Is eating healthy expensive or not? You probably have an opinion on this already, depending on how you’ve shopped for groceries in the past.

This post is about how I cope with this issue and where the argument stems from because, in a sense, both sides are right.

I quickly learned how expensive food can get when I was in undergrad. I went to different stores, I bought a variety of foods, and tried to refine my weekly list to make sure I was staying on budget while buying foods that I loved. I somewhat succeeded, but I also didn’t because this was before my health journey began. I lacked direction in what I was buying, and was missing some important vitamins.

It wasn’t until I cut out meat and started paying attention to what my body needed that I figured out how to eat less expensive foods while managing my new vegetarian diet.

So is eating healthy expensive or not? What does it depend on?

It Depends on Everything

Confused? It’s alright. Let me explain.

I hear endless debates online, and in person, about how vegetarianism, veganism, and eating healthy in general is expensive and not realistic for people on a budget. However, I also hear the exact opposite about how healthy foods are completely reasonably priced and veggie diets are feasible for those on a tight budget. So which one is it?

Well, to be honest, it’s both.

If you walk down the freezer isle, and grab every pack of veggie patties, black bean patties, veggie potstickers, etc., you’ll plow through a month’s budget in a week. Veggie-friendly freezer foods are expensive, no question.

Same situation with produce.

If you grab a bunch of fresh broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, tomatoes, lettuce, apples, grapes, etc… you’ll also plow through a month’s budget in a week. Like veggie freezer foods, produce gets expensive quickly as well.

So Where’s The Inexpensive Food?

I’m going to give you a tip: it’s not the food that’s inexpensive, but how you shop and what you buy that’s inexpensive.

My first go-to: black beans.

They’re around $2 a can at most grocery stores, and each can provides me two meals. Pair that with rice, and you have a high-protein meal for less than $5. If you want, you can add some fresh produce to this like an avocado, or you can throw it all in a tortilla with salsa and have a burrito. Regardless, this is one way you can combine inexpensive with foods not as cheap, make it your own based on your budget, and not worry about going hungry.

My second go-to: tortellini

You can buy it from a bag, or buy it in bulk from the do-it-yourself dispensers at certain stores. If you’re maintaining a vegetarian or vegan diet, pay attention to the filling because it may contain certain cheeses. However, you can combine it with your favorite stock and seasonings to make soup, you can pour your favorite sauce over it, or you can go simple by adding olive oil and salt and pepper. Either way, it works as a main dish or side dish, and it pairs easily with other foods. I like to have a side salad or roasted vegetables alongside it.

My third go-to: spinach

It’s available in a bag, a box, or fresh. Buy it however you prefer. It goes in everything. You can use it in salads, throw it in pasta, mix it in with sautéed or stir-fried vegetables, add it to soup, eat it on a baked potato, add it to that black bean burrito from earlier, include it in your veggie burger, and so much more. It’s extremely good for you and extremely versatile. It also lasts quite a while the more you buy. It’s not a main dish, but I wanted to include a leafy green as one of my examples.

Are You Sensing A Theme?

I hope so because that’s what I was trying to communicate. I’m not telling you to be extremely boring with what you eat, and I’m not saying you can’t buy what you truly enjoy. However, if you want to eat healthily while keeping groceries inexpensive, it requires some strategic thinking.

Each of my go-to’s, black beans, tortellini, and spinach, all last for more than one meal. Therefore, they are less expensive than other foods because they get you a deal while providing good substance to what you eat. Not only that, but they are versatile and able to accommodate a multitude of diets, along with endless dish combinations. Buying those packs of veggie patties and no-meat potstickers only means one thing: you’re going to be eating veggie patties and potstickers for the foreseeable future.

However, if you pinpoint your main foods, let’s call them your base foods for the grocery list, those can help guide you through the rest of your shopping.

What comes after the base foods?

That’s up to you of course, but I usually go for rice, tortillas, mushrooms, some kind of bread, (okay fine) some veggie patties, and anything else that goes with my three base choices. Then I might pick up a dessert item or a bag of chips for a treat. Again, this depends on how you want to spend your budget.

This might sound quite difficult to strategize your grocery list while making sure you’re still eating healthy. However, there are plenty of articles online that can help you out and provide information on healthy foods based on the diet you’re going for.

For a diet with no limitations, or to get tips for starting, check out Kelli Foster’s 10 Foods That Actually Help Me Eat Healthier on a Budget. She goes into detail about which healthy foods can be bought for inexpensive prices, and ones that still get you excited about your next meal. Maybe she can help you figure out your base foods for next week’s shopping!

Other Things To Think About

While on the topic of keeping things inexpensive, prices can differ from store-to-store. Foods like beans and rice will be the same regardless of where you purchase them from, so buying those at the cheaper grocery store would be in your best interest. However, if you’re wanting to splurge a little on something more specialized, you’ll have the room in your budget to visit a store that’s more pricey.

Another thing to add: strategizing your grocery list isn’t easy. Don’t feel bad if it takes you a month or two to figure out exactly how this works for you. Give yourself some grace and make sure you’re putting your needs before the list.

What do I mean by this? Don’t make yourself go hungry because you’re trying to spend as little as possible and eat as healthy as you can. That’s not good for you and can discourage you from this whole idea altogether.

Now What?

To start, I’d take a look at what you purchased at the store last time. Think about which of those foods were base foods, and think about which ones were accompanying. Did you spend too much on those? Did you have money left over? Was there something you could’ve lived without? Was there something you didn’t get but should have?

These are all valid questions to ask yourself, and it’s okay if you can’t answer all of them perfectly. What’s important is that you’re trying and learning as you go!

More from Me:

Next week’s post will be about portion size and how to find the balance between eating too much and eating too little, something that took me my entire life to understand.

Also, check out last week’s post, “A Few Recipes for Keeping It Simple“, for a basic guide on starting a vegetarian diet. I hope you all have a great week!

Thanks for reading. I appreciate you 🙂

 

References

Alcedo, M. (2020). 5 of the Best Delivery Services to Use to Order Groceries from Your Couch. ITK. https://www.intheknow.com/2020/03/17/best-grocery-delivery-services/

Foster, K. (2019, January 1). 10 Foods That Actually Help Me Eat Healthier on a Budget. Kitchn. https://www.thekitchn.com/foods-that-actually-help-me-eat-healthier-on-a-budget-264933

Select Health. (2020). Breaking 5 Myths About Being Vegan. https://selecthealth.org/blog/2019/10/breaking-5-myths-about-being-vegan?utm_source=social&utm_medium=fb&utm_campaign=vegan_myths

The Exercist. (2018, September 14). “Expensive” is Relative. https://the-exercist.tumblr.com/post/178087131582/the-adventist-101-share-health

 

 

To Be Honest…

I’m going to be up front with you about this from the start. Changing your diet isn’t easy. It requires some forethought and planning before meals, but the effort is so worth it in the end. That’s what I’m going to dive into today: a few simple recipes and foods for incorporating more vegetables into your meals.

Maybe you already eat vegetables and just want some more ideas, maybe you want to slowly transition to a veggie diet, or maybe you love meat and just want to know how to incorporate more health along with what you already eat. Great! These are all valid, and hopefully the following recipes can help.

Food #1: Zucchini

 

I hated zucchini as a kid. It was slimy and gross looking, and usually it was useless on the side of whatever the main entrée was. I never thought it would become one of my favorite vegetables, and I later realized I hated it because of the way it was prepared.

There are plenty of ways to season it and cook it properly so it never gets slimy or mushy. How? Well, one of my favorite cooking words: sautéing. Slice it up, put it in a pan with some olive oil, throw in some garlic, salt, pepper, or whatever seasoning you prefer, and it becomes a low-calorie, quite filling, and delicious main or side dish.

Before I cut out meat, I ate sautéed zucchini a few times a week mixed in with onions and some chicken apple sausage slices. This was one of my go-to meals when I first started exercising because it made me feel full and energized at the same time. It fed my stomach, and my soul, which I touched on in last week’s post.

If you’re interested in a delicious, beginner recipe for sautéed zucchini, check out “Makinze Gore’s Garlic-Parm Zucchini Sauté”. You can follow her recipe exactly, or take parts of it and add your own twist. You could add rice, your favorite meat, pasta, or any of your favorites Of course, let me know if you end up trying it!

Food #2: Mushrooms

Am I mentioning all the foods you hate? Well, eating more veggies means eating more veggies. Stick with me for a minute.

I’ve always been a huge fan of mushrooms, all kinds, in basically any dish. I understand if they aren’t for you, but I have to ask if you’ve ever tried roasted, portobello mushrooms, typically called portobello steaks…

I tried these when I first transitioned to a vegetarian diet, and they caught me by surprise because of the flavor and how filling they are. They don’t take very long to roast in the oven, only about 25-30 minutes, and you can pair them with just about anything. I put them in a baking pan along with some orange and yellow bell pepper slices. Then, I season with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and black pepper. Once they’re done, I add a side of rice, and that’s my meal. With this, you can also add your favorite meat, other veggie dishes, or pasta. Make it your own, whatever that means for you.

If you’re interested in specific instructions, and a creative sauce, check out Minimalist Baker’s “Portobello Steaks with Avocado Chimichurri”.

Food #3: Sweet Potatoes and Yams

Now, here is another food I used to despise as a kid. Before I go any further, you’re probably wondering why I’m telling you about all the foods I used to hate? Okay, I’ll explain.

First of all, I don’t hate them anymore. I love them.

Second of all, I want you to realize that changing your diet requires more than just planning. It requires trying foods in different ways and finding what you like. Personally, my palette changed as I got older, which helped me learn to eat some of these foods that used to repulse me.

Third of all, and most importantly, a vegetarian diet restricts many foods and food options that people are accustomed to eating on a regular basis. Therefore, new foods need to be introduced in order to have a fully nutritious diet.

Alright, back to sweet potatoes. Fill a non-stick pan with a good amount of olive oil, turn the heat to medium, slice the sweet potato or yam into pieces about 0.5 inches thick, and sauté them until they’re soft in the middle (as well as a bit charred on the edges.

I can’t stress enough that this has become one of my biggest comfort foods, and like the others, it’s extremely filling, especially when accompanied with other veggies or rice.

If you’re interested in some better guidelines, check out Jolinda Hackett’s “Sauteed Sweet Potatoes”.

Now What?

If you can’t already tell, I don’t follow recipes exactly. However, it’s completely fine if that’s what you want to do. For me, it’s easiest to learn about the recipe, and then personalize it with seasonings that I like and/or sides that pair the best based on my preferences.

I challenge you to do this as well. Try a new recipe, or a new food. Maybe you didn’t like something when someone else made it, but you want to see if you can do better. That’s amazing! I encourage you to do it. If you still don’t like it, that’s fine too. Move on to something else. Don’t dwell on foods that don’t work for you. Find meals that make you happy and feel good after eating them. You’ll thank yourself later!

More From Me:

If you didn’t see last week’s post, and are interested in how to start exercising after a long time, check out: Feed Your Soul, Not Just Your Stomach

Next week I’ll be talking about some inexpensive options for when the wallet is a bit tight. Whether you’re a broke college student (like me), struggling to pay the bills due to COVID-19, have a family to think about, and/or any other reason, my upcoming post is for you. Have a great week everyone!

Thanks for reading. I appreciate you 🙂

 

 

References:

Agbanlog, L. (2017, July 22). Sautéed Portobello Mushrooms with Butter Sauce. Salu Salo Recipes. https://salu-salo.com/sauteed-portobello-mushroom-butter-sauce/

Chang, T. S. (2012, August, 29). Zucchini You Actually Can’t Resist. NPR: Kitchen Window. https://www.npr.org/2012/08/28/160125138/zucchini-you-actually-cant-resist

Foster, K. (2019, June 8). What’s the Difference Between Yams and Sweet Potatoes?. Kitchn. https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-yams-and-sweet-potatoes-word-of-mouth-211176

Gore, M. (2020, February 19). Garlic-Parm Zucchini Sauté. Delish.  https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a28091519/sauteed-zucchini-recipe/

Hackett, J. (2020, July 27). Sautéed Sweet Potatoes. The Spruce Eats. https://www.thespruceeats.com/sauteed-sweet-potatoes-3377775

Minimalist Baker. (n.d.) Portobello Steaks with Avocado Chimichurri. https://minimalistbaker.com/portobello-steaks-avocado-chimichurri/

 

After Making You Wait, It’s Finally Time

Hi everyone!

Now that you’ve heard about the very beginning of my journey, it’s time we talk about what truly changed my state of health, and what this blog is actually about: food and eating.

Dive In With Me: Here’s My Story

Let me try to explain my relationship with food growing up and how I was influenced by it.

First of all, I love it. Everyone in my family cooks, my father’s profession was cooking, I am not picky in the slightest, and I have no dire food allergies.

Second of all, I love trying new food, I love eating out, I love experiencing different flavors and dishes, and I love dessert afterwards.

Third of all, a bit more worrisome, I eat when I’m stressed, and I regularly eat too fast.

Hopefully, you can see where each of these things became an issue for me growing up. Think about the stresses of middle and high school, constant tiredness from an irregular sleep schedule, not enough exercise, and unstoppable adolescent hormones… then add in the fact that food was often my only solace for the unpleasantness. Yeah, exactly.

Thus began my habit of eating too much, too fast, too often, while not incorporating enough of the nutrients that make the body feel good. This habit then followed me to undergrad and stayed with me until age 22.

To put that into perspective, I had been eating this way ever since I could remember. I had subconsciously trained myself to do it, I didn’t know how to stop, and I was too far gone to realize the way it was negatively affecting me.

So Was I Doomed?

Sometimes I felt that way. I always had an idea of what I wanted my body to look like, and I truly thought I just wasn’t meant to look like that. However, for my last quarter before graduation, I moved back home with my parents to save money. This is when I started exercising.

Since it had been so long, exercising made me feel so good about myself that I wanted my food to do the same thing. Also at this time, I started cooking healthier. I started sauteeing vegetables, making fresh salads, accompanying everything with these chicken sausages that were heavenly, and I even let myself have dessert if I wanted. I ate the foods that gave me the same uplifting, energetic feeling exercising gave me.

The Good Part

After I began walking a couple times a week and cooking this way, the pounds started to fall off. And when I say “fall”, I mean like leaves from the trees in Autumn. I lost my first 10 pounds in two weeks, and I couldn’t believe the scale. I was practically losing a pound a day. Every morning, I got on the scale and was ecstatic. It felt completely unreal.

This inspired me like no other. NEVER in my life had pounds come off. They’d only done the opposite. I was so excited because I finally figured out what my body needed.

For the record, I wasn’t trying different weight loss tactics prior to this, but I also wasn’t creating the space for myself to do it. I had never tried diversifying my everyday cooking, making sure I got 10,000 steps, or doing what made me feel good on a daily basis.

It sounds so mundane, but I can’t stress enough that I just wasn’t taking care of myself. I wasn’t listening to my body, and I wasn’t giving myself the time of day to really understand what I needed. Once I started, I couldn’t stop, and the benefits were continuous even until today, almost three years later.

Where Did I Go From There?

This was truly the beginning of a lifestyle change for me, as you can tell by that side-by-side image. I started experimenting with different kinds of exercise, I started going to the gym, I got my eating portions under control, I cut meat out of my diet and became a vegetarian, I started confronting my mental health, and I made sure I spent time with those who made me happy.

I’m getting ahead of myself, but you get the point. This all started by me listening to what my body told me, and giving it what it needed. It sounds so simple, which it is, but it requires quite a bit of time, effort and self-reflection. I promise you though, it’s 1,000% worth it, and you are too.

So What?

If you want to change your eating in any way, I’m sorry but you have to eat vegetables… with every meal. Take a little less of the meat and the carbs and whatever else is on your plate, and replace it with a nice salad, roasted vegetables, or sauteed, whatever gets you to eat it.

However, don’t deprive yourself of protein either because that’s what adds that satisfactory aspect of the food and makes you feel full longer (Patten, 2020). Also pay attention to how you feel after eating certain things. This can be huge for figuring out what your body wants and needs.

Check out Lifehack’s “9 Ways a Clean Eating Diet Can Help You Feel Better” for some tips on where to start and what foods should be on your plate.

More from me:

Next week I’ll be going more in depth about my go-to meals early on and how I started a veggie lifestyle!

If you’re interested in how I started exercising after a long time, and would like some tips, check out last week’s post:

It Doesn’t Matter Where You Start

Thanks for reading, I appreciate you 🙂

 

Reference:

Patten, L. (2020). 9 Ways a Clean Eating Diet Can Help You Feel Better. Lifehack. https://www.lifehack.org/703088/clean-eating-diet-helps-you-feel-better

 

 

Why It Doesn’t Matter

That may sound crazy and unrealistic to say “It Doesn’t Matter Where You Start”, but for me, it didn’t. Before I could consider how to change my eating, how to workout, how to gain muscle and lose fat, or how to deal with past issues, I had to start something. I had let myself go to the point where any starting point would make a difference. It had been so long since I’d put time and thought into my state of health that any effort was positive and beneficial for how I felt about myself. So, I started walking.

What Didn’t I do?

For starters, I didn’t try to go hard at the beginning. There was no planning days of the week to walk, or times that I wanted to stick with. I didn’t even incorporate different kinds of workouts, going to the gym, or foods that I wanted to eat after exercising. To be honest, those things weren’t even on my radar because I had no idea what I was about to get myself into.

What worked best for me at that point was driving over to my neighborhood high school and walking around the track until my steps reached 10,000. Although, I wasn’t doing it for the steps, or the weight loss, or the mental health improvement. I was doing it to get out of the house and breathe fresh air for an hour or so a few times a week, something I had not given myself space to do for a long time.

Do It Different

Before food can be considered, daily activity must also be. Many sources have advice for starting, but none of that advice would have appealed to me in the beginning.

For example, Mayo Clinic (2019) recommends, “To assess your aerobic and muscular fitness, flexibility and body composition,” as the first step in getting started with a fitness program, followed by recording your pulse rate, your mile time, your waist circumference, your body mass index, and more.

None of that sounds like something I want to do now, nor back when I started. Not only would those things make me feel poorly about myself before my workout even started, but it also takes a lot of time when I could already be out pushing myself to go for a walk and change my value of life.

Mayo Clinic’s (2019) next steps include designing your fitness program, assembling your equipment, THEN getting started, and ending with monitoring your progress. Again, that all sounds like a lot of thinking and less doing.

If you’re in a position similar to mine at that time, that all sounds like way too much work and not necessarily helpful for actually getting out and getting exercise.

All That Matters: Do You

Maybe you do want to make a fitness plan, which is amazing, but maybe you don’t, and that’s fine too! Whatever starting point makes you feel the most comfortable and least intimidated is completely valid. Maybe you don’t want to think about your accompanying diet, and maybe that’s what you want to change. Then do it!

If you learned nothing from reading this, then know that you know better over anyone else. Make a plan, or don’t. However, if you want to feel better in any way, it’s all about the doing.

Next Steps

After exercising more regularly, I started to change my diet and work on my mental health, but even those didn’t come with a plan in mind. To my surprise, this entire journey spontaneously started by me doing things that made me feel good, and me hugely benefiting from it in ways I never thought would occur.

Radiance doesn’t look a certain way, and it doesn’t happen the same way for everyone. Stick with me to learn more about my journey with exercise, diet and mental health, and thanks for reading 🙂

 

 

Reference:

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2019). Fitness Program: 5 Steps to Get Started. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/fitness/art-20048269#:~:text=Start%20slowly%20and%20build%20up,amount%20of%20time%20you%20exercise.

 

 

Hello readers! 

My name is Danielle, and I am happy to have you here regardless of what brought you. I’m writing to you because I’ve been on a journey over the last 15 years or so, and I believe others would benefit from hearing my story.

A Bit About Me

I’m a PNW-grown, almost 25-year-old graduate student who enjoys photography, rollerblading, gaming, and raising succulents. I’m biracial, mixed with black and white, I bounce back and forth between being vegetarian and pescetarian, and I’m a huge advocate of all aspects of health.

While diet, exercise, and mental health are all related, they need to be approached and nurtured differently in my experience. That being said, I hope everyone has taken at least 10 minutes for themselves today.

Why Am I here?

Similar to the journey I’ve been on, I want to take you all on the same journey. As a young person, child and teenager, I never learned about nutrition or the importance of exercise. I never learned the benefits of how amazing it can make you feel when you’re feeling down. These things were never stressed in my life because school always came first, regardless of how my state of health was slipping.

I was overweight nearly my entire adolescence, even through my years in undergrad. I ate poorly, I ate too much on a regular basis, I had chronic acne, I had mental health issues, and most importantly, I thought none of this would ever change. I thought all of these things were basically genetic and outside of my control because I’d been struggling with them since a young age.

So What Changed?

Little did I know, learning portion control and discovering the liberation of walking, would change my life. Currently, I’m the same weight I was in 7th grade, which is the lightest I’ve ever been. I love eating, and still get to enjoy all my guilty pleasures like Taco Bell, chocolate chip cookies, Sour Patch Kids, and so much more. It may sound like this all happened overnight, but “overnight” was more like five years.

If you’re interested in how you can Let Food Make You Radiant, you’re in the right place. I’ll warn you though. There’s so much more involved in the process than food, but that’s always a great place to start.

Thanks for joining me 🙂