Many people, especially low-income earners, say they can’t afford to eat healthy. The problem is they are thinking of oranges, apples, squash, avocados…when they should be thinking of sweet potatoes, beans, quinoa, eggs, turkey, kale and fish.
Did you know that the very same nutrients found in many of the higher-priced food can also be found in the lower-priced ones?
Kale, for example, has as much vitamin C as an orange. Kale also has more vitamin A than a carrot.
You may not like kale, but read on to see how you can make it go from “YUCK!” to “YUM!”
Compare the nutritional values at http://nutritiondata.self.com/.
If you are on a shoestring budget, and that shoestring is fixing to break, here are some down and dirty ways low-income earners are having their Omni cake, and eating it too.
You ready? Let’s hit it!
They dumped cable: Kicking cable out the door can save up to and over $70 (on average). Did you know that you can watch many of your favorite TV shows on the network websites or with a Roku player or similar? There are also plenty of shows you can watch on YouTube. History, nature, science, comedy, music…they are all there waiting for you. There are even a galore of amateur videos to keep you entertained, like this amateur music video.
They shop online: The Internet has made discount shopping available to most folks. Many online vendors carry the same brands seen in grocery stores for discounted prices. But look out for pitfalls. Amazon, for example—their meats are unbelievably expensive. They Grow Some Of Their Own Food I’ve never had much of a green thumb, but my girl loves to be out digging in the dirt. We discovered an easy way to grow a small hydroponic vegetable garden together, and we are having a blast! We get to spend time together, be outside in nature, and the fresh produce we harvest is amazing! My daughter discovered that she has a real knack for gardening. It doesn’t take much space, and it’s inexpensive. Or, you can plant a traditional garden for an even smaller investment. A few dollars on seeds and soil is all you need to get started growing your own fruits, vegetables, and herbs. The rewards are tremendous and go well beyond the free healthy food you get.
They choose only a couple of vegetables: There are a garden full of different vegetables to choose from, but many of you live in an area that doesn’t have such a selection. Keep in mind that you don’t need that many choices of vegetables anyway. Of course your body would do even better with a variety, but for now it can do just nicely on just a couple. Kale and sweet potatoes are the perfect combination. If you don’t like kale, you can doctor it up with cinnamon or your favorite salsa, or apple cider vinegar with just a little bit of all-natural ghee and salt. Ghee is one of those expensive items, but you can make it last for weeks on end by using only a half of a tablespoon here and there. Since you only need 1 cup of kale to get over 100% of your RDA of vitamins A and C, along with other nutrients, you’ll find that kale isn’t so bad after all. Learn all about the nutritional value of kale here.
They make a poor-man’s drink: Forget the poison sodas that will just eat your enamel away and the milk made for calves. Fill a gallon jug with water, and drop in a couple of sliced cucumbers and a couple of oranges, or anything else your heart desires. It’s a fresh light taste that will make you feel like you’re in a ritzy spa. For under 25 cents for an 8-ounce glass, you can’t beat it!
They keep meals simple and quick: Where is it written that you have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen to eat healthy? Many of you have 12-hour jobs and are trying to make ends meet. On top of that your commute time can eat up (excuse the pun) over an hour of your time.
- A simple wrap made out of all-natural almond butter and half of a banana rolled in a coconut wrap always does the trick for me. Cut up an already-cooked sweet potato and bake in the oven for french fries, and it’s a healthy and quick meal.
- Chili is another simple and quick meal. Cook 1 pound of lean beef or turkey, throw in organic tomato sauce, chili powder, red beans (don’t buy canned beans, cook them yourself for added savings), red wine vinegar, and it’s dinner time. Eating 2-3 ounces of beef in each serving makes this another cheap happy & healthy meal. Between that and the beans, spices and tomato sauce, it should be enough to stick to your ribs for a while.
- Cook up extra for leftovers. It takes the same amount of time to cook one batch of anything as it does, say, a triple batch. This means cook enough quinoa, cauliflower or red and northern beans to last several days.
If you don’t like the bland taste of some of these ingredients, simply spice them up. Cooking with brain-healthy herbs and spices does the trick.
- Chicken is yet another simple and quick meal. Cut up a cheap whole chicken, salt and pepper it, and throw it in the oven. Four ounces of chicken with 1 cup of kale salad and half a cup of a sweet potato with apple cider vinegar makes this meal’s price very low.
“I don’t have enough time to cook healthy” is no excuse: In fact there are many meals you don’t even have to cook. Canned wild salmon with red onion piled on a bed of kale is one such example. It’s just as cheap but a heck of a lot healthier than a bologna sandwich.
Check out my nutrition page for more Brain Warrior tips on healthy eating.
