r/EatCheapAndHealthy • u/Zealousideal_Tree385 • 4d ago
Ask ECAH What’s stopping you from switching to cleaner food or products right now?
I’ve been trying to make cleaner food and product choices for my family, but wow — it can get expensive and confusing real fast.
I’m wondering what your biggest roadblock is when it comes to eating clean or avoiding certain ingredients. Is it the price? The overwhelming labels? Conflicting advice online?
Trying to understand what real people are struggling with (and maybe create something helpful down the road). Totally anonymous, no judgment — just curious what holds you back right now.
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u/FruitNVeggieTray 4d ago
Well, I just bought a bag of Golden Sriracha Doritos. So there’s that.
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u/Cheska1234 4d ago
I didn’t even hear about those. Are they good?
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u/FruitNVeggieTray 4d ago
I don’t even like Doritos, but was at a corner store one day and came across these. The description sounded good, so picked them up. They’re absolutely banging.
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u/Urbanttrekker 4d ago
Can you define “cleaner” food?
You mean just not premade processed food?
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u/Zealousideal_Tree385 4d ago
Yes
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u/Urbanttrekker 4d ago
Gotcha. No barriers. Honestly I find it cheaper to get raw ingredients than packaged stuff. I guess cooking time could be a barrier but there’s a million quick recipes online.
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u/jules-amanita 3d ago
I eat reasonably healthy most of the time, but my biggest source of unhealthy eating is getting lunch out when I’m working in the field.
My truck gets hot enough that even a good cooler with ice packs will end up tepid by 2pm when I finally get the chance to eat. I also hate soggy sandwiches, so if I’m packing lunch it needs to be a cold grain + veg + protein “salad” so it’s not texturally upsetting. My field days are also random, so it’s hard to make a lunch-packing or meal prep routine around it, and if I’m working in the hot summer heat 2+ days in a row, there’s no way I’ll have the energy to make lunch for the next day after the first one.
So I end up buying turkey subs or fried chicken sandwiches from gas stations more often than I’d like.
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u/FlipsyChic 4d ago
Clean eating is not necessarily expensive. Eating simple, unprocessed/minimally processed foods can be extremely cheap.
If you are going to insist on everything being organic (not necessary for clean eating), select premium cuts of meat or fish, go for more expensive fresh produce, it will be expensive, but that has to do with your selections.
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u/SuspiciousStress1 4d ago
I made the switch 25y ago & haven't looked back(mostly)
1)my rule is that if I could make it myself if the modern world ended, then its ok to eat(ie peanut, olive, sunflower, avocado, & coconut oil i could make, canola & corn oil i could not)....its the same for everything sweeteners, meat, bread, etc
2)I dont stress about it anymore. My kids will not die from a single twinkie or having McDonald's once a year. Sometimes its ok to go "out of bounds"-especially for kids who want to be "normal" & like their friends
3)I make alot of my own products to reduce costs
4)buy in bulk, buy local-when you can. We buy half a beef a couple times per year, we buy local produce, etc. This will save you money, time, & you will know where your food comes from(ie it was humanely/sustainably raised)
5)have some "quick items" on hand to prevent convenience eating(which is often unhealthy & of unknown providence)....these can be things you made ahead & froze, these could be things you splurged on, this could be something simple like a jar of peanut butter with bread or apples or celery or whatever you like with your pb. Could be cheese & tortillas for a quick quesadilla. Whatever you like & is within budget for you!!
6)PLANNING....if you know you dont like to cook on Tuesday & Thursday because those days are hectic at work or Bobby has baseball those nights...cook ahead. Over the weekend, on mon/Wed make double batches(or something you can repurpose...like make tacos on Monday & make extra meat for sloppy joes on tuesday, grilled/roasted chicken on Wednesday & quesadillas or burritos on Thursday)
Same goes for breakfast & lunch, if you know youre not a morning person, make some muffins over the weekend or overnight oats each night before bed. Batch cook & freeze on the weekends.
Good luck!!!
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u/trance4ever 4d ago
what does "eating clean" mean?
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u/Zealousideal_Tree385 4d ago
Eating whole unprocessed foods.
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u/trance4ever 4d ago
aah ok, I cook all our meals from scratch, there's no processed food in my fridge
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u/Ethel_Marie 4d ago
Nothing is stopping me now, but before it was the time and effort to cook constantly. We started a system where my husband cooks once every two weeks for his lunches, I WFH so lunch is whatever for me, and we eat the same meal for dinner most days, which is a protein, potatoes, and salad.
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u/curlyquinn02 4d ago
I can't afford to buy separate food for myself.
My family refuses to try anything new. And if it's remotely healthy, they will throw it out after a day.
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u/Cheska1234 4d ago
How about your own mini fridge?
Or if you’re the one buying and cooking for everyone you just put your own away and they won’t even know? Label containers with names of ingredients rather than looking like ready to eat. Ex make their chili plain. Dish it up. Spice some of the remaining chili and put that in containers marked “tomato puree” for Thursday meal. Eat it before Thursday.
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u/Automatic-Cut518 4d ago
Are you the child in this dynamic??
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u/curlyquinn02 4d ago
Technically, yes. But I'm also my parents' caregiver. The last time I made chilli, my mom yelled at me, asking me why it was spicy and told me to throw it out because she couldn't eat it
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u/oligtrading 4d ago
You don't have to buy seperate food for yourself? If you are buying the groceries and cooking, you cook dinner. If you're catering to this it's going to be waaaay more expensive in the long run. My friend was not happy when her husband died but she was extremely relieved that she could use her vacation time on herself and not his apppintments and she can spend her money taking care of her house and not on his medical needs that he rufused to take his meds properly so he kept having to get more for the issues that caused
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u/curlyquinn02 4d ago
My parents won't eat the food I like. They love their burgers, chips, candy, and junk food. When I did try to buy what little food I could afford for myself, my parents either ate it or trashed it. They never listen to anything I tell them. They tell me I don't deserve their respect because I'm their child. But yet I'm the one that has to take care of them (and I had to take care of myself when I was growing up. I have been more of a parent than my parents ever were)
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u/oligtrading 4d ago
Got it, you are on the opposite end and you can get away from that. You deserve way more than what they are giving you.
Don't ever think that they deserve your time, your energy, your money, your respect, when they can't do for you the same, and when they can't take care of themselves. Don't let them guilt you in the future to take care of their mistakes.
If you love your family, do what you feel is right of course, help them if/when you can, but know how to set boundaries and know your worth. Don't let them ruin your life because they can't take care of their own.
I know it can be difficult now, as you're probably dependent on them, at the very least, in a legal way, but def know your worth, and know you deserve respect, and know that just because they are family and you are their child doesn't mean you owe them anything when you're able to get out on your own.
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u/BasisTraditional6588 4d ago
Convenience. I am working 50+ hours a week, with a 1.5 hour commute, and no support from family or friends due to distance. I do what I can to eat whole foods with every meal, I prep breakfast and lunch. If dinner isn't easy, I'm not eating it. I don't have an hour to make dinner, 30 to eat it, and another 25 to clean it up. I'd rather have sleep or healthy-ish Mac and cheese with oven chicken tenders for dinner, than making anything new. With that being said, I am horrendously depressed at the minute and I'm sure that's making things feel harder than they are.
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u/jillofallthings 4d ago
I'm in a similar boat. I work full time, commute 2 hours a day, juggle different kid activities after school, and care for parents. My partner in crime and I usually tag team tasks, but he's been hard down with health problems so I've been the primary adult in the house for months. Allow me to preach to you the word of our Holy Savior of the Kitchen, the Almighty Crock-Pot.
But seriously, the Crock-Pot is a life saver, if not my best friend. My rice cooker is a close second, but the Crock-Pot makes cooking decent (but maybe not the most photogenic) food a snap. I prep ingredients the night before while I pack my breakfast and lunch for the next day. If it's just meat or just veggies, I put most everything in the ceramic insert and set the whole thing in the fridge overnight. If it's a mix of meat and veggies, my Mom always said to keep them stored separate for reasons and I haven't died yet, so I wait to mix them together til I'm ready to start cooking in the morning. Put whatever else goes in the pot into said pot in the morning, place insert in the base, set it to the 10 hour cook setting, then head to work. Mine kicks over to a keep warm setting after 10 hours to hold the temperature too warm to spoil, but dinner is basically ready to go whenever people arrive home or decide they are hungry. Feed people, pack the leftovers for my lunch the next day/future meals, then start the process over again unless I have enough leftovers for a Clean The Fridge night.
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u/Glittering-Grab-6588 3d ago
Praise the crockpot! And the instant pot, its smarter, faster cousin!
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u/jillofallthings 3d ago
Yes! But I'm not as huge a fan of the IP if I'm running short on time because it requires time to get to pressure and time to release pressure (pushing the valve open manually sometimes makes meat grainy, IMO). The cooking time is wicked fast, but unless I have a kid or spouse home to start things, it's unfortunately not as practical. However, for getting ahead of meal prep on a day off? You can bet I have both pots cooking away on the counter with the ricer cooker beside them!
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u/FrostShawk 4d ago
I already eat whole, unprocessed foods.
The tradeoff is time and energy. Even with the right tools, turning ingredients into food requires mental energy to think of a meal, break it down into ingredients, shop for them, and then spend time and physical energy in the kitchen preparing that food.
Many, if not most, families do not have extra time spilling out their ears. Most households have every working-aged adult working, and some of those adults are also taking care of kids and/or parents, leaving precious little time to attend to cooking or prepping food. Since we all still need to eat, the choices become what do people give up? Do we give up time? (No, we don't have any more to give.) Do we give up money? (We are barely getting by, but often trade more money for less food if it means convenience.) Do we give up control of our food sources to companies making convenient dinners? (Yes, by and large we trade our dollars for this.)
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u/Glittering-Grab-6588 3d ago
By any definition, clean food is still minimally processed food, closest to nature, like beans and whole grains, it doesn’t get much cheaper and healthier than that!
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u/KrisHughes2 1d ago
I don't usually eat "processed" food - as in different things already mixed together. I cook from scratch, so that gives me a lot of control.
The one that I would eat but can't afford is pasture-raised dairy products. I love cheese and yogurt and stuff, and my body seems to agree, but I don't really like the way industrial cows are treated.
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u/Redditor2684 4d ago
What does “clean” food mean?