Is it reasonable to say that you can eat healthy on a limited budget (border, cost)
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Boneless, skinless chicken breasts.. $5.00 to $6.00 per pound here depending on brand.
Mango's. $1.00 each
I may have to shop in Austin.
FWIW, I don't buy processed food, nor do we eat at fast food places more for the unhealthiness of the food than anything.
I make my own pizza. It's a lot more healthier and filling than eating GMO Roundup filled corn.
I guess it all depends on where you live whether or not you can afford to eat healthy. I also buy in bulk to keep costs down, but if I were trying to live on a minimum wage salary I couldn't afford to do that.
The prices I quoted are ads in today's newspaper. But oats are very cheap even at $5.49 for 30 servings. And chicken is cheaper than potato chips even at $5 per pound.
I agree with this. While I do believe healthier foods are more expensive, I don't think we can use poverty as an excuse for obesity. It once was that poor people were thin people because they didn't have the choices in foods and little means to purchase food. With our current food stamp system one has the choice to purchase pretty much any food they want. I understand that often it is the high carb, cheaper foods that are purchased in order to stretch that dollar, like rice, past, potatoes, beans or cheaper meats like hamburger helper, hotdogs, bologna, etc. There is still a choice but it going to be less bang for the buck.
Choices are hard.
Beans are very cheap and very healthy and are recommended for low carb diets.
And I'm looking at an ad for boneless, skinless chicken. $2.99 per pound. hot dogs are $3.99 per pound plus the cost of the bun. The chicken is cheaper and healthier. There are many many healthy foods cheaper than a typical fast food dinner.
Beans are very cheap and very healthy and are recommended for low carb diets.
And I'm looking at an ad for boneless, skinless chicken. $2.99 per pound. hot dogs are $3.99 per pound plus the cost of the bun. The chicken is cheaper and healthier. There are many many healthy foods cheaper than a typical fast food dinner.
And if you go to Dollar Tree, hot dogs are $1. And so are hot dog buns. I hate hot dogs, personally, but they can be had for less.
I don't even know where to begin with you. You're the typical, "make excuses for poor behavior" sort of person who doesn't care to hear the truth. Junk food is expensive and unhealthy.
And you have no idea how much I care for those that are disadvantaged. And I never said the world is easy. I have experienced poverty.
The fact remains that basic healthy foods are cheaper than junk food. I've been there and fed my family on cheap healthy food.
But they aren't. My prices are 2-3x more than yours. What your math doesn't consider, let's take a neighborhood in my city, West Oakland. That also has a low rate of car ownership. The nearest grocery stores are 3 miles away, and no direct bus service. So in transit time, walking or taking the bus, it would take an hour each way to get to the store. So that's 2 hours, not including time in the store.
If the closest option is the not well stocked corner store (there are plenty here), then the the price of the few healthy items available are 4x more than your hypothetical prices.
So you think it is "easy" to buy healthy stuff, without looking at the myriad of other obstacles in the way.
(Let's say you take transit to 2 part time jobs, leaving you with few hours in between for household stuff.)
Living in a food desert like West Oakland will make it very difficult for a person to eat healthy frugally. You would have to seek out communities that are working together to create positive change, or get together with your friends, family, and neighbors and arrange shopping trips to markets where there is more affordable wholesome foods and products and go in halves and split costs, etc. If you're serious about it, it can be done, but living in a food desert will not make it easy for you.
But for most people who live within a decent walking or biking distance from your average grocery store, YES, it is totally doable to eat a wholesome diet on a limited budget.
I am an amateur bodybuilder, so deal with this question all the time. Bodybuilders are obsessed with health, as the food we eat directly translates into body composition and performance in the gym. Meat and vegetables are the two food groups I eat the most, and unfortunately they are also the most expensive. I could easily spend over $1000 per month on food just for myself when bulking, if I'm not careful. I know some guys who are competition bodybuilders who spend over $2k per month in food and supplements. Crazy.
As far as my advice, you really have to shop around for your protein sources, as protein is by far the most expensive macronutrient. You can get chicken breast for like $3-4/pound at the cheaper grocery stores. Or buy a whole chicken, and do the work of processing it yourself - this is definitely the most bang for your buck, but can be time intensive. Prices for good quality ground beef have skyrocketed lately, unfortunately, so I tend not to eat much beef anymore. Cheap chicken isn't as bad for you as cheap beef, as the FDA prevents antibiotics and hormones being injected into poultry, unlike with beef. Other cheap sources of protein include cottage cheese, egg whites, and whey protein if you can buy it online in bulk. Beans also have a lot of protein in them, along with fiber, and are dirt cheap (just keep in mind that beans have a lot of carbs in them too, so you can't use them as your only protein source). I've found that you can get good quality meat and produce from local farmer's markets for good prices, as well. Walmart's meat and produce I don't trust, even though it's relatively cheap (same with Aldi (horse meat in your ground beef anyone?), Trader Joe's, Dollar Tree, etc) - go with Kroger instead - Kroger has about the same prices, but has much higher quality meat and produce.
80-90% of my food costs are from meat and produce, so I don't really worry too much about getting good deals on things like rice, pasta, beans, etc, as it's going to be pretty cheap regardless of what you pick.
Eating healthy is certainly more expensive than just buying big bags of rice and flour, but it doesn't have to break the bank if you are smart about it.
If you REALLY want to eat healthy on a budget, do your own hunting/fishing and grow your own vegetables. Not really an option for most people in the city, however, or people who have busy lives.
Last edited by hazergore1198; 07-09-2014 at 09:35 PM..
Costco normally has boneless skinless chicken breast at 2.99/lb, ground turkey less than that, tilapia in a similar price range, I can pick up salmon and shrimp under 7/lb and produce in houston is cheap as well. No excuses here to eat poorly.
These prices being listed are from the 1980s, where I live broccoli is around $2.50/lb, eggplant $4.99/lb, and apples $2.99/lb. If I could afford whole foods it would be double that. On the other hand I could get a kfc $5 box with 3 pieces of chicken, 1 side, and a drink. Of-course food is geared towards fast, easy, and unhealthy choices. Sadly the medical cost of this will be what hurts the country most.
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I wouldn't even trust their dog food.
