Monday, April 26, 2010

healthy eating on a low budget: insights

Its Sunday night. Three full days of experience with "healthy eating on a low budget". I've learned some very interesting quirks about myself.

First, I am really bad at planning ahead. Friday worked really well. Three meals but only two snacks. Found out I really like celery with Almond Butter. I had a very nice salad for lunch with spinach and lettuce, mushrooms, green beans, sunflower seeds, and a sprinkling of goats milk cheese. Supper was the left overs from Thursday night with new broccoli added in and some carrots. Combined pickled herring with canned beets for a wonderful protein snack. But, I was home most of the day and could easily plan my food. There was a bit of stress dealing with financial issues, but I didn't use food to compensate. All in all, I was quite proud of myself. And my body was beginning to feel better. Less pain in the joints, less swelling in the ankles, more energy, and a clearer head.

I thought I had Saturday under control but it went really wrong. I woke up feeling refreshed and could move around with little pain. I started the day with my glass of water with a dash of apple cider vinegar and flax oil capsules. Then had a healthy breakfast (the meal I always skip "to save money"). Had 1/2 cup of goat's milk yogurt with some organic blueberry jam in it topped with sunflower seeds (found out I don't like the crunch of seeds in my yogurt). Then I had two scrambled eggs (from free range chickens). Topped off with my watered down pomegranate juice and a cup of black coffee. I had a full morning planned with a stop off at the office to print off some material and then my Toastmasters meeting from 10 am until noon. I planned on being home by 12:45 at the latest to have another great lunch. But then things went a little off track. I ended up going out for coffee with a couple of friends after the meeting and it was well after 3:30 by the time I got home. No lunch. No snacks. I really didn't feel like cooking when I got home. I was very hungry and frantic to eat. So I grabbed some left over salad, woofed down the rest of the pickled herring/beet combo, ate the rest of the goat cheese and ate a tin of sardines right out of the can. When I finally calmed down, it was time to go out to a function that I had only to find they were serving pizza at the function. The smell of the pizza wafted throughout the meeting until we finally had a chance to eat at 7 pm. Usually I am not fond of pizza, but again, I was hungry and hadn't brought a snack, so I grabbed two pieces and gulped them down. I didn't want to drink diet coke, so I washed down the pizza first with bottled water, but that really didn't taste good so I then grabbed a regular coke.

While drinking the can of coke, I realized something rather strange about diet coke. The coke actually filled me up and tasted like it had some substance to it. I realized that all the time I drank diet coke I never felt full or that it was anything like a real food at all. I could easily drink 2 liters of diet coke in an evening and never really feel any sustenance at all. But half a can of coke felt full in my stomach. Interesting discovery. When I think about it from a physiological viewpoint (which is what my PhD is in after all), the sugar in the coke will give the impression of receiving energy from the coke whereas the artificial sweetener in the diet coke will not have this effect. I wonder if this holds true for other diet foods?

Anyway...the point is, I ate pizza and regular coke. Not healthy eating at all. Between the wheat and the mounds of cow's cheese on the pizza and the acid that we call coke, my body was not at all happy.

I woke up Sunday feeling bloated, puffy, and in pain. My back ached; my ankles ached, and my knees were very stiff. I got right back on the plan. I decided to plan my snacks ahead of time. I cut up a nice apple into chunks and put it into a plastic bag for later in the day. I cut up some english cucumber and put it into a bag. I put a handful of almonds into a bag. There! My snacks were ready. I didn't feel much like eating breakfast but I had my yogurt anyway (approximately $1.50 worth). Lunch was easy with a nice salad (about $3). I spent the afternoon with my mother to lift her spirits and brought along my afternoon snack with me. While we were having a coffee, I pulled out my cucumber slices and we shared them. The problem happened at dinner time. I was still with my mom trying to keep her calm and brighten her up from the rough day she was having (she has severe dementia and had a bad encounter with another resident in the nursing home) so I couldn't leave her until she was smiling again. I ended up skipping dinner since I always spend a couple of hours on Sunday nights with Nan, a sweet 88 year old angel. Karen Berger is Nan's daughter and I am proud to say she is a friend of mine. She is also a Kinesiologist and does incredible work with people helping them to see what is required to help balance their body with their energy. I had a session with her earlier tonight and feel absolutely wonderful AND I have some great insights into what my body needs.

When I finally arrived home tonight I was really hungry but I pulled out the apple pieces and munched on them until the hunger subsided. Then I cooked up some minced turkey (on sale; use about $2 worth), and cooked some quinoa (another $0.50) in with garlic and onions (together about $0.30 worth), dropped some asparagus (from the Chinese market...$1) into a boiling pot, and had an absolutely scrumptious late dinner. Again, a dinner for less than $4.

The total cost for the day was easily under $10.

So what have I learned? First, only one slip back into old habits makes a huge difference in my body (the pizza and coke the night before). Second, I have to plan ahead and make up snacks in case plans change. Third, I don't like to cook when I am hungry.

Interesting experience so far. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

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