it DOESNT cost more to eat healthy!! :-)
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Anyone who was a couponer and discount shopper before changing their eating habits experienced a marked increase in their grocery bill. The increase is worth it for sure, but I don't understand why people insist on trying to pretend the increase isn't there.
As another poster mentioned, there is the food desert issue. Much of the US population lives in places where there is one grocery store and a walmart if they are lucky. Healthy food in these places is pricey because there is low demand for it.
Often times, these articles are based on living in an urban environment with multiple food purchasing options.0 -
For my family it costs more in some places, less in others.
12 cheap nasty fat burritos = 3.49
12 amy's burritos = 24.00
tortillas, dry beans, block of cheese for 12 burritos = 6.00
Box of breakfast bars = 2.99
Box of lara bars = 5.99
dates & nuts for 6 fruit & nut bars = 4.00
Box of MSG flavored rice = 1.99
Box of fancy flavored rice = 2.99
Bag of rice, container of bullion.. divided by four to get similar servings = 1.60
container of plain yogurt = 1.99
equally sized container of plain greek yogurt = 6.99
make it your damn self = about 2.00 for the same amount, I think.. just depends on milk prices
I dunno about produce, since I can't think of an unhealthy version, but if you buy organic it's definitely costlier. I try to for the dirty dozen, but it often ends up differently. Living in Killeen TX, I don't have many options.
It also depends on what you consider healthy, and what you actually have available to eat. If healthy is substituting grass fed for grain fed, and fresh for frozen, it's expensive. If it's just lean meats and frozen veggies, it can be quite cheap!
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For me, it is more expensive to eat healthy.
I follow blogs that do coupon match-ups, and lately there hasn't been anything for me to get really good deals with coupons on! I could always find excellent deals on pasta, pasta sauce, sugary cereal, breakfast granola bars, crackers and a lot of those things I generally don't buy very much of anymore.
I still use the coupons for things like greek yogurt, butter, cheese, frozen veggies, and condiments...but the deals are not as good and there are never coupons for the meat and fresh fruits and veggies.
I went from spending $80-90 a week to about $130.0 -
I agree its not automatically more expensive. I think it depends on what kind of foods you buy. Unless you are buying from the McDonald's dollar menu, fast food is quite expensive these days. I think the real cost of healthier foods is the time spent in the kitchen and inconvenience of preparing foods yourself.0
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Ugh, these articles always upset me because there are so many assumptions made. For one, we're assuming that the person driving has a car. Imagine taking bags of fresh produce on mass transit, especially in the summer. Meat could defrost, fruit can start to go bad, not to mention that fresh, whole food is going to be much heavier than pre-packaged processed meals, because you're carrying every ingredient. And what if the nearest grocery store is miles away? Poor neighborhoods statistically have a large amount of fast food restaurants, and often no grocery stores (and if they do, they're usually convenience stores with little to no fresh food) http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/28/6/w1088.abstract.
So, no car and no nearby grocery store. A lot of people are going to walk to the nearest fast food restaurant instead of spending an hour between buses and trains to buy food that could perish by the time it's brought home.
Yes, thank you! It also assumes if the person has a car that they can use gas money for frequent trips to the grocery stores to get the fresh/perishable items. No, someone who is low income might have to chose to use their gas for getting to work and possibly pick-up up their kids from day care or school not frequent trips to grocery stores. And if a car-less person can find someone to drive them, it can be pretty unreasonable to always bum that person for a ride every week or every few weeks so they might just do monthly shopping so they are not abusing some one's niceness.0 -
Like everyone's been saying, depends on where you live. I was born and raised in Hawaii and nothing is cheap or affordable there especially not organic. Because we have limited land almost everything but fruit got shipped over from the mainland. One day the dock workers went on strike and a barge of food rotted in the bay... I don't know how my working family of 6 managed to feed us. In Hawaii cooking with processed food was cheaper, oddly enough our breakfasts of fruit, etc were way more affordable but as for dinners don't ask.
I eat healthier now in Washington State and it is about the same price, I go to the Farmers market where I can buy organic meats, wine, veggies and fruit at only slightly elevated prices but because I'm not buying cookies, ice cream and chips it evens out.0 -
Ugh, these articles always upset me because there are so many assumptions made. For one, we're assuming that the person driving has a car. Imagine taking bags of fresh produce on mass transit, especially in the summer. Meat could defrost, fruit can start to go bad, not to mention that fresh, whole food is going to be much heavier than pre-packaged processed meals, because you're carrying every ingredient. And what if the nearest grocery store is miles away? Poor neighborhoods statistically have a large amount of fast food restaurants, and often no grocery stores (and if they do, they're usually convenience stores with little to no fresh food) http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/28/6/w1088.abstract.
So, no car and no nearby grocery store. A lot of people are going to walk to the nearest fast food restaurant instead of spending an hour between buses and trains to buy food that could perish by the time it's brought home.
Yes, thank you! It also assumes if the person has a car that they can use gas money for frequent trips to the grocery stores to get the fresh/perishable items. No, someone who is low income might have to chose to use their gas for getting to work and possibly pick-up up their kids from day care or school not frequent trips to grocery stores. And if a car-less person can find someone to drive them, it can be pretty unreasonable to always bum that person for a ride every week or every few weeks so they might just do monthly shopping so they are not abusing some one's niceness.
Totally agree!! Yes!0 -
Ugh, these articles always upset me because there are so many assumptions made. For one, we're assuming that the person driving has a car. Imagine taking bags of fresh produce on mass transit, especially in the summer. Meat could defrost, fruit can start to go bad, not to mention that fresh, whole food is going to be much heavier than pre-packaged processed meals, because you're carrying every ingredient. And what if the nearest grocery store is miles away? Poor neighborhoods statistically have a large amount of fast food restaurants, and often no grocery stores (and if they do, they're usually convenience stores with little to no fresh food) http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/28/6/w1088.abstract.
So, no car and no nearby grocery store. A lot of people are going to walk to the nearest fast food restaurant instead of spending an hour between buses and trains to buy food that could perish by the time it's brought home.
Yes, thank you! It also assumes if the person has a car that they can use gas money for frequent trips to the grocery stores to get the fresh/perishable items. No, someone who is low income might have to chose to use their gas for getting to work and possibly pick-up up their kids from day care or school not frequent trips to grocery stores. And if a car-less person can find someone to drive them, it can be pretty unreasonable to always bum that person for a ride every week or every few weeks so they might just do monthly shopping so they are not abusing some one's niceness.
Yes, this is a huge reason that people on lower incomes usually weigh more. To always have fresh produce, you almost HAVE to go to the grocery store at least 2 times a week. Some people can't afford the gas to go that often. Sometimes there isn't even a grocery store NEAR enough to go that often - for years, there was no grocery store in the north side of Tulsa, Oklahoma. They finally opened one and it got robbed so often they had to close it. Must have really sucked for the people who needed food.0 -
Part of what feeds into the disparity is the grocery desert that many rural families face. Grocery stores are spread out here, and not only do I spend gas to get anywhere, but local prices are way higher than in the bigger city 15 more miles away. So add on some more milage, pay a little less...damned if we do, same if we don't.
How does the gas and milage fit into making healthy food more expensive? Where do you get unhealthy food?0 -
Anyone who was a couponer and discount shopper before changing their eating habits experienced a marked increase in their grocery bill. The increase is worth it for sure, but I don't understand why people insist on trying to pretend the increase isn't there.
As another poster mentioned, there is the food desert issue. Much of the US population lives in places where there is one grocery store and a walmart if they are lucky. Healthy food in these places is pricey because there is low demand for it.
Often times, these articles are based on living in an urban environment with multiple food purchasing options.
Agreed I'm an avid coupon clipper and changing our diet did up the cost slightly, it's fine I'm happy I'm healthier but there's aren't coupons for lean meats, veggies or fruit which is what I mostly buy now.0 -
The article doesn't seem to mention organics or non genetically modified foods... which are, imo the most healthy.
-"A study published in the International Journal of Biological Sciences shows that GM food is indeed contributing to the obesity epidemic."
Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/monsantos-gmo-corn-contributing-to-weight-gain-disrupts-organs/#ixzz1vEcsTwZx0 -
Holy cow! I wish we could spend $120 a week on groceries!
Ever since eating healthier, our bill is now $200 for a family of three. We eat a LOT of produce (organic), I make sure our juices are the less preserved and organic kind so that is more expensive, our treats are more expensive because they're healthy and come in smaller packages and cost more (we don't buy chips of any kind, no cakes, no doughnuts, nothing), we eat a lot of fish, sometimes chicken and turkey and about once a month red meat.... and the fish and meat must be organic or not farm-raised and whatnot.
I make our own bread so that isn't a worry for us but, it does definitely cost us more to eat healthy.
We also used to coupon and would have bills at $60-$80/week for the three of us. Unfortunately I can't use coupons on FOOD anymore because there God doesn't send out a RedPlum on organic fruits and veggies. I just have to count on getting my shampoo a few cents cheaper for any couponing.0 -
Another huge assumption, made even by people in this post, is that people have the STORAGE SPACE to stock up on the non-perishables. I live in a tiny tiny apartment that has literally one closet - in my bedroom, for my clothes. And the kitchen has 5 cabinets for all my food AND DISHES!! Oh yeah, I'm gonna be able to save money by stocking up... >.>
On the flip side, there's a Safeway between the bus stop and my apartment, so I can often stop in to pick up a couple things on the way home, but my point is that that's not cheap!!0 -
Ugh, these articles always upset me because there are so many assumptions made. For one, we're assuming that the person driving has a car. Imagine taking bags of fresh produce on mass transit, especially in the summer. Meat could defrost, fruit can start to go bad, not to mention that fresh, whole food is going to be much heavier than pre-packaged processed meals, because you're carrying every ingredient. And what if the nearest grocery store is miles away? Poor neighborhoods statistically have a large amount of fast food restaurants, and often no grocery stores (and if they do, they're usually convenience stores with little to no fresh food) http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/28/6/w1088.abstract.
So, no car and no nearby grocery store. A lot of people are going to walk to the nearest fast food restaurant instead of spending an hour between buses and trains to buy food that could perish by the time it's brought home.
Yes, thank you! It also assumes if the person has a car that they can use gas money for frequent trips to the grocery stores to get the fresh/perishable items. No, someone who is low income might have to chose to use their gas for getting to work and possibly pick-up up their kids from day care or school not frequent trips to grocery stores. And if a car-less person can find someone to drive them, it can be pretty unreasonable to always bum that person for a ride every week or every few weeks so they might just do monthly shopping so they are not abusing some one's niceness.
Yes, this is a huge reason that people on lower incomes usually weigh more. To always have fresh produce, you almost HAVE to go to the grocery store at least 2 times a week. Some people can't afford the gas to go that often. Sometimes there isn't even a grocery store NEAR enough to go that often - for years, there was no grocery store in the north side of Tulsa, Oklahoma. They finally opened one and it got robbed so often they had to close it. Must have really sucked for the people who needed food.
Fresh perishable items are not necessary for a healthy meal. Frozen foods are just healthy as fresh, and in some cases healthier as light can destroy some vitamins. Canned are not bad either if you buy no salt added.
Dried beans, nuts, whole grains and whole grain products are also non-perishable healthy foods.0 -
I think it depends on how the comparisons are done. If comparing similar items, I do think it can get more expensive for the healthier (notice I didn't say the food was healthy, just healthier), the better choice can often be more.
Here's some examples (again, not saying that all of these are healthy or the best choice, but rather a comparison of two items)
Fast food restaurant value meal items seldomly have healthy choices, other than maybe a side salad. I could get a couple of value menu items for under $4, or spend $8 for a salad
In the grocery store:
Organic is at least 20% more than non organic
Whole bread is more expensive than white, and the good whole grain bread is up to three times the price
Same with whole wheat pasta vs white
Real juice is much more than the punch craps
Baked chips are double regular chips
Healthy cereals are double the sugar stuff
I find that there are often alot more unhealthy processed foods on sale rather than the healthy things. All of this being said, with some good planning, shopping sales, and stocking up, one can actually eat healthy for not much more than unhealthy. The other problem is that the really healthy foods like fruits, and veggies, can be difficult to stock up on for a long time. It's much easier to buy a year supplie of chips and cookies on sale, than it is a year of fruits.
Just my random thoughts. I know that now that I have been eating so much better, my grocery bill has gone up. It's well worth it though.
Away with the processed crap and shop the outside parameters of the store!0 -
Ugh, these articles always upset me because there are so many assumptions made. For one, we're assuming that the person driving has a car. Imagine taking bags of fresh produce on mass transit, especially in the summer. Meat could defrost, fruit can start to go bad, not to mention that fresh, whole food is going to be much heavier than pre-packaged processed meals, because you're carrying every ingredient. And what if the nearest grocery store is miles away? Poor neighborhoods statistically have a large amount of fast food restaurants, and often no grocery stores (and if they do, they're usually convenience stores with little to no fresh food) http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/28/6/w1088.abstract.
So, no car and no nearby grocery store. A lot of people are going to walk to the nearest fast food restaurant instead of spending an hour between buses and trains to buy food that could perish by the time it's brought home.
Yes, thank you! It also assumes if the person has a car that they can use gas money for frequent trips to the grocery stores to get the fresh/perishable items. No, someone who is low income might have to chose to use their gas for getting to work and possibly pick-up up their kids from day care or school not frequent trips to grocery stores. And if a car-less person can find someone to drive them, it can be pretty unreasonable to always bum that person for a ride every week or every few weeks so they might just do monthly shopping so they are not abusing some one's niceness.
Yes, this is a huge reason that people on lower incomes usually weigh more. To always have fresh produce, you almost HAVE to go to the grocery store at least 2 times a week. Some people can't afford the gas to go that often. Sometimes there isn't even a grocery store NEAR enough to go that often - for years, there was no grocery store in the north side of Tulsa, Oklahoma. They finally opened one and it got robbed so often they had to close it. Must have really sucked for the people who needed food.
Fresh perishable items are not necessary for a healthy meal. Frozen foods are just healthy as fresh, and in some cases healthier as light can destroy some vitamins. Canned are not bad either if you buy no salt added.
Dried beans, nuts, whole grains and whole grain products are also non-perishable healthy foods.
You have to be careful of canned foods though. If it's acidic, it's going to be lined with BPA as a requirement by FDA. Unfortunately, it costs a lot more to buy acidic canned foods in glass jars instead of cans.0 -
pfft I dunno where you shop but I spend at least $100 more per week (for a family of 4) since I started eating right.
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I've noticed my grocery bill has gone up significantly since we started eating healthier- and that's not even with buying all organic stuff. I got to Aldi and usually get a lot of my produce and things like frozen chicken breasts, milk, ect... for a decent price there but I still end up going to Walmart to get what I can't get there. I still end up spending a fortune. There are grocery stores around that sell more organic/green/whatever crap which I'd prefer but it's waaaaayyy out of my budget. When I have to buy formula and diapers and enough food to feed a family of 4 you have to pick your battles.0
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I spend about 40% less a month on groceries by buying fresh meats, fish, & produce than I did buying frozen veggies and low calorie (high sodium) "Healthy" frozen dinner entrees. Granted, I live in an area where fresh fruits and veggies are easy to come by.0
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Do you live anywhere near a Produce Junction? We go there weekly and buy so much produce for under $20/week. Also, we usually buy chicken breast, & pork loin chops at Costco or Sam's Club in bulk and weigh out and separate into smaller portions that stretch out over the month. Also, Aldi sells Talapia fillets. I think they are $5.99 for a 2 or 2.5 lbs bag (frozen individually vacuum packed fillets). They are great! I usually buy two bags at a time.I've noticed my grocery bill has gone up significantly since we started eating healthier- and that's not even with buying all organic stuff. I got to Aldi and usually get a lot of my produce and things like frozen chicken breasts, milk, ect... for a decent price there but I still end up going to Walmart to get what I can't get there. I still end up spending a fortune. There are grocery stores around that sell more organic/green/whatever crap which I'd prefer but it's waaaaayyy out of my budget. When I have to buy formula and diapers and enough food to feed a family of 4 you have to pick your battles.0 -
Processed food lb for lb costs less than fresh whole foods we all know this. What can make whole foods "cheaper" often is the fact that we need less whole foods to be satisfied and fueled up than we do of the processed foods. You get more proverbial bang for your buck buying whole foods over processed nutrient lacking foods.
That being said everything is about what is avail to your area. I am lucky I live in a rural community so we have farmers markets with fresh food, meats, produce, dairy, and we even recently have had a seafood market open (in the middle of central PA ...go figure right?). All this within 20-30miles of home. So for me during the growing season I can get really great deals on food.
Other places the whole foods are more expensive because they are imported. So there isn't really a hard and fast rule on this per say.0 -
Eating healthy doesn't have to cost more, but it certainly can cost more. I've been on both sides of the coin.
I started eating healthy decades ago when I had children. Before that I ate what I wanted and that was often junk. But with kids I began to think more about nutirtion. And then I found myself a single mother of 2 young children and very poor. But I still ate as healthy as possible. Everything we ate wasn't healthy, but we had a healthy diet. We ate a lot of peanut butter, eggs, beans, pasta, and rice. We ate more frozen vegetables than fresh. More apples (which are cheap here) than berries (which are expensive). I would never have considered buying an avacado or asparagus, instead going for the cheaper carrots and green beans. Our fish was frozen pollock and canned tuna instead of salmon and tuna steaks. I bought cheap cuts of meat, trimmed the fat myself and cooked it slowly so it wasn't tough. Dinner took a lot more time, but this was my family. I clipped coupons and bought in season and on sale.
Now, the kids are grown, both my husband and I have good paying jobs and we probably spend more than twice as much on food as I did for me and two kids back then. But I know I don't have to spend a lot to be healthy.0 -
Just an FYI... there are coupons for produce. Not a ton, but they are there. There are also coupons for frozen and canned veggies and cans of beans.0
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Um, so cereals and vegetables cost less than meat? Shocker.
Tried comparing the cost of fatty meat versus lower-fat meat? Or the cost of green vegetables versus the cost of potatoes or rice?
Yeah, if you live off the dollar menu at McDonalds eating healthy might be cheaper. (although I'm not even sure there, because two mcdoubles and I'm full for hours). But if you're comparing the cost of homemade food that's heavy in rice/potatoes/fattier cuts of meat versus the cost of homemade food that's high in green vegetables/lean protein, it's NOT cheaper.
I just found potatoes on sale for 1.38/5 lbs. The cheapest I've *ever* seen the green veggies is 69 c/lb and that was just peas and carrots.0 -
I hear this all the time and you are so right; it doesn't cost more to eat healthy. My grocery bill used to average $120 a week for my fiance and I. Since I have been eating healthy, my weekly bill is about $60-$80 a week, sometimes less! I think when people try to combine healthy eating alongside unhealthy eating, it becomes pricey. Produce can be quite expensive; when it makes up the majority of your meals, it's doesn't hurt your bank account. When you pair it with your Twinkies and frozen snacks it hurts a little.
This is exactly what I used to do! Now I realize how wrong I was. Better late than never!0 -
Um it is more money to eat healthy. Especially with all the ingredients that ask for spices. God spices can end up to being almost 4 -5 dollars. And the oils can end up to be like 8-10 dollars.. O.o. I was wanting to buy ingredients for a lot of recipes on skinnytaste and couldn't because of how much everything was here.. So I ended up buying weight watchers smart ones instead. Because normally I only cook for myself when my fiance is at work. So it is cheaper for me to buy them.
It can be, but it doesn't have to be ..... the trick is to build up your pantry gradually. I know that if I set out to buy all the spices for one recipe then it is going to be really pricey, but if you buy one herb or spice every couple of weeks, you'll only be adding a dollar or so to your shopping budget and in a few months you'll have a great selection. The same goes for things like olive oil, sesame oil, fish sauce etc - you only use a tiny amount of those ingredients so once you have them they'll last for a long time.
Or buy spice mixes - my neice cooked cajun chicken salad for me last week and the bottle of cajun spice mix cost about $1.50 and she didn't add anything else to the chicken. Add that to a handful of salad leaves and you have seriously delicious dinner. I reckon I could make that for four people for under $10. Buying a Lean Cuisine here is going to cost upwards of $4.
yep totally agree.
If by healthy you mean 'diet' ready meals, then it is expensive. If you buy fresh stuff and cook yourself, it is a lot cheaper.
the spices are expensive initially, but they last for months, so cost per use is very low.
I can buy a ready made chilli for about £1.50 that is generally high in carbs, salt and other additives, low in protein, and the portions are so tiny you have to add other stuff like rice or veggies on the side so that bumps the price up even more.
To make my own chilli ( 95% lean mince, beans, onion, pepper, tomato and spices ) comes in about £5 for 6 HUGE portions, so 83p each and that is high protein, low fat, low carb no added salt plus 3 portions veggies per serving :-)0 -
Um, so cereals and vegetables cost less than meat? Shocker.
Tried comparing the cost of fatty meat versus lower-fat meat? Or the cost of green vegetables versus the cost of potatoes or rice?
Yeah, if you live off the dollar menu at McDonalds eating healthy might be cheaper. (although I'm not even sure there, because two mcdoubles and I'm full for hours). But if you're comparing the cost of homemade food that's heavy in rice/potatoes/fattier cuts of meat versus the cost of homemade food that's high in green vegetables/lean protein, it's NOT cheaper.
I just found potatoes on sale for 1.38/5 lbs. The cheapest I've *ever* seen the green veggies is 69 c/lb and that was just peas and carrots.
Well, peas and carrots are healthy. And let's compare potatoes to dried beans, I can buy a 3 lb bag of pinto beans for about the same price as your 5 lbs of potatoes. But the 3 lbs of beans will make about 10 lbs of cooked beans once they swell. Fresh leafy greens are expensive. Here they are more than $3 for a small bunch/bag. BUT I can buy a bag of frozen spinach, collard or turnip greens, which is the equivalent of a HUGE bunch of fresh, for just over $1. You do have to pick and choose when you are on a budget, but you can still eat healthy.
And there is no way 2 McD $1 burgers are cheaper than making your own burgers at home.0 -
I did not read the article but I find sticking with real food including Fresh fruit and veggies and meats is less costly than processed and premade foods.0
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Yes, this is a huge reason that people on lower incomes usually weigh more. To always have fresh produce, you almost HAVE to go to the grocery store at least 2 times a week. .....
That's a big part of it for me. I only go shopping a few times a month for my boyfriend and I. And I really don't have enough room in our fridge for a whole bunch of fruits and vegetables nor do i want to go shopping a few times every single week...0 -
I don't know where you live, but eating nutritious foods costs WAY more here. Like 25-50% more. Try buying berries at the market.0
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