What does less money have to do with your health?
In some strange way it can help.

Quality over quantity. Immediately we might think; that means costing more. Overconsumption has been the bane of our existence and our health crisis for many years. We consume without considering the effect it has on us.
The increase in illnesses we see today is in part connected to our excess consumption of food, the quality of it. Our excess consumption of TV entertainment and computers keeps us in our seats and on the couch instead of out and about.
Why are we so invested in consuming every minute of the day?

We are a culture, who do not know how to pause and be still for a moment.

The stress we live under is increasing but we are also not taking a break from the overwhelm without filling the break with something. Many consider de-stressing an activity. Multi-tasking seems to edge itself into every corner of our lives. Granted it has been shown that it does not increase productivity, we still stress thinking we are doing more.

As far as our self-care goes, taking time out to just be is of great importance. Most do not know what that means in their daily life. But even just creating a little focused attention on what you do helps. What would happen if you were to watch a movie and not eat your dinner at the same time or mindlessly snack for the duration of a show? Or if you were not to watch a movie at all and just sit there and eat? I know it is hard. We have become so used to having a constant influx of ...? Well what? Noise really. To not hear ourselves think? To tune out from the stress of the day? Some turn to food, some turn to drinking, some turn to TV and others to getting buried in work.

With the Holiday season coming up we even more so feel the pressure of "stuff". From food, events we have to participate in, gifts we have to give. Family relations we have to tend to. And where do we fit in some self-care and self-time? That is always the question that comes up around this time with my clients. How do I cope? How do I avoid eating too much? How do I get a little time for myself? How do I deal with the stress of family?

My short version answer always is; keep yourself close to your heart. Do practice your daily routines for your health and wellbeing as much as possible and then participate in the family and holiday cheers with just that in mind. Know that you are doing your best in still taking care of yourself as much as it is possible right now. Even just a walk will help you get your mind at ease.

When we Choose Quality over Quantity.

If your first reaction is; I cannot afford it, think again. Reality is that quality in the long run costs less. But only if we at the same time learn to consume less and pay more attention. Practice to be present to the moment for long enough to slow down and enjoy what is. Start with short moments at a time and expand them.

Less is more is an old saying that comes up in so many ways. How can we use that when we think of food. Well for one, less food for many means more health. I am completely aware that many suffer from eating too little food, both because of eating disorders, but also because of other health issues or parts of the world living in hunger. Here I am talking about the excess consumption and waste that takes place in most homes and restaurants today. When we go for a meal that is large in size and low in price. The quality of the meal is often one that cause us to eat more because in itself it is not nourishing enough to get us satisfied. As well there is a tendency to not waste and eat it all. Even if we waste our health this way.

Another way we eat more is when we expand our options to more choices rather than keeping it simple. The salad bar is a great example. Or when we think that a bigger piece of fish or meat is what we need to feel satisfied and we choose size over quality.

The Choices that Cost Less.

When it comes to your health, quality always matters. Be mindful that what you save now by choosing cheap fast food meals, you might spend later on your doctor's bills. The NY Times article: "The High Price of Cheap Eats" gives a list of the worst best priced value meals. And most of them are what a lot of people eat on the run, for lunch breaks, or even the dinner meal when they don't feel like cooking. It becomes scary when this choice is more than once in awhile. For some it does sound scary to ever eat these meals, but in real life - let's face it - people do. Being informed though might help you stop before you chew.

Many of these low-cost menu items are packed with fat, salt, cholesterol and processed meat, notes The Cancer Project, a nonprofit cancer prevention organization. The group has produced a list of what it says are the five unhealthiest items sold at the nation’s largest fast food chains.

The report is published by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and was spurred by a concern that during tough economic times, more people will resort to eating inexpensive fast foods.

Jack in the Box’s junior bacon cheeseburger topped the list as the worst offender. The burger costs just one dollar but is packed with 23 grams of fat, including 8 grams of saturated fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol and 860 milligrams of sodium and just one gram of fiber.

In second-worst place, the 89-cent Taco Bell cheesy double beef burrito, with 460 calories, 20 grams of fat and a whopping 1,620 milligrams of sodium.

Third-worst place was the one-dollar Burger King breakfast sausage biscuit, with 27 grams of fat, including 15 grams of saturated fat and over 1,000 milligrams of sodium.

Fourth worst went to the one-dollar McDonald’s McDouble, which contains 19 grams of fat and 65 milligrams of cholesterol.

Last, and least-worst, was the Wendy’s junior bacon cheeseburger, for $1.53, with 310 calories and 16 grams of fat.

How we can Nurture for Less.

Choose to cook and bring your own food to work. I know, I know, you don't have time. And most of my clients who tell me that figure it out little by little. There are many ways to have simple, cheap, fast meals - that are homecooked. A little effort goes a long way. I promise. I have been cooking my meals for awhile now. I save so much money every day. I buy bulk of certain foods that I always have in my cupboard and all I need is to get some fresh produce a few times a week. And mostly I actually only shop about once a week since I use it up depending on what lasts longer.

Some ideas:

A favorite of mine is to cook lentils. They are high in protein, high in fiber, low in fat, low in calories and low in glycemic index They are a good source of iron, phosphorus and copper, folate and manganese. They take only 25 minutes to cook, take care of themselves while doing so, and you can cook enough for a couple of days. Mix them with a grain like quinoa and make a salad out of it with mixed vegetables. Quinoa is great because it is an easy grain to cook and mix it with many options of vegetables. You can also make a quinoa salad with nuts and some herbs and veggies. Toss it on top of a salad or mix it with a can of wild salmon. Quinoa only takes 25 minutes to cook so you can actually mix it in with the lentils in the same pot. It is low in starch and glycemic index as well as very low in cholesterol and sodium. It is also a good source of magnesium and phosphorus, and a very good source of manganese. And for a grain it is high in protein as well.

Soups and stews are always great - you can cook those up for a few days as well. I often put a pot of food on the stove when I get home at night but it is for the next day. It just cooks while I get myself ready for bed. Since I often get home late from work I spend only little time at night cooking dinner, mostly it is just a saute of vegetables which takes about 10 minutes and I can mix it with something that was already cooked before. The pot of food I cook at night takes care of itself and is lunch for the next day.

To bring your food along there are now many more easy to tote along food boxes.
I just found this site: To-Go Ware.

How we can Nurture for Free.

My all time favorite. Where we really get our nurture from is the love we share. It is for free. A hug. A walk in the park. A conversation on the phone or sitting in the couch with a cup of tea (almost free:) Telling someone how much you care about them and why they are special to you will also nurture you, not just the other.

I made a list at some point to my group of healer friends to show my gratitude to them. I wrote a note for each one with the quality they each had that I loved about them, what they taught me, and how their qualities helped me be a better person as I could learn about myself in their "mirror". See that to me is how we nurture each other and from each other. And that has No Cash Value.

Happy Holidays!
All the best of health for the New Year to come.
Enjoy Your Loved Ones. Enjoy YourSelf.