Those Costco sealed pack comes at a premium, and yes they’re really expensive for what it is. Used to be you could buy a huge pack of like 12 drum sticks for around 80-120nt at the Carrefour hypermarket (not the neighborhood stores), but those days are gone with everything going up in price…
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Shop at a wet market. Way cheaper, better quality, better selection than PX Mart and Carrefour. I tend to get larger bags of things like bell peppers, most of it goes into a pot and i hold a few back for other dishes
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Make large pots of soups and stews, and freeze it. I take half my work lunches, and the odd dinner at home on a busy day is things cooked weeks ago
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Find a good teppanyaki restaurant
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If you’re a meat eater, and have a Costco nearby, get a membership
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Explore different wholesale shops that supply restaurants and import products. I go to different places for different things. One place has lentils, another place has cheap tomato puree and parma cheese
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Look for sales. As a general rule I try not to pay full retail price for anything unless I really want it. Stocking up on non perishables is also good in case of emergency (like covid developments or Chinese blockade). Just remember to check the expiry date
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Most if the meat you’re eating at those places is the lowest quality, expired, frozen then thawed and frozen and thawed again, frozen when not sold and sold off in bulk to companies that repackage it and sell it on again. Have fun!
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…and eat less. Most people eat out of habit and not because they really need to.
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Healthier and cheaper!
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i think we use the same system 
, its just a question of taste preference and choosing recipes that freeze well or strech longer.
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I mean if you want it to be healthy, cheap, easy to prep and taste good, its kind of an oxymoron. Also I would highly recommend weight training or some form of exercise to build muscle.
Discipline separates men from boys.
Dude wants healthy eating tips. No need to go all Nietzsche on him.
I agree @Taiwan_Luthiers dupermarket prices are criminally high, as no real competition, one thing I’ve noticed in Taipei no retailers or market sellers compete on price? Why not?
Taiwanese live in thinking world of expensive is Hao all I can say is wake up and see the world you dozy fuckers.
Why is rice and home grown fruit soooo much more than imported ? I can buy imported Mangoes in U.K. for half the price of Taiwan home grown. Rice from India a quarter of cost to Taiwan home grown.
No not imported from Taiwan but does the fuck it matter where they come from 5000+ Km away flown or shipped still a lot cheaper.
Weirdly, milk, yogurt and cheese is expensive and for good reason but Butter is competitive pricing with rest of the world, how does that work?
I totally agree! I buy all my protein for a week for under $200 (I’m vegetarian) from an old lady close to Jianguo Market. I usually buy veggies at RT-Mart and buy several units of whatever is in season/sale and freeze them.
If you are close to Myanmar street, you can get a box of cooked chickpeas or black rice for just $20. 
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Where do you your fruit? Fruit that is in season is incredibly cheap and fresh in Taiwan. Unless you are buying it at Jason’s or other ridiculously expensive places.
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Compared to American prices fruit is cheap in Taiwan.
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Taiwanese are not known for eating lots of veggies on their lunchbox, mostly rice to fill.
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groceries here are indeed more expensive. that is ,unfortunately, what healthier means. restaraunts buy based on price, but quality or health concerns. if a person eats out at healthy restaraunts with clean, organic, free range etc food suppliers, the restaraunt will be far more expensive than buying said quality of groceries.
I think a big mistake many of us make is comparing the lowest quality food sources (eg cheap restaraunt suppliers) compared to higher quality groceries. like asking why the shitty chinese made chair from ikea breaks sooner than the handmade one made by yourself.
in my opinion, health should be an investment. there is not much of a pension.scheme in Taiwan unless you are a government or high paid company worker. NHI isnt all that great for serious stuff. so it’s probably cheaper long run to prevent disease and health issues than pay to fix them when old. food is a large part of this.
if you have the money, buy a deep freeze. making frozen meals has changed my health more than any other tool after a heat generating one. you can get them for free sometimes, ours was free. join groups online.
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perhaps. milk and yogurt are new here and have very short shelf lives. makes sense those are cheap. cheese has a longer shelf.life, but again it’s not an old tradition here. butter lasts ages and traditionally Taiwanese have cooked with heavy oils and fats forever, so there is a massive market here for it (compared to the others). I bet shelf life + widespread acceptance are the 2 reasons for butter being cheap and cheese, milk, yogurt etc being expensive. thiugh a tub of decent tasting.sugar free yogurt here is $3~4 cdn. it was about the same price in canada last time I was there.
Yogurt has a pretty long shelf life.
Not really, but ghee (clarified butter) does however.
Pork lard, chicken, duck and goose fat, which are actually ‘healthy’ options.
realy? all the stuff I have seen at PC mart is a month or so. butter is more like half year plus. they could be shit brands though, I have no idea about those products .
Tell me where you buy yours and I will do factual price comparison with U.K. fruit prices. Do get smitten by the 100nt fruit baskets! 100nt is not small change.
US$3.30 U.K. £2.73 U.K.
imported pineapple & Mango
Supermarket price cheaper on U.K. fruit markets average 10nt saving work that out
In the 1° drawer butter basically lasts forever. Butter is fine at room temp for ages.
OP - Try the wet markets in small towns outside of Taipei. Apples, tangerines, guavas, bananas, avocadoes all super cheap. Think 10nt for the apples that cost 45nt in Taipei. Vegetables are the same way. Giant bell peppers, four for 50nt. I’ll try to get some pics tomorrow if I go.