People who say "I can't afford to eat healthy" or "Healthy e

It is true, it is more expensive...INITIALLY. When we ate crap we were spending about 200 bi-weekly for a family of 3(2 adult 1 toddler). When we started eating healthy, the first couple weeks we spent 200$ weekly. This was because we needed to build up healthy staples like EVOO, Sesame oil, various vinegars, brown rice and w/w pasta, light PB, oatmeal, apples, oranges etc. All these healthy ingredients that we never had on hand, but last a long time. My hubby nearly had a heart attack when he saw what we spent. lol

Now I budget 100$ weekly and the last 2 weeks we haven't even been using that entire budge. I generally just pick up fresh produce as we run out and because we're eating a couple meatless dishes a week our lean meat supply lasts 2 weeks whereas it used to only last a week. So now i'm buying meat - xlean gr. chicken, turkey sausage, skinless boneless chicken breast only every 2 weeks instead of fattier versions every week.

It does help that i love cooking and inherited a knack for it from my Mom. I can make great, tasting, heathy and cheaper dinners than we could even hope to find at a restaurant or in a processed package. Hubby has complimented several times our fresh and light and delicious or meals are now that we're eating healthy!

Since healthy eating we have also nearly eliminated eating out expenses. I would spend 10$ a week on coffee with cream and sugar and unhealthy bagels or breakfast sandwiches. We would order pizza or chinese 1 or 2 times a week at an expense of 20-30$/meal.

Now I bring my breakfast from home to work and make coffee at home (love my keurig!). We order takeout 1 time every 2 weeks and it's usually pizza and less than $20 since we consume healthier, smaller portions. Hubby still eats one meal out with his friends a week, but only 5-7$ as opposed to 10-15$.

Overall eating health has been GOOD for our budget and even if it wasn't, can you REALLY put a PRICE tag on your health? It's worth a little sacrifice to live a healthier, happier and fuller life!

I really hate it when people say it's too expensive to eat healthy, but I was thinking maybe I was ignorant since a) I don't have to worry (too much anyway) about what grocery shopping costs but also because b) we grow all out own vegetables (still buy ones that are out of season though!) so I thought maybe I was ignorant to what it really cost, glad I'm not! Anyway, where I live if a vegetable is in season it'll be a fair price, however if it's out of season and has been imported from Spain or somewhere the price will reflect that, so if money is a problem check what's in season and buy it and if you have some spare cash treat yourself to something you like that's not in season. Meat I get that it's expensive (same with cheese) so look out for the offers or stuff that's on it's sell by date so it's reduced, we actually have a great thing at my butchers where I live where when you buy your meat you can ask, to put some money on a card (it's a booklet really but they call it a card) I think every week put anywhere from £2 to £5 on it, so if you're ever short of money one week when buying your meat you got this money on the card you can pay with instead (generally we end up blowing all the money on christmas and birthday meals xD). I get that probably no-one else's butchers do this but it is worth thinking about, you could make your own "card" (money box or something) and whatever you manage to save from grocery shopping you could put in for an added extra bit of money when you're short. And what the OP said about apples and chips I totally agree, yes apples are more expensive but you get more "meals" (snacks) out of them, plus they fill you up more and are better for you. Still if chips (thinking crisps think I'm English) are really that much cheaper and you want them, buy them, but then go home and split them out into separate bags so they do you more then 1 snack.
Someone mentioned making their own soup being cheaper then tinned. I do make some soups myself but I'm not sure if it's cheaper, I suppose it depends on how much soup you eat at once (I always eat an entire tin whoops!) personally if the tinned soup is on offer (Heinz where I live is 5 tins for £3 at the moment) I think it's going to be cheaper, think chicken noodle soup, you'd have to buy chicken, noodles, peppers, sweet corn, stock (actually good way to save money if you buy stock, don't buy it just tip all the fat that cooks out of your meats into a bowl and keep it in the fridge to use when you need stock) and whatever else is in there. That'll cost you well over £3 for all those ingredients (sorry I can't do $ if I could I would) yes it'll make more then the tin contains but I still think tinned soup would be cheaper for the same quantity at the end of the day (although the homemade one would probably taste much better). Anyway it is possible to eat healthy what you have a tight budget, you just have to (like previously said by someone else) make a list of what you think you'll need for the week (or what you know you'll need) and take it from there, if you need sausages but your normal ones are too expensive and some you haven't tried before are on sale, try the ones you've never had before, worse case scenario you don't like them in which case cut them up and make a pork and bean pot with spices and you'll never be able to taste it.
I think it's harder for parents to afford healthy eating on a budget when they have younger children because their kids will want animal crackers, cheese strings etc in their lunch box, and that'll cost money, so I excuse people in that situation from this comment but, I think the reason people think eating healthy is more expensive is because they end up stocking up on non healthy "treats" (biscuits for a biscuit barrel, mints for your handbag, chocolate bar for in your work desk) since you no longer have your normal food. I think people (without realizing they're doing it) stock up more on comfort food because they are put in a situation with food they're not used to (not saying everyone does this but both me, my family, my friends we are ALL guilty of this) and that's what makes the shopping seem so expensive because you buy more then you need.

Simple healthy stuff is not expensive

bump. now I'm curious to how much I spend on meals for the week.

We are spending more on fresh fruit and on meat, but less on junk food. The meat is more because we eat better -- fresh fish instead of pork; chicken breast instead of whole chicken, etc. We eat three really good meals a day now. We used to have three good meals a week. My husband, the unexpectedly early retired one (I note this because we are on a tight budget), does the grocery shopping and bargain hunting. He says our healthy menu cost a lot more at first especially as he learned where to shop for what, but now it costs about the same as the old days. Ironically now that we are eating planfully and carefully, I enjoy food way more and feel way less deprived.

I will repeat what I alluded to in an earlier post that I really wish we had instituted this healthy menu planning when the kids were at home. We did have sit down meals but we had a boatload of unhealthy snacks and those sitdown meals, while usually fun, were not the healthiest in the world. We all downed a lot of that boxed macroni and cheese and white rice was a meal staple. We had some pretty intense demands on our time back then, but we also could have afforded a freezer and tweaked our lifestyle some. I am pretty happy with my life, bumps in the road and all, but I guess that if I could have a do-over, it would be to have created a family structure that was nourished with healthier food. That said, my kids are strong healthy adults, my grandchildren are beautiful, and my husband and I are showing its never too late to change habits.

I see 2 sides to this. First being, the household grocery budget didn't already stock fruits and veggies for multiple meals a day, there is an increase in cost at first. My house has 5 people....all thin except me. The start up cost of 2 fruits a day, frozen or fresh veggies etc, absolutely increased the cost of foods in my house.
Add to the fact, I do not like to eat and in not eating, I gain because I go into starvation mode keeping all I do eat, therefore another increase to the budget having the foods in the house and having the eat 3 meals and 2 snacks to get up to my calories in take.
At that, I still often fall a little short.

Now, acknowledging at first it seems more expensive, it levels off. If you buy a few different types of frozen veggies, lean meats, almonds and such one week, it is not something you buy every week. I found within a month, the costs had dropped down to manageable amounts. My home did see at first an increase for foods specifically for me an increase of 40-60$ a week for the 1st month.
Items that I used to eat, now that is don't have them, we no longer need to buy, or don't buy a often, so it is a trade off. I think the start up of changing the life style is something people are shocked by. My husband was.

I coupon, coupon, coupon!! You would be surprised at what good foods there are coupons for. Example, my Dillons (Kroger) had their Almond Breeze Almond Milk on sale for 1.99. I had a coupon that knocked $1 making it .99 for a full size carton! I got Chobani's last week for .30 a container. I have coupons for Skinny Cow, Kashi, Cascadian Farms and Morningstar. Not to mention several others. I even got coupons from Dillons. Ended up getting a 12oz pkg of tilapia for 2.49! It take a little bit of work but it is worth it to save on the good foods!

Lots of good points on this thread. I am fortunate in that I do not have to pinch pennies. But I do.....for my own reasons. I buy the cheapest laundry detergent I can find, do not use commercial cleaning products except for a very few. Baking soda and white vinegar go a long way. I buy staples at Walmart and shop for groceries at the local farmers market and grocery store. Investing in your health by spending a bit more on quality foods is worth it in the long run, since (as someone else already mentioned), your medical costs will be greatly reduced. And there are always ways to trade off the expenses with something else in your monthly budget that is not really essential.

It does take planning, and learning to cook from scratch. Food tastes so much better. Try some new recipes, freeze individual portions when you make large recipes. When you find a recipe you like, save it on your computer in a recipe file. Take it one day at a time. Your body will thank you.

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I think people misinterpret that line far too much...

When I say I can't afford to eat healthy, I am in NO way implying I cannot afford apples over chips. Can I afford apples over chips? Yes. Are apples a balanced meal? No.

Since February, our food budget has been 72 dollars a month. I'm feeding two people on that.

What I mean when I say that I can't afford to eat healthy is that I literally can't afford to eat. I buy what I can, when I can. Oatmeal and ramen is a staple. Hot dogs are, too.

I still buy fresh foods, though.

a 9 dollar lb of chicken will not get you far at all. Whe nyou're living off 72 dollars a month in food. But I certainly cannot afford that pizza, either... duh.