I'm on a mission and out to prove that being healthy is cheaper than convenience (by that I mean fast food and laziness, which I have been very guilty of in the past and sometime present) I've heard so many people say, we don't eat healthy because it's too expensive, or it's so much cheaper for us to go to McDonalds than to eat healthy. It's not true. The truth is, we just don't want to put the effort into eating healthy and being healthy.
My first challenge is groceries. I think one of the main reasons we think it is more expensive to eat healthy is because when we buy all of our "healthy groceries" it is all on one bill right there in front of us, all added up together. When we do some grocery shopping, and then eat out a few times a week, it's divided up into little bills that we never go back and add up together. Sometimes we think "I only spent $100 on groceries this week", but we forget about those 3 dinners that were eaten out that add up to another $50-$75 dollars, the trips to just "grab something real quick" that add up to another $15 and maybe a few coffees, teas or cokes for another $5-$10. Here are a few easy switches that will save you money and make you healthier.
*Breads: wheat and white cost the same or have a difference of just cents, so that's an easy switch. The bread we buy (in bulk!) costs less than $2 a loaf, so... cheap! Whole Wheat bread is soo much better for you. This is how it works. When they make whole wheat bread, they use the entire grain, with all of the nutrients in it. When they make white bread, all of the nutrient rich parts of the grain have been stripped out, then they use chemicals to bleach the ground grain to give it that snow white appearance. So not only are you not getting the nutrients of the grain, but they've added some lovely chemicals to boot. Read the ingredients on breads and make sure it is in fact a whole wheat bread. Sometimes they will use caramel coloring to give it that wheat look, even though it is white bread, which is so much worse. Eat wheat! Look for the words "whole grain" or "stone ground whole wheat" on the ingredient list.
*Snacks: here is a misleading one. We think that buying those prepackaged snacks and snack bars is the best buy. Most boxes of 6 serving snacks, which are small and leave us wanting more, cost around $3-4. An entire bag of apples (prepackaged by God) cost around $2-3 dollars and have anywhere from 8-12 apples in them. Apples are not only a healthy snack, but a filling one. Also, a bunch of bananas which usually includes about 6 bananas, is around $2. Once again healthy and gives you energy! Afraid of them going bad before you get to them, stick the peeled bananas in the freezer and use for a quick smoothie snack or eat the frozen banana. Vending machine snacks are at least a dollar and filled with artificial sugars and fat. A container of yogurt is 50 cents, greek yogurt $1. If you are out and needing a quick snack, McDonalds serves apples and bottled water, Sonic serves bananas and water with their awesome ice (throw a lemon in too), Wendy's I think has mandarin oranges. The point is every restaurant serves some type of fruit or veggies and water. No excuses!
*Dinners and lunches: It costs us (a family of 4) at least $20 to eat out anywhere. The kids meals are $4 each and our meals are $6 each and that's just at fast food places. A sit down restaurant is at least $30. I can buy the ingredients and cook a healthy meal for under $15. And we almost always have leftovers for lunch the next day. 1 lb of chicken= $5, Veggies=$4, 1 box of pasta or rice costs about $1. $5 worth of seasonings. Water to drink=free! Lunches: 1 loaf of whole wheat bread=$2, 1 lb deli meat=$6, 10 slices of hormone free cheese $3, 1 bag of apples=$2, 1 bag of baby carrots=$2, 1 bottle of mustard=$2, water to drink=free. So an entire week of healthy lunches for me and my two kids= $17, as opposed to the $15 it would have cost us to eat out just 1 time at a fast food restaurant. If we were to just grab fast food every night for dinner it would cost us $140, for ONLY dinners. That is my entire grocery budget!
I think a lot of times people associate eating healthy with buying all organic foods. You don't have to buy all organic foods to be healthy. Obviously organic is better because it lacks the chemicals, but if you are on a budget, eating healthy can still be cheap. You can pick and choose which items to buy organic. I'll list these later. Looking for deals? Go to some farmer's markets this summer, their prices are usually not firm. Grow a garden, even if it's just a tomato plant on your porch or an herb garden in your window sill, you are saving money on healthy food.
*Breakfast: How much does it cost to swing by Mcdonalds or chik-fil-a and grab something to eat before work? About $4 right? You can buy a dozen eggs and a loaf of bread for less than that. A loaf of bread and dozen eggs will last you an entire week of breakfasts. Cook 1-2 eggs and eat a piece of toast each morning with your coffee, water, milk or juice. A container of strawberries costs $1.50 this time of year, go ahead and throw that in there too. Or even a box of cereal is about $3, plus a gallon of milk $3, organic $6. So, breakfast all week for about $6-9.
*Drinks: Here is an obvious one. 2-liter coke =$1.50, coke at restaraunt= $1-3, same for tea. Water= FREE! (Bag of lemons $2 for the week) More on lemon water later.
... to be continued! :)
Jodi Stanford posted your link, so I came over to check it out. Good post! I would like to eat healthier, and I do like healthy foods, but it's just easier not to. Not as much thinking :D. I know, lazy. But I also have another problem: I'm single. Most foods come in big packages, and smaller packages cost more per oz. Buying in bulk usually isn't economical for me (unless it's toilet paper). My economical eating winds up being cold cereal, canned soup and frozen dinners. Lots of salt. I do try to eat oatmeal several times a week, using regular (not quick cooking) and cooking it in the microwave with dried fruit, nuts and ground flax seed. But even that takes time. Anyway, I would appreciate it as you go on this journey, that you think of us singles and how we can eat healthy and cheaply. Thanks, and good luck!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you posted this. I will definitely work on finding ways for you to eat healthier and save money too. The one that I can think of off the top of my head is the freezer. Make a healthy meal and freeze part of it for the next week. This is something my family has been doing and it works. So many things are freezable. We freeze our whole wheat breads, vegetables, many fruits, parts of our meals that I make too much of and so on. I plan on posting many more tips on here, so hopefully some of them will help you too. I will keep single people in mind for future posts. Thanks!
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