Healthy food is expensive!

Buy cheap and waste your money

Health organizations in the Netherlands are increasingly sounding the alarm: smoking, drinking and obesity is the main cause of the most diseases in the Netherlands, with 9 billion euros in healthcare costs and about 35,000 deaths per year. Nowadays we can still buy a lot of unhealthy calories for little money, but when you get sick because of the unhealthy food or have to pay that expensive gym subscription to work out those extra kilos. Then in fact those cheap, unhealthy calories suddenly become a lot more expensive in comparison.

What is healthy and unhealthy food?

Let's start by looking at what is broadly healthy and unhealthy eating.

Healthy                                                                         Unhealthy
Unsaturated fats                                                           Saturated fats
Moderate meat consumption, meat substitutes            A lot of (red) meat
Water, coffee, tea                                                         Sugary (soft) drinks and alcohol
Vegetables, fruits, bread                                              Snacks, fried foods
Home prepared food                                                    Ready meals

It is a somewhat simple overview, but hopefully you have noticed that the food in the first column is healthier, but also cheaper in most cases. Take meat, for example. That is an massive part of the total amount of the receipt. By choosing meat substitutes in dishes, such as beans or eggs several times a week, you will see that not only your bodyweight is increasing, but your spending on groceries too.

The effect in price through marketing

Have you ever seen a large-scale campaign about a regular potato, a carrot or boiled beets? Probably not, as it is often the diet meals or superfoods that get the most marketing attention. These healthy products usually have a higher price tag and that price often sticks in our thoughts. But it doesn't mean that the other healthy products are just as expensive. For example, a kilogram bag of carrots is yours for only 1 euro!

Of course, a frozen pizza can be kept in the freezer for weeks, or even longer. But also the kilogram of carrots does not need to be used at once and can be frozen. This means you only have to prepare a meal once and the times after that you can have a meal as easy as that unhealthy frozen pizza. Good preparation is half the job!

How and where can you find cheap healthy food?

Fruit and vegetables are often for sale at very low prices at the market, in the toko, locally and at the greengrocer. In the supermarket it is especially important to pay attention and take advantage of offers, you better do your shopping in larger portions and also look at fruit and vegetables which are in season, these are often cheaper. Use your freezer optimally by freezing healthy meals or products, but pay attention please! Pre-cut fruit and vegetables from the supermarket are super convenient and easy, but also very expensive compared to uncut products.

Conclusion

In short, healthy food does not have to be more expensive. Yes, it will take you a bit more time in terms of preparation, but you certainly will be able to gain time the day(s) after, just like the unhealthy variant of fast food.

Just be creative!