Why is eating healthy so expensive? How do you eat healthy on a budget?

I know the feeling. My hubby was just trying to take off a few pounds and it seems all healthy food is way more expensive. I dont understand it either. If anyone has any advice on this sort of thing I would really like to know about it.

I know exactly what you mean. I have been trying to diet and the organic or low anything foods are way expensive. I have often wonder why myself, only rich people have the right to eat like this? No wonder most americans a fat and unhealthy. I do not belive it is possible to eat toatlly healthy with out a giant income, that I do not have. Sorry I couldnt be more help, but my little vent about it made me feel alittle better.

I use cupons like crazy. I also use alot of beans and rice in our diets. We eat tofu too. These are cheap and give alot of bank for the buck.

yes, i try to eat healthy as much as possible. i eat a lot of fruit when its in season, plus i eat a lot of yogurt and other stuff that is healthy, but yes, the grocery companies make it very difficult to eat healthy due to pricing even though they know we should! check the internet out for healthy but cheap recipes.

Staying healthy is very important nowadays especially if you are the breadwinner of your family. Getting sick is always not a choice for me to make. I am a vegetarian and here in my country, vegetables are very affordable. Seldom, I also eat fish and seafood. From time to time, I would drink fruit juices and milk.

it really is expensive, but after awhile you realize how much less you need and how much less you use...i would imagine sooner or later it would seem he needs less if he sticks to the diet. i do agree it is the price that keeps people from eating healthy. if i want a salad at mcdonald's that's $4-$6. But I can get a double cheeseburger off the dollar menu.

i can understand perfectly what you mean... it is so hard nowadays to manage our money... it is hard for me to put healthy foods on the table as well because they are so ridiculously expensive... that's why there are so many people are choosing to eat junk foods and get overweight because of that... i hope that the government can do something to reduce the price of organic foods...

Yes, you are so right, foods that are healthy are so expensive. I have a limited budget myself and try to stay within it. Ever so often I take a trip to the bulk food store in our area and buy staples such as salt, sugar, flour, rice, lentils and beans. They are cheaper because they are not pre-packaged. I also use rolled oats instead of the expensive packages I cook them from scratch. I also cook a lot of soups from scratch. Lentil soup, minestrone, chicken noodle, potato. I save any leftover veggies in the freezer and use them to make soup stock. I stay away from eggs most of the time. I use about 8 eggs in a month. When I do the shopping I plan my meals in my head around what is on special as far as fruit, vegetables and meats are concerned. In order to cut down salt I use lots of herbs for seasoning. When I buy a bunch of parsley, cilantro, dill or mint I use what I need, chop of the rest of it and freeze it in small ziplock bags. I admit it requires more work and planning but most of the time I can stay within my budget.

Yes, eating healthy can be very expensive and here I am not talking about the everyday pulses, veggies and fish that we consume. Indian diet is such that you have to have pulses, veggies or fish or eggs daily. This was OK till a few decades ago when life was less stressed, pollution was less and the natural raw food contained little or no growth-enhancing additives. But the scenario has changed dramatically over the years and so has our working pattern and food habits. Cereals and fruits have made inroads on our breakfast table and as it is somewhat fashionable too, the rich and famous have made it expensive and beyond the means of ordinary working class. A dozen oranges in the peak season costs a little over 1$ and it lasts 4 days for a family of three. Add to that other fruits, special cow milk (no additives) and cereals and the breakfast itself becomes very expensive. I manage by cutting out all other foodstuffs that we all like munching on and by cutting on my intake a little. I skip the other foods during breakfast and take only the glass of juice, then I used to lunch outside but it was becoming too much so I have started carrying my own lunch from home. At dinner I have cut down on the choices and limited it to less but more healthy dishes. Managing somehow.

it is also my question. i have always seen when you try to buy so called healthy foods, you always have to shell out more money.May be the companies know the urge of people to buy those healthy things and they price it high. its their business strategy.

I agree with you that eating healthy is expensive. We are trying to eat healthy food but we have also to watch the money that we spend. So I have to go to the traditional market in order to get healthy but cheap food.

the only thing i can do is eat less sugar, less salt and less oil

I eat a lot of veggies and fruits plus lo fat meat and lo fat diary foods but am still having big problems trying to stay in budget and not making it. I am a diabetic and need to buy splenda to sweeten things and its outrageously expensive. I do buy a lot of store brand things which helps some.

These days it is getting harder to eat healthy because the cost of food is going up, our food is depleted and they are putting things in our food that makes our body have to work harder to eliminate all the junk. Eat lots of organic rice so the nutrients are still there, cut out sodas,coffee and all junk foods. Eat fruit for desert. Eats lots of fruits,raw and steamed vegs. To learn more about alkalizing and which foods are alkaline copy and paste this url www.caring-your-healthy.com/alkalinefoods.html

There are four ways that I can think of that will help cut the cost a little: 1) Grow your own whenever possible. You can container garden even in an apartment. 2) Buy in season only. Fresh foods are always cheaper when they're in season. No watermelon in December and no apples in July. They don't taste good then, anyway. 3) Buy locally. Get as close to the source as you can. I know you can't buy everything straight from the farmer (baking powder doesn't grow on farms!), but buy meat in bulk from a local grower and you'll get better quality; buy fresh produce from the producer and it's better quality. 4) "Naturally grown" means something different to the small,local producer than it does to the big companies. Guess which one is closer to the truth? Organic is good, but if you can't afford organic, shoot for naturally grown.