Is Eating Meat Really That Expensive?

Ditching meat is sometimes touted as an awesome way to save money on your grocery bill, but is meat really all that expensive? According to some of the popular financial blogs out there, yes.

Behind the pleas to eat a healthier diet are pleas to save money on your grocery bill (disclaimer: I’m convinced that eating a lot of meat and fat is really very healthy – for more info, check my own blood test results after eating an Atkins-type diet for 14 years).

Eat healthier and save money on groceries? What’s not to love? Not so fast. I like saving money just as much as the next guy, but I don’t want to sacrifice my health or personal values to do it. I’m also usually skeptical of faddish things, and although people have told me Atkins and “paleo” is faddish, the truth is that humans have been eating a meat and veggie diet for, like, a million years (actually, more than 1.5 million years). We survived into our 80s and didn’t die because of our diet. So, what gives? Why are we decreasing meat purchases or switching to an all vegetarian diet? Is it because it’s breaking the bank? I don’t think so.

Armed with an inquisitive mind, and a healthy dose of skepticism, I analyzed our monthly budget and went on a shopping mission. Here’s what I discovered:

• The household grocery bill never exceeds $150 per week and is often closer to $100.
• The weekly grocery bill includes 27.5 lbs of meat which feeds two people and a Mastiff/Rottweiler mix who eats a raw meat diet (not cheap, commercial dog food). It also includes plenty of green veggies like broccoli, chard, and romaine lettuce. On top of that, we also keep the kitchen stocked with plenty of sweet potatoes, rice (good for post-workout meals), and incidental items like mustard, spices – especially Indian and Asian spices – olive oil, a mason jar of lard from a local farmer (used to grease pans for cooking), or other healthy condiments (i.e. condiments without added sugar or funky ingredients like high fructose corn syrup or artificial flavorings or colors).
• Meats vary between ham, ground beef and liver, turkey, and pork. I don’t like seafood very much so I don’t eat a lot of that.
• I’m never starving. In fact, some days, I have a tough time finishing all of the food we’ve  cooked.
• I’m on a diet designed to help me gain weight (due to my weightlifting program at the gym, this is practically a necessity) so I probably eat more than your average “Joe,” given my lean body mass.
• According to nutritiondata.com, I don’t appear to be suffering from any chronic nutritional deficiency based on my food choices.
• We sometimes shop at Walmart, but some of the best food items come from Harris Teeter or Whole Foods so we aren’t always intentionally shopping for the “best deal” aka the cheapest food.
• I think the dog probably eats better than we do and has amazing vitality given his age.

It seems as though all bases are covered. As of this writing, I eat roughly 23 oz of meat every day, plus a healthy portion of green veggies, as well as several servings of starchy tuberous veggies several times a week. What’s missing? Grains. I don’t eat any wheat or cereal grains. Rice is the type of grain that I do eat on a semi-regular basis and the least nutritional food in my diet. Otherwise, it’s a very nutritionally dense diet. Aren’t I missing something? Not really.

My favorite staple, beef, is loaded with minerals and even has some vitamins mixed in there  (from nutritiondata.com):

 

nutritional info for good quality beef

 

 

beef: it’s so nutritious

 

 

for 1 oz of beef, this is loaded with minerals

 

I’ve also learned a neat little trick to get more nutritional “bang” for the buck: cut the ground beef with a few oz of liver (also a good idea if you don’t like the taste of liver – it hides nicely in the ground hamburger). It’s cheaper than muscle meat, and it’s far more nutritious per oz than beef:

 

it’s like nature’s multivitamin

 

 

…and multimineral

 

The nutritional value of sweet potatoes per 100 grams (on days that I eat these, I usually have around 1,000 grams during the day – about 3 to 4 large sweet potatoes):

sweet potatoes

I also like green veggies, but see how beef liver compares to some of the most nutrient-dense veggies like kale or spinach (comparison per oz):

 

kale

 

 

kale

 

spinach

 

 

spinach

 

…so, what nutritionists say is partially true. Green veggies are very nutrient-dense and good to eat (provided you don’t have a food sensitivity, intolerance, or outright allergy to the food), but then again so is meat. In fact, ounce for ounce, liver gives veggies a run for their money. What about the saturated fat in meat? I’m not worried about it. According to one of the world’s most prominent lipid researchers, Dr. Ronald Krauss, it’s not so bad.

Anywho, that’s how we’re able to “get away” with eating this way: we don’t eat junk food. We don’t need vitamins for the most part and we don’t spend a ridiculous amount of money on groceries. As for my health? Apparently, I’m doing just fine:

my blood test results

While my lab results showed high cholesterol, my actual risk for CHD is half the normal risk since all that animal fat also dramatically raised my HDL and my c-reactive protein is almost non-existent. Those are results that just about any doctor would be happy with, and the grocery budget is something I’m guessing most people would be comfortable with but I could be wrong.

What do you think? What does your grocery budget look like? Do you spend more or less than we do? Do you think we spend too much on groceries? Do you think health should be a consideration when making a budget? Hit me up in the comments.

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August 27th, 2012 | by David | No Comments