Why is eating healthy so expensive?!
Answers: Fruits and veggies are outragous. Not to mention lean cuts of meat and anything organic.
Because is the thing to eat healthy.
The demand is to big.
In the past, poor people lived on healthy food, now they can't afford it.
I doesn't need to be. Don't buy lean meat, trim it yourself. Buy in bulk when things are on special, fruit & veggies included.
Because there are stricter food preparation regulations for meats and organic foods, sometimes the person who cuts your meat will require more skill and training than a 15-yr-old kid flipping your burger patty at McDonald's. I hope that was a good analogy. As for fruits and veggies you need to shop at a cheaper market, I'm talking Valu+ and Best Bargain
Its a marketing scheme. Next time you are at the supermarket, check this out:
Check the price of cornmeal. Then, go check the price on a bag of polenta. There is a HUGE difference. Polenta is just corn meal (although, it is course ground). It is a lot more expensive.
Also, it costs the farmer more to raise organic produce and meat.
cause they know people who are tring to stay healthy will for sure buy it !and as for the meat alot of people do that Atkins diet and they know alot of people will buy meat and i do agree with you fruits are veggies are outrages last year i bought a watermelon and it was 6 bucks crazy!
I am agreeing with you 200%! I started August 1st eating chicken, fish, rice, and all the fruits and veggies I can. (plus one gallon of water a day) and let me tell you how I keep seeing the price of fruits and veggies go up and up. The problem is its going to keep going up - At least here in Arizona because they can't hire cheap laborers anymore to harvest the produce. Any business that hires illegal immigrants knowingly faces steep fines and penalties including losing their business. In other words, we pay more because they have to pay the laborers more to pick the veggies and fruits that we buy! At least thats one of my theories! Can't wait for spring when I can start planting my own vegetable garden. Not only will I get the exercise but I will have homegrown, organice produce that will be better than what you can buy in stores today, because I grew it!
Grow your own vegetables in the summertime.
Local fruits and vegetables can be found at farmer's market. They are usually reasonably priced and help you to reduce your ecological foot print.
I agree with the comment about trimming the fat from your meat. There are other inexpensive ways to incorporate lean protein into your diet, such as fish which is fairly inexpensive as well as things such as beans, nuts, eggs and soy protein products such as tofu.
Organic food can be a bit pricey due to production costs/farming methods.. if it becomes more and more in demand, hopefully they will find ways to cut costs without sacrificing the quality.
because processed food is made in such a cheap way from cheap bits of foods. a lot of people see it as easier and convenient and the producers seem to think its what we want.
i hate paying thro the nose for fresh, good quality produce. as soon as I can afford and have the land i will grow my own veg!!!!!
It depends a bit on what you call healthy, and how you make your meals. Proportions make a big difference in the cost of a meal.
Life expectancy increases with less meat in your diet. You might want to replace some of your meat consumption with beans (which are very healthy and cheap), and whole grains. Whole foods generally have both better nutrition and are cheaper than processed foods. You are saving some money now by making your own food rather than buying frozen dinners, snack cakes, and such.
You might try looking in your area for co-ops and farmer's markets. Often their prices are much better than the supermarkets.
I found with my own food budget that i could save a lot just by making sure i didn't let food spoil and have to be thrown away. Most households throw out a lot of food because they didn't get to it soon enough. I try not to over-buy, and at least once a week (before shopping day) i make a meal of the food i need to use up the most.
It may seem like eating healthier costs more, but you'll probably be saving a lot in health care costs further down the road.
I eat healthily and it's not expensive.
Think of it as looking after your body. It's worth it, when you eat heathily, you feel healthy, you look healthy and you are healthy - plus the food tastes so much better when you opt for organic.
I buy fresh organic groceries, produce and lean meat from Whole Foods market every week and spend around $140 for two of us (bringing home around 8-10 bags). This is inclusive of breakfast, lunch and dinner and anything in between.
Working this out...that's only $10 per person per day on food.
Now looking at it another perspective - if you go out to eat dinner at a restaurant, your meal will no doubtedly be more than $10 and remember that's ONLY one meal!