Good food is not luxury in retirement — it is preventive maintenance for the body

[Onda]

One thing I increasingly notice in retirement is how much real food quality costs once you stop buying by habit and start buying by standard. Truly good ingredients—especially certain foods where freshness and source matter—can become surprisingly expensive, yet they also feel like one of the few expenses that directly affect daily health and long-term well-being.

For example, I realized that for just one category of food alone, I spend roughly $400 a month. Why are some foods expensive—is it scarcity, labor, transport, freshness, regulation, or simply that truly high-quality production cannot be industrialized cheaply?

 

[engineernerd]

Staying away from the processed stuff can be done fairly cheaply, and I hope that wins 90% of the battle. Organic does cost more, as does home-grown (when you are scrupulously honest about it).

In my experience, growing your own food is an education in why organic costs more, and a sometime source of suspicion about how they get those strawberries looking as good as they do

 

[TheWizard]

In year 13 of retirement, I don't worry too much about price but I appreciate when a good bargain presents itself.
I make no pretensions about excessively healthy food, hence a BK Whopper Jr with extra jalapenos hit the spot for lunch a few days ago.

A week ago, I bought several spicy dishes from a nearby Sichuan Gourmet, which made for several good meals!

I'm thinking of making seared sea scallops for dinner on Monday and on Wednesday I'll swing by a new favorite place in Worcester for some good oysters:

 

[NW-Bound]

Money aside, what's good for one's taste buds may not be good for his health, and vice versa.

 

[TheWizard]

Money aside, what's good for one's taste buds may not be good for his health, and vice versa.

Probably true, but at my age, it's too late to switch over to a kale and quinoa diet...

 

[TheWizard]

Sichuan Gourmet in Billerica is one of my favorites.

But in my case, it is seafood bought directly from a wholesaler that costs me an arm and a leg.

I've bought from both the Billerica and Burlington locations, depending.

For fresh seafood for one or two people, I just go to Market Basket. Two weeks ago I got a fresh cod loin for $15/lb which I thought was a bit high but I wasn't to be denied.
Live lobster is also $15/lb presently but that price could be coming down in weeks ahead.
Sea scallops are pricy as well but it's been a while and they're quick&easy to cook...

 

[Mark1]

sometime source of suspicion about how they get those strawberries looking as good as they do

+1, although I spend the money. I love strawberries, but I only buy organic.

My neighbor puts up a road sign selling organic peaches every year. I really doubt they are organic.

Currently eating leftovers of a wheat crust pizza wondering how much roundup is present. Oh wait, I remember recently reading the following article which implies that wheat is very safe.

The truth about Roundup in wheat

Hi. My name is Jordan, and I grew up on a wheat farm. Now I work for Kansas Wheat at my dream job that I never knew I had. I eat wheat, I've rolled around in wheat, eaten the berries straight from the field, I've ridden in combines, even driven one (I wasn't very good), and I have constructed...

kswheat.com

 

[Jerry1]

The one thing that me and DW realize is that there's tremendous value in being willing to cook at home. Simple example, I can buy a prime steak and cook it at home for less than $20lb. Go out and eat that with taxes and tip, and it's going to get near $100. I can make burgers at home for $6lb. That will yield three 1/3lb burgers. Go out and buy a lesser quality burger at a fast food joint and it will cost $5 and a good burger at a bar will be closer to $15. It goes on and on. Learn to cook and buy the best ingredients you can afford and you'll eat way better than eating at a restaurant and do it for a lot less.

 

[Al18]

Went out to a local Irish pub last night. Good prices, $3 draft beer and live entertainment - the place was packed.

 

[NW-Bound]

Probably true, but at my age, it's too late to switch over to a kale and quinoa diet...

Quinoa is very good carb, compared to bread. And I also like the taste. Its low glycemic index relative to other carbs helps keep my blood glucose in the good range.

I eat quinoa salad for lunch often, and perhaps it's too good I have to dilute out its goodness with cubed ham or salami.

 

[TheWizard]

The one thing that me and DW realize is that there's tremendous value in being willing to cook at home. Simple example, I can buy a prime steak and cook it at home for less than $20lb. Go out and eat that with taxes and tip, and it's going to get near $100. I can make burgers at home for $6lb. That will yield three 1/3lb burgers. Go out and buy a lesser quality burger at a fast food joint and it will cost $5 and a good burger at a bar will be closer to $15. It goes on and on. Learn to cook and buy the best ingredients you can afford and you'll eat way better than eating at a restaurant and do it for a lot less.

I basically agree and I cook a lot of relatively simple recipes at home.

But there are some recipes/dishes/cuisines that are either too complicated or or too hard to replicate the flavor properly that I tend to use restaurants for, either eat-in or takeout. Examples:
Fried clams
Sushi
Indian cuisine
Most Sichuan cuisine...

 

[NW-Bound]

The one thing that me and DW realize is that there's tremendous value in being willing to cook at home. Simple example, I can buy a prime steak and cook it at home for less than $20lb. Go out and eat that with taxes and tip, and it's going to get near $100. I can make burgers at home for $6lb. That will yield three 1/3lb burgers. Go out and buy a lesser quality burger at a fast food joint and it will cost $5 and a good burger at a bar will be closer to $15. It goes on and on. Learn to cook and buy the best ingredients you can afford and you'll eat way better than eating at a restaurant and do it for a lot less.

We eat less as we age. More and more, I find the pleasure of food in the cooking as much as the eating. Trying to make different international dishes is a lot of fun. Adana kebab with sumac, anyone? Grilled rolls of beef-filled grape leaves?

My niece married a 2nd generation Belarussian. For a Thanskgiving pot luck dinner, I made Uzbek beef plov, just by watching lots of Youtube. He said it was so good, and just like his mother made it.

 

[audreyh1]

One thing I increasingly notice in retirement is how much real food quality costs once you stop buying by habit and start buying by standard. Truly good ingredients—especially certain foods where freshness and source matter—can become surprisingly expensive, yet they also feel like one of the few expenses that directly affect daily health and long-term well-being.

For example, I realized that for just one category of food alone, I spend roughly $400 a month. Why are some foods expensive—is it scarcity, labor, transport, freshness, regulation, or simply that truly high-quality production cannot be industrialized cheaply?

We always bought good quality food, and we continued in retirement. It was always OK if the grocery expenses were high. Now that we eat exclusively at home unless traveling, and our meals are made from scratch, it’s even higher, but that’s OK because it’s a priority. We avoid most prepackaged foods and junk food, and carefully read labels.

And cooking is a fun hobby for me, especially outdoor cooking. What We’re Smoking (or Grilling, or Curing)!

 

[Car-Guy]

We probably spend $750+ mo just on food. 50% cooked at home and 50% eating out. (Lot's of junk food in-between) Never consider what's good for us and what's not and never look at the prices. If we like it, we buy it.

Life's to short. And yes I know, it will probably be shorter based on our eating habits.

 

[TripleLindy]

The one thing that me and DW realize is that there's tremendous value in being willing to cook at home. Simple example, I can buy a prime steak and cook it at home for less than $20lb. Go out and eat that with taxes and tip, and it's going to get near $100. I can make burgers at home for $6lb. That will yield three 1/3lb burgers. Go out and buy a lesser quality burger at a fast food joint and it will cost $5 and a good burger at a bar will be closer to $15. It goes on and on. Learn to cook and buy the best ingredients you can afford and you'll eat way better than eating at a restaurant and do it for a lot less.

Wow - where are you getting prime steaks for under $20/lb?! Prime filet is around $40/lb here. Maybe more now, as we’ve been avoiding red meat.

But I’m 100% in agreement on cooking at home. We control all of the ingredients and each dish is prepared to our liking. Everything tastes better and is less than 1/2 of what we’d spend at a restaurant. And we can enjoy wine or cocktails without worrying about the drive home.

 

[audreyh1]

Once I learned to properly grill steaks, which are super easy and quick, I almost never order them at a restaurant. We certainly don’t go out to have steaks. Pretty much only occasionally order steak when traveling, particularly overseas as some regions are famous for their beef dishes.

 

[engineernerd]

We probably spend $750+ mo just on food. 50% cooked at home and 50% eating out. (Lot's of junk food in-between) Never consider what's good for us and what's not and never look at the prices. If we like it, we buy it.

Life's to short. And yes I know, it will probably be shorter based on our eating habits.

You may be too young yet (biological age) to have experienced actual symptoms tied to lifestyle choices. I developed embarrassing edema in my 50s due to an excessively sedentary lifestyle that went on for about 2 years. Ick, though at least it didn't hurt.

 

[Jerry1]

Wow - where are you getting prime steaks for under $20/lb?! Prime filet is around $40/lb here. Maybe more now, as we’ve been avoiding red meat.

Costco has prime ribeyes for $20lb. Maybe not the absolute best prime, but they’re mighty tasty.

 

[Flyfish1]

We are blessed to live near the ocean so local seafood is easy. Oysters at my seafood shack had a recent price increase. Went from 99 cents each all the way to $1.00 each! Outrageous! Needless to say I complained to management. Also, thinking of getting a license to set lobster traps.

DW loves black cod/sable which is a west coast fish. So, every few months I splurge and have it shipped from Alaska. Super good for you. Buy Alaska Seafood Online | Alaska Gold Seafood Not cheap but it's healthy and delicious and I hate kale which grows in abundance in our community garden...ugghh. We eat local vegetables all summer from our garden and a nearby farm stand. However, I must say that the farm stands and especially the tomatoes in western NJ were the absolute best. Shoreline CT struggles a bit. ( don't even get me started about the bagels in CT..)

DW is a great cook and does very well with Indian cuisine and vegetarian dishes as well as all the basics. Steering away a bit from red meat, especially when the kids visit as one daughter has contacted alpha- gal syndrome. Very bizarre , but very real. About Alpha-gal Syndrome

 

[FD1000]

It’s really about moderation rather than extremes.

You can eat well without spending a fortune. But if you insist on the “best” or on something sourced from a specific region, you may end up paying three times as much.

The same idea applies to electronics. You can get a good smartphone for around $300, but if you’re in a cult and must have only an iPhone, you’ll likely pay three times as much.

BTW, I’ve known several people who lived into their 90s. When I asked their secret, most gave the same answer: moderation in everything.

 

[athena53]

I'm single, rarely eat out and my groceries are running about $500/month. Most of my groceries come from Costco. That amount excludes alcohol and includes very few cleaning products (I have a cleaning lady) but does include supplements, which can get pricey. My diet is mostly vegetables, yogurt and lean proteins.

So, yeah, that diet is expensive. Yesterday I was near a higher-priced local chain and wanted to get tofu, which I haven't been able to find lately at Costco or my regular grocery store. It was $6.99 (plus tax) for a 10.8-ounce carton, which works out to about $10/lb. with tax. I just checked the on-line fliers at my usual grocery store and I can get a boneless quarter ham, lunch meat and hot dogs for less per pound. Of course most come with more fat, more sodium and, in the case of lunch meat preservatives. Ramen is probably still cheap but it's a fat and calorie bomb. I buy Great Grains bread- wonderfully loaded with sprouts, seeds and texture but $8 to $9 per loaf.

If I were determined to eat as well as I do now on a budget I'd have to shop a lot harder for specials and probably buy more pork and chicken and less seafood (shrimp is my only real splurge in that category) but I bet I still couldn't get it below $400 unless I started cutting out protein powder and supplements.

 

[Car-Guy]

You may be too young yet (biological age) to have experienced actual symptoms tied to lifestyle choices. I developed embarrassing edema in my 50s due to an excessively sedentary lifestyle that went on for about 2 years. Ick, though at least it didn't hurt.

You tell me... I'm in my mid 70s' now.

I do have high BP, which is controlled with meds and some may say I'm a bit heavy at just over 6' and 240lbs. But like the song says, I "May not be as good as I once was, but I'm as good once, as I ever was,". At least for now!

 

[Onda]

Even Costco is expensive. I bought those today. $8+
Maybe $2 is tariffs.

 

[TripleLindy]

Once I learned to properly grill steaks, which are super easy and quick, I almost never order them at a restaurant. We certainly don’t go out to have steaks. Pretty much only occasionally order steak when traveling, particularly overseas as some regions are famous for their beef dishes.

Same here. Even at high-end steakhouses, we’re often commenting on how much better our steaks are at home.

Gotta start with prime beef and the filet is our favorite cut. A good overnight dry brine (assuming a 2”+ cut), light coating of extra virgin olive oil, and a thorough dusting of whatever rub we’re in the mood for - most often Meathead’s Big Bad Beef Rub recipe. Then a good slow smoke at 225° until internal hits 120° - usually about 45 minutes and a good time to enjoy a pre-dinner martini. I set a small pan on a grate above the steaks with a stick of butter in it, along with some herbs and garlic. The butter melts and gets some smoke infused in it and then when I pull the steaks, they rest in the pan of butter while I get the sear burner up to about 1200°. Finish with a quick sear of about 30 seconds per side. Sometimes I’ll whip up some horseradish sauce, but most often, just dive in right off the sear burner. No need to let them rest because they rested prior to the sear.

Not a steakhouse in the country that’s going to prepare a steak with more care.

 

[Winemaker]

I love cooking especially in our outdoor kitchen. I'm always trying somethig. Today I made the marinade for Chicken Inasal and it's in the fridge now with some chicken thighs (called "old people's chicken" by my DD). A Filipino dish made with annato oil, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, some limes off our tree, vinegar, and soy, it will be grilled tomorrow for dinner.

While at the grocery, there were pork ribs $1.99/lb, and some Coho salmon $7.99/lb.
Earlier in the week, we had grilled pork chops, with the last butternut squash from last year's garden and our daily handful of of fresh asparagus from the garden.

I'm a big fan of sous vide when doing steaks.