How to eat healthfully and save some money

As of late, I have been having my own difficulties in trying to eat healthfully but still maintain some semblance of nutrition. I will openly admit that couponing is not my thing, and trying to find time to plan meals is no funsies. However, I have figured out a few things that might help those who might want to insert some good food into their lives. 

1. Figure out your own nutritional needs 

What I mean is, figure out what you need for your lifestyle. For a time I had some insulin resistance issues (genetic) and had to cut out refined carbohydrates and sugars. Some people who are high-intensity athletes might need more carbohydrates and might not care too much about calorie counting. All in all, if you are just a general member of society (not that you're not 'special' ;) ), I would highly advise trying to balance your meals like this: 

40-50% Carbs, 25-35% protein, 20-30% fat. Under 2500 mg of sodium and over 25 grams of fiber.

So what the heck does that mean. That means that for the overall nutritional intake of your day, you should get 40-50% of your energy from carbohydrates, 25-35% from protein, and of course 20-30% from fats (GOOD fats, mind you). 

Ultimately, your carbs should come from vegetables (yes, veggies have carbs!) and from whole grains. Your protein should not be gallons of peanut butter (sigh) but from lean proteins like fish, nuts, beans, etc. 

As you can see from the plate dairy is kind of a "whatever" item now, mainly there to ensure that you get the calcium that you need. I personally am dairy-free, but get most of my calcium from almond milk and other sources.

2. Figure out where to sacrifice

Ok so now that you know what you need to be eating, figure out where you can sacrifice. Because let's be real, buying all fresh, organic, minimally processed food is going to get pricey. And I'm still not totally sold on organic (see my post on organic foods).  So all I can do is share with you what I did, and maybe it can help guide you along.

• Cut out junk food snackage.  This may sound painful, and it probably will be, but I cannot tell you how much money I save now from not buying junk. Junk=crackers, chips, pretzels, 100-calorie packs, refined granola bars, cereal, etc. Basically stuff that you munch on that is just there for that reason: to munch on. If you can find a way to cut these out, you can replace them with cheaper and more nutritionally valuable items.
• Buy fruits and vegetables in season, and buy the ones that are safer in terms of pesticides 
• "The Clean 15 "
  1. Onions
  2. Sweet Corn
  3. Pineapples
  4. Avocado
  5. Cabbage
  6. Sweet Peas
  7. Asparagus
  8. Mangoes
  9. Eggplant
  10. Kiwi
  11. Cantaloupe – domestic
  12. Sweet Potatoes
  13. Grapefruit
  14. Watermelon
  15. Mushrooms

3. Get yourself used to meal planning. I hate to tell you this, but you will be eating the rest of your life. Meal planning is the best way to stop overspending at the grocery store and buying food that is healthy. Start with doing just 3 meals a week, and plan simple meals. No one said you have to go all-out Pioneer Woman (or man) and cook up a luxurious feast. If you aren't sure where to start, or just need bare bones, here is what I do:

• Essential meats (if you're an omnivore)-boneless, skinless chicken breast, stew meat, ground beef, and fish that (if you can swing it) is wild-caught
• Essential fixin's: Lemon juice, white wine (you over 21'ers), spices (invest in a spice rack, it is worth it in the long run), onions, garlic, olive oil, butter, beef/chicken bouillon cubes, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, soy sauce, sugar, canned beans
• Essential sides: Depending on your preference, I usually just pick up some steamable vegetables that are on sale. This makes it fast, easy, cheap, and you're still getting in some nutrition. So, probably around 3-4 steamable veggie bags of your choice. Then add a healthy starch: sweet potato fries, whole grain bread with butter, whole grain pasta.
• Essential snacks: pick snacks that are fibrous, nutritious and filling: apples, celery, carrots 
• Breakfast: cut out crap cereals. They are a waste of calories and money. Choose to have whole grain english muffins with peanut butter, or eggs. PUT IN THE EFFORT. :) 

           This will seriously give you at least 3, maybe 4 meals a week to start. For example, say I have stew meat and I also bought some asian-style mixed vegetables: sautee in a pan with some soy sauce, garlic, butter and brown sugar and you have an instant stir-fry. Maybe you're feeling like a lighter meal, like fish; coat with spices and simmer in butter/lemon/garlic juice over some pasta. The combinations are endless! and eventually you will figure out what you like and don't like, and you can adjust this list as needed. 

This blogger has a great meal-planning printable that will help you with getting started: Balancing Home Meal Plan Printable

4. Let yourself indulge on 1/2 things a week, don't go all out. Like a special kind of beer? Buy it! but don't buy it on top of 6 other things you like to indulge in during the week. I myself have a sweet tooth, so I will typically give myself either buy a brownie box or pillsbury ready-bake cookies. If you try to give up everything you will never survive. Let yourself have a day or 2 of cookies or whatever, and you will be more likely to stick with your plan.

5. Check out weekly sales at your grocery store (Publix BOGO's are awesome) and check out coupons.com. I am not a crazy couponer, because frankly I just don't have the time to learn how. But I do save some money when I can get a good BOGO deal, or save a dollar or so off of an item I was going to purchase anyways. 

Hopefully that can help get you started. See how much you spend after a week of planning and adjust as needed by your budget. It will take a couple weeks to get a rhythm but once you get one, it makes shopping and eating much less stressful, much healthier, and hopefully easier on your budget!

By Nicole with No comments

Is Organic Food Worth the Money?

A friend of mine recently requested that I write something about organic food. I have consulted numerous resources to get my information, but if there are any nutritional experts out there feel free to jump in and comment. Main points will be highlighted in RED.

First of all,

Is organic food really that much healthier for you?

As you are probably aware, this is a highly debated topic among food scientists. 

According to a review study by Dr. Carl Winter from the University of California, Organic fruits and vegetables, while demonstrating quite a bit less pesticide contamination than regular market fruits and vegetables, still contained a fair pesticide residue from irrigation contamination, adjacent pesticide use, soil contamination. In addition, "it should be noted that organic production methods do allow the use of EPA registered pesticides provided that such pesticides are approved by the National Organic Standards Board." 

ORGANIC does not mean pesticide-free, just less pesticide residue. 

In addition, while in great quantities pesticides could pose a risk of cancer, the amount of pesticide residue on market fruits and vegetables are extremely low. If you want to check out how the EPA and FDA calculates risk factors and exposure levels, please see read Dr. Winter's article: Pesticide Residues in Imported, Organic, and “Suspect” Fruits and Vegetables

Dr. Winter states: "typical consumer exposure to pesticide residues is currently at very low levels relative to those required for health concern, and reducing consumer exposure further through consumption of more organic fruits and vegetables may not provide much of an additional incremental health benefit with respect to pesticide residues. Similar conclusions were drawn in a review paper by Magkos et al."

ORGANIC food may not provide any health benefit with respect to pesticide residues. 

In another study done by Carbonaro et. al, "Although food products from organic origin are believed to be healthier than the corresponding conventional foods, clear experimental evidence supporting this assumption is still lacking and assessment of the nutritional potential of these products requires further research."

In a nutshell:

There is no clear experimental evidence supporting the assumption that ORGANIC products are nutritionally superior. 

In a study about organic eggplant cultivation done by María D. Raigón, Adrián Rodríguez-Burruezo, and Jaime Prohens,  results showed that organic management and fertilization have a positive effect on the accumulation of certain beneficial minerals and phenolic compounds in eggplant and that organically and conventionally produced eggplants might be distinguished according to their composition profiles."

In another study looking at organic versus conventional cultivation, the authors state: "As a general rule, in studies that have paired common production variables and methodologies, organic crops tend to have more vitamin C, sugars, and phenolics and fewer nitrates than conventionally grown produce, which corroborates findings of the aforementioned nutritional reviews. Organic crops also tend to have more dry matter and less moisture, less protein, and lower yields. Patterns of differences between organic and conventional foods with respect to heavy metals or specific minerals are not apparent."


In a nutshell:

It is possible that ORGANIC food (depending on how it is cultivated) could have higher levels of Vitamin C, sugars, and phenolics (what makes food smell and taste good). 

So really, there is no clear evidence that organic food is better nutritionally, although it may taste better. In terms of saving money, if you shop at a mainstream grocery store I recommend going for the conventionally sold produce, as the health benefits of organic food are still so uncertain. 

But I really want to buy organic food!

So I haven't convinced you that it isn't worth it...ah, well. If you are still determined to buy organic, here are the classic "dirty dozen" conventional items (the foods that typically have the most pesticide residue): 

According to the Environmental Working Group:

• Apples
• Celery
• Strawberries
• Peaches
• Spinach
• Nectarines (imported)
• Grapes (imported)
• Sweet bell peppers
• Potatoes
• Blueberries (domestic)
• Lettuce
• Kale/collard greens

How can I buy it and not annihilate my budget?

Some good ideas for buying organic food at better price:

Farmer's Markets--these are good because there is no middle man! Buy locally and support your local economy, eliminate the middle man, and enjoy some cheaper, organic produce. 

Become part of a Co-Op--This is the smartest idea ever. A Community Co-Op is a member owned and operated grocery store, in which people can volunteer to come in to cultivate natural, locally grown foods and products.  Here are some examples!

http://newlifefoodclub.tripod.com/

http://www.denvercoop.com/

http://www.alafarm.com/locations/storelist/

Grow your own --I know this is not the answer you want to hear :) But, consider growing easy vegetable plants such as tomatoes, zucchini, squash and peppers. These vegetables are versatile, grow like weeds, and pretty much grow year round if you care for them correctly. 

Wait for sales-- places like Whole Foods, Fresh Market and Publix are great, but they can be extremely expensive. Unless you have fountains of money, I recommend staying away from these places until you have a pretty nice fixed income. If these are the only stores near to you, I suggest picking a few important items you wish to buy organic (for instance, items from the "dirty dozen") and only purchase those particular items. If it is not too much of a temptation, check and see what sales are going on and what coupons are available:

http://www.freshmarketstores.com/coupons

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/coupons/

Well, hope this was helpful! Be smart and resourceful when thinking about buying organic foods; remember that they are a nice commodity to have, possibly even fresher, but realistically are not that beneficial to your health. If you choose to incorporate organic foods into your diet, remember to utilize your local resources first before the big consumer stores like Whole Foods. 

References:

Winter, C. (2012). Pesticide Residues in Imported, Organic, and "Suspect" Fruits and Vegetables. Journal Of Agricultural & Food Chemistry, 60(18), 4425-4429.

Carbonaro, M., Mattera, M., Nicoli, S., Bergamo, P.,&  Cappelloni, M.; (2002)  Modulation of Antioxidant Compounds in Organic vs Conventional Fruit (Peach, Prunus persica L., and Pear, Pyrus communis L.) .Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 50 (19), 5458-5462

 Raigón, M., Rodríguez-Burruezo, A., and Prohens, J.;(2010) Effects of Organic and Conventional Cultivation Methods on Composition of Eggplant Fruits. J. Agric. Food Chem., 58 (11), pp 6833–6840

Lester, G. &  Saftner R.A.; (2011) Organically versus Conventionally Grown Produce: Common Production Inputs, Nutritional Quality, and Nitrogen Delivery between the Two Systems

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry ,59 (19), 10401-10406

By Nicole with No comments