Think Healthy Equals Expensive? Think Again!

It's tax season...no matter how much we wish it wasn't. We are faced with our income or lack thereof in stark black and white and we start thinking about earning more money in the future or how to pay those stinkin' taxes!

I am in the category of thinking about how to increase my earnings and because of that, I live extremely frugally. I am also kind of a health nut unless I eat something sugary and then I become a voracious eating machine, but that is the subject of a different post! Can being frugal and healthy co-exist?

Many folks think that living a healthy life is expensive. They are sure that eating healthy food is pricey. They are sure that they can't get in or stay in shape without a membership at a fancy (meaning costly) gym. With those assumptions, a lot of people just give up or they blow their budget at the grocery store and don't have money for much else.

When I am faced with prevailing thinking such as, "It costs a lot of money to be healthy," I take it as a personal challenge to see if that school of thought is true or not. Let me encourage you that giving up a large portion of your budget to groceries to have quality food is not necessary if you are willing to change your mindset just a bit. Isn't that good news?

What do I mean by changing your mindset? You have to be willing to buy marked down items at the grocery store. These items are marked down because the packaging has been damaged, the item is about to go past its sell-by date (which isn't its expiration date, by the way), or the store is clearing out the item because it wasn't a good seller. Generally, these items will have large orange stickers on them showing the original price and the new, reduced price and the savings is anywhere from 25-80% off of the regular price. I also use coupons and oftentimes I can use a coupon on a marked down item for the maximum savings possible.

This nice California mix made a delicious
addition to our healthy stir-fry. 

I don't know about you, but I would rather get the best and most items I can for the least amount of money and have some funds left to put towards other items I have to buy.

Recently I made a nice pot of vegetarian chili. It made 7 1/2 cups of chili, which was about seven 1-cup servings. I often serve my chili over rice so we don't need huge portions of chili that way. This pot of chili cost me a shade under $2.00 to make and I got two dinners and a lunch out of it. Right now, you are thinking that can't possibly be correct. I can feel your skepticism coming through the computer. I will explain so you can do similar feats of financial alchemy yourself.

My husband, who wasn't frugal when we married but has been a good student, purchased two cans of pinto beans that were marked down because the cans had been dropped and dented. The regular price of these beans is 72 cents per can, but in this instance, one was reduced to 36 cents and the other to 18 cents.

He also bought a bag of black beans that had been torn open and re-closed with tape that had been $3.00 but was reduced to 25 cents. I had some Northern beans in the cabinet from an earlier purchase to add to the mix of beans and I had a can of diced tomatoes. I had purchased some cans of seasoned tomato sauce that was originally intended to make meatloaf the store was clearing out because it hadn't been selling (I am always thinking of multiple ways to use items). Each can was marked to 24 cents and I bought a dozen cans (when you see a great deal, buy as much as you can). I had onions and the seasonings for chili already on hand that I had used for other dishes so the cost of these ingredients had already been paid. The total of all items used in the chili was $1.77! And it was no-meat chili which is healthier.

It may say Dinner Starters for Meatloaf
but the way I think, that is merely a suggestion.

We scour every store where we shop for clearance items or hugely discounted items. Because of this unique acquisition method, I do not make a menu prior to going shopping. Once we get our goodies home, then I proceed to create a menu and see if I will need to buy any additional items. We eat a good variety of foods due to this creative way of procuring groceries.

I carry this way of thinking to just about every budget category as much as possible. Anytime I have to spend money, I see if I can reduce the expense somehow. I pretty much live in hyper-frugal mode. 

 Because I am interested in living a healthy lifestyle, I also am into exercising. Exercise equipment, workout clothes, and gym memberships can really take a big bite of a budget if you allow it. I work out at least three times a week and I can safely say that I haven't spent more than $50.00 in the past two years on anything fitness related.  

I have purchased my gym clothes at the thrift store or found them at retail stores deeply discounted. I received an exercise bike from my brother-in-law for free because he was tired of it and all my free weights were given to me by people who no longer wanted them. My yoga mats were gifts as were many of my exercise videos. Some videos I purchased I found at the dollar store. I also found great exercise programs on my local PBS station. Working out doesn't have to be expensive any more than eating healthy does, especially if you work out at home.

Perhaps you don't need to watch your spending as much as I do. But, what if you did anyway and you saved the difference? What could you do with those saved dollars? Travel? Fund a retirement account? Buy a vacation home? 

Spa Week Continues with Healthy Eating on a Tight Budget

Taking good care of oneself has a lot of components: getting enough sleep, eating healthfully, exercising, good skin care, filling one's mind with uplifting music and reading, prayer, and so on.

During this week, which I have designated as Spa Week, I am focusing on eating well. Those of you who are regular readers know that in this area, as in all the areas of my life, I work from a tight budget. A lot of people are fond of using the government's qualifications on how much money should be spent to feed ourselves. Even on the thrifty plan, I find that if I am observant and careful, I can do pretty well on a lot less money. If you are curious about these figures, check out USDA Food Plans.

Here are some of my real life examples and by the way, I have to eat gluten and dairy-free, which can be a bit of a hit to the food budget. I make it a habit to be as flexible as possible in what I eat and drink to get the best available deals. This means that sometimes I am drinking almond milk and sometimes I am drinking coconut milk. It all depends on what I can get at the lowest price. If almond milk has a $1.00 off coupon and that is the best deal going, that is what I will have that week.

About a year ago, my local grocery store was clearing out some Bob's Red Mill gluten-free products, which normally run about $5.00 per bag, down to $1.00 per bag. I purchased several bags of creamy rice and creamy buckwheat and popped them into my freezer. Note, that I paid 20% of the regular cost and even that is much less than a gluten filled hot cereal. The creamy rice costs me 5 cents a serving before I add fruit to it and the creamy buckwheat costs 8 cents a serving!

I bought these a year ago and
put them in the freezer. 

My favorite way to eat creamy
rice is by adding strawberries
and bananas with a sprinkle
of stevia to sweeten it. 

The fruit I add to my breakfast is usually purchased on sale or when it is marked down to move it out of the store quickly. Again, I am flexible on what I eat so I get the most out of the money I have budgeted for groceries. A plus to this philosophy is that I also have great variety.

My bargain purchase of almond
milk plus protein shake mix and
fruit make for a filling, nutritious breakfast. 

Another philosophy I employ is to accept whatever people want to give me. In this case, I was given five packages of protein shake mix by my father-in-law. He had been sent them by a cousin and he was not at all interested in using them. I was thrilled because these are gluten and dairy free and I am always looking for ways to get low-calorie protein into my diet. Once people know that you are a person who is happy to receive items, you will be blessed with a lot of different things coming your way. I have been given meats of all types, all kinds of produce, lots of dry beans, furniture, clothing, even a car or two!

Another example of eating healthfully on a budget was finding a Kale Vegetable soup mix marked down at the grocery store. I would normally make my food at home from scratch but on this day I was having a busy day and so I was thrilled to find this soup kit for $4.00! Another plus on this was that I got two days worth of meals out of it so it was pretty cost efficient.

I wouldn't normally buy a
kit but this was healthy and
fairly inexpensive. 

All this healthy eating doesn't mean that there aren't any treats to enjoy. I recently discovered the joys of using frozen bananas to make "ice cream".
No sugar, no dairy, no guilt in this treat! Just slice fairly ripe bananas and pop into the freezer. Once they are frozen solid, just pop into your food processor and add a bit of whatever milk you like using for a plain version of banana "ice cream". I made a chocolate version for me and my youngest son by adding some cocoa powder to the mixture. You can add all sorts of tasty things to this for variety's sake. This is a good use of those really inexpensive markdown bananas we all see at the grocery store from time to time.




And there you have it, healthy eats on a budget! Just the kind of food that is called for during Spa Week!

Spa Week

It is spring break here in my part of the country which means that the school where I work is not in session this week. So, I have some free time and decided to spend some of it on myself. I have designated this week as Spa Week!


Even here in the South, it has been a long, hard winter. Cold weather and dark, dreary days have had an effect on both my body and my psyche! If you are in the same boat, join me in undoing the ravages of Old Man Winter.


I am going to be spending this week exercising, doing beauty treatments, eating indulgently in a healthful way, and relaxing.


I began my day with a weigh-in followed by a Classical Stretch exercise session. Then I took my three
dogs out one by one for their morning walk. I ran through my yard with the two big dogs, Emmie, and Kiah, and did lunge walks around my yard with my sweet little Shih Tzu, Watson.


As I write this blog entry, I am soaking my feet in preparation for giving myself a pedicure. I am all about multi-tasking folks!

I put some lovely light pink OPI polish on my now smooth tootsies. I had purchased the polish on a markdown at my local grocery store. Looking good doesn't have to be expensive!

I also gave myself a mud mask facial this morning. Can you tell it's on over here at my house?

This is as real as it gets folks-
there is no  makeup on my face!

I used Arbonne's Sea Mud Mask
but you can actually make your
own beauty products if you are
up to doing so. 

Spa week can be as inexpensive as the ingredients in your kitchen or as expensive as a trip to the beauty counter. I will be sharing lots of recipes, URLs, and exercises this week. I hope you will share your beauty tips and tricks too! More info to come tomorrow!

After Thanksgiving Course Correction

Thanksgiving dinner was so yummy this year. The turkey was moist and tasty. There were lots of vegetables to eat so I was able to make healthy food choices...until I started eating the gluten-free brownies my mother-in-law had made and the gluten-free dairy-free pumpkin pie! Then, fueled by the influence of sugar, I went CRAZY eating too many portions of these treats.

How did you do with your Thanksgiving eating? Did you eat mindfully or did you do what I did?

I have a habit of weighing myself daily so when I go off the skids, I can see pretty quickly the effect it has on my weight and I pull myself back into good behavior within a day or two.

After enjoying the tasty treasures and gaining a couple pounds I upped my activity levels and signed up for a new challenge on LoseIt! This challenge encourages the participants to walk at least 4,000 steps each day this December.

In years past, if I over-indulged and gained some weight, I would beat myself up with recriminations. Then I would feel worse and eat badly. Now if I go on a food bender, I just resume my healthy eating habits, work out a bit more for a week or two, and get back to my "fighting" weight. I don't get too crazed about it.

These little off course events happen less and less often the longer I have been on the healthier path that I began in 2009. I have built up many good habits that keep me out of temptation.

I usually carry appropriate foods with me when I leave the house each day, including at least 16 ounces of water. I have at least an apple with me to help stave off hunger pangs until I can get home to eat something nutritious. I also exercise at least three days a week and usually work out five days a week.

It is hard to get too far off course sticking to good habits consistently.

What do you do if you get off course in your eating or exercising?

Strategies for Saving and Managing Calories

One of the "cruel" realities of weight loss is that the less you weigh, the less calories you can consume to maintain or lose weight. I have lost 60 pounds and am working on losing 10 more. I am allotted 1,372 calories each day according to Lose It, a very cool free phone app. So, I have to manage those calories really well in order to feel satisfied and stay on track.

I came up with a couple strategies that are working quite nicely for me and hope they will help you too. Instead of topping my gluten-free waffles with syrup (a calorie bomb as 1/4 cup of regular pancake syrup has 187 calories!), I top them with cut-up fruit such as bananas or strawberries, both of which contain nutrients, vitamins, and far fewer calories than syrup. I do spread a little pat of butter on my waffle before topping with the sliced fruit.

Doesn't this look yummy?

Summer waffles!

 I find these so satisfying and filling! Less sugar, more fiber, a plus all the
way around!

I use this principle when eating cereal as well. Instead of adding sugar to my gluten-free Rice Krispies, I add cut-up fruit. I find that I don't need the sugar because the natural sweetness of the fruit is enough.

Another way to save on calories is to switch to unsweetened almond or coconut milk. A cup of unsweetened almond milk contains 30 calories and unsweetened coconut milk contains 45 calories. A cup of skim milk has about 90 calories, so do the math and see if you would rather save some calories while consuming the same volume of "milk".

I have celiac disease, cannot eat dairy, and cannot eat soy. This necessarily limits many food choices for me. Instead of feeling unhappy about this, I have discovered a benefit in that many of the vegan "dairy" alternatives are much lower in calories than their dairy counterparts. A slice of vegan cheese has 40 calories while a slice of dairy American cheese has 70 calories. So, even those of you who don't need to avoid dairy like I do may find a benefit in switching to vegan alternatives. I have found similar benefits in my gluten-free choices. ; )

Of course, not all the alternatives contain the same nutrients as their alter egos-they can contain more or less depending on the item. You need to make informed decisions for yourself. Because I have medical issues that preclude my consumption of gluten, dairy, and soy, I do take supplements to be sure that I get my needed nutrients.

Another HUGE help for me is measuring my food. I realized when I started my weight loss journey that part of my problem was consuming too great a volume of food. I was eating a dinner plate full of rice instead of a portion-way too many calories! Now, my measuring cups and spoons are my best friends. They help keep me on track and mindful of what I am eating.

Did you know 1 cup is a portion?

1 tablespoon = 30 calories of Coffeemate.

What do you do to manage your diet while losing or maintaining a weight loss?

Do You Feel Achy and Tired?

Life got really busy last week for me. For reasons I can't seem to remember right now, I didn't get to work out for five days. I woke up on Monday feeling achy and tired.

I have been doing lots of cleaning and organizing lately. 

My right shoulder ached from a job I did on Thursday (oh, yeah, that is one day I didn't work out because I was working, which is not the same as working out). My feet are sore from wearing some sandals that have seen better days. My lower back aches from sleeping on the couch (hubby has restless legs, a gigantic fan going 365 days a year, wears a noisy C-PAP at night, and is a bed hog, so if I actually want to sleep, the couch is where I go). So, the poor 50 year-old body was griping and complaining.

I finally got in a workout this morning and my body was so thankful. People are always telling me that they don't have time to work out. I reply that they don't have time not to work out. It seems that I need to take my own advice!

I will be resuming my practice of rising around 6 a.m. in order to exercise before I leave for my various jobs. I have felt the results of neglecting to exercise on a regular basis.

If you are tired, achy, and wonder what you can do to feel better, I would encourage you to find some exercise to do that you enjoy and start doing it. I highly recommend Classical Stretch (www.classicalstretch.com) which is also called Essentrics (www.essentrics.com) and yoga. These are great exercises for people of any age but are especially good for those of us in the forties, fifties, or older age brackets. Flexibility, balance, and strengthening are very important in avoiding many of the ailments that are considered to be age related.

I never thought I would be a yoga person but I love yoga! 

Let me know what you do for regular exercise or what you start doing if you are just getting started. I love hearing from you!

Super Saver Saturday- Get Cooking!

Just washed organically grown okra ready to be sliced for tonight's dinner. I could eat okra everyday I love it so much!

Hello Everyone! What's for dinner tonight? ; )

One of the biggest expenses in a household is money spent on food. Check out the USDA food budget info at http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/FoodPlans/2012/CostofFoodJan2012.pdf. They have four plans listed: thrifty, low-cost, moderate, and liberal. According to their thrifty plan, I should spend $162.60 to feed three adult men ages 19-50 and one 50 year-old woman. Occasionally, my 27 year-old daughter and her nearly 1 year-old son are here eating also.

I don't think I even come close to spending that much weekly, unless we include pet foods, cleaners, and toiletries (and I use coupons and sales on those!). Lest you are now worried about us, let me assure you that we eat at least three times a day and we eat well. I cook the majority of our meals at home and it is extremely rare for us to eat out. Being able to cook and shopping for bargains has been a huge help to keeping our costs under control!

Let me share some of what I do and hopefully shed a little light on what others can do, too.

On Thursdays, my husband brings home a variety of groceries that he finds on markdown at the grocery store. I am never sure exactly what he will have when he gets home. Talk about life being like a box of chocolates.

This week he purchased two packages of already prepared vegetable kabobs that had been marked to $3.25 per package, about a 50% reduction from the regular price. They had mushrooms, red onions, yellow squash, zucchini, green peppers, and red peppers. I did not immediately pop these on the grill for the evening meal. Instead, I took stock of other items we had and decided to take the kabobs apart to use in the following meals: red and green peppers, and mushrooms were reserved for eating fresh in salads and with hummus for lunch. The zucchini, yellow squash, and onions went into two different dinner dishes; Mediterranean Stew, and Ratatouille. To these dishes, I added our homegrown Japanese eggplant and okra. Both of these meals are served over brown rice, which I made from scratch on my stove. A 2-pound bag of brown rice at my local grocery store was $1.18.

Japanese eggplant grown organically from our garden. These ones are headed into Mediterranean Stew.

So, the cost to produce or enhance three meals to feed 2 women and 3 men was $7.68 AND there were leftovers for lunches. Take that USDA thrifty meal plan! Also, we are consuming a lot of vegetables in these dishes and everywhere where we turn we hear that we need to eat more vegetables.

I didn't begin my adult life with a Ratatouille recipe in my back pocket. But, thankfully, I had a grandmother who was very practical and had given me a Betty Crocker cookbook when I turned 13. The edition I received had wonderful illustrations that showed the most basic of cooking skills, such as scrambling an egg.

My poor cookbook is falling apart so I had to find a stock photo to show you what I think is the best cookbook ever. I know that my grandmother would be very pleased to know that I have used it and loved it so much over the years. 

If you don't know how to cook., there are resources everywhere to help you learn: YouTube, the Food Channel, libraries, blogs, 4-H, The Cooperative Extension Service, your mom or grandma...

Don't waste another minute or another dollar at the fast food places, learn to cook as soon as possible!

Stretching Everything!

Was chatting via text with a dear friend who lives far away from me so we have to catch up as we can. She shared that life is really stretching her as she has started several new businesses recently.

I also have been going through the stretching process. I have been working for quite a variety of people doing quite a variety of tasks through TaskRabbit (www.taskrabbit.com). I am never sure how much work I am going to be able to obtain so when jobs are available I take them. One day earlier this month found me working for over 8 hours cleaning two different places. I realized exactly how the phrase "I worked my a** off" originated! My booty felt like it was going to fall off from all that squatting down to scrub things.

I have had to stretch our income because in the summer I have less earnings and in the winter, my husband has less earnings. Hmm, that is two out of four seasons where we are earning less income! You are probably thinking that something should be done about that. I agree, which is why today I was stretching in a new area.

I applied to be an Amazon Associate so that I can earn additional income for me and my family. Now I have to figure out how to get the thing up and running on my blog, which is stretching my limited tech abilities. ; )

I have been doing Classical Stretch most weekday mornings (http://www.classicalstretch.com/) so I am stretching my body and making it stronger. Another division of this exercise is called Essentrics (http://www.essentrics.com/). I am contemplating becoming an instructor. Stay tuned!

So far being fifty is all about expanding and stretching in many areas of my life. What is stretching you these days? I so enjoy reader comments so please take time to share!

Gluten-free and Feeling Great!

In 2005, I had an emergency appendectomy. Afterwards, in an attempt to eat healthfully, I began eating Special K, Kashi cereal (7 whole grains), and oatmeal. I did not feel great eating these foods. In fact, I felt downright sluggish, had digestive issues (don't worry I won't go into detail!), and was disconcerted at my results.

True to my nature, I began researching these symptoms. These symptoms and others with which I had suffered from for years such as: migraines, menstrual difficulties,pervasive fatigue, and itchy fluid filled blisters on my hands, fingers, feet, and toes pointed to gluten intolerence or celiac disease.

I decided to eliminate gluten from my diet. My headaches left and haven't returned, I am no longer fatigued, and I feel great. I lost over 45 pounds through a combination of eliminating gluten, exercising, and learning what a portion and proper caloric consumption are for me.

I generally don't spend a lot of money on specialty gluten-free items because they can be a bit pricey. Instead I make food that is naturally gluten-free.

But, for Chinese New Year this past Sunday, February 10, I gave a new product a try. I purchased A Taste of Thai fortune cookies. My daughter, Hannah, who is a fellow celiac, and I thought these fortune cookies were really tasty.

The fortunes inside were really lovely too. I purchased these at my HEB Plus for $3.45.
I highly recommend these for your next gathering where you are planning to serve Chinese food. It really adds to the occasion, in my opinion.