I agree eating healthy is not expensive once you learn how. I Make $50 dollars last 2 weeks for myself. I make a lot of homemade soups with vegetable broth, chili loaded with beans I also use whole grain breads and pastas to make meals that last a few days(Being dinner and Lunch the next day). I feel one tool that really helps me cook good healthy meals cheap is my crock pot I love it. I can start it the night before when I am cleaning up around the house or doing homework and its ready for me the next day. I can put pretty much anything in it I have (adding seasonings of course which is the one thing i keep many of) and make a soup. I actually spend more when I am bad and eat out of a vending machine or eat lunch at the local restaurant not only am I spending more I feel like crap afterward.

^ Yeah crock pot meals are very cheap and easy.

I also make pea soup a lot which costs about $3 max and lasts for a week. Great for lunches.

I would suggest if you are having trouble with expensive healthy eating turn to things like chilli, soups and crock pot meals.

Regarding carbs, insulin, and weight loss, there's a huge difference between simple carbs (sugar, white flour, white pasta, white rice, etc.) and complex carbs--both in terms of insulin and in terms of our grocery budgets. As a diabetic who was able to eat myself off meds, I consume a diet comprised of 70-80% carbs and 10-15% each protein and fat. Mainstream? No way, but coupled with 8-12 minutes of exercise after each meal, that diet dropped my blood glucose from 600+ to well inside the normal range. I couldn't do that on Ramen noodles, so we have to be careful not to paint all carbs with the same brush.

As for our food budgets, a bag of whole grain pasta costs roughly the same as a bag of the same pasta made of white flour, but it contains far more fiber and is therefore more filling, meaning that if we get 6 serving from a 12-oz bag of white pasta, we may get 8 or more from the while wheat type.

Consider, too, what we put ON that pasta. I don't fry up ground meat or sausage and pour on a jar of Ragu anymore. As Cord mentioned, I open a can of pureed tomatoes and make my own sauce. Then I look in the fridge and round up any veggies languishing there--broccoli, cauliflower, red pepper, zucchini: almost anything can be added, even beans or leftover meat. I don't by veggies special for this. It's more a clean-out-the-fridge meal. Again, the veggies add a lot more fiber, stretching the meal even more, and I'm eating smaller servings, so the cost is significantly lower.

But I cook on a regular basis. That means I have a stock of spices, grains, fruits and veggies, etc. on hand to build meals from. I don't have to buy special for each meal.

I also suspect that those who think eating healthy is more expensive might not be factoring in the cost of eating out during the unhealthy times. If you eat out four nights a week, of course your grocery budget will go up when you suddenly start cooking most meals at home, but your "entertainment" budget--for eating out--will go down.

Finally, remember that not everything bought for those "expensive," "healthy" meals is used in the meal. Take AlphaX's Greek salad with that $2.00 jar of capers. He's not going to pour the whole JAR over the salad, so the whole cost can't be factored in.

Whew. I hope I didn't make any typos because this mess is toooooooo long to proofread :P

It seems to me that it's a very subjective thread in reality. What's expensive to you, isn't expensive to someone else.

In my *opinion* you can't live healthily off of $80.oo a month. I live off of $450.00 Plus a month for groceries.

To say that ppl have disposable money in the direction that they spend it on the net, has nothing to do with the fact.

I live in a rather large city, and the so called *hoods*, there homes all have satellite dishes ect, sometimes 5 to a home hanging off their balconies. These ppl live in poverty. And you know why they do? (not all of course, plz try not to jump my back) Because they're spending money on things they DON'T need.

With that said, it's kind of a double Sword, obviously they think food is expensive because they've not got their priorities in check.

*The Poor Man Spends More* ~ yea he does in the long run, because he's always buying cheap item's that break sooner than buying something a lil more expensive and of better quality in the long run.

There are so many different ways to go about it, but hey it's only *My Opinion*

I am also really interested in the healthy/cheaper recipe thread, Always up for learning a thing or two. Maybe I can cut back on my monthly grocery expense & save for some where else. Gotta have Yogurt.

Just out of plain curiosity is the $450 a month for just you, or do you have a family as well? I dont even think I spend that on gas, and thats where my paycheck usually goes is groceries, gas, and credit card bills.

I think it's going to depend a lot on where you live. Eating fruits and vegetables is quite expensive for us in the Winter. It's not unusual for out of season foods to cost several dollars a pound in the snowy months, where as in the summer you can pick up a large bag of fruit or vegetables for a buck on the dozens of road side stands.

As far as whole grains go, it costs a lot more to buy whole grain or even whole wheat bread as opposed to white bread (which we don't eat, I'm just saying). You get less whole grain bread, with almost $2 added to the price.

Dairy foods like yogurt, milk, or cheese are expensive regardless of the time of year here, ranging from $3-7 for Yogurt, $4 for a gallon of milk and $$$$$$ for REAL cheese, not that over processed crap.

Pastas and rice are pretty much the same story as the breads. White Pastas and Breads give you far more produce for cheaper than whole wheat pastas and rices.

Meat is generally expensive here, unless you happen to stock up your freezer during a good sale (which we do. We ate chicken from 2006 the other day (I do not recommend this, I'm just giving an example)).

Natural peanut butters are very expensive as well. You can't buy any peanut butter here that doesn't have hydrogenated oils and trans fats if it doesn't say all natural. You're looking at about $7 for a BIG jar of peanut butter, and about $3.50 for a small jar of all natural stuff that has less than half of the amount of the big jar.


It's not necessarily converting from chips and chocolate that people are talking about.

Responding to 2 people in one post.


Gimme.Cake first.

This is true, but you can get some objectivity when you can compare like figures - say the cost of a fast food meal to a healthy meal made at home.

Well, at the risk of sounding pissy (which I'm not trying to be ... just being factual ) your "opinion" is wrong. People CAN eat healthy for $80 a month. Now it may not be food you personally want to eat - you may be of the opinion that $80 worth of healthy food isn't interesting or fun or enjoyable to you and *that's* a valid opinion. But to say you can't be healthy for $80 a month is flat out incorrect.

I guarantee you that if you told me what you ate and how much you paid for it, I could devise a plan that you'd both like and was SIGNIFICANTLY less than $450 a month (assuming you're willing to cook, as opposed to buying pre-prepared food). I feed 2 people on less than $200 a month and we eat WELL ... seafood and lean beef and fresh veg, and so forth. And mind you, I love to cook and make a lot of things from scratch, but I can still make it work w/out any kind of "gourmet" cooking.

LowfatMilk second.
What about frozen fruit and veg? I can buy bags of each here on sale for 4 for $5 usually. Even not on sale, a bag of frozen veg runs between $1 and $3 a bag, depending on the type.

Which is why it's important to eat seasonally.

True that some things are more expensive - your whole grain bread example - and you balance that out by eating less expensive foods elsewhere. But unless you wouldn't be buying milk anyway, you can't really say drinking milk is a component of "more expensive". And I make my own yogurt for pennies on the cost of store-bought - healthier AND cheaper.

Meat is generally expensive anywhere, but cheap cuts of meat can be prepared in a healthy manner with a little time and effort.

Peanut butter is always expensive, sure. But you can make your own or you can just not eat pb at all if it's a big cost.

Again, I guarantee you that if you gave me a budget of someone who ate unhealthily, I could make a healthy menu plan for the same budget. As I told Gimme.cake, it would require a willingness to cook (not gourmet, but to do some prep and cooking), but it can be done. I've done it for dozens of people before.

There's argument to be had on the nutritional value vegetables and fruit have after they've been frozen, and even cooked. Just because you can do it, doesn't mean you're going to be getting the same nutrition as if you were eating something fresh.

I agree.

It's not necessarily going to balance it out.

True for milk, but not for all dairy products.

That's nice. I'm sure it is cheaper than buying it in the little cups (pretty much everything is) but is it really practical for everyone? That's 260 more dishes (containers) you have to wash every year if you take Yogurt in your lunch every day for work-and of course, time is money.

That's 4.333 hours of work a year you would spend soaking and washing your Yogurt container. When minimum wage goes up in march that will be $44.40 a year worth of time you spend washing the reusable containers, not including the cost of the containers themselves or the time it takes to make it.

Let's say you spend $20 making Yogurt for 260 days a year. That's $64.40 a year you spend in time and money with your home made Yogurt. That's approximately $17 dollars less a year you spend on making home made Yogurt. That's a difference of $3 a week.

While $3 does help, is that really such an exceptional difference to make it worth doing?

If someone is too poor to eat health foods, do you think they're going to go for the meat that lasts one meal, or a loaf of bread that lasts a week?

It's nice that you have the time and energy to focus so much on your diet, but not everyone's lifestyles have so much wiggle room. Time really is money for some people. If you're going to spend the time to make it, you may as well just buy it. Is this true for me? No, I don't buy my own food and have remarkable amounts of free time.

You can give these suggestions, and it's nice to share your wealth of knowledge and for some people I'm sure they appreciate your ability to plan their budgets to the nearest cents, however some people struggle to eat at all and healthy eating is going to be a much bigger burden on them. It's a fact of life. Just because they can cut costs here and there doesn't mean they'll be able to afford to do it.


On the other hand, it's hard to put a cost on your health, isn't it?

Yes, it is just for me. WoW ppl sure take things here literally. I have a budget of $450.00 plus a month, meaning I can spend less or more. I don't limit my food.

[QUOTE=KaraCooks;649613]Responding to 2 people in one post.


Gimme.Cake first.


This is true, but you can get some objectivity when you can compare like figures - say the cost of a fast food meal to a healthy meal made at home.

Yes that is factual. I would agree. To that point. That side of it. Whether not someone is willing or able, is completely different. That was my point. Guess I should have made it a little more clear.

Well, at the risk of sounding pissy (which I'm not trying to be ... just being factual ) your "opinion" is wrong. People CAN eat healthy for $80 a month. Now it may not be food you personally want to eat - you may be of the opinion that $80 worth of healthy food isn't interesting or fun or enjoyable to you and *that's* a valid opinion. But to say you can't be healthy for $80 a month is flat out incorrect.

haha right on. Than don't risk it. No one's opinion is wrong, if it is indeed what they feel is right. We may not agree, but it doesn't make someone any less inferior to the other. In this case inferior being "wrong". It's my opinion, and I am allowed to have one.

I would say you're taking my words and twisting them. That's not what I implied. That is your perspective.
Sure ppl spending a dollar, thirty dollars, and yes eighty dollars can spend it however they like. Healthy of course. To live off of $80.00/month only towards food seems highly unlikely.

I guarantee you that if you told me what you ate and how much you paid for it, I could devise a plan that you'd both like and was SIGNIFICANTLY less than $450 a month (assuming you're willing to cook, as opposed to buying pre-prepared food). I feed 2 people on less than $200 a month and we eat WELL ... seafood and lean beef and fresh veg, and so forth. And mind you, I love to cook and make a lot of things from scratch, but I can still make it work w/out any kind of "gourmet" cooking.

How do you know whether or not I cook? My my another assumption. So approximately $200.00 a month is what you spend? And you're a cooker, I can tell. This is just silly bickering really, c'mon. Look's like we ate a lot of the same things too. Haha I love this!! Hint Hint to the gourmet cooking? I'm a gourmet cook now...Oh I see.

I am guessing both you ladies, Karacooks, and Mad4Chillas took my previous statement's a little to heart, and for that I apologize. I thought this thread was open for discussion.

I enjoy eating, I like to eat what I like when I want it, and how I want it. I am always up for new angles. I am certainly curious to know how to live off of $80.00/month for groceries, if I could do that, I'd have it made!

Thanks Again, it's been a real pleasure.

Well .. no. Actually frozen veg and fruit are often MORE nutritious than their "fresh" counterparts. Frozen fruit and veg are usually picked at the peak of their ripeness and flash frozen w/in a few miles of harvesting. "Fresh" fruit and veg (unless you're speaking of something you buy from a local co-op or farmer's market) are picked while still underripe, so they can survive the travel time from grower to store. They are often ripened by exposure to gasses, and they are usually waxed to extend their shelf life. They are not as nutritious or as fresh as frozen veg. Really. I'm not lyin' here.

It is practical for just about anyone. Most of making yogurt is hands off ... fermenting time. It takes me 30 mins to do the actual "cooking" part of it - usually on the back of the stove while I'm making dinner or something on Sunday. 1/2 gal of milk will make enough yogurt for 2 weeks. So yeah ... 30 mins for 2 weeks of yogurt - it's practical for anyone.

Seriously now? That's quite possibly the lamest excuse ever for not making your own food. I have small ramekins with lids (rubbermaid - like $5 for a set of 4). You rinse 'em when you're done eating and you throw 'em in the dishwasher with the rest of your dishes (or wash them by hand, if you don't have a dishwasher). There's no "soaking" or "scrubbing" to washing a yogurt cup. If you have a bowl of cereal every morning or a bowl of oats, you're washing a cup. If you buy your yogurt in a 32 oz container, rather than in small individual containers and dish it out, you have a cup to wash.

Given that I spend 15-20 mins a day or so doing dishes and cleaning the kitchen, I hardly think you can say that 1 additional cup = $40 a year or whatever. Sorry ... I'm not buying that washing a 2oz ramekin/tupperware is a reason to not save money and make your own. That's just taking things to the level of ridiculousness.

Huh? You're comparing apples and oranges. This is a red herring argument. I have no response.

And again, you're buying into a promoting the idea that eating healthily either has to be time consuming or expensive. It's simply not true. Again, I can put together a cheap menu that doesn't require tons of cooking time. But people don't want to hear the truth because then they don't have a built in excuse.

And again, you're buying into a promoting the idea that eating healthily either has to be time consuming or expensive. Eating healthy and cheap does NOT have to be a struggle - unless you're looking for ways to make it one (like making washing a single dish into such a huge big deal it makes a simple task look impossible and expensive).

Hiding behind an opinion is one way people twist facts. People used to have the "opinion" that blacks were inferior to whites. People used to have the "opinion" that women weren't smart enough to vote. Factually it is possible to eat healthily on $80 a month. That's not a matter of opinion, no matter how much you want to say it is.

Why? Because you can't?

No, I didn't assume anything. And you're getting hostile and defensive where it's not necessary. However, I do apologize if my phrasing wasn't as clear as I meant. I wasn't implying anything about YOUR cooking. I was forestalling the argument that a lot of people have made that you have to be a "gourmet" cook in order to be able to eat cheap - that you have to be willing to make a bunch of regular food "from scratch" (things like bake your own bread and so forth). I just wanted to be clear that a "normal" cook - someone who cooks their own food but doesn't want to have to learn fancy techniques or whatever - can eat very very very cheaply.

I'm very willing to take that on as a challenge. I can quite easily plan a full menu for 1 person for $80 a month. I'm not saying it'll be fancy food, but it'll be good, and nutritious, and varied and not require any out-of-the-ordinary cooking.

I think this could go on forever, and people still wouldn't agree.

I agree with some stuff, disagree with other.

Example, somebody said whole grain pasta is the same price as normal - no, it's not. Not where I come from. Normal is £0.29, whole grain is between £1.79 and 1.99, depending. And it's the same with a lot of things. Chicken and turkey are the most expensive meats, wholegrain products are more expensive than their not so healthy counterparts. Fruit is seasonal, expensive and worse, pretty much always bad quality that doesn't last two days.

Personally, I'm trying my best with what I've got. I don't doubt that Kara could make me a wonderful plan for maybe £50 a week with all healthy stuff. And then I would have to add about 200 on top of that to feed the rest of the family, because they wouldn't eat any of it, and I would need to hire somebody who actually does it for me.

And no, I don't really cook. Anything that has more than 10 minutes preparation time doesn't work for me. I simply do not have the time, and the nerve, to stand behind the cooker. Which for me results into usually not eating cooked food at all. Right now I live of fruit, frozen veggies out of the bag that I just throw into a bowl, and sandwiches.

Healthy? No. Cheap and not time consuming? Yes. And as sad as it is, that's all that matters to me. I am sure I would say something completely different if I was living on my own, or if I had a family that shared my interest in healthy nutrition, but I don't have that luxury.

I apologise for diverting the direction of this thread - but want to say the following...

I take the approach that the food that I eat is healthy - so therefore I prepare healthy food.

Rod does need to lose weight and his health is suffering because of this fact (BMI 57, older than his father was when he died of obesity, problems with joints...).

Each day I discuss with him what I am going to cook for the day. I make one meal for each mealtime. I get his input - whether he wants to have that too - or what he wants. If he wants something healthy we negotiate and probably have that instead...

If he insists that he wants something unhealthy - I cook for myself and he can cook the unhealthy stuff for himself. The most that I tend to do is put a dish in the oven to warm up for him.

This approach encourages him to eat healthily if he is feeling at all lazy.

It took a little getting used to for him - but now he wouldnt expect me to do any differently...

It might not be popular - but it might just save his life...

I have tried that. The result was an overdrawn credit card because he just ordered food every night, spending over £150 in a week on Indian food and pizza. He simply doesn't care for his health, and I can't force him. I have tried everything I can think of, now it's up to him. *shrug*

I'm sorry San. That must be really hard for you.

Not only are those takeaways expensive - but they can be really bad things to eat for their weight. Something unhealthy cooked at home can be a lot healthier...

I know how much I prefer it when Rod eats the same kind of meal as me.