Healthier eating

[BillsGirl]

How come when you go to any store all the healthier foods are soo much more expensive then these morcowavable stuff and all the unhealthy foods in the store?? Ever since my hubby has had to start watching what he eats we buy so much less food for our money becuase we have to buy healthy fresh stuff all the time! doesn't make sense to me?

[momma4]

try adding in a salad with dinners I am feeding 7 ppl here and I find it cheaper than buying canned veggies plus it fills everyone up. We buy 3 heads of lettuce, 2 lbs of carrots, 1-2 lbs of mushrooms, 2-3 cucumbers, a box of croutons, a container of bacon bits, tomatoes, and a variety of dressings I think we have like 5 different types. Since dressings last more than a week we don't have to buy that all the time but the veggies cost us $15.50 and we don't just use them for the salads I do mix them in with other meals example: lettuce;sandwhiches, tacos, burgers, ect LOL Carrots: I chop up and do as a veggie by itself with alittle bit of butter(ok veggie spread LOL), mushrooms (OMG I love these so I make grilled mush/chs sandwhiches ), cucumbers makes a good snack, tomates can be used with burgers and omlets and stuff i found making my own fries saves money and are less fattening. I buy baby carrots when they are on sale and freeze them and just steam them for a side veggie Anyway LOL if you split the $15.50 divided by 7 ppl between aprox 14 meals give or take only costs me about 16¢ a meal. Since you have a smaller family you could probly cut this cost WAY down.

[momma4]

cont...
Now if you really like one veggie that you put into a salad and sneak it as a snack I would say buy extra LOL cause you know you will go threw it fast. I try to keep junk food out of the house. I am a Pepsi nut I just went threw a 12pk in only 3 days by myself (ok gave my dh and his friend one can each but pretty much drank it all myself LOL) Oh we also keep an eye out for sales on juices Do you have an Albertsons near you? they have alot of 10 for $10 deals and if you get their prefered card my averages savings a week is $60+ and that is not including when I buy the marked down items like meat ( if you get there after 8 pm when the meat dept is closing down and they still have ground beef left it is only 99¢ a lb I buy as much as I can and freeze it all) But anyway this is what we do to try to eat healthy. I can't think of anything else right off the top of my head.

[BillsGirl]

yeah there is an albertsons close by, It's avery nice one but I never knew they had ground beef after 8 p.m. or when the meat department is closing down!! So thanks I'll go sneak over there at that time then

[DivaJen]

Originally Posted by BillsGirl

How come when you go to any store all the healthier foods are soo much more expensive then these morcowavable stuff and all the unhealthy foods in the store?? Ever since my hubby has had to start watching what he eats we buy so much less food for our money becuase we have to buy healthy fresh stuff all the time! doesn't make sense to me?

Can you give some examples of the processed, packaged foods and their fresh equivalents that are so varied in their costs? Maybe we can help you come up with fresher, healthier alternatives that are as cheap or cheaper than the convenience foods you're used to buying.

[34saving]

I agree that eating healthier is more expensive. There's nothing that's good for you that came financially compete with an 11 cent pack of ramon. I think stores often have to charge more for things that are better for you because they're harder to produce, harder to store (more spoilage), and harder to ship. It's worth it for the health benefits though. Think of what just one trip to the doctor's office costs . . .not to mention everything else that being unhealthy costs!

[momma4]

oh I also recommended getting those reusable bowls you can make large amounts of one meal and separate it into more than one and it lowers your cost per meal.

[momma4]

Originally Posted by BillsGirl

yeah there is an albertsons close by, It's avery nice one but I never knew they had ground beef after 8 p.m. or when the meat department is closing down!! So thanks I'll go sneak over there at that time then

they go fast so try to get there before then just do some light shopping and just watch for the butcher to put it out LOL

[PrincessPerky]

If heathy is expensive, organic is pure luxury

But I do think the future reduced medical bills are worth it, though we also eat the ramen (9cents last week .)

[BillsGirl]

I love ramon noodles, I know they're terrible but i love em!! The cost was just a generalization like you can buy a frozen dinner for $1 but the buy chicken breast and then vegetables will cost about 8 or 9 times that much and you would cook it with way less sodium... Or like leg quarters are soo much cheaper than chicken breast! All fish is expensive, which we eat alot of fish in our house!

[kashi]

I started buying locally produced organic milk...it's twice the cost of grocery store milk. I don't buy it every week, or even every two weeks, but it's a nice treat. I also started buying organic eggs, after reading an article about mass-produced eggs in a magazine. They are a lot more expensive too, but worth it to me. Organic carrots and celery tastes so much better than the regular kind. I wish I could buy organic/natural everything, but that will have to wait until my income catches up! I wish the prices were the same...I think a lot more people would go organic and healthier. Of course, that sort of thinking doesn't pay the doctors, the nutritionists, the pharmeceutical companies...

[BillsGirl]

I love milk, but for eggs I have never ate em, so i guess it don't matter to me how they're produced, I just don't eatr they're gross, I only buy perdue chicken!!

[niki_the_tiger]

Our biggest problem is that when we try to eat healthier, we end up having to throw so much away becuz it goes bad. So that wastes a lot of money, and makes us less inclined to buy fresh fruit and veggies...

We usually buy our groceries once every two weeks (according to pay day). A lot of the fresh produce doesn't last that long... But now that I have my driver's license again, I was thinking that maybe I will start buying fruit and veggies weekly instead...

Is it cheaper to buy from farmer's markets?

[baselle]

Some tricks -
Know what your family likes as far as fruit/veggies are concerned. My sweetie has turnip radar. Also be honest as to the amount of fruit and veg your family will eat in a week. If you have a list of some sure fire veggie/salad recipes, you're ahead of the game - you probably have a list of 10 veggies and 10 fruits that form the basis of what you are buying.

Price book helps a lot with produce in a grocery store - buy in season. You also really want to buy often, in small quantities. Better you spenc more and it all gets eaten. This is not the item to stockpile. It means that you probably want to set aside some small amount of grocery money "for every couple of days lettuce run".

Make sure you check out the frozen veg aisle for the basics - check for specials and store brands. If the grocery store runs out, ask for a rain check or a substitution.

Think about buying in other places, not just the grocery store. In Seattle, we have a number of little farmer's markets & produce stands (not just Pike Market). Their price point is usually between regular and organic produce in the grocery store, plus its local and probably grown slightly more ethically.

Also we have CSAs, community supported agriculture. Since its summer, it might be too late to get in on one, but the idea is that you buy a share or a half share from a farm in the spring, and once a week that farm will give you a box of what the farm has been growing. Its usually way more than even a family of rabbits can use .

Also, U-picks can be a deal. If nothing else, if the farm has a produce stand connected with it, that stand usually has better prices than the city one.

Finally, have an exit strategy for middle-aged (not old, not bad) produce. It could be scraps for stock, good bits for soup, curry, stews.

[CRFSaver]

If there is a Trader Joe's by you go and check it out. I buy my "organic" chicken breasts there cheaper then for normal chicken at the grocery store. They also have a tremendous selection of fish that is usually priced very competitively. This weekend I got wild red snapper for 5.99 a pound.

Trader Joes is a hippy store that turned into a yuppy store. They are in lots of different places but i just checked and unfortunatetly its not in Florida yet...

[claricem75]

This post has a lot of great suggestions, thanks everyone. I am in the midst of a low-calorie diet and need all the advice on saving money that I can get. Good luck in your endeavors!

Clarice

[marglo]

I do most of my shopping at Wild Oats but I get somethings at Trader Joes because I can get them cheaper...eggs, milk, canned foods etc. I do not buy produce or meat there usually as it is packaged and I prefer not to buy these things packaged. I LOVE the meat at Wild Oats and would really hate to go back to buying it at a conventional store. It is so much more tender and tastier! I try to buy mostly natural or organic products, but I do buy a few things at Winco, Walmart and Costco too.

[mom-from-missouri]

I often stretch meals by adding a baked potato. I buy them in the 20 - 25 lb bags.

[DivaJen]

Originally Posted by marglo

I do most of my shopping at Wild Oats but I get somethings at Trader Joes because I can get them cheaper...eggs, milk, canned foods etc. I do not buy produce or meat there usually as it is packaged and I prefer not to buy these things packaged. I LOVE the meat at Wild Oats and would really hate to go back to buying it at a conventional store. It is so much more tender and tastier! I try to buy mostly natural or organic products, but I do buy a few things at Winco, Walmart and Costco too.

Yea - another Trader Joe's fan! We don't buy meat, but I have heard pretty decent things about TJ's fish. I wish we had a Wild Oats or Whole Foods near us, but we don't.

[CRFSaver]

Trader Joe's fish is great. I also get their boneless skinless chicken breast as it is cheaper then Giant or Harris Teater. I sometimes buy a roast there and they have this great Korean BBQ you can get there as well. Big fan of Trader Joes. Whole foods is nice but jeez, so expensive...