It is not more expensive to eat healthy, amirite?

Thats true. It takes more effort to eat healthy. There lies the problem.

by elouise40 1 day ago

Agreed. Time is money. Poor people can't always afford to take the time to prep, especially in a way that prevents food waste of quick to expire produce

by Specialist_Walk 1 day ago

There are a lot of "food deserts" in impoverished areas where fresh, healthy food is not easily available. Especially if you don't have a car.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

It's unfortunate but there's a reason these deserts exist…

by Boring-Inspection 1 day ago

Exactly

by Specialist_Walk 1 day ago

What? When I was poor, all we did was cook our own food. It was the cheapest option prevents food waste You do this by cooking every day rather than ignore your groceries and order out instead

by Anonymous 1 day ago

For sure about cooking not always taking long. But it isn't always about actual time. What if they are just exhausted after work? I'm not saying they can never make healthy meals, but they may not be able to make ever meal "healthier". I think a big issue with this discussion is what qualifies as healthy eating.

by Specialist_Walk 1 day ago

It is honestly quicker to prepare food than to order.

by Ill-Page8078 1 day ago

OP said frozen and already prepared food, not ordering Regularly ordering will basically always be more expensive and less healthy, though it can be quicker if you know what you want/it's a simple order

by Anonymous 1 day ago

It's not quicker than literally picking up mcdolds on the way home. Or eating frozen/microwave meals.

by lakintyler 1 day ago

There's no skill involved in throwing a chicken breast and veggies in the air fryer or on the skillet.

by ararobel 1 day ago

You'd be surprised how many people balk at anything more complicated than spaghetti.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

People worried about price aren't doordashing orders.

by Routine-Car-2061 1 day ago

Yes, but door dash is less active time. You decide what you want, spend a minute ordering, and then do other things while you wait.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

And pay more money. OP's point.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

It really doesn't. The truth is that junk food tastes better and people are addicted to it

by Sea-Cut37 1 day ago

How?

by ararobel 1 day ago

Sort of. There's some very low effort healthy meals. When I'm lazy for example I take one of those grocery store rotisserie chickens, some frozen broccoli, steam them and then add some bread as a carb. It's about as much effort as putting chicken nuggets and fries in the oven and takes about the same time (~20 min).

by Anonymous 1 day ago

To an extent, though people overthink the cooking process. Sheet pan meals are insanely easy. Slap some salmon and a lemon wedge on one side of the pan with some zucchini tossed in olive oil on the other side. Put in oven. Then it's done

by Anonymous 1 day ago

It takes more effort to change any habit. It's not inherently more difficult to open a can of beans or bake tofu but if you aren't used to cooking with either there's an initial hurdle

by Aggravating_Guava 1 day ago

the hyper-palatability of processed food contributes as well.

by PrestigiousTour8007 1 day ago

And more knowledge. Seriously the best investment you can make to save time and money is learn how to cook. The temptation to buy some fast food or eat out is so much lower when you have a freezer stocked with home cooked delicious dinners reasy and waiting than you just have to heat up and maybe add rice or pasta to.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Eh. I order groceries online and cook stuff in a crock pot. Takes less time than waiting for food at McDonald's. Just takes a little planning

by Mountain_Hat_8432 1 day ago

People confuse the idea of "healthy" with "organic". But yes, its not that expensive to meet the needed macro nutrients.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

That's bc people think healthy means organic/etc. You can easily eat a balanced healthy diet for cheap. I just checked my account, and this week, I spent a total of $60 for the entire week. This includes chicken, fish, veggies, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, etc.

by Charming-Border-9097 1 day ago

Agreed. For a working class family with 4 kids , $60 per person/week is INSANE and absolutely not sustainable or even possible

by clarissa95 1 day ago

Money isn't the only limited resource.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I'm not talking about other resources. I'm talking about money, which is the most common reason people give for not eating healthy.

by Arch79 1 day ago

You have to take the other resources into account. Getting to a store that sells healthy food, when you live in a low income food desert, is an expenditure of time and money. Acquiring the skills to cook with more raw ingredients, while certainly possible via YouTube and other free resources, still requires time that a working poor person might not have. I'm not saying that laziness is not a factor here, for some people who insist that eating healthy is beyond their means. But the barriers are real and significant, and they go well beyond the price tags at grocery stores.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Shop online? My neighbor is an 85 year old woman who never went to school a day in her life & can't read a lick. If I didn't take her to the store I don't know how she'd survive. There are a lot of older poor folks in the south. (And I live in the middle of nashville)

by Kailey50 1 day ago

…huh? I shop online, but it's way more expensive than shopping in person. I also lived in a food desert at one point, but thankfully had a car and disposable income. It was convenient to order online but it was even more pricey in the food desert bc drivers had to travel farther to drop off the food.

by Excellent-Effect38 1 day ago

Problem in for example my country is that healthy food is expensive. They're overpriced. Cooks and chefs are complaining highly on the price of groceries and food. People of three have to literally save up on stuff to be able to afford stuff when it comes to food in my country so yes, eating healthy is ridiculously expensive in my country you can just throw lentils and beans at everyone they can't eat that seven days a week.

by Key-Tangerine 1 day ago

Time is money, friend

by Ok_Key_6590 1 day ago

Time is the a currency, and some can't afford to use as much as is required to learn and execute a macro and micro nutritionally complete life.

by Weissnatmonserr 1 day ago

U.S. or Westernized "poor" people are still privileged on a global scale or comparative to others and don't often realize it. I think that's the basis of frustration with these discussions. Look at immigrant families. Often, not cooking from scratch because you're too "poor" to do that doesn't make any sense to them.

by Windlercordell 1 day ago

Cost money to drive to the good grocery stores if you live in a food desert.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Time IS money. It really is impossible to separate money from time, education and nutritional awareness, mental load and stress, food culture, accessibility. Yes, from a cost-in-dollars perspective, it can cost less money to buy ingredients and cook meals at home than to buy pre-cooked fast food or unhealthy processed foods. But this fact by itself is not indicative of anything except the fact that people don't know how to explain opportunity cost.

by Critical-Doctor 1 day ago

Privileged af take, good for you and all that but, maybe learn to akwnowledge it

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Fresh produce has a quicker experation date. And most of the time "healthier" cooking requires more money up front. It is expensive to be poor,

by Specialist_Walk 1 day ago

Time and money aren't the only limited resources.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I think if you are absolutely broke broke this isn't true. You can get several items at dollar tree that are not exactly healthy but to buy vegetables and chicken at the grocery store it costs quite a bit more. Imagine you only have like $20 to last the week. You can get 17 items at dollar tree that are usually processed crap or you can get a few items at the grocery store that won't last you the entire week.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Try to eat the way I do in Norway and you'll see and I eat healthy that it's not cheap I alone and spent everything from $400-$600 a month on food and then I'm being greedy and cheap

by Key-Tangerine 1 day ago

It is when the discussion is about cost. Money is actually the ONLY limiting resource.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

You know a pretty common cause to me eating less healthy? When I make a nice healthy meal prep then leave it at home on a day I'm in the office. Most quick options are less healthy or quick healthy options are pretty overpriced. That takes the finite resource of time and directly impacts money.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Eating healthy is actually way less expensive

by SwimmingParty6501 1 day ago

Agreed. It is an excuse, not reality Furthermore, it annoys me when people think eating healthy means you need to cook Some things, like meats and eggs, yes. But fruits and vegetables can be eaten raw. I have always hated cooked vegetables, and I've always much preferred eating them raw and unseasoned. Unsalted, unsweetened nuts and nut-butters are also healthy options that do not need to be cooked.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I always tell people it IS expensive to eat healthy. You know what else is expensive? Diabetes medication, knee replacements, back surgery, and numerous other complications from obesity. You can eat healthy much more cheaply if you have a lot of time to meal prep. Rice and beans are cheap when you buy them whole, but take a long to cook it. Is it worth it imo? Yes, all the way. But the people that work 6 12s? You just have to upgrade where you can and do your best. Slow cookers are fabulous for this.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

wtf is ND

by Mission-Produce 1 day ago

People will make any excuse not to eat healthy. It just comes down to them not prioritising food and their time/ health. Bulk buy & bulk cook. I know some people that won't even eat the same meal 2 days in a row! Slow cookers are a thing, throw everything in there and that's that. When I left home my skills stretched as far as noodles on toast!

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I think the whole reason it's called a food desert is because there isn't easy access to affordable grocery stores or markets. Just things like convenience stores and fast food. If there's a grocery store with access to affordable healthy foods it is by definition NOT a food desert.

by duncanhayes 1 day ago

If an area has a grocery store with the type of food OP mentions, it's not a food desert. "If the desert has trees and rivers and wildlife, you should be able to find water, so deserts really aren't that bad"

by MinimumImpression 1 day ago

A food desert means you dont have a grocery store in walking distance. Im confused as to what you think one is at this point....

by Next-Jackfruit 1 day ago

My nearest grocery store is 20 miles away. My nearest convenience store is 1 mile away... I can walk to the convenience store. I take 1 extremely well-planned and prepped trip per 2 weeks to the grocery. Sometimes, it's not the money. It's the access.

by colegennaro 1 day ago

You're not counting cost properly. Do it as a calorie count, not a raw cost count. You can buy a box of leafy greens for around $5 where I live. That's about 100 kcals. 100 kcals of chicken nuggets costs maybe 1/5 of that? And 100 kcals of Coke might be even cheaper? It's the same pretty much across the board when you consider that most unhealthy food have way more calories than most healthy foods. Reaching 2,000-2,500/day healthily is much more expensive than unhealthily.

by Own_Conversation5098 1 day ago

This terrible way to do things. You have to do each macro nutrient separately. Cheapest calorie, cheapest protein, cheapest vitamin rotation min. Doing what you say would mean just eating spoonfuls of lard.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I have actually done this math. Around here it's like like 0.35 per 2k with lard and ~.0.5 with liquor. But everybody has to spurge from time to time

by Anonymous 1 day ago

If this is from a U.S.- based perspective though, the majority have an overconsumption, not an underconsumption, calorie problem.

by Windlercordell 1 day ago

True

by Anonymous 1 day ago

It's not just about reaching your count with whatever works, though. What a bizarre approach to food.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Reaching (and not exceeding) your baseline kcals each day is the foundation of healthy eating. What OP is not realizing is that it's much harder to do that on an even-cost basis with healthy food compared to unhealthy food, as most healthy food has fewer kcals.

by Own_Conversation5098 1 day ago

Do you want to go into how expensive it is when that cheaper unhealthy lifestyle starts having a severe effect on your health later on in life? Comparing a box of leafy greens to chicken nuggets is an awful single sided comparison if you are solely looking at cost per calorie. You can buy pork chops that have a ton of fat and protein for <$5/lb and have that be a healthier and cheaper alternative to the calories and garbage you get in your typical chicken nuggets. Rice, beans, grains, etc... all have extremely low costs per cal as well. So when you mix in those leafy greens, a protein, and some carbs, you are left with a relatively cheap, well rounded meal thats healthy and costs less (per calorie) than those chicken nuggets.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Here's an article i found: A recent study found that following the MyPlate Dietary Guidelines would cost a family of four between $1,000-$1,200 a month ($12,000.00-$14,400 annually) depending on the age of the family members and the percentage of fruits and vegetables that were fresh, frozen, and canned (Mulik & Haynes-Maslow, 2017). For a comparison, the average middle income family in the United States spends roughly $6,224 on food each year with the average low income family spending even less at roughly $3,862 per year (USDA, 2017). With this information in mind, following these recommendations may not be feasible for the typical family.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Even for a family sized meal, it'll take at most a hour with no weekly prep. If you pre prep, or bulk cook, it only takes like a hour max to cook and cleanup People are just making up excuses cause they're too lazy or don't want to put effort in learning how to cook.

by bernierpearlie 1 day ago

You don't have to use olive oil to make a healthy meal. In fact, it's often over recommended. While delicious drizzled over something fresh, it has a low smoke point and isn't the best oil to use for cooking many things.

by Wbalistreri 1 day ago

Yup a lot of the other cooking oils are cheaper

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Yes. I have a little olive oil for things like drizzling over fresh tomatoes, but I almost never use it for cooking. Other oils are cheaper and work better.

by Wbalistreri 1 day ago

So less than 30 cents per meal then?

by Anonymous 1 day ago

How full.does such a meal keep you and for how long, is the other issue.

by Anonymous 23 hours ago

Healthy meals tend to keep me full much longer than unhealthy meals. Chicken and green beans meal prep is fast, cheap, easy, and extremely filling.

by Efficient-Issue-5273 23 hours ago

Yeah, this dude had something of a point until he mentioned olive oil and made me burst out laughing.

by Anonymous 23 hours ago

Time is money. It's not just about the dollar amount.

by Anonymous 23 hours ago

It doesn't take a long time to throw a few fresh ingredients and some lentils into a crock pot.It literally cooks while you aren't even present. Frozen stir-fry's take minutes. You can microwave a potato, dump some cheese and salsa on it, and it's still healthier than eating ultra processed food.

by Anonymous 23 hours ago

Yeah for rich people, those in high positioned jobs, and entrepreneurs. Not for the salaried, or average Joe, who works their 40 hour and then goes home to watch Netflix with their kids.

by bernierpearlie 23 hours ago

To me it doesn't cost more. It just takes more time and effort.

by vschiller 23 hours ago

If you cook for yourself, you will generally spend less than if you by any sort of prepared food. But you pay in time instead.

by Anonymous 22 hours ago

Frozen nuggets and frozen pizza last longer than their fresh-ingredient counterparts. Even with my family of four, if we have leftovers of fresh ingredients, they often go bad before we can eat them. With frozen stuff, we can heat up what we know we're going to eat, and the rest will still be safe to eat when we're ready to eat that thing again.

by Hailiejohnston 22 hours ago

You can always batch cook your fresh ingredients and freeze them after. It's the same basic premise of long lasting, quick to prepare meals, minus the preservative filled ultra processed junk. With the exception of wiltable things like lettuce, there's very little you can't meal prep and freeze.

by Anonymous 22 hours ago

2 pounds of chicken is $15 over here.. 12 eggs is $5.60 And friggin olive oil is $8.6 for 750ml! So yeah, it is hella expensive to eat healthy here.. Bonus :1 Gallon of fuel is $6.2 over here 🫠

by Anonymous 22 hours ago

Sure, but lentils, brown rice, and frozen peas are dirt cheap

by Pearliewalker 22 hours ago

500gram of lentils is $3.4

by Anonymous 21 hours ago

It's half that where I'm at, but I'm assuming unhealthy food is more as well?

by Pearliewalker 21 hours ago

Eye twitches in european

by Anonymous 21 hours ago

A healthy breakfast with eggs and toast will be less than $2 counting the sides.

by Admirable-Big6562 21 hours ago

750ml olive oil is enough for 1-2 months...

by Terrible_Course 20 hours ago

Where

by FancyAd860 20 hours ago

Agree. We limited ourselves to eating meat only twice a week, by the way. And probably doubled up on the amount of vegetables.

by Josiannewill 20 hours ago

Hopefully you're getting your protein from other sources?

by Anonymous 20 hours ago

I actually agree with you. I am making myself roughly 2 weeks lunches for $40ish.

by Anonymous 19 hours ago

It's not just about money. It's also about convenience, and storage etc.. People with two jobs will find it easier to throw on some chicken nuggets rather than cook something from scratch

by Anonymous 19 hours ago

fresh does not equal "healthy"

by Anonymous 19 hours ago

True, but if you're eating fresh you're more likely to be eating healthy.

by Anonymous 19 hours ago

OP literally said chicken breast bag of potatoes and bag of salad. That's every Walmart

by Anonymous 18 hours ago

Food deserts are a thing

by Anonymous 18 hours ago

Online shopping is a thing as well.

by Anonymous 18 hours ago

And more expensive

by Specialist_Walk 17 hours ago

Where I live, there are no fresh produce. Have to drive 4 hours away for any store to that has fresh produce. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Which would make eating healthy more expensive.

by Anonymous 17 hours ago

Most of us don't live where you live or deal with those circumstances.

by Anonymous 17 hours ago

Frozen produce is actually better for you anyway as its frozen quickly after it's harvested which is when it's most nutritionally dense.

by Arch79 17 hours ago

You're presuming people have freezers or if they do have them that they're big enough to fit a weeks worth of frozen produce. Not to mention getting the frozen goods home. Most things will be fairly defrosted after an hour plus drive.

by Anonymous 17 hours ago

I'm actually laughing at this point. Don't have freezers? Lmfao. People will literally pull from the tiniest corners of the population just sound empathetic. They can have empathy, but they're not bringing anything of value to this conversation.

by Anonymous 16 hours ago

Fresh doesn't equal healthy. A bag of frozen chicken breasts aren't LESS healthy than fresh cut at your butcher. Frozen fruit, frozen veggies: not LESS healthy. Not as delicious, but not less healthy.

by Anonymous 16 hours ago

It depends a LOT on where you happen to be. Not everyone in the country has ready access to fresh fruits and veggies

by EdgeAromatic7594 16 hours ago

But frozen veggies are just as healthy for you…

by Danialgaylord 15 hours ago

The healthy stuff I'm referring to is vegetables, meat, and fruits. Not organic- just anything. All of it was marked up and when you're in actual poverty, even if it's there, you can't buy it.

by Anonymous 15 hours ago

Have you ever heard of a food desert? There are so many more barriers to access "healthy" food than just how much it costs. This isn't an unpopular opinion, it's just an experience that is true to you and that is not universal.

by Anonymous 15 hours ago

I'm not technically in a food desert but have found that in the last year many food stores consistently have moldy or fungus covered healthy food so it might as well be one. Being immunocompromised now washing it or cutting it off isn't an option I want to try.

by Anonymous 14 hours ago

Maybe I could cook ground chicken in canola oil with potatoes and sale salad for the same price or less but at that point I'd rather just have the nuggets lmao. It's nice to be healthy but if my meal is depressing its not gonna feel worth it.

by Anonymous 14 hours ago

It depends. If you wanted to make a big box of nuggets you'll need a bunch of materials that will cost probably more than the frozen box at the store But you can make a lot more over time since you have lots of ingredients now. But frying batches of fried chicken uses a lot of oil

by Anonymous 14 hours ago

Yes and no. Being able to cook decently at home does require more initial investment, ie. a $200 grocery trip for the week instead of a $8 fast food meal. Fruits and vegetables tend to go bad pretty fast so there will be some waste. And calorie for calorie carbs are a lot cheaper than protein, so you can live off white rice and ramen for pretty cheap but that wouldn't be super healthy. Also people that eat frozen pizzas and whatnot tend to be eating more than they need.

by Anonymous 14 hours ago

That depends on your definition of eating healthy, which can include a nutrition stack, buying organic produce and meat, replacing toxic oils, eliminating dairy, etc, etc. I know I sound like an extremist but, but I've had to change all of my eating habits and activity habits dramatically over the past five years, due to some health issues. I literally had no idea how complex human nutrition actually is, not to mention the complexity of the gut biome. Beyond that, sometimes it isn't necessarily the cost of "eating healthy" that's the issue, it's the effort and dedication it takes to be consistent and to educate yourself, which takes time and can be annoying. When it was easy to just grab a greasy burger and eat it, I did it for convenience. I really wish I'd understood the critical importance of proper nutrition at a much younger age.

by Round_University7690 13 hours ago

Yeah, noticed this a while back, try to point it out but no one wants to think it through, they just fo by article headlines. More for me I guess.

by Anonymous 13 hours ago

yup. ppl just don't want to take the time to cook. i get it it's labor intensive and takes time but with the right ingredient a you can cook maybe twice a week to feed yourself all week. most ppl act like they're too good to eat leftovers for more than 1-2 days and they want the quickest option while still enjoying junk food on the side like chips, cookies, fast food, eating out, etc

by Anonymous 13 hours ago

why do people always assume the worst? why do u assume they don't want to take the time to cook?

by Anonymous 13 hours ago

Factor in the opportunity cost and you may change your tune.

by turneralfonso 12 hours ago

It takes more time to make your own food, and people who need to work 60 hours a week to survive do not have time.

by Frosty-Cabinet 12 hours ago

100% truth. I eat fresh daily. And it's actually better value. Processed foods are causing many health issues. Most foods, breads are easy work... Just need to put the effort in.

by Anonymous 12 hours ago

It's more expensive to eat unhealthy in the long run

by lwillms 12 hours ago

I save so much money on food since I started calorie counting. Going from eating 3500 cals a day to 1800 will save you money no matter what it is you're eating

by Ill_Spare 11 hours ago

A frozen pizza lasts one meal. The chicken breasts, leafy green mix and bag of potatoes lasts at least two or three. It's about the same price per meal.

by Arch79 11 hours ago

That entirely depends on where you live and whats available. Not everyone has access to fresh and healthy. Food deserts are an actual thing.

by Anonymous 11 hours ago

Chicken breasts, a bag of potatoes and a leafy green mix for a salad-> yes, that's healthier than frozen chicken nuggets, frozen pizzas, and already prepared food but it not healthy. If you want healthy food- eco grown veggies/ meat it'sd VERY expensive. or at least here where i live.

by Substantial_Mud1911 11 hours ago

I feel the issue is that the unhealthy alternatives and "quick eats" dont spoil nearly as fast as the healthier options. You can buy a bundle of bananas, but they'll spoil within a week or some broccoli, but after a week in the fridge, they start to get moldy. The unhealthy alternatives (frozen pizzas, cereal, granola bars, etc...) definetly last far longer in storage compared to healthier or organic products. The other issue is the huge brainwashing and propaganda that the produce companies advertise their products being healthy alternatives (cereals or granola bars advertised as a healthy breakfast alternative, frozen dinner saying their packed with protein or low fat and/or carbs, chips promoting their "reduced fat", etc...). The ads give a false image that their products are "healthy" alternatives or aren't nearly unhealthy as they seem, when in reality, their loaded with tons of sugar, sodium, or bioengineered preservative chemicals. The number of people who still believe that honey bunches of oats or nature valley granola bars (just examples) are insane.

by Anonymous 10 hours ago

That's only true if you place no value on time and can get a good deal. 5 bucks for a store-brand 10oz container of leafy greens. Chicken breast 2.79 bucks a pound. Store-brand olive oil is 10 bucks. Potatoes are still pretty cheap. I can find chicken nuggets cheaper than chicken breasts per pound. I can buy a frozen totino's pizza for 2 bucks. If you only have 20 bucks, are exhausted, and need to eat for a week; then frozen stuff makes way more sense.

by Anonymous 10 hours ago

Now just pay yourself minimum wage and let's compare prep time, then let‘s see how they stack up. Unless your time is worthless to you.

by Anonymous 9 hours ago

I definitely agree if you're in a first world country or even a nice country 90% of the time it's a choice. The amount of people who are acting like we are in the 1800s is crazy someone really said "what if I don't have a freezer".

by Anonymous 9 hours ago

Healthy eating can be affordable but it really depends on time access and knowledge. Not everyone lives near a grocery store or has the time energy to prep meals after working two jobs

by Responsible-Heat-535 9 hours ago

Lets check your math! Via Walmart.com, in my local area: 4 Pack (about 2lbs) of Chicken Breasts: $7 5lb Bag of Potatoes: $5 18oz bag of Salad Mix: $5.50 Olive Oil: $6 Total: $23.50 You'll get about 3-4 meals out of this. Avg Cost per meal (assuming 4 meals): $5.87 2 lb bag of chicken nuggets: $6 28 oz of frozen steak fries: $3.50 28oz can green beans: $1.50 (for the sake of having some sort of comparable less healthy vegetable) Total: $11 You'll also get about 3-4 meals out of this. Avg cost per meal (assuming 4 meals): $2.75 Conclusion: It is about twice as expensive.

by Anonymous 9 hours ago

Cooking chicken without ruining it is the hard part it's not the money lol

by Anonymous 9 hours ago

Well junky food prices have climbed a lot now. I remember for years this unpopular opinion often came up and a 660 calorie honey bun was $0.50 which was cheap calories. Now even that is not only smaller and 2-3x as much $ closing the gap even as chicken and potato prices climb. A $3 frozen peporoni pizza @ 1020 calories while gross to me is pretty cheap and ready to serve with near zero effort though. Same with <$6 now for 23 oz of frozen chicken patties totaling 1600 calories.

by Anonymous 8 hours ago

Yeah but I can also take flour, yeast, tomato sauce, olive oil, and some mozzarella and make dirt cheap pizza at home. Like way cheaper than that meal and way more caloric. Like with costco ingredients or something else in bulk, you can spend like a dollar in ingredients and make a huge ass pizza for a family lol. I eat healthy, but it does cost more. I think there's literally no disputing that. For an equal amount of calories, even an equal amount of time, unhealthy food is stupidly cheap.

by Guilty-Two 8 hours ago

Exactly this! I worked for nonprofits most of my career, meaning very little pay, and have always been able to eat healthy: Chicken breast, veggies, extra virgin olive oil, brown rice, whole wheat bread. Plus I exercise daily. Don't give up, it CAN be done.

by Anonymous 8 hours ago

Exactly, thank you. This is my point.

by Arch79 8 hours ago

I would say that when you're not eating healthy, you've learned the cost effective ways to eat how you eat. If you switch to a healthy diet, at first you're not going to know any of the ways to buy that food and save money. So at first, sure, it would probably be more expensive. But over time you'll learn all the ins and outs, and you'll start learning to plan several meals from a smaller set of ingredients, and many of those ingredients won't have to be repurchased for each meal. In the end, as OP said, it really does balance out.

by Exotic_Patience6057 7 hours ago

It is if you work so much that taking the time to cook could be detrimental to your health in ways such as losing precious sleep time or having to cook while you're hungry. That is not to say that you are wrong but fresh ingredients need to be cooked quickly before they go bad and not everybody has the time. We all get the same 24 hours per day but not everybody gets to spend them the same.

by Anonymous 7 hours ago

It's funny you talk about cheap and mention potatoes, one of the foods we eat which takes the most time and energy (cost) to prepare.

by Anonymous 7 hours ago

A sack of potatoes is $4 and you can make it last a few weeks. That's pretty cheap.

by Arch79 7 hours ago

Cooking costs money, appliances, practice and utensils.

by Majestic_Salary_6736 7 hours ago

Uhhh I can get a frozen pizza for $3 and be plenty full afterwards. What home-cooked meals can I make for $3? Plus, fresh food goes bad so quickly I end up wasting ingredients/leftovers in a couple days. Trust me, if it wasn't the cheapest route I can conceive, I wouldn't be eating this way lol

by Baileybarbara 6 hours ago

Plus, fresh food goes bad so quickly I end up wasting ingredients/leftovers in a couple days. For people living alone that's probably true ... I think it's easier for families to shop without wasting ingredients. We made the habit, since our children moved out, to cook for multiple days. We freeze the portions we don't eat that day for later use.

by Josiannewill 6 hours ago

I eat healthy --- and it is expensive but worth it.

by Advanced-Low 5 hours ago

It's also a knowledge thing, the amount of people I know who couldn't boil an egg to save their lives is scary. If civilization crumbles they'll all die off after the grocery stores empty.

by croninluella 5 hours ago

As someone who actually did switch to a healthier diet, that hasn't been the case for In my case, it wasn't an even exchange; I wasn't just buying different foods; I was buying different kinds of food. All that raw meat, fresh-frozen seafood and fresh produce does indeed cost more than heat-and-eat dinners (which you can get for under $4.00 when they're on sale — which happens fairly frequently). I didn't like the increased expense but could easily afford it. Processed food is cheap enough that you can buy it from stores with "Dollar" in their names, and I can absolutely see cash-strapped people going that route.

by Anonymous 5 hours ago

Effort, price, what's the difference anymore? Just accept fate and carry on.

by MeetOk2321 5 hours ago

while to most middle/working class people in fairly populated areas , this is true… your take lacks the nuance to acknowledge that some people live in food deserts or extreme poverty where the only option is what's right in front of them, within their budget, and there is no room for wiggle room. In areas where there isn't a whole foods and walmart on every corner, it might be a lot more expensive to go for the healthiest option- especially when trying to feed multiple kids.

by clarissa95 4 hours ago

These opinions crack me up because it's like people forget that not everyone is living the same life and has access to the same things as they do

by Anonymous 4 hours ago

Eating healthy is cheap. It's convenience that costs.

by Anonymous 4 hours ago

Time is money. If I want to eat healthy for the same level of effort, then it is more expensive.

by Anonymous 3 hours ago

Time is money too though

by Anonymous 3 hours ago

Quit eating super-ultra processed food. It's killing your body.

by StudyEquivalent 3 hours ago

It's wild how people in poor and impoverished nations do nothing but cook for themselves and family while working consistently their whole lives yet people in the US claim that is a luxury only the wealthy have.

by Ecormier 2 hours ago

As someone with a lot of dietary restrictions bc of health issues, I eat very healthy, it is def more expensive. It is more work as well but worth it.

by Anonymous 2 hours ago

DISCLAIMER: I eat healthy. As someone who used to have this attitude, I can tell you firsthand that eating frozen chicken nuggets, frozen pizzas, and already prepared food is not the cheaper option While I do agree with the fact that eating healthy is far cheaper, it's also far more of a time sink. The main draw of fast food (at least as per my knowledge) isn't that it's cheap, it's that it doesn't take much time to cook in a world where everything's fast-paced. Cooking takes time. Protein bars, shakes, supplements, et cetera are the 'fast' version of healthy food but are also far more expensive. I think that's what people are typically referring to when they say they can't afford to eat healthy. What they're saying is that they can't afford to eat healthy without having to set aside time to cook that they could instead spend on other things. I don't think this is an acceptable excuse, just to clarify. At least not for people who value their health. It's just something I've been thinking about often and wanted to put to paper.

by Anonymous 2 hours ago

This is just true. Beans, rice, potatoes are very cheap options. Even if you add meat it can be a small portion in a largely otherwise cheap dish. The real reason people don't eat healthy is they are lazy or prefer the taste of take out. You can make a pot of healthy food in 30 mins that will last days. The other reasons they give like time and money are excuses.

by Glittering_Alps 2 hours ago

I hear there are good desserts in US where it's difficult to get affordable produce/groceries. Definitely not expensive where I am from tho.

by Anonymous 2 hours ago

This is a truly astounding out of touch opinion.

by Excellent_Mine936 1 hour ago

I also use to have this attitude and when I actually made the switch it did wonders

by Anonymous 1 hour ago