Eating healthy has been known to cost MORE money than unhealthy eating, but guess what?
That’s a myth!
Okay, so I’m not a doctor, but I’ve tested this theory over the past few years and think I can prove it to you.
Let’s jump right into my first point.
Doctor’s Visits
When you have a consistent, healthy diet you don’t get sick as often. If you aren’t sick, you don’t need to visit the doctor.
Visiting the doctor less frequently saves you money on copays and other expenses. It can also save you money on prescription drugs!
This should be a no-brainer for most, but maybe you are that anomaly who gets sick all the time no matter what you do. I can relate!
Even with a pretty healthy diet and exercise routine, I typically get a cold anytime someone around me is sick. (There’s always room for improvement, I guess! LOL)
At one point, I had cold symptoms the day after having dinner with my family. (I had 4 nephews and a niece who, at the time, were all under the age of 5, plus my mom and sister are teachers so they were around kids all day. It was basically a giant germ fest.)
The amazing thing is that because of my healthy diet, a regular exercise routine, and drinking tons of water daily, my cold only lasted 3-4 days!
I didn’t take any over the counter meds either. All I did was rest, drink loads of water, drink some hot tea, and eat all of the foods listed below (peppers, honey, chicken soup, garlic and onions).
Here are a few tips that can help you naturally cure colds and prevent sickness:
- Sleep or rest more! This allows your body time to heal itself, without trying to take on other daily tasks.
- Eat more hot peppers. They can prevent the common cold, and offer many other health benefits! [1]
- Buy fresh, local honey. This prevents and reduces allergy symptoms, plus it can reduce sore throat pain.
- Eat garlic and onions. Both help prevent the common cold. [2]
- Drink hot tea and eat hot chicken soup or broth! The steam helps you breathe a bit better. Plus, they will warm your whole body up.
- Drink plenty of water! Going to the bathroom often allows your body to constantly flush the toxins, keeping you super healthy.
- Check out this article for tons of other foods with great health benefits!
Feeling Full
Healthier foods can actually be more filling, which means that you’ll not only eat less food but you won’t feel hungry as often.
When you eat the right foods and you start to feel full from less, you can buy less food!
Protein is great for helping you feel full fast.
Here’s a list of delicious, protein-filled snacks and breakfast items that my husband and I eat regularly:
- Whole wheat toast with (fresh-ground) peanut butter and local honey (bought at the farmers market).
- Fried eggs on whole wheat toast with avocado. Skip the avocado, if you aren’t a fan. Add cayenne pepper to make it a little spicy.
- Homemade trail mix (Macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, peanuts, and hazelnuts) with 70%+ dark chocolate chunks (dark chocolate has lower sugar).
- Oatmeal (with low sugar).
- Boiled eggs (Support local businesses and buy from your local farmer’s market.)
- Plain Greek Yogurt (no sugar added) topped with fresh fruit and Almond Granola. If you are lactose intolerant, like me, try a non-dairy yogurt.
- Smoothies, made with:
- Fruit – a banana and frozen berries (I like blueberries for the antioxidants),
- A splash of almond milk,
- A handful of leafy greens (I use spinach),
- (Fresh-ground) peanut butter,
- A teaspoon each of flax seeds, chia seeds, and matcha powder.
- Sliced lunch meat (freshly sliced at the meat counter at your local butcher shop).
Energy
Have you experienced that sluggish feeling in the afternoon?
You just ate lunch and now you are ready for a nap, right? Then the whole rest of your workday is basically a waste because you can’t focus.
Let me tell you, the food (and how much of it) you are eating can be blamed!
Personally, I skip lunch, except on special occasions. Instead, I eat a protein-packed breakfast, drink tons of water, and snack on healthy things throughout the day until dinner.
This may not be for everyone, but I’ve found a balance that keeps me energized throughout the day without reaching that “afternoon nap-time” feeling.
Drink Water
Over the past year, I have been focusing on drinking more water every day. And in doing so, I have learned something that literally has changed my diet! Want to know what it is?
Often times when we feel hunger pains, it is actually an early sign of dehydration. [3]
Thanks to the advice of nutrition experts, I learned that I should be drinking AT LEAST half my body weight in ounces of water EVERY DAY. And when I do an intense workout, I drink even more.
Test this one out on your own for a while. Each time you feel hungry, drink a glass of water instead of eating something. You might be surprised at how thirsty you’ve actually been this whole time. (I know I was!)
Farmer’s Markets: Supporting Your Local Farms and Businesses
The produce you buy from the grocery store can have pesticides and other harmful preservatives on them. You never really can know where it came from, how it was grown, what was used to preserve it, etc.
When you buy from your local farmer’s market or directly from the farm, you can ask questions and feel confident that the foods you are eating will be healthy and pesticide-free!
Sometimes the produce doesn’t last as long, but isn’t that more proof that it’s healthy?
Not only are you eating healthier foods, but you get the added bonus of supporting local businesses! For my husband and I, this is enough to keep us going back every week.
Farmer’s markets can be a little more expensive than the grocery store. However, if you are buying seasonally and using all the other tips in this article, it actually ends up saving you money!
Here’s why:
- Spending a little extra to buy fresh, local produce and other foods forces you to consider what you will actually eat during the week, so you’ll have less food waste!
- When you buy based on what’s in season, the produce is in abundance which often drives the price down.
- Eating healthier ingredients keeps you healthy longer (see the first point on “Doctor’s visits”).
- Healthy, filling options (like fresh, local farm eggs) keep you energized longer, causing you to eat less so you won’t have to buy as much food each week.
Growing Your Own Food (Gardening)
If you have the time, the green thumb, and the space, you can take it one step further and grow your own food!
By building your own garden, you’ll save money in the long run because you can continue to grow the same fruits and veggies year after year. (As long as you are doing it correctly and taking care of your plants.)
As an added bonus, you’ll have the peace of mind that the foods don’t have any chemicals on them (unless you sprayed them yourself).
Eating food that you grew yourself tastes a lot better, too. There’s something about that sense of accomplishment you get from turning a tiny, little seed into something edible!
Environmental Benefits
At this point, we all understand that mass-production (or factory farming) of meat has contributed to pollution on Earth. [4]
You don’t have to believe in the extreme fear-mongering version of global warming (ahem, I believe they are calling it climate change now), to care about the environment.
Not everyone can afford to have their own farm and raise animals, plus tend a garden. It’s just not realistic.
So, what can you do to help the environment?
Find local butcher shops and farms that you can buy meat from, and avoid the grocery store! Make sure to ask questions so you are confident that you’ve purchased a healthy alternative.
My husband and I dream of one day being able to skip the grocery store altogether. We’d love to have a huge garden, our own chickens (for eggs), and to support local businesses (farmer’s markets, farms, and butcher shops). This takes time to build, but long-term it can save tons of money on food, medical costs, and more!
Results
Between growing your own food, eating more protein, drinking more water, and avoiding the doctor’s office, you’ll save hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars a year.
To give you a frame of reference, our health-conscious lifestyle has saved us roughly $4,800-5,400 per year on food and medical costs.
When we started my husband and I spent about $200-250 per week on food for just the two of us. Now, we spend $100 per week or less (we can get it down to $60 per week in a pinch). Plus, we paid over $500 per month on health insurance and other medical costs and now we pay about $200 per month.
With each step we take toward healthy living, we continue to move our monthly costs closer to zero. I hope this convinces you to start moving toward a health-conscious lifestyle!
Not only will you improve the health of you and your family, but you will save money and improve the environment.
Farmers markets and local businesses, here we come!
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