Recent Womens Life Content:

Healthy Eating on Any Budget

Preparing healthy meals for your family or yourself on a daily basis can seem like a tough task. Many of us still tend to spend too much because we are pulled in by merchandising tricks at the grocery store. Advertisements suck us in by telling us that we need their product to be healthy, so we rationalize that it is worth the cost. Even if it is a product we would have never purchased if we had not seen the ad. In addition, just as many of us have a hard enough time thinking of more than a handful of healthy meals to prepare. We get into the habit of making the same dish over and over again. Just remember, you are in control of your budget, your kitchen, and your meals. With just a little creativity and a heap of self-control, you can enjoy great meals at little cost.

The myth that you have to sacrifice quality food when your on a budget is just that, a myth. No more can you use the excuse that junk food costs less. Quality, healthy food can be eaten on a daily basis, even on a bare bones budget. Lets review some simple tips of healthy eating that will just about tighten you wallet for you.

First, drink more water. Cutting out the colas and the juices and the sports drinks will save you a bundle and your body won't even miss them. You'll feel better because your more hydrated and you'll most likely have more energy than even drinking sugary sports drinks.

Second, limit junk food and alcohol. Reaching for the bag of chips instead of some freshly chopped carrot sticks because it supposedly costs less is nonsense. You'll most likely go through that 2.50 bag of chips almost in one sitting. If you had reached for that fist full of carrot sticks that cost about a dollar at the grocery store. You'll not only reap the nutritional benefits, but you'll feel more satisfied on less food from all the fiber.

Third, spice up your week with a variety of foods. You will likely go back to old junk food habits if you are bored with your healthy eating. So make a point to use a variety of foods every week.

Healthy eating takes some commitment and sometimes even a change of lifestyle. Though, once good habits are formed, they are easier to keep. A simple and non-intimidating way to approach these three tips on healthy eating is to only conquer one at a time. One week, drink more water. The next week, cut back on junk food and alcohol. Week three, work on choosing a variety of foods to prepare your meals with. It doesn't take rocket science to eat healthy on a budget, just commitment and a plan.

Next, start setting aside time each week to plan your meals. You can have stir fry Tuesday or pasta Friday. Every single meal of every day of the week doesn't have to be different. A little predictability is great for a budget. Just make sure to throw in a little variety now and then.

This is also a good time to plan your shopping trips. One very important, crucial, tip for staying on budget and eating healthy is to only purchase the items on your grocery list. Don't let emotional advertisements or stress get the better of you at the grocery store. Be in charge of your budget and have your emotions in check. You should also eat a meal or snack before going grocery shopping. This way you are not tempted to grab a whole slew of items that look yummy, but aren't on your list. Sticking to your list and knowing how much you are going to spend ahead of time is real budgeting power.

Now that you've learned to eat wisely and plan your meals ahead of time, you can have fun with it! Replace that bag of potato chips and hamburger with some savory grilled mushrooms atop an inexpensive lean cut of beef or chicken. Replace your Mac n' Cheese with bow-tie pasta, marinara sauce and low-fat mozzarella. Go back to your old, dusty, recipe books and go through them with a plan to cook something new once a week. Likely, you'll find yourself overwhelmed by all the new dishes you want to create. Most importantly, you'll discover that just by using simple shopping and healthy eating techniques, you can certainly enjoy fine living on a budget.

Buy your Bath and Body Products Based on the Back Label, Not the Front Label

Bath and body products are intended to improve health. Soap was not originally created because it smelled good, it was created because it washed off dirt and bacteria, and consequently made us smell good. Likewise, body lotions were not created to make us smell good, but to protect our skin from the harsh world. Given this context, how do your bath and body products hold up? Have your products been designed around maximizing marketability or around their ability to improve your health?

Sadly, the bath and body industry is nearly completely monopolized by large companies who know what sells. What determines the price of a bath and body product is not the ingredients, but the marketing. As a result, nearly every bottle of bath and body products found in a large chain store has harsh chemicals and petroleum byproducts in it. I was in Walmart last month looking down the body lotion aisle and nearly every bottle of lotion contained either mineral oil or petrolatum. The only ones that did not have mineral oil or petrolatum were the glycerin (a type of sugar - not an oil) based lotions. Just because a bottle says "with Cocoa Butter" does not mean that Cocoa Butter is the foundation of the lotion, it generally means that a small amount of Cocoa Butter was added. The primary foundation of the lotion is usually still mineral oil, petrolatum, or something worse.

The reason petroleum products are used is because they are very inexpensive, don't go bad over time, and act as great carriers for fragrance, and because there are no components that can be absorbed by the skin, your relief is fleeting, leaving you perpetually needing more.

The truth is that most bath and body products are not designed with your health in mind; they are designed with marketing in mind. So what can you do? The primary way to take care of yourself is to know what it is you are buying, which means shopping based on what is on the back of the bottle, not the front. So what should you look for?

When it comes to lotions, the key thing to look for in the ingredients is natural oils or butters at or near the top of the product ingredient list. The highest quality products will be made nearly entirely with oils and butters. This means that they will be listed as the first ingredient, likely followed by water. If water comes first, then the majority of what you are buying is made up of water. Even if the bottle says that it contains natural oils or butter, if mineral oil, petrolatum, glycerin, or any chemical name comes ahead of the natural oil/butter in the product list, then the natural oil/butter content is negligible and will have little impact on your skin. Its addition was for marketing purposes.

When it comes to bath products (i.e. soap, shampoo, etc.), the key thing to look for is if the product has sodium lauryl sulphate or any name that sounds or looks similar. Bath products need to have detergents in them in order to clean, but our skin does not need the harshness that sodium lauryl sulphate or its alternatives bring. It is too strong and cannot be properly complexed with moisturizers to leave a silky feel. Find a product that does not have this detergent.

It is the ingredients listed on the back that will determine whether the bath and body products are going to improve your health. So, next time you head into the store to buy a bath and body product for yourself or a friend, make your purchase based on the ingredients on the back. You will be much happier with your skin and will consequently find yourself buying fewer bath and body products.