Do you look at food just in terms of $$?

[funnyvalentine]

I do atkins, so bread is not an issue. As far as the rest, I buy in bulk and freeze; chicken thighs, turkey breasts, etc. I very rarely use coupons because we don't eat cereals, frozen dinners, etc and that seems to be what my local coupons are for.

We try to eat as much fresh produce as possible, but we don't beat ourselves up over ice cream......

c

[JBinKC]

I try to avoid foods that are high GI and/or saturated fat and nitrates otherwise anything goes. Agreed white bread is junk but I see nothing wrong with using iceberg lettuce on occasion.

[funnyvalentine]

I love iceberg lettuce, even though it's fallen out of favor in a big way. At my company, we make a terrific greek salad and iceberg is the way to go. Also a bacon lettuce and tomato salad with russian dressing that's just fabulous.

Originally Posted by JBinKC

I try to avoid foods that are high GI and/or saturated fat and nitrates otherwise anything goes. Agreed white bread is junk but I see nothing wrong with using iceberg lettuce on occasion.

[getforfree]

Usually junk food and prepackaged frozen stuff is more expensive than the produce or other healthy food like beans, eggs, milk.

We eat lots of salads, my kids (3 and 1 y. o. ) love salads. They eat cooked beans with their hands, like it's candy or something like that. They like carrots. I grow some in my garden specificly for them to eat.

We buy 100% juice even tho it's expencive. We buy whole milk instead the reduced fat because it tastes better.

We eat baked potatoes a lot. It's cheap and healthy.

For the meat we mostly eat chicken, because it's the cheapest meat, sometimes I get beef (but never pork--too fat) for variety, but I don't think that beef is better than chicken.

[PrincessPerky]

Adorable kids!

[getforfree]

Thank you, PP !

[starving_student]

Originally Posted by neguy11

Does anyone else think like this or am I alone?

Not alone. Spend about 75 to feed 2 right now. Almost all of it is organic or top of the line. I go to several stores (I sort of do a circle I don't think it is that much extra gas) and buy the good deals at each

[lgslgs]

Originally Posted by neguy11

The reason I ask is, all the time I see things like $.39 lettuce and $.79 bread. But honestly, I'm not going to buy iceberg lettuce or generic store bread.

I guess to me it doesn't make a lot of sense to be buying a $.79 loaf of refined bread, with little to no fiber or nutrients, when I can pay $2.29 for one with a lot of fiber and nutrients (not to mention better tasting.)

I like going for the highest nutrition at the lowest cost.

It been more than 10 years since I bought store bought bread. I could make 6.5 loaves of whole wheat/unbleached white bread for your $2.29 or make 4.7 loaves of 100% whole wheat bread. And that's using good quality flours.

The $0.39 lettuce and the $2.49 bagged blend are both darn near nutritionally bankrupt. Both are an expensive way to get a teaspoonful of nutrition, a bit of fiber, and a bit of crunch. Both have been sitting around way too long and have been thrown about during harvest, transport and packaging. I'd save the expense and go cut a couple of leaves of Swiss chard out of the garden or grab a few fresh green onions. Or sprout some alfalfa in the middle of winter. If I was stuck with grocery store options I'd buy a carrot (plain old whole carrots, not peeled, bounced around, water soaked baby carrots) or apple. Or bananas at $0.38 per pound. At least those foods don't suffer as much transit damage and nutrition break down in storage.

Lynda

[mountainmist]

Originally Posted by neguy11

The reason I ask is, all the time I see things like $.39 lettuce and $.79 bread. But honestly, I'm not going to buy iceberg lettuce or generic store bread.

I guess to me it doesn't make a lot of sense to be buying a $.79 loaf of refined bread, with little to no fiber or nutrients, when I can pay $2.29 for one with a lot of fiber and nutrients (not to mention better tasting.) Same with the lettuce. I'd rather pay $2.49 for the bagged salad blend that has the phytochemicals and vitamins, than the iceberg lettuce that really has little nutritional value. Even pasta -- the regular kind is SO cheap, but I'd much rather pay $1.42 and get the Barilla Plus with the extra fiber, protein, and Omegas.

I try to save money on food but unless it's a matter of me starving, I think it's better to spend a little more to eat healthy, then eat as cheap as possible. And with all of the health problems in this country, many related to food, it seems like it might actually save money in the long run.

Does anyone else think like this or am I alone?

I agree with your point, but suggest that you do some serious research on that BAGGED produce that you claim is full of nutrition.

That BAGGED stuff is filled with gases which keep those sweet little salad greens from wilting, and how it works over the weeks from picking it until it gets to your table is that it destroys all the vitamin content in the leaves.

I no longer buy ANY salad greens anywhere, as each store around here, which offers them in "bulk" - I've checked with the produce managers in each store locally and when I asked if their "bulk salad greens" were BAGGED, before they came out to the floor for you to take just the amount you want, all of them proudly said, "Oh, yes!!"

I won't purchase ROUGHAGE at the price those bagged lettuces sell for, I'll pick up those "dirty" natural lettuces and clean them myself at home; almost all the cases of e-coli illnesses I've read about were caused by the BAGGED produce.

However, I don't trust anything in the produce sections and try to always wash it well before placing in my refrigerator.

Also, years ago I read that those supposed "baby" carrots are actually LARGE big ones cut to size, so I never buy them.

I think it's pathetic that this is the best that those large multinational food corporations can do in the 21st century, how pathetic they are.

I stopped eating meat years ago and instead buy vitamin B-12, but I sure don't want to depend on b vitamin capsules AND pay high prices for produce.

[mountainmist]

Originally Posted by neguy11

The reason I ask is, all the time I see things like $.39 lettuce and $.79 bread. But honestly, I'm not going to buy iceberg lettuce or generic store bread.

I guess to me it doesn't make a lot of sense to be buying a $.79 loaf of refined bread, with little to no fiber or nutrients, when I can pay $2.29 for one with a lot of fiber and nutrients (not to mention better tasting.) Same with the lettuce. I'd rather pay $2.49 for the bagged salad blend that has the phytochemicals and vitamins, than the iceberg lettuce that really has little nutritional value. Even pasta -- the regular kind is SO cheap, but I'd much rather pay $1.42 and get the Barilla Plus with the extra fiber, protein, and Omegas.

I try to save money on food but unless it's a matter of me starving, I think it's better to spend a little more to eat healthy, then eat as cheap as possible. And with all of the health problems in this country, many related to food, it seems like it might actually save money in the long run.

Does anyone else think like this or am I alone?

I agree with your point, but suggest that you do some serious research on that BAGGED produce that you claim is full of nutrition.

That BAGGED stuff is filled with gases which keep those sweet little salad greens from wilting, and how it works over the weeks from picking it until it gets to your table is that it destroys all the vitamin content in the leaves.

I no longer buy ANY salad greens anywhere, as each store around here, which offers them in "bulk" - I've checked with the produce managers in each store locally and when I asked if their "bulk salad greens" were BAGGED, before they came out to the floor for you to take just the amount you want, all of them proudly said, "Oh, yes!!"

I won't purchase ROUGHAGE at the price those bagged lettuces sell for, I'll pick up those "dirty" natural lettuces and clean them myself at home; almost all the cases of e-coli illnesses I've read about were caused by the BAGGED produce.

However, I don't trust anything in the produce sections and try to always wash it well before placing in my refrigerator.

Also, years ago I read that those supposed "baby" carrots are actually LARGE big ones cut to size, so I never buy them.

I think it's pathetic that this is the best that those large multinational food corporations can do in the 21st century, how pathetic they are.

I stopped eating meat years ago and instead buy vitamin B-12, but I sure don't want to depend on b vitamin capsules AND pay high prices for produce.

[amberbamber]

Right now - yes I look at food in terms of money. My husband and I are both trying to lose weight, but I can't consistently cook what he wants to eat for me and the kids. I hate to cook also...so trying to save money, time and weight it against my loathing to cook is hard.

[pearlieq]

Money is actually about 3rd on my list of considerations. My decision process goes something like this:

1.) Does it meet a nurtitional need (high fiber, low sugar, high ratio of protien to carbs, rich in at least one vitamin or mineral)?
2.) Do I like the taste (this one does go lower in priority than #1, but just barely!)?
3.) How much does it cost? Can the same benefit be obtained for less money?
4.) Is the product convenient and/or easy to prepare and eat?

I budget $80 per week for 2 adults and 2 cats. That includes all groceries, personal care items, household supplies, and pet supplies. So, in reality, I have closer to $55-60 per week to spend on food for us.

I stay on budget by mixing higher priced health or treat foods with cheaper staples. Things like beans, brown rice, and frozen veggies are cheap, tasty, and highly nutritious. Can't beat that!

[tinapbeana]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

You've described us exactly! Health is more important than cost (assuming you have the funds to make that choice). I'm a physician and so many of my patients suffer from preventable conditions that are majorly impacted by the crap they eat. We're pretty frugal but groceries are the last thing we would cut if the need arose. The other thing is when we eat the healthy, whole grain, high fiber stuff, we are filled up and satisfied longer so we snack less. That saves money indirectly.

So glad to have a doctor who backs up what I too believe. I try to eat as little processed and as much organic as possible. Do I always succeed? Heck no! But I try...

What I have found easiest is avoid foods that are all white i.e. potatoes are OK b/c they have a brown skin, & brown rice over white, etc. The other thing I find easy (not to mention fun & pretty!) is to get as many colors on my plate as possible for a given meal. This way, I'm just about guaranteed a wide enough variety to meet most nutritional needs.

As for cost: buy in bulk at the health food store, it's is frequently comparable maybe less than regular package food. And spices you can usually get in bulk, too. Frontier sells them online if your store doesn't carry them. For instance, 16 oz of organic cinnamon for $9 = $0.5625 per ounce, less than $1 for a 1oz bottle at the dollar store.

And for those interested in knowing what gets you the most nutritional bang for your buck, try The World's Healthiest Foods , which lists the top 100 nutritionally dense readily available foods, nutritional info, recipes, yadda yadda... One of the tops is quinoa (yum!).

[emmiedahl]

I definitely look at food in terms of money! But I always pick the most nutritious choice for the dollar. If iceberg is 39 cents and romaine is 1.29, I buy one of each and mix them for salads. If chicken breast is 1.99 a pound, and thighs are .69, it's a no-brainer for me. I make a lot of our baked goods, so I know exactly what goes into them--there is no place for corn syrup in bread, imho. Even the healthy-sounding breads can be full of chemicals that we honestly don't need in our diets. Generally, if something comes prepackaged, it will not be good for you. This include salads.

I don't think Americans are dying from white bread and iceberg. They're dying from soda and fast food--stuff that is more expensive than any loaf of bread and has no place in a frugal diet OR a healthy one.