Think it's too expensive to eat healthy?

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  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member
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    Oh, and Aldi and Save a Lot don't have meat counters, but they have packaged meats. You want a pound, find the package that's closest to a pound. You want six pounds to go home and portion in out and freeze, buy the one that's closest to six pounds.

    Believe you, me, we have limited means. My husband has been working only part time for a long time now (making a good hourly salary, but when your company only has 18 hours of work a week, it's not much). We're a family of SEVEN. Nitty gritty times, and I can feed us all for a measly 30 bucks a week in a pinch. Sure, we'd be limited on the fresh foods, but we wouldn't be squandering it away on nonsensical stuff.

    Thank goodness, he started a new job a few weeks ago, and they're working his butt off. Only 110 hours on this coming check. :-D
  • kaylarachellee
    kaylarachellee Posts: 201 Member
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    It may be cheap to eat fast food now... but hospital bills in the future will be expensive... Just eat healthy now!
  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member
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    It is when there is only one or two of you.... And we have no health food/ speciality store that sells cheap, bread that is "healthy" is $3.99 here, not $1 something. Yay for small towns eh?

    I find it incredibly hard to believe that there are no generics in or near your town. I'm from cedar lake, MI, and there's even generics available there--or a bigger town is only a 20 minute drive. So you make a big trip to town once or twice a month and actually use your freezer...
  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member
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    http://michigan.hometownlocator.com/mi/montcalm/cedar-lake.cfm <<< talk about podunk...
  • silhouettes
    silhouettes Posts: 517 Member
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    We are a decent sized town, we have a college, omg. We have a Walmart, we have a Jay C, but that doesn't make things cheap now does it?

    We have a Save A Lot to, but they do NOT sell healthy bread or anything really healthy here, believe me I've looked and actually I priced compared and Save A Lot's prices are generally more expensive than Walmarts. At least here they are.

    I don't make the prices.
  • gemiwing
    gemiwing Posts: 1,525 Member
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    A fair point to those with means who complain about the affordability of healthy food.

    The problem I see with comparisons like these, though, is that they assume that you can buy $0.55 worth of olive oil. Maybe in some places you can measure out your own seasonings and cooking oils to buy just what you need, but at most of the grocery stores I've ever frequented, the bulk bins (if there are any) are for 1) candy, 2) cereal, 3) grains. So yeah, I might be able to roast a great chicken at home, but in order to stock up my pantry to make things edible, I'm going to have to have a lot more money to devote to food at one time.

    Also, in many places, there aren't nice grocery stores with meat counters who will give you 1/4 pound of this and half a slab of that. There aren't fresh fruits and vegetables to be found. You buy canned or pre-packaged or you get nothing. These places are called food deserts and they are way more prevalent that you might think.

    This NY Times diagram from 2011 might be applicable for those of us fortunate enough to be able to buy things like entire bottles of oil, loaves of whole wheat bread, and quarts of milk at the local grocery. But for those who have to rely on assistance, who only have a small budget to devote to food at any given time, and who might only have a small convenience store in their neighborhood, sometimes McDonalds and the like is the most feasible option to feed your family.

    Hey, you seem like you have compassion and a sense that not everyone's experience will mirror your own. My advice- leave this thread, run far away and live in the hills in peace. Escape the bitterness, inappropriate emotional responses and nitpicking that is in this thread. RUN! :laugh:
    *returns to her happy place where folks are nice and talk to each other like respectable folks their parents are proud of*
  • Travelfixer
    Travelfixer Posts: 139 Member
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    You realize prices are different all over right?

    That first healthy meal would be 3 times that where I'm from.
    Chicken is 13$ a pound here on a good day.
    Romaine lettuce is 4-5$
    2L of Milk is 5$
    Whole grain bread 5$ a loaf 4 on a good day.
    Fish and seafood is insanely expensive.

    For myself and my boyfriend to eat healthy all month it's about 800$

    Where do you live?.? Alaska? If you live there catch your own fish we did when we went there
  • Travelfixer
    Travelfixer Posts: 139 Member
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    You could probably shave those 5 cents off the healthy meal by stealing salt and pepper packets from work.... just sayin

    Haha brilliant!
  • hailzp
    hailzp Posts: 903 Member
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    I have never seen a chicken cost $5. That picture is not taking into account national or global differences in food prices.
  • Travelfixer
    Travelfixer Posts: 139 Member
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    When our family used to eat at McDonald's, it was usually around $20 for 3 of us (and two were children), so I don't think $27 is out of line for a family of four. We weren't ordering anything extravagent either.

    However, I think the real point is that we can't even begin to calculate the costs, both monetary and otherwise, that our rising rates of obesity have on our families and our country as a whole. In our family, I spend about the same amount eating healthfully as we did eating junky, but we don't have to pay for prescriptions, doctors' visits, time lost from work, etc. We all feel healthier and more energetic.

    I saw a very overweight man at the grocery store joking with the checkout clerk about how bad his diet was, and saying it didn't matter how unhealthy he was because he didn't have a wife or kids. And I would never say it to him, but I thought that his carelessness contributes to health insurance rates skyrocketing of all of us. (Sorry if that sounds judgmental.)

    It's true, and I can't afford health insurance, I ish all obese people would join MFP lol
  • Travelfixer
    Travelfixer Posts: 139 Member
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    You can't buy 55 cents worth of salt and pepper. Try buying four slices of bread too- see how the grocery store likes that.
    Lol I don't think you understand how this works...

    ;D I like comedy what can I say?

    Yeah, I do get it. I still stand by the idea that I would like someone to try buying four slices of bread and see how well it goes.

    I get the idea behind this topic (which comes up about once a week here- complete with graphic) but it's not factual. The prices of food vary and to use an entire meal at a fast food place for comparison- all it does is let people puff up their chests about how lazy people are nowadays. It's an internet circle.. er... gathering. *koff*

    To really make a valid comparison- take a food bill of convenience food vs grocery store whole food for an entire week or at least make it realistic in how people buy food.

    If you are poor you can find a dollar for a hamburger but you might not be able to find ten dollars for the 'healthier' options.

    This, is my main point- this data is flawed and I wish people would stop using it to have internet circle 'gatherings'.

    Packaged, premade meals are more expensive than meals made from scratch.

    My point is- sometimes it's easier to come up with a lower price point than to buy enough to make a healthy meal. Depends on the meal and we can't make a blanket statement and expect it to hold water for everyone.

    Hamburger helper- 1.99
    Beef- 2.00
    You don't have to use anything but water. It may call for more but you don't have to.
    3.99

    Pasta- 1.00
    Spices 1.00 (assuming all you buy is cheap chili powder)
    Flour- (need some sort of thickening agent) 1.99 (assuming non-bulk purchasing)
    Beef- 2.00
    5.99

    In this case- prepackaged is cheaper.

    In other cases it's not cheaper.

    No amount of chatter will convince me otherwise from my own experiences. Anecdotal but valid all the same for my life. It's not always about being lazy- sometimes it really is you only have five bucks- not ten.

    That last posting makes me wnt to throw up lol
  • Travelfixer
    Travelfixer Posts: 139 Member
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    We typically spend about $160-240 a month on groceries for the 2 of us (my husband and myself) (we live in New Jersey)

    that breaks down to $40-60 a week. sure this can change if we need some extras, but I'm an excellent shopper (i always find a bargain)

    I try to buy only healthy foods, and organic when it's available and I usually prefer to shop at trader joes and occasionally shoprite.

    I'm also going to check out this store that i've heard about called Aldi's (they claim its cheaper)

    I was at Aldi's today, some things are really cheap, I bought. Yoghurt okay to try it, the brands are different to anywhere else but so far mst of the stuff I've bought as been good
  • Travelfixer
    Travelfixer Posts: 139 Member
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    My main thing about eating healthy being expensive is if you look at the price of cheap unhealthy grocery store items. You can get frozen pizza for $1, Ramen for like $.05, Mac and cheese for like $.70, where as you pay a TON more for fresh fruit and produce.

    I agre with this 100%.. People here are saying "oh, well you don't spend as much on junk food and medical bills, so therefore eating healthier isn't more expensive.

    But I'm talking about a side by side comparison of food in the grocery store.
    As you said, mac & cheese or ramen noodles (unhealthy) is A LOT cheaper than fresh produce and lean meat. Period.

    Also, it is very difficult when you are only cooking for one or two people, because you can't neccessarily buy some of the items in bulk. For example, when trying to lose weight, we don't eat potatoes as often as we used to, so if I buy a large bag of potatoes, chances are they will all go bad before I am able to use them all. So I'm unable to save the money by purchasing a large bag of potatoes, and instead, I must purchase a few loose potatoes, at a much higher cost. When we weren't trying to eat healthy, I could buy that large bag of potatoes and use it before they went bad (and save that money as compared to buying the loose ones).
    Potatoes are just one example of this.

    I buy for just me, I buy a couple of sweet potatoes which are better thn regular potatoes, I buy big packs of chicken, freeze it in one or two pieces, if I buy potatoes occasionally I buy a 5 lb bag and usually eat them r makes meals with them and freeze them in meals so they don't go bad.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
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    A fair point to those with means who complain about the affordability of healthy food.

    The problem I see with comparisons like these, though, is that they assume that you can buy $0.55 worth of olive oil. Maybe in some places you can measure out your own seasonings and cooking oils to buy just what you need, but at most of the grocery stores I've ever frequented, the bulk bins (if there are any) are for 1) candy, 2) cereal, 3) grains. So yeah, I might be able to roast a great chicken at home, but in order to stock up my pantry to make things edible, I'm going to have to have a lot more money to devote to food at one time.

    Also, in many places, there aren't nice grocery stores with meat counters who will give you 1/4 pound of this and half a slab of that. There aren't fresh fruits and vegetables to be found. You buy canned or pre-packaged or you get nothing. These places are called food deserts and they are way more prevalent that you might think.

    This NY Times diagram from 2011 might be applicable for those of us fortunate enough to be able to buy things like entire bottles of oil, loaves of whole wheat bread, and quarts of milk at the local grocery. But for those who have to rely on assistance, who only have a small budget to devote to food at any given time, and who might only have a small convenience store in their neighborhood, sometimes McDonalds and the like is the most feasible option to feed your family.


    So you (general "you" not directed toward anyone) can't go buy a 3.99 bottle of olive oil (the price at Aldi, Save a Lot, and generics at the traditional grocers) with the assistance you receive, but you can afford to go buy McDonald's with real money (because I know assistance doesn't pay for that)...

    0 sense...

    A loaf of whole wheat bread at Aldi and Save a Lot is 1.29. I don't think that's breaking anybody's bank either.

    I agree, it makes no sense. If you can buy a value meal, you can buy a bottle of olive oil. You just have to plan a few meals ahead and learn to cook some simple meals. Not saying that's the poster above's problem but I think that's a lot of America's. It sucks planning meals and learning to cook them yourself when you're used to just running through whichever drive-thru fits your mood each time you're hungry.

    Does McD's take food stamps in the US?
  • josephinabonetto
    josephinabonetto Posts: 253 Member
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    I think some healthy things are expensive (I am in the UK), like fresh herbs (no garden), but I still manage to do all my meals for £100 per month. Mostly beans, wholewheat couscous, bulgar wheat. I have some unhealthy foods but not from fast food joints very often.

    I am vegetarian, which might make it easier though as meat is expensive. It does involve planning, but I plan using myfitnesspal food diary so it's not a stretch for me and I have a crockpot which reduces a lot of the effort.
  • Sezmo83
    Sezmo83 Posts: 331 Member
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    Doesn't seem to matter whether we eat rubbish or reasonably healthy stuff here, the food bill comes to roughly the same over the course of the month. Yeah, the healthy stuff can be more expensive but we're not buying the cakes, crisps, chocolate etc so what we save there tends to make up for the added cost of the healthier food.
  • Kryssaxo
    Kryssaxo Posts: 54
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    Where do you live and shop?!?!? That's ridiculous!

    That's normal here. I'm on an Island in the east coast of Canada.
    A 10 pound bag of potatoes here, and we grow potatoes, is 10-15$ depending on the potatoes.

    What island would that be? Move to Nova Scotia, our prices are half what you are currently paying.

    Did you really just ask that? It's the only island IN Canada and its right across from you.

    Nova Scotia is connected to the mainland. You have many more means of obtaining produce and other bits. For example, trains. PEI doesnt have these and it's a major source for transporting goods. Any trucks crossing the bridge to our Island pays upwards of $80-$100. I just relocated back here from Ontario and its almost double the cost for groceries than it was there for the same thing. If its healthy or organic, expect to pay 3-4x more.
  • carld256
    carld256 Posts: 855 Member
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    When you measure it on a cost per calorie basis healthy food is more expensive. Energy dense, but nutrient poor, foods are just lower in price. The culprit isn't necessarily fast food.

    energy-density-price-chart1.jpg
  • Princess_Sameen
    Princess_Sameen Posts: 290 Member
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    It is more expensive to eat healthily.....I go shopping with a friend she gets the same size trolley and fills it to the brim! I half fill mine is is usually over £80 while her shopping is £40-60...its full of frozen pizza'a and rubbish!! only time hers is more expensive is when she buys alcohol!
  • IHeartNewMe
    IHeartNewMe Posts: 150 Member
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    I think in the long run, it's more expensive not to. If you are too sick to work and have to pay high medical costs...what do you think?

    I don't eat out a lot, because quite frankly there is very little that is good for you sold in restaurants, it's very expensive and I can buy healthy food and prepare it at home and be in control of how it is made. I very rarely am sick anymore and my diabetes and high blood pressure, I believe don't exist since I don't have to take meds for either anymore. A complete turnaround in my health in less than a year.

    I would say it's more expensive not to eat healthy!!!

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