I am trying to explain to my husband that eatting better will cost a little bit more at the grocery store. Living on canned food, and microwavable food might be cheap but it is not healthy. After adding fresh fruit, low cal snacks, Special K meal bars, and other healthy foods our grocery bill will be a little higher than normal. But honestly after spending a few weeks eatting better, I have more energy, and I am less hungry. To continue this I have no problem spending a little more money at the grocery store. Now I just have to get my husband on board, he doesn't need to lose weight but he could eat better also.
Needed somewhere to vent a little. But if you all have any suggestions on how to get my husband to understand that would be great. lol Dieting is hard enough but not having the low cal food I need/want at home makes it that much harder.
It might be easier to get him on board with the price change if you use coupons and sales to offset the cost of other things (say, toilet paper and shampoo). It all adds up! Besides, Special K and some of the other so-called "low cal" snacks are often on sale/available with coupons.
Another trick I use is to shop the discount stores. I have a grocery outlet near me that sells bagged salad for $1. I have to eat it within 4 days of purchase, but I'm so close by that it's no big deal to hop over there and restock. Besides, it's a good excuse to eat lots of those healthy greens every day.
Aldi sells good produce, at least in my region (I'm in Kentucky). I get some of my better fruit and veggie deals there, along with cheese, nuts, lean steaks (those bacon-wrapped filet mignons are HEAVENLY; just take the bacon off before cooking!). Their frozen fruit is great, too.
It might require stepping outside of your comfort zone a bit, but those pennies WILL stretch. Besides, it might encourage him to join in on the fun!
I think you might find over time that it's really not that much more expensive to eat healthy.
When I first started my new diet plan, I realized I never thought twice throwing the $3.99 bag of Ruffles chips in the cart but $3.99 for a bag of oranges was outrageous to me!
I really try to shop the sales for produce so if zucchini and spinach are on sale this week, we'll be eating more of that than mushrooms and tomatoes. Then next week we switch it up for the new sale.
I also buy bags of frozen veggies to stretch out our servings. I actually prefer frozen broccoli and cauliflower as it's easier to prepare in a hurry if we need a quick dinner than washing/chopping fresh.
Our receipt at the store prints with the departments separated and it makes me so happy to see the majority of our purchase is fruits and veggies instead of the crappy processed food we used to buy!
My husband loves coming home to smell the peppers and onions sauteing on the stove or finding that I made roasted zucchini for our side. He's eating much better now too and looks forward (and requests!) to new foods to try.
I think you have it backwards canned foods and microwaveable foods are expensive, the more prepared a food is the more expensive.
Shop sales and buy fruits and vegies in season when they are cheaper.Store brands are usually cheaper than the major brands.
I actually find eating healthier to be much cheaper. But in fairness I don't buy anything but whole foods these days with the exception of maybe bread. At first it felt to me like nuts, seeds and some veggies and fruits were expensive but than I calculated out what they replace.
I.e. I eat a small amount of raw almonds in place of a granola bar, cost wise the almonds are much cheaper. I also use a tablespoon of chia seeds to replace one egg in a two egg omelet and save a lot, as well as adding fiber.
I guess as others have suggested you just have to figure out what healthy foods give you the most bang for your buck.
It'd be interesting to compare if it really is cheaper or not. Maybe you keep track of your spending and can look back at past bills where you may have tossed chips or whatever extra thing you snacked on back then.
It might be now that you don't buy that stuff (maybe you still do!) the total bill is close to the same or less? Men like to see things in black and white.
Maybe if you have the time and a place with decent weather, you could start a garden in the spring if costs seem to remain an issue?
I find eating healthier cheaper. I go to an organic grocery store and buy fruit and veg off the discount shelf. I go to local fruit markets. I buy tinned fish on sale. I eat meatless meals 70 % of the time. When something is on sale I buy multiples. When I buy meat I only buy what is on sale in club packs and freeze in smaller portions. I cook daily.
I'm spending a lot less because I am eating less. No cheese. No chips. No chocolate. Less bread. Our grocery bill was down $100 this week. The issue in my family was every one else ate healthily except me.
I've just switched from lowcarb (still am gluten free/Celiac and eat no sugar) to calorie counting, more carbs/fiber, little fruit and my grocery bill went way down. I do prep and cook almost everything we eat from scratch though (couldn't do as much of that when the kiddos were home...as working took up more time).
I don't eat snacky things (unless it's cucumbers, salads, pickles, whole foods) so what money I've saved usually affords his one bag of potato chips (rolly eyes here, lol) and such...but he packs lunch (or I do for him) everyday...for work, and we go out to eat about three times per year.
He HATES to cook, or shop, therefore he gets to eat healthy as that's the only choice he gets.
Eatting better costs more money
