Misflagged for Abuse" or whatever applies.