16 Ways to Eat Healthy While Keeping it Cheap

Written by Mehdi

Eating healthy is important. Eating healthy:
- Lowers disease risks
- Increases productivity
- Gives you more energy
- Makes you stronger

You probably think eating healthy is expensive. I’ll be honest - it is. But there are tricks to keep it low cost. Here are sixteen ways to eat more healthy while keeping it cheap.
What is Healthy Food? Before we start, let’s define healthy food. It consists of:
- Protein. The building blocks of muscles, needed for strength.
- Fat. A balanced intake of omega 3, 6 & 9.
- Veggies. All kinds, especially green fibrous veggies.
- Fruit. Full of vitamins.
- Water. 1 liter per 1000 calories you expend.
- Whole grain food. Oats, rice, pasta, breads, ?

On with the tips.

1. Switch to Water. I drank huge amounts of soda daily for more than 15 years. Then I started Strength Training and switched to water:
   - It’s healthier
   - It’s cheaper
   Quit the soda & drink water. Take a bottle wherever you go.
2. Consume Tap Water. Check the price of water on your tap water bill. Now check the price of bottled water. Quit a difference, isn’t it? So why are you buying bottled water?
   - Cleaner? Not necessarily.
   - Better taste? No, simply a matter of Adaptation.
   Bottled water companies get their supply from the same source you do: municipal water systems. It’s like selling ice to Eskimos. If you don’t trust the quality of tap water, filter it yourself. I use a Brita Pitcher. One $7 filter cleans 40 gallons water.
   
   3. Eat Eggs. I always have eggs at breakfast:
   - Full of vitamins
   - High in proteins
   - Low in price
   Don’t believe the Eggs & Cholesterol myth. Dietary cholesterol is not bound to blood cholesterol. Want to make it cheaper? Buy a chicken.
   
   4. Eat Fatty Meats. Fatty meats are cheaper & more tasty than lean meats. You think it’s not healthy? Check the Fat Myths:
   - Fat doesn’t make you fat, excess calories do
   - You need a balanced intake of fats: omega 3, 6 & 9
   - I’m on the Anabolic Diet, I buy beef chuck instead of sirloin.

Read more of this article: http://www.bspcn.com/2007/07/31/16-ways-to-eat-healthy-while-keeping-it-cheap/

Feng Shui: bringing balance to your home

I am attracted to alternative ways of achieving wellness and have become quite intrigued by the principles of Feng Shui. This ancient Chinese system of balancing the energy patterns of the physical environment is probably more mainstream now than "alternative" because more and more people are looking to nature to help them with their wellness goals.

I found an article called, "Feng Shui for a Healthy Home - How To Create a Happy Space with Feng Shui", by Rodika Tchi, About.com that outlines some really nice ways to create harmonious relationships by applying feng shui energy techniques to your home space. The tips include:

1. FOCUS on bringing fresh energy into your space - fresh flowers, fresh air, fresh fruits on the kitchen table, fresh (recent) photos, etc.


2. MOVE your furniture around, even if just a couple inches. Do not keep your bed in the same position year after year. Just moving your bed an inch or two will shift the flow of energy in the room.


3. KEEP the television out of the bedroom.


4. CLOSE the bathroom and closet doors in your bedrooms. Keep them clean and clutter free.


5. FILL your space with beautiful music according to mood - sounds, just like colors, are strong expressions of energy.


6. DISPLAY photos of you and your partner/family enjoying life.


7. RESPECT each others boundaries and create space and time where each partner/family member can be by him or herself.

This site is full of great feng shui information and tips well-suited for those of us wanting a good primer.

Creating good energy flow, whether through feng shui, yoga or through other means, is a critical component to bringing about harmony and attracting good things - and good people - to us. Try some of these techniques above to get the ball rolling.

Sick days

Soon enough, now that summer is coming quickly to an end, the flu and other illnesses will resume their place on the hot topics list. As if being sick isn't enough, we frequently face the added dilemma of what constitutes being ill enough to stay home from work. So I came across an article in CanadianLiving.com entitled "Am I too sick to go to work?" that I thought might be useful to share.

I don't think my husband has taken a sick day in years simply because of the guilt-factor. I've witnessed him in conditions I know warrant a day off to rest and recuperate, but he is too worried about what needs to get done at work............and off he goes. But beyond a person's own health and well-being, illnesses that are contagious also become hazards to the work environment. Here is some interesting information from the article related to the unhealthy workplace:

"Dr. Richard Stanwick, an epidemiologist and chief medical health officer for the Vancouver Island Health Authority in Victoria, cautions that the day you're simply feeling bad – usually the day before symptoms start to show – is when you become infectious. Here's what could happen if you go to work anyway.

• You could infect 10 to 15 per cent of the people you come into contact with during the day, if you're in a service industry (for instance, if you’re a bank teller).
• A simple cold can turn into something more serious if you have an underlying chronic disease.
• You may be ignoring your overall health in a significant way. Working when you should be at home could be a sign that your work-life balance is off-kilter.
• Your illness could affect your company's bottom line. You won't be as productive as you normally are, and if you infect some coworkers, they might also have lower productivity"

And what if you have kids? The article also provides suggestions on how to read your child's symptoms when making a decision about whether they should stay at home or go to school. And if your child does need to stay at home, the dilemma of how and when to use your sick days becomes even more pronounced. An article in BlueSuitMom.com advocates creating a Sick Day Plan, In "Sick Day Savvy: How to Take Care of Your Child and Your Career", Dr. Jeanette LeBlanc states it is critical to create these emergency plans. It is better to evaluate your available options well ahead of time so that you are not scrambling at the last minute to figure out arrangements. Whether illnesses happen frequently or infrequently in your home, you can never choose when they may occur, and it may be at the most inopportune time.

Accepting and enjoying the moment

Even though I left the world of full-time work outside the home, the level of busy-ness and chaos in my life really hasn't changed much. My days are still long and "tension" and "exhaustion" are still part of my vocabulary. Interestingly, even though my load for the day is large, my feelings of tension and fatigue have lessened considerably. It's lessened in frequency and in intensity. I am more excited about life now than I ever have been. I attribute this to the way I now view my life - a series of moments that exist in a point of time, each one of them being wonderful opportunities to grow and learn from. I listen for inspiration from every interaction and every circumstance.

In her blog, Ellen Miller, a technology marketing firm executive who is passionate about work-life balance, talks about her life as a professional and a parent as a three-ringed circus of sorts. She writes, "I write to you this morning completely overwhelmed. Standing in the middle of my three-ring circus of family, work, and personal pursuits, I have moved from my favorite role of ringmaster (I love being in charge) to the lady riding bareback on the white pony (preparing for a huge client presentation). . .while performing a courageous act with the tigers (completing the manuscript for my book). . . in my clown suit (while babysitting Ava). Before noon today I will have performed every role in my personal crazy circus. And I love it." She attributes her ability to love all she does to changing the way she views her multiple roles. She says, "Work/life balance is not something you do or don't do; it's about the enthusiasm with which you greet your roles." She goes on to talk about her hectic earlier years as a working mother and how enthusiasm kept her relatively sane, "I spent more time celebrating my life at that moment than I did lamenting how hard tomorrow would be."

After reading her post I realized that this is the very shift in thinking that I have been working hard to make. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I am still in transition and have moments when I'd like to just run away! But rather than letting those feelings get the best of me and set the tone for my day (and ultimately my life), I become aware of how I feel, name it, and move on. I have come to realize that living in the moment allows me to get nuggets of inspiration that I might otherwise overlook, and out from this my enthusiasm is born.

Using affirmations to achieve work-life balance

I use affirmations with my coaching clients in their career impact process. An affirmation is a positive statement designed to counteract a negative belief that you possess. It is a powerful component in eliminating self-limiting thoughts and words, and can be used to apply to all your life goals. In his article, "A Time to Work and a Time to Play!" Ronnie Nijmeh highlights the differences in balance needs of single people, couples without children, and couples with children. He also offers the following list of possible affirmations you can use to help you achieve work-life balance:

I keep work and play in a healthy balance.
I deserve to spend time relaxing.
I deserve to spend time enjoying my family.
I have a balanced life.
I cherish the time I have to enjoy my spouse.
I enjoy my work and the excellent job that I do.
I enjoy my time to play with my children.

Don't limit yourself to these statements - use them as a guide and make them unique to your own personal goals. If you are new to using affirmations, at first it may seem a bit awkward, but this is a very normal reaction to something that is new and that requires a paradigm shift.

Clutter and stress

Okay, I am guilty as charged! Clutter is just one of those things that I have had to work at super-extra hard at controlling. I came to realize (probably after we had the kids) that clutter has only further compounded any stress I may have already had. And according to Feng Shui principles, clutter can drain you of your positive energy. I'm getting MUCH better at it and I can feel the positive effects of it. I came across these 7 Home Organizing Essentials and thought I would share with anyone who struggles with this beast!

I was happy to read in the article The Cost of Clutter that there is a healthy level of clutter, and if I were spending time nagging my family over little bits of mess here and there (come on, we don't live in a model home, nor should we think our home needs to look that way!) then I would be equally stressing myself out. Finding that balance has been very important for me and my sanity.

Technology: friend or foe?

I've managed to keep a fair distance from many of the high tech gadgets used in business today - so far. Even my cell phone is for "emergency purposes" only. This will probably change in the very near future for me, but I often wonder how I would keep myself from falling into the "available 24/7" scenario that so many people are a part of? It's pretty clear that unless you make a conscious effort to draw some lines, your WLB can go awry. According to an article by the Press Association, Technology 'creating extra work', employees who use remote technology work an extra 20 days per year. That's almost a whole month extra, on your time. I can't imagine how you can give undivided attention to your loved ones (when it should be their time) when you're constantly texting from your Blackberry. I'm not saying technology is a bad thing, and quite honestly I would not be able to run a home-based business without it! But I do think I'll need make some clear boundaries down the road. Tom Musbach from Yahoo! Hot Jobs came up with some nice tips for professional gadget use in his article, Wireless Working: Rudeness Made Easy?. So I'm preparing myself!

Welcome!

One of the things I love to talk about and get better at is work-life balance. As an entrepreneur and mother of three, I definitely feel the challenges of it first hand! I also know that in an age of boundaryless careers, high tech gadgets and a sandwich generation, it's a real issue for most people. Creating this blog is part of my own "therapy" because as I read and write about it, I make it a priority for my life. I think the information I come across would be useful for anyone, and I invite dialogue from anyone who is interested. If you just want to peruse and learn, that is perfectly fine too!