True. How does it compare to making an un-healthy pizza at home? Or a spaghetti dinner at home using cheaper meat and canned mushrooms? Maybe with a pudding mix for dessert?

Plus, it's a pretty carb-heavy meal, and we ALL know that it's the carbs that are the cheapest (pasta, rice, etc.)

I wasn't going to bother replying since I thought it has all been said, but I couldn't help myself.

I'm a believer in Cheap/Easy/Healthy as well. And for me (along with many other people) my time is valuable. I work full time, as does my husband. We have hobbies. We are active on the weekends. I am unwilling to sacrifice large portions of my free time.

I'm not saying I eat everything prepackaged -- I don't. I cook a lot and use primarily whole foods. But I'm not willing to go to four different grocery stores even though I KNOW that some places have better prices on some things. I'm not going to can things. I don't want to spend 30 minutes breaking down a whole chicken.

So when I price things out, I include the price of MY time as a factor. So add in my hourly wage to the hours I could spend baking bread, quartering chicken and picking the carcass, learning how to can things... It's not that cheap any more.

And it's not like doing or not doing physical therapy for a kid. It's like the difference between doing it yourself and hiring a therapist to do it. If I get paid more per hour than I would pay the therapist, then it makes sense to pay the therapist. If not, then it makes sense to do it myself.

Now, I absolutely agree that it can be used as an excuse. I'm not debating that. I'm only saying that you can't say without reservation that eating healthy is cheaper than eating poorly.

I can eat crap for WAY less than $3.70 cnd...

And to compare apple to apples with a spaghetti dinner,

My Fiber Gourmet is WAY more expensive than a box of noodles at the store.
Healthy canned pasta sauce is more expensive than generic because I can't find generic pasta sauce with as few calories.
My side salad is pricier than the garlic bread I could make with day-old bakery bread and generic butter.
I can't think of ANY dessert I could make for cheaper than say, a box of brownie mix (just add water) for about a dollar.

I'm not trying to be argumentative here, just throwing in the value of my time as a person into the equation and trying to stress that you can make broad generalizations here.

Some things are cheaper.
Many things aren't.
My time has value.

I think that helps shift your perspective, and that's helpful. But I don't think it actually makes sense unless you are actually taking time off from work to do those things. If the time you save is not then worked, the analogy doesn't make sense. But it still saves leisure time, which I consider quite valuable. But I don't think the value of my leisure time depends on my hourly work wage.

I understand what you're saying! I do!

And perhaps if I enjoyed cooking more than I do, preparing food would feel more like "leisure" and less like "work!"



I value my leisure time VERY highly. An hour I could spend at the barn riding my horse or with my husband walking the dogs is a very valuable hour. Something has to be very important to take its place.

I don't think this is necessarily a difference of opinions, but a difference of perspectives and situations.

Eating healthier "can" be cheaper for some people. It depends on what they were eating, and how they intend to eat or define healthy. It also depends on their existing budget. Some people's budgets are stretched pretty thin, and can be difficult to cut, at least without some creative and labor-intensive practices.

Also as for the value of a person's time, only an individual can decide what their time is worth. It could be more, less, or equivalent to one's daily wage. The only time it may not make sense is if a person's value of their time is exceeding (in total) the amount of their or the family's income. If you're making $10 an hour, you can consider your time worth $100 an hour, but not very frequently.

Hi all...

1. But why are we comparing all that to a take out pizza?

I compared my grocery list to a take out pizza because the OP was comparing foods in this manner:
Case of soda.... $6 - Water... free
Meal at McDonalds for 4... $20 - meal for 4 grilled at home... less than $10
Box of cookies... $3 - Package of berries... $2
Bag of chips... $3 - Veggies... dirt cheap
Bucket of fried chicken... I have no idea lol - Bag of frozen chicken breasts $6
Hamburger Helper... $3 - Bag of brown rice $2

2. Plus, it's a pretty carb-heavy meal, and we ALL know that it's the carbs that are the cheapest (pasta, rice, etc.)

There are many ways to eat. IMHO, carbs are indeed part of a healthy diet. And with my WW recipes, 3/4 of a cup of cooked pasta is used per serving. That's it. HARDLY carb intensive. Calorie counting does not implicitly state that you need to cut all carbs out of your diet. I calorie count through using WW, and have lost 78 lbs so far. IF you choose to restrict your carbs, you can always go to other sources of protien that I mentioned in an earlier post.

3. I'm not trying to be argumentative here, just throwing in the value of my time as a person into the equation and trying to stress that you can make broad generalizations here.

IF you find cutting up veggies and meats tedious, you WILL pay a price for the convenience of purchasing pre-cut items. If you find pouring a pre-made pasta sauce out of a jar to be up your alley, you are going to pay for it. If you dislke kitchen time and prefer to spend your time elsewheres, you are going to pay for the convenience of pre-packaged food, either in terms of $$$ OR in terms of calories. The point of this post, I thought, was that it doesn't HAVE to be so expensive to eat healthfully through the CAREFUL selection of common inexpensive grocery items. And my point is that IF you value something highly, you'll find the time to work it in. If you choose not to, then don't beak about the consequences! And don't say that it isn't possible! Because there are LOTS of here who are actually WALKING THE WALK without complaining.

sheesh!!!

Kira

We're like this, too. You know what cuts down a grocery bill? Buying produce that's in season.

You know how I cut down my meat bill? I learned how to cut up a whole chicken (this one pays dividends).

Flexibility is key. I would love some real avocado right now, but not for $2 a pop. Same with mango. And cherries. I guess it's a good thing I like such a variety of foods Pork loin is on sale and not lean sirloin? That's what we're eating...

I enjoy grocery shopping, so it's not unusual for me to hit 2-3 grocery stores that are close together. Target= canned goods, King Soopers= meat, dairy, eggs and Sunflower/Famers Market= veggies.

I can feed my husband and I all of our meals for $55 a week if I'm paying attention. And we like to eat.

Sure, it's a little more effort, but the way I see it I can pay now or I can pay later.

My comments in blue.

Kira and Rebound, I think everyone in this thread is really saying the same thing.

1. It's hard to eat healthfully and cheaply without expending lots of effort.
2. If you don't want to expend that effort, you can still eat healthfully, but you'll be paying more.
3. Either way, it's a trade off, and either way, it's possible to eat healthfully, regardless of whether your priority is saving time or saving money, but expecting to get all three at once is probably not likely!

I think you both (Kira and Rebound) have both made some excellent points.

Just sayin'.

it can definitely get costly eating healthy depending where you live; and if you really want to go all organic, not everyone will be able to afford it. I used to live near a Spanish market that sold fruits and vegetables really cheap; I could get a generous amount of a whole weeks worth for under $20. Now I don't live near there anymore, shopping at regular supermarkets buying the basic usually adds up to $40+ dollars. I don't live near a wholefoods, so things like quinoa have to be bought online with shipping or it's $8 for a small bag in the store. I do watch the portions of even my vegetables so I can stretch them out over a few meals.

I've also noticed some healthier meals at restaurants cost more, or to ask a restaurant for a special request will sometimes cost more.

that said, sometimes people have to weigh the pros and cons, if spending extra money will make you healthier, feel better, look better.. it should be worth it spending that extra money. cutting costs elsewhere, shopping for things on sale, using coupons, do whatever it takes to manage so you can eat better. eating cheap and saving a few dollars and letting their body get obese is worth it to some people.

I love Aldis too! The produce is always fresh there. and not to go off topic, but I love their new skin care and makeup line, it's really good and it works better for me than the drugstore stuff.

I never said things wouldn't be cheaper. I was tyring to give an idea of where in the country I live.

I don't get you people. Somebody mentioned that if you go to the grocery store your food goes bad in 2 days? WTF are you talking about? You guys totally puzzle me. I don't put any effort into "saving" money and eating healthy and its a helluva cheaper IMO. Like I stated earlier less $15 a week in groceries gets me all my meals. Going out I would spend that it one meal.

Wow.What do you buy for 15 dollars a week to make 21 meals?That is about 70 cents a meal.I am impressed.Help me out here.I need to shop like you!

When you purchase produce at a big box store, it's shipped from somewhere else. So the blueberries I bought yesterday came from California - I live in Indiana. Let's assume they were picked and packaged one day. Then they were driven on a truck to Indiana, that takes what, 3 days maybe? The grocery I went to gets their produce on Thursday for the weekend rush. I didn't have time to get there Thursday or Friday, so they sat in the grocery for 2 more days. So those blueberries were likely picked almost a week ago. Blueberries keep, once they've been picked, for 1-2 weeks if they're in the fridge. I have no way of knowing if they were kept cold that whole time, but let's assume they were (even though they likely weren't). I've got somewhere in between 2-7 days to eat those berries.

Now let's say I'd taken the time yesterday to drive up to my parent's house, where there's a good farmers market on Saturday mornings. The blueberries there would have been picked Friday likely. Those berries would last a LOT longer than the ones from the big-box store. They would also taste better and be a lot cheaper, but it would have required driving an hour and a half there, and an hour and a half back. I didn't have that kind of time this week.

THAT'S "WTF" they're talking about.

I, too, would like to know what your menu looks like if you're spending $15 a week on food. You've said you eat ~2200 calories a day, so I'm very curious as to how $15 makes you 21 meals in a week and nets you 2200 cal/day. Perhaps we could learn from you and I could start to get past how rude and condescending you come across in your posts.