Healthy Eating & Your Grocery Bill
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wunderkindking wrote: »If I buy a lot of organic produce that’s not on sale, yes it can be expensive. I also buy seafood and some vegan cheeses and milks which are pricey.
In general, eating healthier is cheaper for me. Rice, beans, lentils, and other grains are super cheap, and I often find vegetables and fruits on sale. I honestly believe the whole notion that eating healthy is too expensive is an excuse to eat bad. I have noticed fast food is more expensive nowadays than me cooking my own meal, and I have enough for leftovers.
Growing up, my family was really poor and we ate quite healthy.
A hamburger from McDonald's is a dollar. It's ready to eat. It's not a lot but it requires no time, no prep, and a dollar.
A pound of ground beef is 6.00. That needs cooked and other ingredients added to it. And you can't buy just enough for now. You can't buy 1/4 lb of beef, one hamburger bun.
I think people who say 'this is an excuse' have never actually had a really limited budget to feed a family on. I think they tend to be people who can't imagine real food insecurity and think the alternative to healthy eating is stuff like ice cream and cookies, not '50 cents for a box of storebrand mac and cheese because I have to feed my 2 kids and in a pinch I can make that with water'.
So, yeah, healthy eating on a normal grocery budget/comfortable income can be as cheap or expensive as eating a normal diet but if you're trying to feed a family of four on 150/a MONTH then yes, the healthy options are still often out of reach.
We grew up poor as a family of four and ate healthy. I didn’t even know what mac and cheese was. We were poor. I remember having almost no furniture in our apt, my mom admits she owned three shirts, two pants, and that was it. It is an excuse. I was poor in college and lived off rice, beans, veggies and canned fruit for a while. We don’t need meat or dairy. Most won’t be full off one small hamburger. I will be full off a bowl of rice and beans which costs 50 cents. I would argue that if you’re eating meat, you’re not really that poor. Meat is a luxury.7 -
wunderkindking wrote: »If I buy a lot of organic produce that’s not on sale, yes it can be expensive. I also buy seafood and some vegan cheeses and milks which are pricey.
In general, eating healthier is cheaper for me. Rice, beans, lentils, and other grains are super cheap, and I often find vegetables and fruits on sale. I honestly believe the whole notion that eating healthy is too expensive is an excuse to eat bad. I have noticed fast food is more expensive nowadays than me cooking my own meal, and I have enough for leftovers.
Growing up, my family was really poor and we ate quite healthy.
A hamburger from McDonald's is a dollar. It's ready to eat. It's not a lot but it requires no time, no prep, and a dollar.
A pound of ground beef is 6.00. That needs cooked and other ingredients added to it. And you can't buy just enough for now. You can't buy 1/4 lb of beef, one hamburger bun.
I think people who say 'this is an excuse' have never actually had a really limited budget to feed a family on. I think they tend to be people who can't imagine real food insecurity and think the alternative to healthy eating is stuff like ice cream and cookies, not '50 cents for a box of storebrand mac and cheese because I have to feed my 2 kids and in a pinch I can make that with water'.
So, yeah, healthy eating on a normal grocery budget/comfortable income can be as cheap or expensive as eating a normal diet but if you're trying to feed a family of four on 150/a MONTH then yes, the healthy options are still often out of reach.
We grew up poor as a family of four and ate healthy. I didn’t even know what mac and cheese was. We were poor. I remember having almost no furniture in our apt, my mom admits she owned three shirts, two pants, and that was it. It is an excuse. I was poor in college and lived off rice, beans, veggies and canned fruit for a while. We don’t need meat or dairy. Most won’t be full off one small hamburger. I will be full off a bowl of rice and beans which costs 50 cents. I would argue that if you’re eating meat, you’re not really that poor. Meat is a luxury.
Being full doesn't necessarily equal "healthy". Personally I wouldn't call a diet of rice and beans "healthy" for a child to grow on, and while yes children can be raised on a healthy vegan diet, I doubt that most people who are struggling with food insecurity have the resources to do that optimally.
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IDK. I was pretty broke in college and couldn't really afford much in the way of good meat or fresh produce. I liked cooking, but a nice meal like that was more of an occasion than everyday due to cost. For the most part I lived off of Ramen noodles, generic mac 'n cheese, or the crappy Chinese take out place around the corner from my *kitten* apartment that served horrible food but it was like $2 for a massive serving. The only thing I ate much of that I would consider "healthy" was beans...lots of beans and rice or tortillas. When I bought meat it was usually the family packs of bone on/skin on chicken legs that were on sale because they were about to expire, unless I was cooking for a date.
Post university I was in a completely different situation financially and my diet improved exponentially from a nutritional standpoint...but my grocery cost also increased exponentially and there's no way I could have afforded to eat like I did post college while I was in school. I mean a container of greens costs me about as much as an entire case of Ramen. Ironically I was always at a healthy weight in college. I didn't put on weight until after college, even though my diet improved by a lot. But I was a lot more sedentary post college and very active in college. I could also afford to consume more food post college and eat out more.
My biggest savings these days isn't my grocery bill. It's pretty on par with where it's been since graduation and getting married (save for it did go up with two boys to feed). But I used to eat out pretty much everyday for lunch and that's a pretty rare occurrence for me now.4 -
I don't consider meat a necessity or a luxury. But I do enjoy eating it.
My freezer holds chicken, pork and beef for which I've never paid more than $2.00 USD per pound. I often find deals on chicken for 49¢-99¢ lb. With 3-4 oz. servings, that works out to less than 50¢ per. When I find family-sized packs of frozen fish on sale (usually $6-$8 USD) I stock up. I also use canned tuna, sardines, and salmon which are very affordable. Even a $5 USD Costco or Sam's Club rotisserie chicken usually provides me with at least 5 meals plus a carcass for making broth. 4 -
Y'all are all missing that 'affordable' varies. To a large degree.
I have not seen chicken for less than 2.00 a pound - and that's for chicken leg quarters wibh bone and skin so you're paying per pound for inedible parts - in years. Tuna is only a dollar a can. That's a dollar for 5 ounces, so about 3 per pound.
It just.
This whole discussion is a display of people demonstrating that they've never, ever, been really food insecure with their luxury of shopping sells, traveling to different stores, and having a lot of storage space -- and money to do the initial outlay of buying large portions and bulk to start with. Instead of 'my grocery budget is 25.00 this week for 2 people'.
Go watch some 'extreme grocery budget' stuff on youtube even if you can't personally relate. Better yet see what you can do YOURSELf, WITHOUT using a single item in your pantry.
And other people going "YO. It can be affordable when compared to a typical american diet but it sure as heck ain't accessible to truly poor people."4 -
wunderkindking wrote: »This whole discussion is a display of people demonstrating that they've never, ever, been really food insecure with their luxury of shopping sells, traveling to different stores, and having a lot of storage space -- and money to do the initial outlay of buying large portions and bulk to start with. Instead of 'my grocery budget is 25.00 this week for 2 people'.
Yes, the discussion I'd intended was about personal experiences with grocery costs given an assumed healthier diet, not some philosophical or hypothetical tangent. Happily, there is always an opportunity to create a new thread with the directions you've referenced. It's an interesting subject.
My biggest savings have been in no longer buying ice cream, sugary soda, bakery goodies, candy, packaged cookies, cheeses and deli items. I also used to hit a drive thru once or twice a week and buy a take-out pizza every other week - usually a large one that I would devour in under 4 hours.
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wunderkindking wrote: »If I buy a lot of organic produce that’s not on sale, yes it can be expensive. I also buy seafood and some vegan cheeses and milks which are pricey.
In general, eating healthier is cheaper for me. Rice, beans, lentils, and other grains are super cheap, and I often find vegetables and fruits on sale. I honestly believe the whole notion that eating healthy is too expensive is an excuse to eat bad. I have noticed fast food is more expensive nowadays than me cooking my own meal, and I have enough for leftovers.
Growing up, my family was really poor and we ate quite healthy.
A hamburger from McDonald's is a dollar. It's ready to eat. It's not a lot but it requires no time, no prep, and a dollar.
A pound of ground beef is 6.00. That needs cooked and other ingredients added to it. And you can't buy just enough for now. You can't buy 1/4 lb of beef, one hamburger bun.
I think people who say 'this is an excuse' have never actually had a really limited budget to feed a family on. I think they tend to be people who can't imagine real food insecurity and think the alternative to healthy eating is stuff like ice cream and cookies, not '50 cents for a box of storebrand mac and cheese because I have to feed my 2 kids and in a pinch I can make that with water'.
So, yeah, healthy eating on a normal grocery budget/comfortable income can be as cheap or expensive as eating a normal diet but if you're trying to feed a family of four on 150/a MONTH then yes, the healthy options are still often out of reach.
We grew up poor as a family of four and ate healthy. I didn’t even know what mac and cheese was. We were poor. I remember having almost no furniture in our apt, my mom admits she owned three shirts, two pants, and that was it. It is an excuse. I was poor in college and lived off rice, beans, veggies and canned fruit for a while. We don’t need meat or dairy. Most won’t be full off one small hamburger. I will be full off a bowl of rice and beans which costs 50 cents. I would argue that if you’re eating meat, you’re not really that poor. Meat is a luxury.
Being full doesn't necessarily equal "healthy". Personally I wouldn't call a diet of rice and beans "healthy" for a child to grow on, and while yes children can be raised on a healthy vegan diet, I doubt that most people who are struggling with food insecurity have the resources to do that optimally.
My point was that even if a small hamburger is one dollar, most aren’t going to just order one small hamburger. They may order $3 worth of food. For one dollar you can get a bag of beans which makes 8 servings. Many people live off rice and beans as their staple diet. It is certainly healthier than McDonald’s hamburgers by far. People don’t need meat every day. I’m not saying everyone has to be vegan but I know from personal experience that it can be cheaper to eat healthier if one wants to.2 -
Our in-store grocery bill has gone down, but a lot of what we eat has to be ordered online. Bulk chai tea ($69.99 a pound but it last 3 months), bulk cinnamon, zero cal syrups and dressings (not a good selection locally so we order in bulk online).
I suppose it would have gone down even more, except they have gorgeous under $10 bouquets at the front door, and small potted plants that somehow always wind up in my basket. I reconcile the cost with the fact that I can count on one hand the time hubs has brought me flowers, and if I’m not gonna do it, who will?
Irresistible, I tell ya.8 -
wunderkindking wrote: »Y'all are all missing that 'affordable' varies. To a large degree.
I have not seen chicken for less than 2.00 a pound - and that's for chicken leg quarters wibh bone and skin so you're paying per pound for inedible parts - in years. Tuna is only a dollar a can. That's a dollar for 5 ounces, so about 3 per pound.
It just.
This whole discussion is a display of people demonstrating that they've never, ever, been really food insecure with their luxury of shopping sells, traveling to different stores, and having a lot of storage space -- and money to do the initial outlay of buying large portions and bulk to start with. Instead of 'my grocery budget is 25.00 this week for 2 people'.
Go watch some 'extreme grocery budget' stuff on youtube even if you can't personally relate. Better yet see what you can do YOURSELf, WITHOUT using a single item in your pantry.
And other people going "YO. It can be affordable when compared to a typical american diet but it sure as heck ain't accessible to truly poor people."
I've been food insecure.
And at a different point in my life I was feeding up to 10 people with no refrigeration, which I experienced as a bigger logistical (but not existential) challenge. Rice and beans, local produce, and careful calculations of portions is how I made it work.
I've also challenged myself to see how well I could eat within the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; formerly food stamps) benefits budget, which at the time was around $200 per month for one person. Looks like that was the maximum benefit amount. This was no problem for me, and of course, $25/week for 2 would have been a heck of a lot more challenging.
I encourage anyone who is food insecure to see what benefits they are eligible for. Even if you are already receiving SNAP, additional benefits will make that stretch further.
https://www.benefits.gov/benefit-finder5 -
wunderkindking wrote: »If I buy a lot of organic produce that’s not on sale, yes it can be expensive. I also buy seafood and some vegan cheeses and milks which are pricey.
In general, eating healthier is cheaper for me. Rice, beans, lentils, and other grains are super cheap, and I often find vegetables and fruits on sale. I honestly believe the whole notion that eating healthy is too expensive is an excuse to eat bad. I have noticed fast food is more expensive nowadays than me cooking my own meal, and I have enough for leftovers.
Growing up, my family was really poor and we ate quite healthy.
A hamburger from McDonald's is a dollar. It's ready to eat. It's not a lot but it requires no time, no prep, and a dollar.
A pound of ground beef is 6.00. That needs cooked and other ingredients added to it. And you can't buy just enough for now. You can't buy 1/4 lb of beef, one hamburger bun.
I think people who say 'this is an excuse' have never actually had a really limited budget to feed a family on. I think they tend to be people who can't imagine real food insecurity and think the alternative to healthy eating is stuff like ice cream and cookies, not '50 cents for a box of storebrand mac and cheese because I have to feed my 2 kids and in a pinch I can make that with water'.
So, yeah, healthy eating on a normal grocery budget/comfortable income can be as cheap or expensive as eating a normal diet but if you're trying to feed a family of four on 150/a MONTH then yes, the healthy options are still often out of reach.
We grew up poor as a family of four and ate healthy. I didn’t even know what mac and cheese was. We were poor. I remember having almost no furniture in our apt, my mom admits she owned three shirts, two pants, and that was it. It is an excuse. I was poor in college and lived off rice, beans, veggies and canned fruit for a while. We don’t need meat or dairy. Most won’t be full off one small hamburger. I will be full off a bowl of rice and beans which costs 50 cents. I would argue that if you’re eating meat, you’re not really that poor. Meat is a luxury.
Being full doesn't necessarily equal "healthy". Personally I wouldn't call a diet of rice and beans "healthy" for a child to grow on, and while yes children can be raised on a healthy vegan diet, I doubt that most people who are struggling with food insecurity have the resources to do that optimally.
My point was that even if a small hamburger is one dollar, most aren’t going to just order one small hamburger. They may order $3 worth of food. For one dollar you can get a bag of beans which makes 8 servings. Many people live off rice and beans as their staple diet. It is certainly healthier than McDonald’s hamburgers by far. People don’t need meat every day. I’m not saying everyone has to be vegan but I know from personal experience that it can be cheaper to eat healthier if one wants to.
Yes, in many countries, rice and beans is the staple diet, and meat is a luxury.
When I lived in Okinawa, I shopped off-base for rice and produce, and on-base for meat and dairy products.5 -
wunderkindking wrote: »Y'all are all missing that 'affordable' varies. To a large degree.
I have not seen chicken for less than 2.00 a pound - and that's for chicken leg quarters wibh bone and skin so you're paying per pound for inedible parts - in years. Tuna is only a dollar a can. That's a dollar for 5 ounces, so about 3 per pound.
It just.
This whole discussion is a display of people demonstrating that they've never, ever, been really food insecure with their luxury of shopping sells, traveling to different stores, and having a lot of storage space -- and money to do the initial outlay of buying large portions and bulk to start with. Instead of 'my grocery budget is 25.00 this week for 2 people'.
Go watch some 'extreme grocery budget' stuff on youtube even if you can't personally relate. Better yet see what you can do YOURSELf, WITHOUT using a single item in your pantry.
And other people going "YO. It can be affordable when compared to a typical american diet but it sure as heck ain't accessible to truly poor people."
I do look at the supermarket flyers, meal plan, and decide based on that where to shop. Where I live, south of Boston, Shaw's has great loss leaders but terribly regular prices. Their best loss leaders are on page one, so they take seconds to spot. This sales week, chicken thighs are $0.87/pound. I cooked 6 last night on a sheet pan with potatoes and onions. We had one thigh each.
I saved the fat and drippings and turned it plus flour, stock and milk into the sauce for chicken pot pie, and deboned the chicken from the other for thighs and used that plus veggies. I saved the bones in the freezer to make more stock.
(When I need to save time I use canned cream of chicken soup, but since I had all that fat and drippings I decided to make a roux instead.)7 -
Here in Australia you can buy 500grams of mince beef (ground beef) for about $7AUD, a 500gram pack of dry wheat spaghetti is $.87 and a 500gram pack of pearl barley/chickpeas/peas (dry) is $1.70-$1.80.
500grams of dried berlotti beans is $2.78. 12 60gram eggs are about $3.50 (from caged chickens) and a kilo of chicken breast is about $9.50.
A kilo of Pink Lady apples is about $4.50, a kilo of carrots (whole, unpeeled) is $1.80-$2. 4kg of potatoes is about $5.90. $2 at the moment for fresh blueberries (125grams) is REALLY cheap, usually about $6-$10.
These are all prices from Woolworths, which is one of our national grocery stores. Prices vary slightly seasonally and sometimes you can find cheaper items at butchers, fresh grocers and "$2 shops" but I can pretty much guarantee that if I walked in to a Woolworths in a large regional town or metro area on the other side of the country I would find very similar prices on these and many other items, plus our taxes (if applicable) are included in the cost of the item, unlike some places around the world.
I'm always fascinated by how much things cost in other countries.2 -
I've often heard the lament that eating 'healthy' is much more costly than eating highly processed, low nutrition junk. I may be odd woman out here, but I have found just the opposite to be true. Since eschewing poor food choices and cutting back on calories, my grocery bills have plummeted. Heading off a tangent here, I am NOT talking about lack of easy access to grocery options.
Granted, being the frugal type, I freeze and can my home garden bounty, make my own yogurt and keep a well-stocked larder of bulk basics. Without drive-thru and take-away meals, frozen pizza, ice cream, packaged cookies and convenience/snack foods, my monthly recurring grocery spend is mostly confined to milk, eggs and basic/in-season produce. If and when a good sale comes along, I pounce and stock up.
What about you? How has healthy eating impacted your grocery bill?
Same here on it being cheaper. 'Eating healthier' for me largely means walking right on past the tasty high calorie gourmet morsels I might otherwise have impulse bought, and eating out much less. A lot of bulk batches of stews, soups, chili largely using cheap basic vegetables and fairly inexpensive chicken, pork, turkey. I spend more on fish now, but that is more than offset on not buying the junk food, takeout, restaurant food, and limiting drinks at bars3 -
I do definitely see where those who find it potentially more expensive are coming from. Those who are truly poor would have difficulty front-loading the expense of cooking tools/implements/appliances and/or bulk-priced packages of food items and/or storage bags/bins/jars and/or not have the ability to store much food (may not have a full sized fridge-freezer).
I usually have to buy >$12 chicken breasts or $20 beef to get a reasonable price on it. And carrots, celery, etc are cheaper at 2 or 5 lb rather than 1 lb. These kinds of things mean more cost up front and needing extra space in the freezer for the divided up meat and produce. Also any dried beans that you pre-cook for later. And any jars of some of the prior bulk batches of stews/etc.5 -
(For the curious), in my area you can usually get boneless skinless chicken breasts for close to $2/lb at several of the nearby main grocery stores, but it does require buying a fairly large package (something that might be a major hurdle if someone is living paycheck-to-paycheck).2
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(For the curious), in my area you can usually get boneless skinless chicken breasts for close to $2/lb at several of the nearby main grocery stores, but it does require buying a fairly large package (something that might be a major hurdle if someone is living paycheck-to-paycheck).
Wow, $2 for a pound of meat! I do wonder what kind of life that animal had, and what the quality is. I know this is beside the question here, but it does make me wonder. Here, a pound of chicken breast is probably 5 Euro, and that's the cheap, poor stuff.3 -
I think it depends on where you live.
I'm not sure what supermarkets are like in the States but in the UK you can go to a budget supermarket and buy single vegetables for pennies and bags of frozen vegetables are less than a pound and often less than 50p
You can stock up on cheap staples there too like olive oil, spices, beans etc ..all very cheap.
You won't find any organic grass fed meat there - but some of the options aren't too bad and again they are not pricey.
Of course it all depends on what you like to eat - but supermarkets like Aldi etc .. have such a wide range of stuff for people on a budget.
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wunderkindking wrote: »If I buy a lot of organic produce that’s not on sale, yes it can be expensive. I also buy seafood and some vegan cheeses and milks which are pricey.
In general, eating healthier is cheaper for me. Rice, beans, lentils, and other grains are super cheap, and I often find vegetables and fruits on sale. I honestly believe the whole notion that eating healthy is too expensive is an excuse to eat bad. I have noticed fast food is more expensive nowadays than me cooking my own meal, and I have enough for leftovers.
Growing up, my family was really poor and we ate quite healthy.
A hamburger from McDonald's is a dollar. It's ready to eat. It's not a lot but it requires no time, no prep, and a dollar.
A pound of ground beef is 6.00. That needs cooked and other ingredients added to it. And you can't buy just enough for now. You can't buy 1/4 lb of beef, one hamburger bun.
I think people who say 'this is an excuse' have never actually had a really limited budget to feed a family on. I think they tend to be people who can't imagine real food insecurity and think the alternative to healthy eating is stuff like ice cream and cookies, not '50 cents for a box of storebrand mac and cheese because I have to feed my 2 kids and in a pinch I can make that with water'.
So, yeah, healthy eating on a normal grocery budget/comfortable income can be as cheap or expensive as eating a normal diet but if you're trying to feed a family of four on 150/a MONTH then yes, the healthy options are still often out of reach.
I can imagine how difficult it must be to feed a family on very low wages.
I agree that's where unhealthy 'ready' food works out a lot cheaper2 -
(For the curious), in my area you can usually get boneless skinless chicken breasts for close to $2/lb at several of the nearby main grocery stores, but it does require buying a fairly large package (something that might be a major hurdle if someone is living paycheck-to-paycheck).
Wow, $2 for a pound of meat! I do wonder what kind of life that animal had, and what the quality is. I know this is beside the question here, but it does make me wonder. Here, a pound of chicken breast is probably 5 Euro, and that's the cheap, poor stuff.
The cost is mostly decided by how many miles the meat travels from farm to table and how many different hands it has to go through. I live in a state that has many poultry farms so chicken and eggs (typically less than $1 USD per dozen) are inexpensive. Pork is the next because neighboring states are huge pork producers (I can get boneless pork chops or a nice pork roast for about $3.50 lb.) and beef is the most expensive. 70% lean ground beef can be had for $3.50 lb and my preferred 92% lean is about $5 lb. A roast starts at about $5 and steaks are typically $7-$10 with filet closer to $17.
My brother lives in the Boston area and his prices are about 30% higher for the same brands from the same national chains because a lot of their meat and poultry comes from the south or the midwest. The transport companies pocket the difference4 -
(For the curious), in my area you can usually get boneless skinless chicken breasts for close to $2/lb at several of the nearby main grocery stores, but it does require buying a fairly large package (something that might be a major hurdle if someone is living paycheck-to-paycheck).Wow, $2 for a pound of meat! I do wonder what kind of life that animal had, and what the quality is. I know this is beside the question here, but it does make me wonder. Here, a pound of chicken breast is probably 5 Euro, and that's the cheap, poor stuff.
I never see prices that low for boneless skinless chicken breasts here (South of Boston.) And very low prices for meat are generally "loss leaders" - sales the store loses money on designed to get people in the store.
But PP said "usually" so I'm guessing NOT a sale price.0
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