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whenever I eat junk food I'm hungry an hour later, too. So, I end up grabbing the other food on top of that (or more junk food). Potato chips might be $1 bag, but to eat the whole bag in one sitting made for a lot of other problems I had to shell out cash for.
I ended up spending all the money on the diet programs (on top of buying the "more expensive" food) and more for large sized clothes, ha. And being unhappy about being so big. |
So many good points, Sunnigummi!
Think of dish soap too. Really cheap soap you save money but have to use more of it for the same job. Many foods are the same way. A little bit of the good stuff goes a long way but I could overeat the bad and still be hungry. |
For the longest time, I was telling people that no, it's not much more expensive to eat healthy. I would cite examples such as canned veggies and stocking up on frozen foods (fruits, veggies, lean meats) when they are on sale. But now that my boyfriend and I live together and I find I'm spending an average of about $75 per week just for the 2 of us, my mind has changed--it's definitely frustratingly expensive!
I don't think it's fair to compare future medical bills to current grocery bills--I'm 23 years old, and I'm hoping I'll be much more financially secure in the future when such bills would occur as opposed to being strapped for cash most of the time right now with my near entry-level job :p Also, my insurance covers the things necessary to get me healthy when I'm sick--why doesn't it cover the healthy foods I need to make/keep me healthy NOW as preventive care? Someone should tell the insurance companies that bit about how paying for my groceries now will be cheaper than paying for my diabetes treatments later ;) Sarcasm aside, I don't know where anyone lives where it's only a few bucks for a "flat" of strawberries, but I can't seem to find them around here for less than $2.99 a pound--and last week, I bought 2 pounds, and they went bad (moldy) in 3 days :dizzy: My local sale ads this week (my grocery store choices are Giant or Shoppers, and Shoppers always has super-crappy produce, so I go to Giant):
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Maybe we could have lower health insurance premiums if we sent in our grocery receipts for fresh and healthy food and our receipts for running shoes? Haha!
Anyway, I wanted to ask Sunny for that masala recipe with chickpeas, if you wouldn't mind? |
Yes it costs more (esp here in Alaska where 99% of our produce has to be imported), yes we're worth it. :)
Try farmer's markets or CSA programs to get seasonal produce. We grow our own strawberries and raspberries, as well as some veggies, which helps (and I know is not an option for everyone) but every Friday in the summer there's a farmer's market, and the local organic farm, which runs the CSA program, opens a stand on Fri evenings where you can get stuff. My DH is always offereing to go grocery shopping for me, but first I need to teach him how to buy produce. :lol: He'll get exactly what I tell him, no matter the cost or quality. |
Okie dokie! :D
2 tbsp vegetable oil (can use olive oil, I don't think it will be a big problem) 2 cloves garlic chopped equal amount of finely grated ginger 1 medium onion FINELY chopped - makes cooking faster 2-3 tbsp crushed tomato puree (the canned stuff) 1 can garbanzo peas/chick peas 1 tbsp garam masala 1 tsp chana masala (found at indian/asian specialty stores and possibly grocery stores, I've never checked) 1 tbsp water and salt to taste 1. Heat oil in pan. 2. Add garlic and ginger. Let it fry for a minute or until garlic starts to get light brown - not burned. 3. Add onions. Cook until brown and tender. I think this is called caramelizing onions? Takes about 10 minutes for me. Finely chopped onions will not take long. The rougher the chop, the longer you'll have to wait. The onions should be 1/2 the volume they were when you put them in. 4. After cooking onions, add garam masala and chana masala mix. Stir with onions and roast for 30 secs. 5. Add tomato puree and chick peas 6. If the mixture is too thick, add some water to get it to curry consistency. 7. Add salt to taste. Voila!!! You have your chana masala. *I like my stuff spicy, so adjust accordingly. Err on the side of little, then add more as you see fit. You can add more chana masala and garam masala after the cooking's done if you feel more is needed. |
I mentioned the strawberries, and I live in Canada on the West Coast - I'm surrounded by farms, so yes - I can get an entire flat of strawberries for about $5.00. I know not everyone can get these prices, sure - I can't get these prices myself outside of a few weeks each June (that's why I freeze tons of them!! :) ). However, for me, where I live, it proves that not everything healthy has to be expensive. Our supermarkets charge a higher price for the same strawberries - it means I have to shop around. Seasonality is important.
Again, a lot of it is what you're able, or willing, to do. We get organic produce from local farms (for the most part - some produce comes from Costco), for much less than what you'd pay for those same organic items in a grocery store. We get our meat from farms or a specialty butcher that sells organic beef and poultry - I can get a roasting chicken for about $12...the same chicken at the big supermarket chain would cost at least $20. It does mean that I need to shop around, and lose the "one stop" convenience, but it nets me healthy, quality food for less money. Incidentally, a non-organic roasting chicken at the same supermarket costs about $14....so it's actually cheaper for me to get the organic chicken. I do a lot of home baking....breads, buns, any baked goods really. It takes time, and I know not everyone can swing it - but it means that bread costs pennies a loaf as opposed to dollars. We no longer buy many convenience foods - these always, always cost more than making the product yourself. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, you can easily write healthy eating off as being more expensive - but if you're willing to get a bit creative, to eat seasonally, to work a little harder at shopping, and to invest more time in food preparation, it's often possible to manage very healthy food choices for the same money, if not a little bit less. Challenging, yes. Impossible? No. |
Thanks for the recipe, Sunni! I can't wait to try it!!
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I agree that eating healthier can be more expensive, but I think it requires that you rethink your grocery shopping. As far as meats and produce, it helps to buy what's on sale that week. It is expensive to plan a menu and then go shopping. You have to check out the sale prices and then plan your menu around the specials. Other things, like cereals and breads very rarely go on special, so you just have to plan to pay the extra for.
Jillybean720, I'm looking at this weeks' online ads for the two stores you mentioned in your neck of the woods, and you can get:
That's very comparable to the prices we pay here. Is there a Super Walmart in your area? If so they will do a price match, so if the produce isn't great at Shopper, you could get a price match at Wal-Mart. |
Luckily for my sanity, the time I started eating better coincided exactly with the time I started living on my own so I never had to compare grocery bills. But my snack budget is much less. You can get a 3lb bag of apples for about $3, with 3 apples to a pound- so your snack is 33 cents. A candy bar from the vending machine is now up to 85 cents and has three times the calories and is less filling so you'll be down there two hours later. Hmm, 500 calories and $1.70 or 80 calories and 35 cents?
Then again, I did splurge and buy a box of 100 calorie cookies because I decided that I could have something unhealthy and I am incapable of regulating my intake of sugary things without outside help. It my only give you 6 servings instead of 20, but the box will last me as long as an entire bag of Oreos so the extra cost is worth it, considering that I just spent my cookie budget for the month. |
My grocery bill is definitely higher because of all the fresh produce I buy; however, I also have to consider that I am not EVER running by McDo's or other fast food or takeout places -- with the exception of Mongolian grill takeout once a week or so -- and that DOES add up! In any case, it is a sacrifice I am willing to make and just have to cut back somewhere else, as my health is important to me. And as someone else has shared, you CAN find special sales and good deals on some items if you base what you eat for that week on specials!
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If you saw the strawberries at Shoppers, you wouldn't buy them either :p Most of them already have mold on them right in the store :devil: As for meat, I really only eat chicken (I just don't like beef, steak, pork, roasted turkey...although I do eat ground turkey products such as turkey burgers, turkey sausage, turkey pepperoni, all of which are, of course, more expenive than their fattier counterparts, but I just don't like the fattier counterparts). I buy the lean ones because, well, why would I eat more saturated fat than necessary? When I try to cut off the fat, I end up cutting half the chicken away :dizzy: So I buy the Perdue (since I can't find any other brand) 99% fat free boneless skinless chicken breasts. I bought the tenders once and found out they were a dollar more a pound, so now I just buy the regular breasts--no reason I can't just cut them into smaller pieces if I want tenders! Maybe another problem for me is that I live in a city apartment. I, therefore, have a pretty small freezer, so I can't really stock up on a lot when things are on sale. I do have frozen hamburger and hotdog buns in there because the light whole-wheat ones were on sale last month, but between that, my 5-pound bag of frozen strawberries (for smoothies), my other frozen fruits and veggies, and my ice, I only have room for so much meat. C'est la vie--like I said, I'll buy the expensive stuff anyway because I know it's better for me. Sure, a few items will be on sale at times, but not enough to make much of a difference, IMO. Grapes being on sale isn't going to lower my grocery bill by much ;) I need my light, whole-grain bread to be 99 cents a loaf, my 99% fat free chicken to be $1.99 a pound, and my ground turkey breast to be 99 cents a pound (instead of the $4.99/lb I paid last week)! But, like I said, c'est la vie :p |
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Are sure they exist? |
Haha, junebug... :p
When I go grocery shopping with my fam, we go at 6:00 or 6:30 in the morning (Shoprite) and there are tons of grapes on sale. When you go later in the day, they're gone. Trust me, people around me are fanatical grape eaters apparently. I don't really like them all that much - they're my last resort. Anyway, my 0.02. |
I don't think it is that much more expensive, personally. :D I think that part of it is just smart shopping...
For instance, this week at my local Kroger fresh peaches are .99 a pound because they are in season...and golden delicious and gala apples are on sale for .99 a pound. For .99, I can get about 4 average peaches... Bananas are always inexpensive-they vary from .39-.80 a pound, but you can get a small bunch (5 or so) for just about a buck. Bags of baby carrots are often on sale in my local store (every couple of weeks) for .99 a bag. Also, if you have favorite brands-such as Kashi, etc. then go to that companie's website and email customer service-see if they have any coupons available. I also browse the sales in the aisles as well...if I do not become a slave to a certain brand, then I get better deals. This week one brand of 100% whole grain bread was on sale for $1.79...while the rest were $2.50-$4.00. So, I brought the brand on sale. When a healthy shelf stable food goes on sale-such as whole grain pasta, canned black beans, cans of tuna, or what have you-I stock up and buy a few then. I tend to buy the produce in the stores based on what is in season-so summertime it is a lot of peaches, nectarines, plums, and melons because they are on sale. This spring was a really good time for sales on strawberries and blueberries-I bought a few HUGE 4 pound containers this spring for $4.99 each-1.25 a pound! Fall is excellent for all varieties of apples... Stores DO have buy one, get one free specials on frozen veggies, yogurt, orange juice, etc....we just have to look for them. They don't make the huge banners and signs and advertise it as much as they do for Doritos or Pepsi cases. ;) |
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