It's so EXPENSIVE to eat healthy. Mac n cheese - $0.99, blueberries - $5.99

I have a huge issue with this whole weight loss thing.  The prices to eat healthy!  Before my diet consisted of what the kids ate (pizza, turkey burgers, chicken and potatoes ,etc), now on my new way of life, I've ditched the pizza, chips and soda and replaced it all with blueberries, high fiber cereals, oranges, etc.

You know what, I thought my grocery bill was going to be cut in half on this diet as I wouldn't be buying Oreos and Lays chips, you know what happened, my grocery bill is triple in cost! 

I spent over $2.50 for 3 small oranges at the normal grocery store (not the Organic/Whole Foods place).  I spent $5.99 for a small package of raspberries (same for blueberries).  My organic whole grain bread was $5.99 (the loaf is half the size of say Wonder Bread).  My husband said I need to replace all my steaks and pork chops with seafood.... well shrimp, flounder, mahi mahi, etc. is very expensive.

I can now understand why the families who make less than $50,000 can not afford to feed their children healthy options and why there is major obesity.  It's a lot easier to pay for Mac and Cheese for a family of 4, than to make a healthy fruit salad loaded with watermelon, strawberries and pineapple. 

Anyway, wanted to complain about this.  Thoughts?

Original Post by emmersct:

kaffwynn, that's really good advice - to realize that small, delicate fruits are always going to cost more because they're hard to pick and transport, and in-season fruits are going to be cheaper than out of season fruits (not to mention they'll taste much better). 

I found this guide online, which might be helpful:  http://utextension.tennessee.edu/publications /spfiles/SP527.pdf

 

 

also, supposedly, the in season fruit s healthier because it is mostly sun ripened, and not harvested "green" then shipped.

i do spend a bit more on food than before, even if i eat half the amount, but it is mostly because i have started also to like some new things, enjoy more fruits, find time to go to a small shop that sells organic stuff and so on. 

i know carrots and such are cheap and healthy, and when in need i can resort to things like the carrots, oatmeal, apples. right now i am blessed to be able to afford even unnecessary but tasty treats (gourmet green tea, high quality cheese, marinated organic tofu), but think that i might go cheaper if needed.

Original Post by ghanja:

You guys are right, its definetaly expensive...but I tell myself if I dont eat healthy then I am doing harm to my body which will cost me far more in health and doctor bills. 

exactly.

i do notice i spend more money now (and the new clothes... i buy them cheap but still, i needed a whole new wardrobe as everything except socks and scarves was too big, lol). so what. i spend it on something i like, enjoy, and when i see my famiyl struggling with all those coronary diseases i think it will prevent the medical costs. of course, i can get cancer tomorrow or something, and please do not take it as me feeling i have an upper hand here - i just try my best to prevent health problems happening, AND enjoy myself during the process.)

It's hard to say whether or not organic is truly better for you.  Organic is almost always guaranteed to be more expensive and depending on how I'm feeling financially I'll choose organic or not.  At Trader Joe's the difference in organic bananas is 19 cents to 29 cents each...I can afford a bunch of those since they're already so much cheaper than the regular store.  I shop mostly at Trader Joe's and COSTCO, getting only items that really are cheaper in bulk at COSTCO or that I like better.

Did I hear Albertsons?  Well that's your problem.  Switch to a different grocery store and I guarantee a 30% reduction without changing any of your habits.

Also, if you live where I lived in Southern California, groceries are much more expensive than anywhere else in the country because we have unions, etc. and the workers are better taken care of.  I go to school on the east coast and was surprise at how cheap food was for the rest of the country.  At Albertsons, a pound of butter was like $5 in LA.

Also, my family has always lived in wealthy neighborhoods but my mother is a very smart shopper and knows that traveling one zip code away changes the market completely.

Also:  Trader Joe's.

Now I live alone in the city (talk about markup) but have been doing fine, and I don't cook for myself, but that's my lifestyle.  I live off of produce from TJ's and the farmer's market, and Kashi/Powerbar/Luna bars, Kashi cereal... and various TJ oddities.

Original Post by smwhipple:

It's hard to say whether or not organic is truly better for you.  Organic is almost always guaranteed to be more expensive and depending on how I'm feeling financially I'll choose organic or not.  At Trader Joe's the difference in organic bananas is 19 cents to 29 cents each...I can afford a bunch of those since they're already so much cheaper than the regular store.  I shop mostly at Trader Joe's and COSTCO, getting only items that really are cheaper in bulk at COSTCO or that I like better.

 Organic is more environmentally friendly, but I've never seen any scientific evidence that it's healthier.  I keep up with the top "general science" journal (Nature); so if there was evidence, I'm pretty sure I'd have seen it. 

Of course, buying local is even more environmentally friendly, so I shop the local farmer's market and don't worry too much about the "organic" label - particularly since there aren't really any regulations about who is and isn't allowed to call themselves organic.

Original Post by susiecue:

Original Post by smwhipple:

It's hard to say whether or not organic is truly better for you.  Organic is almost always guaranteed to be more expensive and depending on how I'm feeling financially I'll choose organic or not.  At Trader Joe's the difference in organic bananas is 19 cents to 29 cents each...I can afford a bunch of those since they're already so much cheaper than the regular store.  I shop mostly at Trader Joe's and COSTCO, getting only items that really are cheaper in bulk at COSTCO or that I like better.

 Organic is more environmentally friendly, but I've never seen any scientific evidence that it's healthier.  I keep up with the top "general science" journal (Nature); so if there was evidence, I'm pretty sure I'd have seen it. 

 

i have seen many articles (including ones using scientific research) saying it is healthier, and that organic produce contains more vitmains, and that pesticides are unhealthy.

you can google tons of it, for example http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/588589.st m

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/oct/29 /organics.sciencenews

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/10/organ ic_food_is_2.php

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/ 050328182123.htm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/154669 8/Organic-IS-healthier,-say-food-scientists.html

etc.

good health may come with a price, but bad health comes with the biggest price

I've read that organic is more beneficial to certain types of foods, like dairy and meat for example.  Because it's so high up on the food chain, it's begun it's collection of checmicals and pesticides from the beggining of their diet, when they raise the corn and whatnot.  So I am convinced that this is better for you.  Same calorie content and all, but do we really need scientific evidence to proove that chemicals are not good for you?  This seems obvious.  Now as for fruits, I also heard that it's more beneficial to eat organic depending how porous their skin is.  Bananas for example, have a thick skin so choosing organic may not be entirely beneficial as an organic strawberry for example.

As for healthy food being more expensive, I don't believe that's true.  Being a non-meat eater, i find my bills quite cheap.  Here are some examples:

-beans (dirt cheap especially dried ones in the bag)
-pasta
-veggies (fresh or frozen)
-rice

I've got some great staple meals that are cheap and last all week!

-Vegetable soup (you can freeze the rest for later)
-spaghetti or lasagna
-vegetable stir fry with rice
-veggie omlets for breakfast
-bean burritos
-macaroni & cheese w/ 2% cheese

And you can add emat to all these meals.  I think you noticed a spike in your bikk because you are either buying produce that's out of season, or their not on sale.  I might suggest only sticking with the items that are on sale and making a meal out of that, or buy the frozen.

Hope this helps!

If it's not going to break the bank, one thing to consider is that organic is definitely better for the people growing the food.  You can wash the pesticides off your grapes at home, but the people picking the fruit don't have a choice about breathing them in and touching them every day. 

I'm not sure where you live but in South Jersey we have stores called Produce Junction.  They sell veggies and fruits and herbs (and flowers too) for extremely low prices.  It saves me so much money on fresh ingredients.  Here's an example of what I got this weekend:

Bananas - 5lbs for $2

Box of strawberries (a pint i guess) - $1.50

Lemons - 5 for $1

Peaches - 3lbs for $2

Jumbo bag of spinach (about 10 times the size of those prepackaged ones from the grocery store) - $4.50

2lbs of string beans - $2

5lbs of yams - $2

There are a couple of different produce stores in the area, but it's all pretty much the same...lots of food for not a lot of money.  I had a huge box filled with healthy produce when I left.  It's especially good when you have a lot of people to eat it.  It's only me and my bf in my house so I am kind of forced to eat healthy because otherwise the produce will go bad and my money saved will be a waste. 

You may want to check to see if there are similar type stores in your area. 

Hi Betsey and the rest of you. Read your header and it really made me want to come here and state my .2 worth. Hope you don't mind me jumping in here, but just have to get this off my mind. I about panic when I get the feeling someone is about to have a change around and head back to the old habit of eating poison.Sooo here goes.

$5.99 for blueberries. Is that expensive? Compared to what? A heart attack, diabetic, stroke, obesity and the hundred of other things that can be caused by overweight.

I think $5.99 is pretty cheap compared to Pizza, malts, potato chips, and all junk food especially when we throw in all the danger that we have in eating that stuff. We became a poor health population when we started using pre- packaged food, refined and bleached flour, artificial flavoring, fast foods and our number one killer--- preservatives.

How about coupons? Do you bulk shop? Buy sale items? Plan a garden? I know the price is enough to scare us to pieces on everything good and bad. Gone to the show lately and bought a coke and popcorn? You talk about high price. Need to take out a bank loan for that. But all in all I’d rather spend my money on good food than a hospital stay. Because I ate what I wanted, drank what I wanted, bought the high priced junk food, the high price cigarettes that is just what happened to me. Heat attack big time. Was in the hospital intensive care unit for days, and when I got out I was on 19 prescriptions a day and some of them I took 3 times a day.3 months after my release I was a diabetic. I then was in bed almost 6 months. Now I am all but 100% recovered. I am on 1 pill for my sugar a day and that’s all. 18 prescriptions down the drain because I started exercising and buying $5.99 blue berries. I think it’s a fair trade money for health, what is not a fair trade is money to buy a heart attack.

 Please don’t trade your health for junk food.

Have a great day and throw out that junk and eat and live healthy.

Donna

If you are looking for cheap, organic food, there are some farms out there that will let you pick your own fruit and/or vegetables. Not only do you get the exercise of picking fruit on their fields all morning (it's actually fun for the whole family), but the prices are significantly lower because they do not have to pay for labor, distribution, and packaging! I do not know where you live, or if you are located anywhere near one of these farms, but I will attach a link to show you an example:

http://daviswiki.org/Impossible_Acres

I completely understand what you mean. I personally still live at home (I'm only 16), and seeing the grocery bill skyrocket when I ask for a few healthy items makes me feel bad.

Many people have contributed really good suggestions, and I'm not sure if this has been said already, but have you thought of pre-planning all of your meals? Or at least your dinner entrees (a few magazines I've read have weekly dinner plans including a shopping list of exactly everything you'll need, and sometimes even an estimated price).

To go along with everyone else, just stick to what's in season, and also opt for frozen when fresh is too expensive. Buying in bulk can help out sometimes. Just always be on the look out for good deals or coupons (for example, we have a "Price Plus" card at ShopRite and it offers a LOT of discounts). And "diets" are all about moderation, so it would be alright to buy some of the cheaper "less healthy" items and eat a controlled portion size.

PS- this is a personal trick of mine, yes, I know I'm being dishonest. When I buy a mix of jazz & red delicious apples and I'm weighing them at the self-checkout, I'll just say that I bought all red delicious apples instead of both kinds (they're 99 cents a lb as opposed to 1.49 for the jazz ones)

falling - you do know thats stealing right?  Basically switching the price tags to make it cheaper....had a friend that went to jail for that...

Yah. I can relate.. I just got home from shopping. I bought one bag of groceries.. not that many items at all... it was $48.00! It's nuts.

If you possibly can, don't buy your fresh fruits and vegetables at the grocery store... go to the farmer's market or a market stand instead. The produce might not look so shiny-perfect as in the grocery store, but it'll always be cheaper if you buy stuff that's in season. I spent twenty dollars at the local farmer's market this morning and came home with BAGS of fresh produce.

Original Post by davefiredancer19:

falling - you do know thats stealing right?  Basically switching the price tags to make it cheaper....had a friend that went to jail for that...

 i know, i know. i try not to do it much, but i just feel bad about the extra money i'm making my mom spend on healthy foods, combined with the cost of living for our family. fortunately, the prices of them have gone down (not sure of the reason why), so i haven't done it recently. i'm probably painting this picture of myself as a young delinquent now.

good rant, I grew up the same way...anything goes.

But in 2009..I switched and I have to honestly say my grocery bill did cut in half...but I cut out all meat including fish/sea food. That cutting back of meat alone saved a lot of $$.  

I would do some poultry.  And if I had kids I would buy the cheaper bread as that is not that critical if you can cut out a lot of other bad things. Like butter and sugared foods.

The kids need to be shown to use honey, cinnamon, naturally whole peanut butter, molasses and other alternatives.   With little or no sugar added.

If you have a bread machine you can make your own and you will know what is in it.

I now buy a lot of grains and cereals at the bulk or Health food stores..these grains are great for filling the hungry stomachs..oat meal, red river cereal, flax seed, rye and splet flakes, barley etc. 

I make a lot of my own soups using some canned tomatoes plus lots of veggies and different grains and cereals.

Salads have not only the usual stuff but I add raisins, almonds, some of the grains, sunflower seeds.  Makes it more filling.

With kids pastas and rice in different healthy meat free mixes...you can make good tasting meals...using herbs instead of sugar and salt.

There are numerous recipe books to guide you.  It is all a matter of changing your focus..learning what good food tastes like and showing your kids too.

My point being..if you ate all the junk food and other bad foods(that taste so great)..your transition is not easy because you are focusing on what you liked and not on what is new out there to try..and it is not as expensive as your old way of buying foods and it is good tasting.

Cutting back on sugar and salt are key to good eating habits...if you can do these two with kids..your doing great. 

You will be making more of your own foods at home and that means no processed foods..no fast foods. You will save even more $$.

Hang in there...

kansasgal

has excellent arguements for spending more for good food.

WASTING MONEY OR BUYING HEALTHY FOODS...THE CHOICE IS YOURS!!

I have heard people complain about buy healthy foods to.

1-These same people go to a Casino and spend many $$$.

2-These same people drink lots of beer, wine and smoke

3-These people will go to the show and buy the food there.

4-These people order in fast food all the time.

this is only part of the place where these people waste money..

...$1000's of dollars a year..wasted. 

Could have bought healthy groceries for years!!

I've mentioned this in other threads, but the cheapest places to get healthy food are the farmer's market or through a CSA.  My CSA costs me about $20/wk.  We spend maybe another $50 every month or two on top of that for staples: tofu, peanut butter, pasta, rice, that sort of thing.  To give you an example of what you can get for your money at a farmer's market or CSA, my box last week included:

2 lbs squash

1 pint blueberries

1 quart plums

2 lbs peaches

1 lb homemade granola

1 lb cucumbers

1.2 lbs green beans

6 radishes

a ton of basil

a couple of onions

a half-dozen eggs

I think there was one other thing but I can't remember what it was right now.  The trick is to go with what's in season and be creative.  I've been using one of my staples--sushi rice--and making home-made tamago (sweet egg sushi) and veggie rolls (with green beans, cucumbers, radishes, and cream cheese).  I eat a plum as a pre-run snack and a peach as a post-run snack.  I make parfaits of blueberries, granola, and plain yogurt which I have for breakfast along with a glass of OJ.  I make pasta with onions, squash, and green beans and make a pesto to go with it since I've got all that basil.

All that for about $20/wk.