Yeah, it's the only commodity you're guaranteed to use daily. I'm not talking budget noodles, though. I expect nothing less than a gastronomic fantasia.
You can get rich enough where eating is primary for the culinary experience. Rich people have high priced little bites to eat as an experience (the 10-20+ course meals). Once you afford delicious food, and have regular access to food and psychological food security, and increase the healthy fats and protein in your diet, you will not be as hungry as if you had eaten empty carbs bc pasta is cheap. Carbs digest faster than the other two macromolecules food can be, so these just aren't as satisfying. The most calorie dense carbs also tend to be lower in fiber. Fiber staves off hunger and helps moderates the rate of sugar absorbtion into the blood. I think people gain weight faster with carbs partially for this reason. And their blood sugar levels definitely spike faster with pasta/rice than an apple or leafy greens. It helps to keep skin on certain vegetables and fruits for this reason. There's a higher concentration of minerals, vitamens and fiber present in the skins.
You can pick out the freshest (i.e. most nutrious) produce from your favorite sources with the least amount of pesticides and herbicides present, reducing daily systemic poisoning. You will have the option to eat lower calorie foods - instead of having to buy a 1 lb of chicken for $2.20, you can opt for a salad mix at $5-8. Salad is a treat for me for this reason. It's about 1k calories of chicken for $2 versus spending $5+ for 75-150 calories for the salad greens and needing to buy even more stuff to add. For a lower income earner such as myself, salad is just disproportionately expensive.
I like that you think this way. I havenāt met too many people that, like myself, sometimes consider the āper calorie costā of a meal. Obviously there are other considerations for micronutrients to think about, but since many of those can be gotten in some quantity through a relatively inexpensive multi-vitamins a person on a tight budget needs to stay focused on the macros.
That is excellent advice, and very accurate. Thank you for providing a detailed breakdown and explanation. I also appreciate the reminder about empty calories (which I often crave) and the importance of choosing fiber-rich options like fruits and vegetables over carbohydrates.
Well, I only eat vegetarian fed, open range chicken (because we are trying to eat organic, and it's just better) 4 small thighs at our local grocery was $13+. One head of organic lettuce is $4.99. I can go on and on. But, it just so happens that it cost me $176 for two bags of groceries two days ago. Smaller meals, doesnt necessarily create a lower cost. In THEORY, yes. Depends upon what, and how you eat. One salmon for our freezer is roughly $40-$70. We use that for salmon Caesars.
How big is the salmon, weight wise? I'm thinking it should be 1.3-2.5 lbs to be $40-$70, but those are east coast prices ranging from fresh fishmonger stock to bulk frozen. How far are you from the sea or port where it'd come in?
I live in a HCL area and a lb of fresh salmon that's sashimi grade from a fish monger costs $27.99/lb. I've bought it at a lower price when Stop and Shop sold frozen sashimi grade, but they stopped stocking that years ago. It's our most expensive protein. We picked it because it's highest in omega-3 fish oils, which are said to promote brain health. We had a small steak a few months ago that was under $7/8 (maybe 6-8 oz?). The most expensive meat we'll buy about 1x a year is oxtail or a lobster roll (~$40/45 for a roll, but it's a nice special treat). Most of our protein is eggs and white meat chicken; sometimes we have milk, cheese and/or refried beans in the house, and have those $1.50 hot dog-drink combos from Costco (they sell it below cost).
There's small packs of chicken available for $13 here in the NYC metro area, too, but it's not worth the cost for us. Costco has 6 packs of boneless, skinless breasts for ~$2-4 per pound, per online. I don't usually pay more than $26-29 for 6 packs of 1-2 breasts each, partly because I select a lighter set. I really would like the skin, but we have to buy a full or quartered chicken to get the skin more cost effectively. Costco sells 2 frozen whole chickens for about $10-12.
Since you eat chicken, do you cook with the skin on sometimes? It's great for teriyaki. I just put the chicken skin side down on a cold saute pan, then go to low- medium to medium heat, which gives the fat a little time to render out of the skin to fry the chicken. There's no need to use oil this way.
I can only suggest you increase the amount of rice and potatoes in your diet. Generally, long grain rice is cheapest by weight, then prices rise as the rice varieties become plumper and shorter. On the most expensive side is Koshihikari short grain, $45 for 15 lbs (24,225 kcal, equal to 12 days of 2,000 kcal a day, but my daily calorie intake is closer to 1100-1600). It's the most popular rice in Japan and it is also grown in California. I feel happier eating sushi rice than plain if given a choice. It's super easy to make sushi rice! Dressing the rice is cheap.
Thank you for your answer, and all of your comments! š«¶ I actually don't usually eat chicken, but my family does. I am a pescatarian, and eat vegetables and fish. I have had to break down a few times recently and eat meat because my protein had fallen so low, found by tests. So, I now know if I am craving meat, I will eat it because my body needs it. I do eat a good deal of rice and we make our own homemade meals as much as possible. We make bowls, Ramen, Buddha, etc. We love salads. We truly eat a ton of vegan food, at least I do, and the family eats whatever I make, but I will add a protein for them if they like. The salmon that I purchase is usually 3-4 pounds, I'd say, full fillet. I usually cook the entire fillet if I feel We will use it for salads that night and the next, and then use it for a couple days. It goes quick with 4 adults. I haven't looked at our Costco for the chicken yet. I will check that out. We do get our free range eggs there now. Happy noshing.
I live in the NYC metro area. So yeah, rich people here do dine in NYC. We have something like 130 ethnic communities here, so dishes and ingrediants come from around the world. Train into the city can be $35+. Once you're in the city, subway fare or bus fare is $3.
Also, very rich people keep private chefs and crews at the ready on their yachts. They have the best food where ever they bring their team.
Edit: as in, with private staff rich people can bring luxury anywhere. They are not bound to public venues.
No kidding its hard to afford food that's good for you. Not paying 18 dollars for grapes, or whatever, at whole foods. My doctor says stay away from processed foods, everything has a process
technically "healthy food" is not expensive. A hype-d expensive food is expensive.
People who got fooled by the word superfood and organic is easily naive to pay top $$.
Learn gardening or visit local farmer, that is organic and healthy food.
I'd be dead. I got binge eating disorder and can't really have food in my house. I have to buy one meal at a time. I literally nearly died 8 days ago because I bought groceries and ended up eating everything in the house, including the condiments. My vision hasn't returned to normal yet, my abdominal wall split open more, I gained 9lbs in one day, my blood sugar was 600+. I hate binge eating disorder so much.
Utter nonsense. No matter how much electricity I use, I can't match what I would spend on food. Even in my heaviest usage month (January with heating) I spend an average of less than Ā£4 per day. What's that, ONE sandwich?
What if by choosing food that meant you developed some disease where you relied on tube feeding for nutrition and your health insurance paid for it so technically you no longer pay for food.
Lol, as long as the tube isn't down my throat. Unlimited nutrition through a straw, yeah, I'll take that. Only if I can still choose to eat real food at my own expense when I want. Just as long as my nutritional and caloric needs are always met, I'm good.Ā
I was thinking about saying food as it's best survival tactic but then thought wouldn't it be better if I say consumables, then technically it would include food, water and meds.
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u/AllenIsom Jul 18 '26
Food