Eating Healthy is too expensive!!!!

Thanks to all of you that offered POSITVE feedback. I will let my husband read your tips and ideas and sit down with him to make a plan. I was just feeling a little overwhelmed and frustrated...but I have to get it together for my family because they are depending on me.

Good luck to you! Don't be overwhelmed. There are a lot of options out there...

Well I look at it like this, a little more money now for no hospitalization or multiple doctor visits in the future..In the end it would be cheaper to just eat healhty. I know it's pricey, but it benefits, trust me I see it all the time.

^^^^ This. . . . It will cost a lot more in medical bills if you end up with life long medical problems. . I watched my dad go through a whole list of medical problems and medications because he wouldn't change his fitness and dietary habits before it was too late. . . but after he had a heart attack. . the heart was damaged and then there was only so much they could do. . And that was just one of the things. .

So what I am saying is I am glad to see that you are on the road to health even though it may have taken your grocery bill up a bit. . . Fresh veggies and fruits are relatively cheap though if you watch for sales. .

Family of 4, used to eat 2 hamburgers each, at $3 per pound that's 8 hamburgers 2 pounds $6 plus 1 pkg buns $2.50 = $8.50 for our main course.

Now eat 1 hamburger each, that's $3 + $1.25. I now have $4.25 to spend on a pound of strawberries and a package of frozen vegetables.

Now I have a 3 course meal at the price of one. I'm not finding it more expensive, really... the tough part can be saying "no" to all the other things they want you to buy along with. I have found that if I don't reserve budget money for ice cream or other nonessentials, I'm ok budgetwise.

Use the low cost oil/air filters, put the wrong transmission oil in your car, don't bother with a front end alignment or replace your belt, your car is going to last 1/3 of what it could if you spend a little time performing....

*preventative maintenance*

You could look at it the opposite way and say eating unhealthy is cheap. They need to lure you to the darkside somehow.

I agree that eating healthy CAN be more expensive than not, if you're eating the dirt cheapest food you can buy- like ramen noodles. But fresh produce is so much cheaper than frozen or even canned. And tastes so much better. Especially if you grow it yourself or get it from a farmer's market. To anyone that's never tried home grown instead of industrial grown veggies, you will not believe your mouth! The difference is huge. And it can be cheaper, depending on where you live, no drought, etc.
I don't mean to hijack the thread, but so many of you swear by crock-pots. My mom used one for a few years when they first got popular (when I was a kid) and the darn thing caught on fire while everyone was gone to work and school and we almost lost our house. I have never left one (or anything else) unattended in my own home. Do you guys use some kind of surge protector or something? How do you ensure that it won't catch on fire while you're gone?

Uh, most crock pots now a day's have an automatic shut off feature.. so if it gets too hot, then it just shuts it's self off.

Also, my dad is retired and doesn't go anywhere.. so he's a pretty good crock-pot watcher

I have a 5 ingredient cookbook that is my bible for my family of 4! I do find that now that my grocery bill is about 30 more a week that I've been buying more fruit and veggies. I am trying to cut back on other things to make the difference It does suck some weeks since we do live paycheck to paycheck with very little to spare.

I get my produce at Hispanic and Asian markets, so much cheaper there. Learn to make casseroles using ingredients like beans, rice, quinoa, whatever grains you prefer. These can be frozen in single size servings. It's time for you to change your children's palate as well, eventually they will rather have real food than fake, and think what you are doing for their health.

I agree! I find that the big chain stores around here are crazy overpriced, so unless you find a really good sale and coupon, it is pointless shopping there (this week they are advertising $1.99/lb for peaches and other fruit... how is that a good deal!) but definatly try and find some ethnic grocery stores, I've also had great luck with super cheap produce and meats. The meats are the same brands and often I find the produce to be even fresher and tastier!

Ok I don't mean to sound like a sour puss but I feed my family of 4(including a teenager) and my husband really eats for 2 and 6 daycare kids and my father in law, yes that's 11 people and my weekly groceries are $150-200 dollars. To me it is always an excuse and I say that because their is always a way to do it, maybe cutting out something else, we cut out our satellite, share garbage service with a neighbor and cut out all processed food because price per ounce clean real food is cheaper. I know how you feel but I really just have to brush it off we are busy people these days. Here is what I do every week. I run a daycare from 6am-5:30pm I have children 6-8of them and 3 under 2yrs. We have preschool time, then some free play outside then I feed all of them 2 meals and a snack, then I make my own lunch and snack for me and my father in law, included in one day 3 loads Laundry, 2 loads dishes, 6-10diapers, then my kids get home from school help with homework activities at school whatever, in between their somewhere scrub toilet and floor from the day, make supper for 5 people get another load of dishes in, and off to the gym(5 nights a week) get home and maybe get to bed by 10:30pm. And get up at 5am and do it all again. Saturday I spend at trainings for daycare and have all the shopping to do for a week worth of supplies and food, and Sunday I spend cleaning the house and disinfecting toys to be ready for the week. So yes we are all busy so gather up your pride as a mom and put it in your pocket and move on. YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!!