Is Healthy Eating Expensive?

Healthy eating is expensive. I’ve heard this statement A LOT over the years. However, to prove or debunk this train of thought, we first have to discuss what it means exactly to eat healthy. 

What is considered healthy?

There are a ton of different diets out there – Mediterranean, Adkins, keto, paleo, vegan, carnivorous, and pescetarian to name a few. With so many different diets all claiming great health benefits, it can be confusing to know which is the “right” one.

To keep it neutral, we are going to just use the baseline recommendations of a healthy diet that is most agreed upon by the experts^[1]. A healthy diet is a balanced diet that encompasses eating correct portions from all of the major food groups as to consume all of the nutrients you need for optimal health. You want to limit processed foods, trans fats, saturated fats, and sugar while eating whole grains, vegetables, fruits, lean protein, and fat free or low fat dairy.

Now that we’ve cleared up what consists of a healthy diet, let’s see if the good stuff will require a lot of cash. FYI – The following prices are from my local Walmart because virtually everyone has access to a Walmart these days.

Breakfast

A quick, easy breakfast would normally mean stopping by a fast food spot on the way to work/school. So let’s say you stopped by McDonald’s and got yourself a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit with a hash brown and small coffee. That totals $4.59 ($3.69 for just the biscuit).

You wake up the next day and decide to eat a healthy breakfast of avocado toast with an egg on top and a cup of coffee to get your caffeine fix. Let’s break it down. One cup of coffee (homemade – $0.28), half an avocado ($0.44), one egg ($0.21), and one slice of whole grain bread ($0.36) comes out to a grand total of $1.29! Even if you are real hungry and decide to have two slices of toast with your coffee, that’s still only $2.30.  

What about cereal? It’s cheap and can be full of sugar depending on if it’s geared towards kids (sad, I know). Being that I grew up loving Frosted Flakes, let’s use that in our comparison. A bowl of Frosted Flakes ($0.16) with 2% milk ($0.12) totals $0.28. 

What healthy alternative is there that costs less than that?! One word – oatmeal. One serving of steel cut oatmeal costs a whopping $0.19. Please save your applause until the end.

Lunch

To start with a fast food treasure that I’m not ashamed to say I had to ween myself from, let’s stop by Wendy’s for a good ol’ 4 for $4. For those who haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing this deal, it’s a drink, fries, 4 nuggets, and an entree you can choose from a list (chicken wrap, cheeseburger, etc). Yes, a chicken wrap is one of the options, but it’s fried counterparts bring it down. With tax, the total comes out to around $4.28.

What is a healthy lunch that is comparable to the almighty 4 for $4? A sweet potato ($0.52), 4 ounces of baked chicken breast ($0.50), and a cup of broccoli ($0.25). To match the 4 item theme, let’s include water (free or $0.16 for a bottle in a pack) as our beverage. Our healthy alternative comes out to $1.43 if you have to go with the bottled water. 

All you are saying is it’s cheaper to make food at home. I can make food at home that’s unhealthy too! I see how you can get that idea so let’s compare apples to apples. We’ll use my favorite childhood meal, macaroni and cheese ($0.74) and a fried chicken thigh ($0.69). This just so happens to come out to exactly $1.43 like our previous meal. However, if I add a drink or a side to this we’re over. Thank you, next. 

Dinner

Work is over and it’s time to eat dinner and unwind. Let’s stop back by Mickey D’s and get a Big Mac meal for $6.89 because we deserve it. (We can even make a healthier and cheaper choice than this by choosing the grilled chicken southwest salad for $5.69 but I digress).  

Our healthy neighbor decides to have a grilled chicken breast ($0.50) and kale ($0.58) salad with a fat free sugar free balsamic vinaigrette dressing ($0.24) that they made at home. That comes out to $1.32.  

Conclusion

This hypothetical day of healthy eating costs $5.05 (or $2.94 by having oatmeal for breakfast). Yes, all of this required prior planning and time to prepare the meals. However, it is all simple and healthy meals that aren’t labor intensive. Healthy eating doesn’t have to be expensive. If you plan your meals and take the time to pack your lunches, you may find yourself even saving money by eating healthy. 

If you need help discovering how to lower your food bill, please reach out to me. I would be glad to help.