The media loves to persuade you that eating healthy is expensive. Is that true? Can you eat healthy on a budget? Like everything health concerned, it depends.
“A healthy person has a thousand wishes, but a sick person has only one, To Be Healthy.”
Ancient Indian Proverb
How do you put a price on health?
Most individuals do not question the need for health insurance. It’s astounding if you calculate back over a lifetime how much one has paid in premiums and co-pays. However, health insurance does not ““ensure” that you will be healthy. It’s just a back-up plan originally intended (much like car insurance) for emergencies. Unfortunately, a large proportion of US Adults have multiple chronic conditions stemmed from poor metabolic health. Tufts University states only 7% of adults have good cardio-metabolic health.
“Poor metabolic health acts as an upstream driver or major contributor to many leading causes of disease and mortality, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, fatty liver disease, kidney issues, and even aspects of neurodegenerative conditions.”
These ongoing chronic conditions from poor metabolic health require constant management. Thus, you are spending money and time going to appointments, paying for medications and being restricted on what you can do in life by the burden of chronic disease. That is costly from a dollar, time and lifespan perspectives.
A better business model would be to address the root cause of your illness and put some money towards improving your metabolic markers to alleviate the long-term costs. This requires up front investment. The young 2025 Heisman trophy winner from my alma mater Indiana University talked about his belief and the overall team “stoic principle” of delayed gratification of which he attributed the team’s successful undefeated season, see clip here.
This is not the nature in our culture at present. Look at the rise of weight loss drugs, GLP-1 Ozempic and others. Individuals are not wanting to do the work on lifestyle change. A quick “fix” is seen as the preferred option. Granted there are individuals who might benefit from the kick-start these drugs offer but I pose the question, is it a long-term solution? Jury is still out, especially considering the potential side effects like muscle wasting, gastro-intestinal issues, neuropathy, nausea and others. Not to mention the financial cost.
The truth of the matter is we know roughly what elements contribute to a healthy lifestyle if consistency and dedication are applied. It’s not rocket science, nor do we need another peer reviewed paper on the topic. See post, The Basics Work.
Eating Out vs. Home Cooking
According to the USDA Economic Research Service and Grok in 2024 close to 60% of food spending was “away-from-home” up from 55% in 2023. “Americans increasingly rely on prepared meals outside the home, driven by convenience, work patterns, delivery apps, and post-pandemic recovery.”
Yes, I acknowledge food prices have increased recently, but step back and think, so have restaurant prices. If you’re spending your hard-earned dollars eating out more than cooking at home how does that impact your budget?
Let’s compare one week’s groceries to a week of eating meals out for price comparison. Grocery prices below are from our area in Arizona. Below is 1 week’s groceries for a 2-person household that is heavy (not strict) carnivore eating low-carb/ketogenic nutrition. Additionally, if one wanted to cut costs even more on groceries buying non-organic sources and having a deep freezer to purchase meat in bulk directly from a rancher. (We buy direct from Gila River Ranch for cost savings but used grocery store prices for comparison here)
For simplicity’s sake I’ve not added in condiments, spices etc. Additionally on the fast-food pricing extras like store bought coffee were not included in the overall price. Or if snacks or other items were needed due to hunger levels. On the groceries we based it on cooking a one keto-sheet pan burger (recipe at end) as well as one pot of beef stew.
One Week Groceries for 2 Persons
- 5 pounds of ground beef, avg. $6 to $9 per pound (total $40)
- 5 pounds of chuck roast, avg. $8 to $10 per pound (total $45)
- 1-2 Large Carton of Eggs $10 to $12 (total $22)
- 4 Cartons of Full Fat Greek Yoghurt (FAGE) $6.99 per carton (total $27.96)
- 1 Package of Bacon (Niman Sugar Free) $8.99
- 2 Packages of Cheddar Cheese (Organic) $7.29 per package (total $14.58)
- 2 Bell Peppers (Organic) $5.00
- 1 Carton Half n Half (A2 Brand) $5.79
- 1 Carton Full Fat Cream (Organic Clover) $5.99
- 1 Container of Espresso Coffee (Lavazza) $6.00
Total for 2 persons = $181.31 for 2 meals (possibly 3 meals) a day for 1 week.
Selection of Fast-Food Meal Price Ranges
- Classic Burger King “Whooper Meal” (burger, fries & soda) is $10 to $13
- Chipotle Bowl or Burrito Meal $9 to $14 (chips & drink usually separate)
- McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (burger, fries & drink) $9 to $12
- Kentucky Fried Chicken Typical Meal (tenders, side, biscuit & drink) $9 to $12
- Large Size Pizza at Domino’s Pizza $11 to $15
- Starbucks Egg Bites Breakfast (2 egg bites) $5.45 to $6.15
- Starbucks Venti Coffee $3.85 to $4.75
Grok states that the average price at some of the top fast food places is around $11.56, see link here. Using that as our rough estimate if you eat only 2 meals a day at a fast food restaurant that is 14 meals x $11.56 = $161.84 for one person for one week (2 meals day) than for 2 persons = $323.68 for 1 week.
Thus, while you might say well that’s not realistic you wouldn’t eat out that much. However, if the average person is eating 60% of their meals out if you take 60% of the fast-food week at $194.20 and 40% of the groceries at $72.52 you get $266.72. By eating out so frequently your weekly bill is over $85 more per week. Do that in a month and you’re spending more than $340 than necessary and over 12 months an extra $4080. That is a HUGE drain on your wallet with extremely low-quality nutritional value.
Beyond the Price Comparison
Something rarely discussed in the “eating healthy is expensive” conversation is nutritional value aka nutrient density. Many meals served out of the home are very low in nutritional value, particularly low in protein content. For example, bowls, burritos, tacos and sandwiches on average serve around 3-4 oz (many even less) of protein. That’s around 21 to 27 grams of protein. (not set in stone but on average one ounce meat = +/- 7 grams of protein). An average 5’10” male should be striving for around +/- 123-145 grams of protein per day (dependent on your goals, activity level, age, needs etc.).
Additionally take into consideration that items that have transportation carriers such as bread, tacos and buns will be impacting your blood sugar levels. This can contribute to blood sugar highs and lows that impact satiety and known to increase hunger as blood sugar drops quickly post a high carbohydrate meal. This pattern encourages the need for a snack which adds to the total cost expenditure.
Researcher and functional medicine professional Chris Kresser offers some excellent insight on What is Nutrient Density and Why is it Important? Heart Surgeon Dr. Philip Ovadia has ashort clip here on why nutrient density matters.
Can you cook on a budget?
When you eat a majority of your meals outside of the home, you solve the problem only for that one meal. A one-time grocery shopping in the week gives you the advantage of multiple meals with much higher nutritional value. Yes, it requires you put aside time to plan and cook those meals but from a time and health saving perspective you’re way ahead of the game.
Common complaints with a food for thought question.
I don’t have time. Will you have time to be ill?
I can’t cook. Can you follow a recipe?
My kids are picky. Have you tried involving them in the preparation and cooking?
Amy Berger wrote an excellent Substack piece, #1 Mindset Tip for Success on Keto. The Subtitle of “Struggling to stay consistent on keto? It’s not because you don’t have the right food list, macro calculator, or protocol. The problem is between your ears.”
In a nutshell she states, if struggling maybe you’re not asking the right questions to yourself. What if you changed the whole mindset around eating healthy is expensive to eating poorly is very costly to my health and wellbeing.
“Poor diets contribute to chronic diseases accounting for 70% of all U.S. deaths annually.”
It’s time to flip the conversation. Be a steward of your health. Apply a bit of stoic sensibility and delay gratification by investing in your health now to reap the rewards moving forward.
Extra Bonus Robert’s Keto Sheet Pan Burger (used in week’s grocery list)
Ingredients
- 5 lbs. ground meat
- Spices: salt, pepper and other favorites (we like cumin)
- 1 large onion
- 1-2 bell pepper
- 1 package bacon
- 1-2 packages of favorite cheese grated
Line bottom of a sheet-pan with ground beef. Layer on top the onion and bell pepper, can leave veggies out if so desire. Add bacon on top of veggies. Cook 30-40 minutes till bacon looks crispy. (425 F) Take out CAREFULLY drain juice, add favorite cheese under broiler for as long as it takes (don’t burn!). Let rest before slicing.
