How many times in a day or week is it that we hear or even say that it is too expensive to eat healthy. Who can afford a cart of healthy groceries? Answer, everyone can if they pre-plan a menu for the week and take the time to shop for good values. The picture above is one I have used before but it is what I had for dinner this evening minus the ham. It was one and a half cups of pinto beans, four ounces of shrimp, a couple tablespoons of salsa and chili lime seasoning to taste. That huge serving of food equaled about $2.65 but could have been even less if I had cooked dry pinto beans instead of using canned. I shopped at my local Dillon’s where one can of Pinto’s was about $.90 and the shrimp on sale was $6.99 a pound. I bought a pound of shrimp and divide it into four servings, but it could actually go further. You can not feed your family on less than $3.00 at any fast food place in America, unless you are feeding them possibly a very small meal totally lacking any nutritional value. If my children were still living at home, I could have fed my wife and 3 kids this meal for $13.75. This is only but one example of more to come on how to eat healthy for a reasonable budget.

The nice thing too with this meal is it was 0 points for 405.7 calories, 2.5g fat, 54.6g complex carbs and 43.5g lean protein. The calorie count may be higher than some would prefer, but I eat a lot being a weight trainer. One and a half cups of beans with four ounces of shrimp is actually a pretty huge meal. It will keep me satiated until I end my intermittent fast tomorrow as it was high in protein and lots of good fiber from the beans. I could have ate something else tonight before going on the road in my semi. I could have ate something loaded with simple carbs for the same cash value, maybe, maybe not. But, I will not be dipping into my road food until tomorrow sometime and will not be spending money and losing time on junk food from a truck stop. Which leads to another consideration about affordability of eating healthy.

If your life is pretty much sedentary, you can not afford to not eat unhealthy even if you saved a little money on your grocery bill for the week. I would ask, if you bought a basket full of sugary junk or processed foods, how many trips did you also make to a fast food joint during the week that could have been avoided if you were not feeding a food craving? Eating healthy removes those feelings of being “hangry”. How many trips have you made to the doctor in a year that was weight related? Related as a matter of your diet causing inflammation in the body which has triggered ailments that can be mitigated by healthy eating. Or maybe you went to the doctor because your knees hurt from your weight and you have a difficult time negotiating a set of stairs. Maybe you suffer from bad acid reflux as a result of your diet and have trashed your esophagus as a result of all that stomach acid bubbling up. Having to add a box of antacids to your grocery bill. How much is your co-pay at the doctor, your share of the bill after insurance and your cost for prescription drugs? These expenses can be either removed from your life or greatly reduced through healthy eating choices.

So, the next time you are in the store bypassing healthy whole foods for the processed and sugary stuff because you can not afford healthy, think about all of your other associated expenses that are a result of your diet. Think about this, a box of Ho Ho’s might be a couple bucks and be gone in a day, but you can get good fat free greek yogurt at many stores on sale for 10 servings for $10.00. And you can doctor up the taste also for very little cost.

In about an hour, I will be heading out on the road in my semi on a new route for 960 miles. I’m pretty stoked about my new schedule and love my job. There is no better office window view than the one you soak in from the windshield of a semi on the road. Thanks for reading, and for all the support I have been receiving on my blog. God bless all, and have a good night.