Apparently, they cannot afford meat in Ohio.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Patroklos
400 dollars is a ridiculous amount to be spending on food, healthy or not. Especially if you don't eat out often.

Thats basically $4.50 a meal, you can do much better if you are so inclined.

I eat like 5 meals a day.

An example meal (not eating out) would be:
1 container of tofu (~4$?)
1/2 bag of frozen veggies (~1$?)

I eat lots of fruit, veggies, and protein containing foods. I do eat out too much though (like ~1 per work day).

JM

[C0ckney]

Originally posted by rah
One has a HS degree and the other doesn't even have that. Basic knowledge of many things is really the issue here. And I'd be willing to believe that accident she had 17 years ago is really just an excuse to not take any personal responsibility for her current life.

And yeah, pretty stupid to have a story concerning issues with lack of food accompaning that photo.

i'd certainly agree with that, it's seems fairly clear that the two women in the article need to look at themselves to see why they're in that situation. the food thing is a particular bugbear of mine though, i mean really, how hard is it to buy a cookbook.

JM, that's a huge amount of money to spend on food. i spend about £25 ($40-$45) on food a week, i'm trying to get it down to under £20 but that's pretty hard. i buy fresh fruit and veg from the market, meat from a butcher, fish from a fishmonger etc. i make my own sauces where possible. you may think that supermarkets are the cheapest, but when you compare the items you buy from tesco with those from independent retailers or stallholders, you will be amazed by the difference in price and quality.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by rmsharpe
They make poor choices, not because of the supposed limits to the quality of food they can purchase.

Where do you get the idea that "processed"* foods are more expensive than fruits, vegetables, meat, etc.?


* I honestly don't quite know what you mean here... are you talking about "processed" as opposed to "organic" or as opposed to fast food?

They make poor choices, but a lot of times due to economics. Processed are less expensive, not more expensive. By processed foods, I'm talking about things like American cheese, canned food, or junk foods. Its cheaper to buy some canned food (like Hormel Chili) than it is to buy good cuts of steak and veggies and make it yourself.

[q=MrFun]I spend something like $250 a month on food (but I'm only counting grocery shopping, not eating out).[/q]

That's cheating .

On grocery shopping, I spend like $200 a month. On eating out for lunch and on the weekends, it can be $100 to $200 a month.

[Guynemer]

Where do you live, Dan?

[Japher]

DanS is in the DC area I think.

I think lack of transportation is a poor excuse too. Also, on the world news last night they went over the increasing costs of food, and I didn't find all to shocking. Most things were up less than 5%, and with fuel and corn costs going up I understand. Still, 5% shouldn't be enough to starve someone, only make them lose a couple of pounds, which most of us can afford to do.

[Guynemer]

Yes, of course, read his earlier post wrong. Nothing to see here, move along.

[Patroklos]

Hey, I like to get non processed stuff as much as I can and cook as much as I can (and I do cook a great deal), but I spend a good amount of money (not too far off from Jon Miller... about $350 a month, though I think I eat out more than him, especially for lunch during the work week).

When you are poor, logic dictates you just don't eat out. If they are, that is a self imposed hardship. It is not like they don't have time to cook.

An example meal (not eating out) would be:
1 container of tofu (~4$?)
1/2 bag of frozen veggies (~1$?)

Well there is your problem, you eat fancy organic overpriced hippie food like tofu. Now you might be able to afford that and more power to you, but you can definetly prepare a healthy meal for less.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Um... $4 for tofu is much cheaper than a nice cut of steak.

[Patroklos]

Um... $4 for tofu is much cheaper than a nice cut of steak.

why would people in the OP even be contemplating a nice cut of steak (as if that is considered health food anyway)? Uneeded luxuries

And even if you spent four of five dollars on dinner, you can easily get the average meal cost down with cheap cereal breakfasts.

Quaker Oatmeal canister? 10 dollars for 20 meals. Add water, basically free. Maybe a container of blueberries or a bunch of banannas to throw in for flare, five dollars for 10 meals worth.

Eating cheap and healthy is not hard if you try, unfortunetly the people who should be the most motivated to try (the OP) aren't

[Imran Siddiqui]

How about even a halfway decent cut of steak?

You do need protein after all. I believe the tofu/frozen veggies was for dinner, btw.

Tofu is, IIRC, about the same price as chicken, if not a little cheaper sometimes. Though I usually don't get it, because I'm not fond of it.

[OzzyKP]

Originally posted by rmsharpe

This will be the downfall of our society, ladies and gentlemen.

It isn't new. I know people who have done that.

[Patroklos]

I believe the tofu/frozen veggies was for dinner, btw.

Then he must eat some expensive breakfasts. He gave us $400 for the month, I just took the average for 3 meals a day over 30 days to get $4.50 (actually $4.44) per meal.

JM, was that $400 on just groceries, or with going out factored in?

How about even a halfway decent cut of steak?

I think Braised Beef which is good for a stew or stirfry, is no more expensive than ground beef.

In any case, I can (and do every week) buy three large boneless chiken breads for 12 dollars, which I thin cut in half and use for six meals, either grilled or chopped up with posta/vegetables, which on average gives me a $3 dinner.

[Arrian]

Hmm... I figure my wife and I spend $300ish a month on groceries. We seldom eat out... maybe once per week (that might be high, actually). Mostly it's hitting a sports bar after softball or picking up Chinese on the way home... nothing expensive. So call it ~$100/month. Grand total $400/month.

I have noticed, however, that an attempt to eat healthier food drives up the cost. This is a basic truth... Ramen costs less than whole wheat pasta, ya know?

-Arrian

[Lorizael]

Nothing wrong with a little extra salt in your diet.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Patroklos
Then he must eat some expensive breakfasts. He gave us $400 for the month, I just took the average for 3 meals a day over 30 days to get $4.50 (actually $4.44) per meal.

JM, was that $400 on just groceries, or with going out factored in?

I believe it was both.

I think Braised Beef which is good for a stew or stirfry, is no more expensive than ground beef.

Which can be around $4 for a pound .

[q=Arrian]I have noticed, however, that an attempt to eat healthier food drives up the cost. This is a basic truth... Ramen costs less than whole wheat pasta, ya know?[/q]



Hell, whole wheat pasta costs more than regular pasta. And don't forget about price markups for organic stuff.