How much money do you spend on food per day?

[InquilineKea]

I don't have much tolerance for hunger, so I can often eat 4-5 bags of 1-lb vegetables per day (each at $1.50-2/lb).

[drewab]

About $15 Canadian or $12 US per day.

[Dean Pomerleau]

Tough to say, but I estimate spending in the neighborhood of $20-30 per day on food, depending on the season. 

[Gordo]

A lot of the plant based diet promoters say you will save money on said diet, some of my coworkers observed my "ridiculous" lunches and asked how much it costs to eat that way.  So the curiosity got to me, and one day I sat down and actually meticulously calculated the cost of a few of my typical  meals.  Here is one example:

 

Food + Cost  $

Golden Flax Seed - Organic, 1 Tbsp (10 g)

0.06

Healthworks - Chia Seeds, 0.5 Tbsp (6g)

0.05

Spices - Black Pepper (Ground), 0.25 tsp

0.02

Turmeric - Ground Turmeric, 1.5 tsp

0.07

Sweet Potato, boiled In Skin 130 g

0.11

Lemon Juice (Squeezed) - Juice From 1 Lemon, 0.5 Lemon (squeezed)

0.17

Cocoa, 0.5 Tbsp (5g)

0.04

Deluxe Mixed Nuts, 0.5 oz.(28g) 1/4 cup

0.20

Walnuts - Walnuts (Raw), 1 tablespoon

0.12

Dandelion greens - Raw, 0.5 cup, chopped

0.00

Glory Foods - Seasoned Southren Style Collard Greens, 0.5 cup

0.32

Peppers - Sweet, red, raw, 1Pepper

0.10

Generic - Yellow Pepper raw, 1 Pepper

0.10

Barley Usda - Organic Barley,hulled, 1/4 cup dry, 46g

0.13

Black Beans, 0.38 cup

0.12

Red Onion, 1/4 Cup

0.10

Red Raspberries, 3/8 cup

0.40

Strawberries, 6 medium strawberries (147g)

0.40

Haas - Whole Avocado , 1 avocado (150g)

0.67

Carrots - Baby, raw, 2 large

0.05

Fresh - Crimini Mushrooms, 0.2 cup

0.09

Total Cost = $3.32

Calories = 972

 

So around $7/day for me if I were to eat two meals with comparable cost to this one.  My porridge based meals cost less than this however, so I'd say I average maybe $6/day.  I can get very affordable produce where I live.

 

[Macropodus]

USD $2.24

 

an 8 pound bag of sweet potato costs $4.48

 

for the last 5 weeks I have been consuming 1/2 a bag per day, i.e. 4 pounds, divid up into 8 meals x 1/2 pound per meal = ~1,500 calories 

 

grazing every 2 hours --- that's the only way I could do it, a standard 3 meal per day diet would be impossible for me 

[Gordo]

Is that supposed to be an attempt at the Okinawan "potato" diet?     By the way they ate purple potatoes.  But seriously, why would you eat a boring mono-diet?  Its not just boring, it's also not likely very good for your body.  And also for the record, in addition to sweet potatoes, the Okinawan diet was rich in fresh vegetables, fruits, soy and fish with overall low protein (9% of calories) according to Willcox et al., 2006. 

[Macropodus]

No it's not supposed to be an attempt at the Okinawan "potato" diet. I seriously eat a boring mono-diet because I want to.

[mccoy]

I'm going to calculate an average day now, it may be less when I eat less, more when I eat something extravagant

 

 

400 grams fresh fruit= 0.8 Euros

100 grams almond+hazelnuts= 1.6 Euros

500 grams organic yogurt=2.5 Euros

50 grams 85% chocolate= 0.75 Euros

500 grams vegetables= 1 Euro

40 grams EVOO=0.25 Euros

60 grams cheese= 0.8 Euros

15 grams walnuts= 0.3 Euros

Vinegar, pepper, spices: 0.15 Euros

Bread, honey small amounts=0.15 Euros

 

Total average day: 8.3 Euros= 9.7=about 10 US$

[Sthira]

When fasting, I spend zero.

[mccoy]

When fasting, I spend zero.

 

LOL, then permanent fasting would be undoubtedly the best money-saving strategy. On the other side, whatever there is beyond death, we won't need money anyway.

[Sthira]

 

When fasting, I spend zero.

LOL, then permanent fasting would be undoubtedly the best money-saving strategy. On the other side, whatever there is beyond death, we won't need money anyway.

Haha, yeah... But regular fasting most definitely does save cash. And if you grow your own, well that's thrifty, too. And it's interesting that you bring to attention "...whatever there is beyond death..." because coincidently I've been listening to YouTube testimonials about people who've gone through near death experiences. Many of their accounts are fascinating, and they seem to be something of a subculture that I hadn't known about before checking out. After listening to hours of many different NDE speeches, one bit of joy stands out for me: nearly to a person all NDErrrs have said they'd rather have stayed dead. That is, the dead body left behind was less preferable than this new simulation of being into which they found themselves.

 

Their ideas have made me dig down and question why do I even want a long healthy life? Maybe by pursuing increased longevity we're just delaying an inevitable "life-simulation somewhere else" that's even better than this earthly simulation? Now I see virtual eyes rolling around in skinny heads, haha, so....

[mccoy]

 

 

....

Their ideas have made me dig down and question why do I even want a long healthy life? Maybe by pursuing increased longevity we're just delaying an inevitable "life somewhere else" that's even better than this earthly thing? Now I see virtual eyes rolling around in skinny heads, haha, so....

 

 

That's exactly one of my recurring thoughts. Actually, life became almost boring to me. Sometimes I think I would not mind to die soon. Reasonings based on logic and probability would suggest that there might be some other reality beyond death, not just annihilation. My reasoned belief is that over there there might be adventure.

However, these healthy obsessions like pursuing health and longevity make earthly life more lively. Also, many of us have duties. The longer I live, the better I can serve people who need me. Last but not least, our efforts may just increase the probability to live longer , with no certainty to avoid a premature death. On the other side, prolonging healthspan gives an added value to whatever length of time we are going to spend here.

[Sthira]

 

 

 

....

Their ideas have made me dig down and question why do I even want a long healthy life? Maybe by pursuing increased longevity we're just delaying an inevitable "life somewhere else" that's even better than this earthly thing? Now I see virtual eyes rolling around in skinny heads, haha, so....

That's exactly one of my recurring thoughts. Actually, life became almost boring to me. Sometimes I think I would not mind to die soon.

Yeah I've kinda reached this point of disappointment caught here as I am, wedged, stuck, clogged between complicated beginnings and complicated endings followed by more beginnings and endings, and more on and on, over and over, up down left right in out caught trapped, and I'm just kind of losing interest in the simulation -- if that's what we're encased within, some goddamned computer game thanks to the malevolent or indifferent programmer-gods or whatever -- and I'm not quite sure there's anything we can do. Hope? Hope technology will save us? AGI? Breathe deeply and be grateful for the lives we get? Maybe I'll drop everything and go work in Mother Theresa's ghetto kitchens, or join the Peace Corps -- but even those, even "serving others..." go help the beautiful African kids, even working in the sewers of Calcutta seems ultimately useless since those kids helped end up twisted into sad aging hurt people, too, mostly poor and miserable, without clean water access on and on and I know these are sweeping generalizations, and I'm a stupid privileged westerner with first world, lower middle class mundane issues, but even whoever we "help" (whatever "help" even means, it's such a loaded and subjective concept anyway) even those we seek "help" (ignore patriarchy for one second please) even they must suffer and die -- randomly.

 

God I should shut up and not post another of my ridiculous rants here on this nice smart site about healthy eating... what is the topic here in this thread again? Food and money? Oh yeah sorry y'all

 

Reasonings based on logic and probability would suggest that there might be some other reality beyond death, not just annihilation.

Yes, I too hope there is some reality beyond death, the YouTube NDE speeches are helpful, at least to me, hopeful, and we dream of a reality that's less selfish and rigged than this one, a reality where everyone and everything gets to do and feel and be and become whatever they want to do and feel and be and become because, well, that would be a better reality than this shit. And that ain't happening for all of us here on planet earth. Some get it, of course. But I suppose with an estimated billion billion google planets out there (or whatever) that there are potentially good places here in this universe where life is mostly sweet and kind and about love for all and friendliness and it's devoid of unnecessary greed and hateful stupidity.

[Dean Pomerleau]

Sthira,

 

I'm just kind of losing interest in the simulation -- if that's what we're encased within, some goddamned computer game thanks to the malevolent or indifferent programmer-gods or whatever -- and I'm not quite sure there's anything we can do. Hope? Hope technology will save us? AGI? Breathe deeply and be grateful for the lives we get? 

 

I get it. What's the point? 

 

 Maybe by pursuing increased longevity we're just delaying an inevitable "life-simulation somewhere else" that's even better than this earthly simulation? Now I see virtual eyes rolling around in skinny heads, haha, so.... 

 

No eye rolling from me. As you know, I take this stuff quite seriously. The NDE folks might be right, and there may be a reality beyond this one where things are better and we live on as individuated consciousnesses. I really do think NDEs, OBEs and hallucinogenic trips, extremely realistic dreams (lucid or otherwise) and schizophrenia are all evidence that there is another level of reality and that some form of Mind is the creator of it. 

 

But I'm also pretty skeptical that NDEs and those other, relatively common altered states have got the big picture right. My intuition tells me that altered states demonstrate the creative power of our minds - i.e. our ability to create vivid and realistic worlds in our head. And I do I think our entire world is a creation in the head of Another, much more powerful mind than our own. But as you've observed, it's far from clear this Other/Creator has a whole lot of regard for us as individuals. 

 

This makes me think that folks like Ramana Maharshi, or even Tony Parsons (video) probably have it right, or are at least closer to the Truth than those NDE/OBE/LSD folks who say something different. There ultimately is no separate Self, either here in the world as we commonly experience it or especially at whatever level is above or beyond this one. There is just an oceanic Oneness, without individuation, and therefore probably without consciousness as we know it, as a first-person experience of a here and now. 

 

So checking out of this reality in hopes of continuing on in another, better one is a very risky gamble which seems very unlikely to pay off, unless one's life is truly below David Pearce's "Hedonic Zero" and (importantly) is almost certain to remain that way until its natural conclusion.

 

Given all the options open to us moderns for extricating ourselves from such an undesirable state, including service to others, finding one's "passion" (be it artistic creation/expression, entrepreneurship, hobbies etc), a wide variety of pharmacological interventions, religious, spiritual and meditative practices, etc, "checking out" does not seem like a rational choice, until and unless one has actually given each of these reversible therefore less radical alternatives a good college try and still found each of them ineffective at alleviating one's suffering and existential angst.

 

--Dean