7 Ways to Eat Healthy on a Budget

 

 

The following are 7 Ways to Eat Good on a Budget. But the bottom line, always remember, is this: we can pay now or pay later (in suffering, doctor bills, etc.) when it comes to our dietary discipline and food choices.

 

1. Choose Produce Not Packages: People think eating healthy is about buying a lot of expensive boxes and packages of processed foods -- but that isn't the case at all. The cheapest, most nutrient-dense foods in a grocery store live in the produce aisle. Fresh vegetables and fresh fruits.

 

2. Cook Big and Save Some for Later: Cooking meals in large batches and freezing the leftovers for later in the week, or month, can save you a lot of time and money. Instead of buying fast food or eating out at restaurants, or even cooking a full meal every time you get hungry, it's way more cost effective, time-saving and healthy for you to pull something out of the freezer and warm it up than it is to wash/chop/slice/boil/bake/wait in line/wait to be served.

 

3. Soup Up Your Options: Large vegetable soups over brown rice or whole grain noodles pack in vitamins and nutrients, fill you up, and are easy to make and delicious. Add beans, canned tuna, etc... Going totally meatless a couple of times a week (or for good) also helps your budget and gives your palate a variety to enjoy. Frozen veggies, which are inexpensive, work great in soups.

 

4. Make a Plan and See Where The Values Are: Make eating healthy a priority in terms of how we spend the resources we have. Makes no sense to be fronting like a rich person on the outside, but being in poor health on the inside, right?

 

5. Season Your Food: Eat fruits and vegetables that are in season, that is! Otherwise you'll be paying a much higher price. Also, eating foods that are current in their natural growing season can help strengthen your immune system for that season. Seasonal fruits can be frozen and blended to smoothies. Frozen vegetables also can be used to make a stir fry. They're convenient and they don't spoil quickly like fresh fruits and veggies.

 

6. Join a Co-op or Local Community Garden: In exchange for your minimal volunteer work hours per month, you get your groceries at co-op members-only prices. Same thing goes for community gardens. And not only that you get to learn a WHOLE lot about nutrition and health being in that kind of environment.

 

7. Drink More Water: Many times when we think we are hungry, it may be actually a sign of thirst. Bottled water getting too expensive? Get a basic filter for your tap, some for as low as $20 bucks. We don't even know it, but when we are drinking enough water it curbs our appetite so we don't overeat. Drinking water also saves us money on all the sugary drinks on the market.

 

Summary

In summary, the main thing to remember for eating good on a budget is that it is doable!



Choices, oh what do I choose!

(in the middle of the road, a choice is to be made)

 

 

 

It has been said, "It is a truly blessed thing, being a man/woman with choices". When it's written so simplified and basic, it becomes obvious that we have all been blessed with choices and every day brings new choices.

 

Today, I choose life. Every morning when I wake up, I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain.... To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices - today I choose to feel life, and embrace it.

 

There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept responsibility for changing them.

 

As a child, my family consisted of two choices: take it or leave it. 

 

If you are not happy with the way things are, then change them.  If you are not satisfied with your phone service, then change service providers.  It sounds simple because it is simple.  Action is required.

 

Choices also apply when deciding on what to feed the body for nourishment. It is not easy to find yourself in the middle of the road when making healthier eating choices on the go. My easy solution is to incorporate the good with the not so good. If you must have food from the right-side-of-the-road menu, include or incorporate some of the food from the left-side-of-the-road menu with it.  A burger (animal protein) is ok every once in a while, but by adding fruits and vegetables with that burger can boost its nutrient count and properly satisfy and fill you up.  …and it taste so good.

 

Your diet is a bank account. Good food choices are good investments.

 

The best part of eating nature’s foods on the go is that most of nature’s foods usually come already pre-packed and ready to go.  The choice is then which fruit or veggie to nibble on. Instead of a sugary beverage, choose plain ol' water. At least the body will thank you for the natural hydration opposed to the liver and kidney punch of sugar and artificial flavoring & coloring.

 

Embrace the infinite world of choices, because without them, we would simply be photocopies and drones, in a void of diversity.  Make the right choices for yourself as you are an individual, but keep in mind, some choices may be hazardous to your health. ...again, I choose life!