Today everyone’s budgets are tight! Just because your budget it tight doesn’t mean you can’t eat healthy. Fruits and vegetables are typically more expensive than a box of mac and cheese, but it is important to still maintain your health in these tough times.

Here are a few tips in eating healthy on a tight budget:

-          Cut coupons from your Sunday newspaper

-          Buy fruits and vegetables at your local farmer’s market. They are cheaper and the money goes directly to the seller vs. the middleman when you buy it at the grocery store. Also majority of farmer’s market products are organic.

-          Next time you are out do some price checking. Buying in bulk doesn’t necessarily mean it is cheaper. I have compared prices with Costco and Target and I find that Target is generally cheaper (especially when I use the coupons I cut from the Sunday newspaper).

-          Bring your lunch to work/school. It is healthier, you know where you food came from and can save you up to $25 a week!

-          If you go out to eat, order water instead of soda. Water will help you metabolize food faster and carry nutrients to your cells.

-          Send an email to Amy’s Kitchen (http://www.amyskitchen.com/lemonslice/dear_amy/send_letter.php )stating you would like some coupons. You will get an email requesting your address to where they can send the coupons. (I just got mine yesterday!!)

-          Carry a snack with you if you are on the road a lot (bora bora bars, lara bars, nuts, peanut butter and jelly, raisins all travel well)—this works well too if you have kids.

-          Always carry a bottle of water with you. Better to stay hydrated throughout the day and it will help you to stay full and not over eat.

-          Look at your local grocery paper weekly for what is on sale. Try to buy products that are on sale as often as you can. This can save you a lot in the long run.

Healthier foods (whole wheat bread, fruits, vegetables) may be more expensive, but they will keep you fuller longer.  Eating healthy and saving money might require a bit of foot work, but it is worth it and your wallet will thank you!

Lastly, a friend recommend this site to me and I thought I would pass it along. The site is called Tip Jar: http://moderator.appspot.com/#16/e=3cfc

Clif Bar, Luna Bar, Balance Bar, PowerBar. Ever eaten one of these? Maybe you grab one before a long run or long bike ride …or maybe you grab one in the middle of the day to beat that mid afternoon slump. There are so many energy bars out there, what do you look for when you buy them? Do you fully understand all the ingredients in them? I pulled up the Clif Bar website and looked up some of the ingredients. Most ingredients I recognized, however, some ingredients I have no idea what they are like soy protein isolate. Sounds simple, but I don’t think it is as simple as it sounds. Also many of these so called healthy energy bars contain way too much sugar and processed ingredients.

I have found some energy bars that are healthy, have flavor and you actually recognize all the ingredients.

Energy Bar #1: Lara bars

-          Offer a wide variety of flavors

-          Sweetened with dates (natural sweetener)

-          My favorite is the Banana Nut (taste exactly like banana nut bread) and the Peanut Butter bar

-          Found at Trader Joes, WholeFoods, Henry’s and I have seen them at Vons/Safeway

Energy Bar #2: Bora Bora bars

-          Made mostly from nuts

-          Sweetened with agave syrup (natural sweetener)

-          My favorite is the Cinnamon Oatmeal

-          So far the only place I have been able to find these are at Costco, check your local markets I am sure they sold elsewhere (I think I saw them at Whole Foods, but I have not had time to confirm that)

Energy Bar #3: Trio Bar

-          Also made mostly from nuts

-          More of a crunchy texture

-          These are not particularly my favorite, but some of you might like them

-          Sweetened with dates (natural sweetener), evaporated cane juice, which isn’t the best, but at least you know what it is

-          I have also only seen these at Costco, but I am sure there are elsewhere as well

I do hope you get to try out one of these healthy energy bars. I am sure there are other healthy ones out there, but these are the ones I have tried, think they taste great and really recommend in place of your current energy bar.

I do a great deal of reading… especially when it comes to health and food. I found this mini article I would like to share with you. I know I have said this before, but I strongly believe what we eat now is surely going to effect us later. So take care of yourself now, get rid of all that junk food and practice eating healthy today!

Bringing in the New Year many of us try and make a conscience effort to eat better. Below I created a chart to jump start your New Year with some healthy options. Enjoy and Happy New Year!

Instead of:	Try this:	Even better:
french Fries	baked potato	baked sweet potato
canned vegetables	frozen vegetables	fresh vegetables
soda	100% fruit juice	water with lemon
milk chocolate	70% or more dark chocolate	grain sweetened chocolate
cows milk	vanilla silk soy milk	unsweetened silk soy milk
white pasta	whole wheat pasta	spelt pasta
potato chips	100% stone ground chips	popcorn
canned fruit	dried fruit	fresh fruit
ice berg lettuce	romaine lettuce	spinach
Raisin Bran	Puffins (Barbara’s Bakery)	oatmeal
Nature  Valley granola bars	Barbara’s Bakery granola bars	lara bars or bora bora bars

Now a days people are always trying to watch their carb intake. What you need to know is that we need to eat carbs to keep our body functioning. We are required to eat at least 130 grams of carbs a day just to supply energy to our nerve cells, including those of the brain. Instead of cutting carbs out of our diet we need to take out the bad carbs and add more good carbs to our diet. Examples of good carbs would be: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, brown rice and sweet potatoes.  Examples of bad carbs would be refined sugar, sodas, white breads and white pastas.

We should realize that carbs don’t make us fat… it is all the sugar and all the processed foods that make us fat.

Cutting carbs greatly reduces our nutrient intake.  People may lose weight on these low carb/no carb diets, but it is not a healthy way to lose weight.  Not to mention when you don’t have enough carbs you get irritable and shaky. Who wants to feel that way?!

When we consume enough good carbs it helps prevent the production of ketones as an alternative energy source. Excessive ketones can result in high blood acidity and ketoacidosis, which alters basic body functions and damages tissue.

People are always looking for that quick fix and to tell you the truth there is no quick fix and there will probably never been one. The best thing you can do is change your eating habits and exercise daily to keep healthy.

Remember you can never go wrong with too many fruits, vegetables and whole grains in your diet.

Merry Christmas! I will keep this short so you can get back to opening presents!

5 Healthy Holiday Foods

Yams are high in vitamin C, dietary fiber, vitamin B6, potassium, and manganese; while being low in saturated fat and sodium

Green beans are an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin C, manganese, vitamin A, dietary fiber, potassium, folate, and iron

Nuts are the best plant source of protein not to mention they are rich in fiber, phytonutrients and antioxidants like as vitamin E and selenium

Whole Grains (stone ground wheat, oats, brown rice) are a good source of B vitamins, vitamin E, magnesium, iron and fiber

Homemade Mulled Apple Cider is high in antioxidants, but be careful, you are better off eating an apple than drinking many cups of apple cider since apple cider is concentrated

I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t always have time to cook a healthy meal every single night! About a year ago I discovered frozen meals made by Amy’s Kitchen. Get this… they are frozen meals that are organic, healthy, have natural ingredients, are not processed and most cook in 5 minutes or less.  What more could you ask for right?

Amy’s Kitchen has a variety of meals to choose from such as pizza, soups, brown rice bowls, pastas and apple pie. One thing I like about Amy’s Kitchen meals is that they tailor some of their foods for people who are lactose intolerant (such as myself) and offer pizzas, burritos and enchiladas that don’t have cheese. I might also mention all the products are vegetarian, but don’t let that scare you.   There are plenty of meals I haven’t had such as the baked ziti, the toaster pops, the lasagna or the veggie burgers, but I can honestly say that I haven’t had a bad meal yet.

I think for those who are living the busy life and don’t have the time to necessarily cook every night and are looking for something healthy and easy I think an Amy’s Kitchen meal might just be what you are looking for.

Where to buy? I have found them at WholeFoods, Henry’s, Vons (aka Safeway) and believe it or not Target (although Target has a very limited selection).  Amy’s Kitchen meals also typically cost more than your average frozen meal, but hey… wouldn’t you rather spend an extra buck or two on something that isn’t processed and that is healthy rather than a medical bill down the line because you ate too many processed foods and your arteries were clogged?

On a side note I saw Amy’s Kitchen burritos featured on How it’s Made and I was so fascinated and so excited to see a product created with real ingredients!