The costs of healthy eating

Here's the honest truth...I get really jazzed up when people talk about how expensive it is to buy fresh, wholesome food and while I agree that it seems that way on the surface, I have to respectfully disagree. I truly think that the expense is not one of money, but of time, which is what most people are short on. This is our family grocery story.

We are essentially a family of 8. My hubby owns his own business and I am a homemaker. We have 6 children ages 20, 17, 13, 11, 8 & 5 - 4 boys, 2 girls. There are nights that we do not have every one sitting down for the evening meal, but for the most part, I cook for 8 (with leftovers about 50% of the time). Breakfasts consist of dry cereal and milk for the most part . Our rules for breakfast cereal is that the sugar content is under 10 grams per serving. Once in a blue moon, we will have a family breakfast of homemade waffles or overnight french toast casserole. Lunches for the youngest 5 are 99.9% of the time brought from home in the form of sandwiches, homemade bagels or leftovers. When it comes to grocery shopping, I follow the organic rule for the dirty dozen list and will buy organic if it is the same price or even a few dimes more on those items not on the list.

Let's start with dairy. We buy one gallon of regular 1% milk each day which calculates to about $21/week. We do not buy organic because frankly, we can't afford to. Our milk budget would increase by roughly 100% if we did. We do buy milk that is taken from cows who are not treated with hormones. I buy (2) containers of organic Greek plain yogurt and (1-2) large containers of organic vanilla yogurt each week. I also buy a 4 pack of organic caramel Greek yogurt each week. The yogurt costs roughly $15/week. Salted organic butter is usually a bi-weekly purchase and unsalted organic butter is usually a monthly purchase. It ends up costing about $7/week. The children like individual cups of yogurt for school (Chobani) and also yogurt tubes (Stonyfield or Simply Go-gurt). The weekly costs for these items are roughly $5. Ice cream is homemade about once per month and I buy two containers of organic half and half at $4 a pop so roughly just under $2/week. Cheese is a HUGE expense here. We buy deli American cheese and provolone slices. I also stock up on shredded pizza cheese and Mexican blend shredded 1-2x per month and always have at least 2 bricks of low fat cream cheese in the deli drawer. Cheese purchases for the month are probably just above $30/week. Total Dairy purchases for a month: $80

Meats: We eat mostly chicken. Chicken breasts, boneless chicken thighs and whole chickens. I am in the process of finding a local, organic farm that will be affordable enough for us to buy chicken in bulk. For now we buy humanely raised, no animal product fed, hormone free chicken from the grocery store. Unfortunately, I know for a fact that these chickens may or may not be fed GMO grain hence the search for locally raised organic. Chicken purchases for the week are roughly $20. All other meat/fish purchases are around $10/week (including nitrate/nitrite free lunch meat products). Total meat purchases: $30

Dry/canned goods: Canned meats (tuna and chicken) $3/week . Boxed/tubed tomato products $5/week. Pasta $4/week. Pasta sauce $2/week. Rice/grains $2/week. Dried beans $3/week. Flour $10/week. Sugar $2/week. Yeast $1/week. Spices/condiments $1/week. Breakfast cereal $10/week. Snack items (pretzels, animal crackers, fruit cups, PF Goldfish crackers or Annie's snack mix) $12/week. Baking products $1/week Total dry good purchases: $56

Produce: Organic apples $7/week. Bananas $4/week. Organic/local seasonal fruits $5/week. Organic greens $4/week. Organic tomatoes, celery, carrots, potatoes $6/week. Onions $1/week. Other veggies $3/week. Total produce purchases: $30

Frozen: Veggies & organic fruit $30/week

For the most part, our grocery bill is under $1000/month* with 8 of us. That is less than $30/week for each person. We eat VERY well and mostly healthy, whole foods. Generally we probably eat a vegetarian meal 2-3x per week whether it be pasta, beans or a high protein grain.

I do not buy cookies, crackers (except those listed above in snacks), frozen prepared foods, bread or any bread products (rolls, bagels, etc.). I generally do not buy canned products although I will occasionally buy beets and sauerkraut in a can. We do not buy soda or fruit juice except for special occasions. Potato chips are almost never bought, but we do keep organic tortilla chips on hand and usually some Newman's Own Pineapple Salsa (hubby's fave). I make all of our bread/bread products including bagels, soft wheat tortillas, pita bread, etc. I also make all of our jellies & jams. This past summer I also experimented with canning pickles, relishes and what few tomatoes I harvested from our garden. I hope to do even more this summer. We also have 8 layer hens and from spring to late fall, we get roughly about 7 eggs per day. We almost NEVER eat out.

Don't get me wrong, there are sometimes I wish I could open up a box of Kraft mac & cheese and serve it like I used to, but for a few minutes more, I can whip up a roux and a fabulous cheese sauce and pour it over some whole grain pasta. There are also times I wish I could buy a package of Oreos or a can of Spaghettios and feel good about letting my kids (and myself) eat them, but I just can't. The more I learn about what goes into processed foods, the more strongly I feel about making everything from scratch.

I understand that not everyone has the same situation as I do. Not everyone has the time to make their own bread or make homemade "whatever" on a regular basis (although you'd be surprised how quickly you can knock out a couple loaves of bread once you get the hang of it). I just wish more people would understand that preparing good, wholesome food doesn't really cost more than your time and in the long run, will likely be less expensive if you factor in known health issues from eating "The All American Way".







*This dollar amount does not reflect paper products (TP, paper towels), drug store items (feminine needs, OTC medicines, hygiene items) or cleaning products (dishwasher tabs, laundry detergent, bleach).