I think this is hard to determine right now. I don't know about you guys, but grocery prices have SOAREDin my area. I am spending about $30 per week more to feed my family of 5 than I did a few months ago. I don't blame this on healthy eating, I blame it on prices rising.

In the last year, the same 2 poundbag of shredded cheese has gone fro $5.96 to $11.96 - almost DOUBLE what it cost before. Banannas have gone up .10 per pound. Lettuce has risen almost .50 per head. Eggs, milk, and bread have all gone up as well.

I do have the luxery of having a large freezer. We also raise beef cattle, so we always have very lean beef in the freezer. I live an hour outside of Houston, so we have several grocery stores in the area. My husband sells beef at Farmer's Markets, so we also have the option of buying there.

I do think that location plays a HUGE part in grocery expenses. I also think it is cheaper per person for me to feed my family vs someone who lives on their own, or with just two in the home. I can purchase in bulk (or larger packaged items) before things go bad.

Although my grocery bill is higher, I do think that MY FAMILY spends less while we are eating more healthy. We have leftovers that get eaten vs nothing left, or leftovers going bad. I feel like I can only blame rising costs on our increased grocery bill, not healthy eating.

You're right about the pricing. I, like you, don't have to buy meat in the store. I have my own chickens, ducks, turkeys, rabbits, sheep and goat. So, I have meat and eggs whenever I want it and I am about to purchase a milk goat, so I will have fresh goat milk to drink. My meat and eggs are raised in my back yard, so I feel that it's a better quality than store bought.

The only things that I really buy are fruits, vegetables, cereal and limited snacks. I still have veggies from last year's garden and I have a garden now. I live alone so other groceries last me a long time (mayo, ketchup, cheese, etc.), so that is only purchased twice a year.

When I see items are on sale, I stock up. That save me a few bucks in the long run.

For me it just depends on the time of year. During growing season it's way cheaper to eat healthy here because the farmers market and local orchards/farms start selling to the public. I can go to my farmers market and leave with three overflowing grocery bags of veggies/fruit for around $20. In November, at the grocery store, I can get one bag. We have several U Pick farms nearby and I can pick blueberries and strawberries for a little over $1lb. Same in the fall with apple season-I can get pounds of apples for super cheap.

I'm a vegetarian but my family eats meat and we buy a share of local grass fed beef, which is another help. It works out to $2.50lb for steaks, ground beef, etc. We don't have a spare freezer so it's a challenge to get it to fit in our freezer, but we manage to do it somehow! I also shop at Aldi which is a cheapy store, but selection is not great (though they've just started carrying some organic items yay!).

We're a family of five and our weekly grocery budget is $100. That includes all my daughter's packed school lunches and 2-3 packed lunches for my husband. It's definitely tight but I'm looking forward to June, when I can start buying locally again-my grocery budget will go much further for a few months