How do you eat healthy if all healthy foods cost so much?

Question

I am not looking to lose weight, I just feel that I should start eating healthy. I eat a lot of junk food. Working in a grocery store, I notice that all the healthier foods cost a LOT more than the not healthy foods.

How are people expected to eat stuff with like, less sodium, less fat, etc if they can't afford it?
What are some healthy foods that don't cost an arm and a leg?

No.. I am not kidding..
At the Wal-Mart I work for everything that's "low sodium", "less fat", and "less sugar" costs like twice as much as the regular food.

Answer 1

Well first off, "health food" and healthy food are two completely differnet things. Health food is usually marked way up because its all-organic free-trade whole-grain etc etc add other hippieisms ad nauseum :) Healthy food is just that, food thats healthy, and often wont be trumpeting itself as such.

Second off, its not so much that healthy food costs more, as it is that unhealthy food costs less, because they can mass produce it with fillers and additives and cheap fats and oils that make it taste better without costing a lot. So dont think of it as costing more, just increase your food budget to a higher baseline. Its just like buying clothes at Macy's instead of Walmart, you pay a little more, but you know that you're getting something that isnt made in China and wont crap out on you in the end.

Third, just go simple. When you cook your own food, as opposed to eating prepackaged meals, microwaveable stuff, ready-made, canned whatever, its a lot better for you, and doesnt have all the salt and preservatives and stuff they need to add to premade foods - and usually tastes better too. Just stick to the staples: breads, pasta, rice, potatoes, fruits and vegetables, eggs, chicken, tomato sauce, beans and legumes, etc. Avoid sauces with a lot of fats like cream sauces, avoid things that are really cheesy, things with lots of sugar, cut back on the condiments like mayo, etc. You can do a lot with these simple basic ingredients once you've learned how to cook with them and got a few recipes in your book, and you know since you made it yourself that nothing is in there but what you put in it.

It doesnt have to cost you much, either - a sleeve of spaghetti is under a dollar, and that's good for several meals; a single serving of tomato sauce is 3 or 4 for a dollar. A chicken breast is $1, $1.50 or so, add a few cents' worth of spices and you have a meal right there.

Answer 2

I know what you are talking about. What it really comes down to is that easy to prep foods as in food kits and prepacked things that are "healthier" are quite a bit more expensive that budget items like box mac n cheese, bologna, chips, noodle cups, hambuger helper etc that is cheap and filling. Thing is the prepacked stuff can be high in salt but low in fat so there is always a trade off. But frozen bag veggies are cheap and fresh veggies and fruit are can also be affordable via sales and at farmers markets during the appropriate seasons. Trick is you have to prepare all your own food. Quick prep stuff like microwave and kit assemble foods that are marked as healthy do cost a bit when you don't earn much. So your buy food as close to fresh as possible and most will be veggies for cost effectiveness. frozen chicken breasts can also be caught on sale in bulk as well. Stir frying, baking, roasting bags, and seasoning packets are your friends. Read low fat cook books and recipies online to learn how to season food with spices instead of butter and fat, buy spices at places like 99 cents stores or dollar trees if you have them. Good Luck

Answer 3

you need to extremely be asking approximately healthful meals, looking out a healthful food plan for a median human and advice which incorporate that then, with a catalogue of those meals, pass to the food market whenever you opt for milk or some thing and while you're there write down fees. it might additionally be sturdy to get a catalogue of undesirable meals and doubtless walk down the candy isle writing stuff down then pass to a McDonald or some thing. It possibly be greater fee-effective to be lazy yet interior the tip it does not help as much as actual doing the artwork.

Answer 4

Maybe it helps you to move all the junk food you ate to the excretory system.That way you feel light when you lift your body and you can easily lift other stuff and no matter how heavy the stuff you carry, it's never give you a backache and we don't want that to happen.That's b'cuz the healthy food can heal the aching body of ours to cure quickly....

Answer 5

If you buy processed food, Fake meat, low sodium, sugarless they will of course cost more.

But if you eat fruits and veges, they are cheap and and alot more healthy than processed foods.

Answer 6

You MUST be kidding??????? Healthy food DOES NOT cost more than junk food. Thats ridiculous.