How To Eat Healthy And Cheap
Why Are Healthy Foods So Expensive
There are many reasons why healthy food is more expensive. The supply and demand ratio favors it, our government policies encourage it, and obvious production differences prefer the price of unhealthy foods.
10 Reasons Why Healthy Food Is More Expensive:
Seasonality: The majority of crops only produce for a short season of a couple of months. It is very expensive to extend the growing season of healthy food.
Region / Location: Crops favor specific regions and only grow in certain parts of the world. To alter climates are very expensive.
Transportation: Because of the regional challenge, we face expensive shipping costs for our healthy foods.
Climate Issues / Weather: Natural disasters can destroy entire crops and changing climates can alter what food a region can continue to grow.
Fertilizer Prices: Growing food in non-natural systems like agriculture increase the need for more fertilizer and its cost is always raising.
Growing Populations: Our human population continues to rise and so does the difficulty to feed all of us cost-effectively
Cannot Be Mass Produced: Healthy food is natural and cannot be mass-produced easily. It takes time and effort.
Storage Costs: Storing healthy food takes a lot of power for refrigerators, space, and time-sensitive displays.
Short Shelf Life: Healthy food only last on shelves for a short period, often just days, so it takes a lot of money to continue the constant flow of produce for consumption.
Limited Government Subsidies: The government only subsidizes a couple of staple crops leaving most farmers at risk and alone raising prices for everyone.
As you can see, there are many reasons why healthy food prices are higher than food that is chemically processed and altered to bring prices down and increase shelf life. But that doesn’t mean you can’t eat healthy and cheap!
How To Eat Healthy And Cheap
When thinking about how to eat healthy for cheap we should first follow the principles of What Healthy Eating Is. We know that we want to:
Eat whole foods that are unprocessed or at least minimally processed like nuts, grains, fruits, legumes/beans, and vegetables.
Avoid adding excess sugar, fats/oils, salts, and processed ingredients when preparing your food.
Eat a varied and balanced diet throughout the day to get all the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals our bodies need.
Now that we understand how to eat healthily, how do we do it cost-effectively? The best budget-friendly way to purchase whole foods is to:
Buy what's in season for your region - Seasonal foods are currently abundant at the time and supply and demand forces lower the prices.
Buy in bulk - Grains, nuts, and legumes/beans can easily be purchased in bulk as their normally sold, making for filling budget healthy meals.
Buy in bulk frozen - You can purchase fruits and vegetables frozen in bulk mixed or singular. This reduces their prices, locks in their nutrients at prime ripeness, and increases their shelf life.
Buy in bulk dried - Most fruits are dried in bulk making a cheap fast healthy food. However, you can also find that fruits and vegetables are stored and sold in bulk by freeze drying (how most camping meals are prepared).
Altogether this makes your new budget healthy grocery list. Luckily, according to Harvard Health, eating healthy only costs an extra $1.50 more a day. So yes, healthy food is expensive, but only by a little, and it's relative to your budget and desires. Get in the Habit of eating healthy and your body will thank you!