A Little Bit Healthier

Using Small Substitutions to Increase Nutrition

Some of you may know that before studying Family Finance in school, I first studied Nutrition. I really wanted to be a Registered Dietician. It was a difficult thing for me to let go of that dream. However, I am grateful for the time I was able to spend learning from some wonderful Dieticians and Food Scientists.

It would be impossible for me to share everything I learned (and probably really boring), but I'd love to share my biggest takeaway:

MODERATION

and

BALANCE

Strict Diets are difficult to maintain, and some are just downright unhealthy. Diet plans can be a great starting point for weight loss, but often once people are done, they go right back to their old habits.

BREAKING NEWS: It's difficult to break a habit.

Wow! Shocker! 

When I read or hear things about breaking habits, I often hear how important it is to replace the bad habit with something good (or at least better).

Those who want to quit smoking are often encouraged to chew gum, brush their teeth often, exercise when they feel a craving, etc.

Focusing on Replacement instead of Restriction can also help us on a journey to an active lifestyle with better Nutrition.Here are some replacements, additions, or changes I've applied to help myself and my family eat and live healthier:

* Mix 1/3 whole wheat flour with 2/3 white flour (I pre-mix so I don't have to think about it when I'm cooking)
* Buy Whole Wheat Pasta (or white pasta with added fiber or veggies)
* Serve more side dishes with meals (fruits and veggies)
* Replace Ice/Water or Fruit Juice in Smoothies with Milk (easy way to increase dairy, though it will have more calories than Ice)
* Popcorn and tortilla chips have more fiber than potato chips.
* Dried fruit has more fiber than gummy candy.
* Use Brown Rice or ParBoiled Rice instead of White Rice.
* Don't keep treats in the house (at our house store bought treats are for holidays and events, if we want a treat we make brownies or cookies which means it takes WORK)
* Drink more water. (if you're feeling hungry grab a glass of water before you eat, you may find that you were really only thirsty)
* Add Lemon Juice to your water instead of reaching for Sugared or Artificially Sweetened drinks.
* Add some veggies to mac and cheese, ramen noodles, or other quick meals.
* Plan healthy snacks. When we're hungry it's easy to think with our stomachs rather than our brains.
           Smoothie ingredients (or pre-made frozen smoothies), lowfat yogurt, fruit, string cheese, nuts, sunflower seeds, jerky, whole grain/low sugar cereal and other healthy snacks are a great way to combat those breakdown moments.
* Sit Less. Exercise can be intimidating but setting a goal to sit less is quite achievable.
* If you're going to have a treat, or a few, Relax and ENJOY. Beating yourself up doesn't invoke feelings of goodness, determination and progress.
* Never eat so much it hurts
* The easiest time to be hungry is when you're sleeping.



And my frugal tip for staying healthy:
Gym memberships can be expensive for a long time it was a luxury beyond my wildest imagination. Now it would be a significant financial sacrifice, and since I'm awkward and uncoordinated I prefer to work out from the privacy of my own home. YouTube has some great workout videos, and they're FREE. One of my favorite channels is JessicaSmithTV. She's great at cuing, gives modifications, and has tons of different types of videos and lengths. She does Pilates, Yoga, HIIT, Barre, Ballet, Kickboxing, and more...
This is the workout I did during naptime today.


What are some healthy replacements you've made in your diet and/or lifestyle?
I'd love to hear them, and I'm sure other readers would also.

Cereal vs. Space Planes

Economics for a Three-Year-Old

Teaching Kids About Opportunity Cost

Today, while grocery shopping, I had the wonderful opportunity to teach my 3 year-old about the economic principle of opportunity cost (every dollar spent is a dollar that can't be spent on something else).

Dictionary.com defines Opportunity Cost as:

the money or other benefits lost when pursuing a particular course of action instead of a mutually-exclusive alternative

Or the British Definition:

the benefit that could have been gained from an alternative use of the same resource.

Basically, if we spend money on one thing, we can not spend that money on something else, the cost is the benefit of making the alternate choice.

A few examples:

If I buy a cheeseburger for lunch, I cannot use that same money to buy ice cream for dessert.

The cost of the cheeseburger is losing the opportunity to enjoy the calming sugar rush I get when I eat ice cream.

If I get a loan for a car, the money paid in interest cannot be used to go on a vacation.

The Opportunity cost of financing the car is not being able to use that money to relax, play and see something new.

Our lesson:

As I was walking down the cereal aisle, unbeknownst to me a little hand stealthily reached out and grabbed a box of cereal, a few minutes and an aisle later, I reached to place something in the cart and glimpsed something that I didn't put there, a box of Reeses' Puffs. 

My initial reaction was to remind him that he can't just grab things and put them in the cart (something he hasn't tried to do in months), but as I was scrambling for an appropriate consequence, I paused and realized there was a much better way to handle this.

Yesterday when I was giving him his allowance he told me he wanted to use his money to buy space airplanes, Echo and Bravo from the movie Planes, which cost about $6-8.

I bent down so I was looking him right in the eye and asked him if he wanted to use his money to buy that box of cereal, he said Yes.

I then asked if he wanted to buy a new airplane, he got really excited, "Yes, a space airplane......."

Next I explained that the box of cereal cost the same amount as a new airplane (not quite accurate, but reasonably close), and asked if he would rather use his money for cereal or an airplane, he firmly replied "A space airplane!" so we walked back to the cereal aisle and he happily put the box back.

In that instant he made the decision that the benefit of a new airplane outweighed the cost of not getting a box of Reeses' Puffs.

It doesn't mean cereal would have been a bad decision, it means he's choosing something he wants more.

He doesn't know it but he just had a lesson in Opportunity Cost, Delayed Gratification, and Budgeting.

Helping children understand the principle of opportunity cost while they are young, can help them make decisions that align with their values and goals when they are older and the decisions carry more weight.

BUT.... 

It seems overwhelming, even to someone who's spent a good amount of time studying this very concept...

I'm going to break it down into 3 steps:

1. Stop (or cut back on) buying things for your kids and instead give them the money to buy those things themselves.

Whether they do chores for they money or you give them an allowance (read my thoughts on Allowance here), kids need to have their own money so they can have opportunity to make decisions with it.

When they want something at a store, event, etc. the empowering response sounds something like:

Did you bring your money?

Do you have enough money?

Is that what you want to spend your money on?

2. Guide them, but let them make their own choices.

You might suggest:

That costs $xx.xx if you wait you could get it for less at _____.

You might want to wait and look at some other things before you decide.

Weren't you saving money for _____? Would you rather have this or _____?

That's XX weeks worth of allowance or XX jobs, is it worth it?

If my 3 year-old had decided to buy cereal, I would have let him.

3. Allow them to Make Mistakes

Nothing helps kids learn financial responsibility better than a toy that breaks after 10 minutes, 

Or a drink that disappears while a brother is still enjoying a toy, 

Or watching a sister enjoy a whole new wardrobe for the price of your one pair of designer jeans,

Or watching your sibling go to a movie on Friday night AND Ice Skating on Saturday night, when you only get to go to the movie because you spent $10 on concessions.

It doesn't mean that any of the decisions were "BAD", though they may be "SAD", OR maybe that buttery popcorn, or those jeans that look great and fit perfectly were worth it.

It's not about making decisions that please mom and dad, it's about teaching children how to make decisions that align with their values and goals. 

It's about making sure that the lost opportunity is a price they're willing to pay. 

If you found this post interesting, you might also enjoy 

Six Things My Parents Did Right When Teaching Me About Money

and

Allowance: Money without Work

I also highly recommend the book Piggybanking for more ideas on how to teach kids about money, it's a quick easy read and quite entertaining.

Four Ingredient Peanut Butter Hot Fudge

Just Dump, Heat and Stir

A couple of years ago my husband said he wanted hot fudge (on a Sunday and I don't shop on Sundays) so I looked up some recipes, tweaked the concept based on what I had in my pantry/fridge and came up with this recipe...
And then I added peanut butter, because I LOVE peanut butter.

It's a winner, mostly because it's EASY!

Dump all the ingredients into a saucepan, grab a whisk and stir about every 1-2 min over medium-low heat for about 10 min.
Done.

Yep, EASY.

You'll need:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c. milk
1/3 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. peanut butter

(I tend to like things pretty rich, if you don't you may want to add 1/2 the cocoa pwdr. and peanut butter and then add more until it's right for you.)

Heat and Stir over medium-low until it reaches desired temperature.

This will make about 2 c. of Hot Fudge.

Enough to fill 2 of these cute 1/2 pint mason jars, one for you and one for a friend:)



P.S. It's really good to eat by the spoonful, straight out of the fridge the next day,  shh...

Homemade Baby Food Made Simple

A Great Way to Save Money

When I had my first baby I knew I wanted to try making his food. It seemed like a great way to save money while allowing me to provide him with the best nutrition possible. However, most of the information I found made it seem complicated and overwhelming.

The Truth:

It's no more difficult than making dinner.

Really.

The easiest way to make baby food:
Cook foods in a small slow cooker.
Puree with an immersion blender
Freeze individual servings in small disposable containers.

Yes, it really is that Simple.


Some Basic Guidelines:
Look for "OverRipe" fruit for better prices or use fruit that's getting too ripe for you to enjoy.

Cherries, which were on the verge of going bad, and an Apple

I loved using Baby Carrots: They're already peeled and roughly chopped. They are a great food to start with because carrots are hard to overcook and most babies love them.

Try using frozen fruits/veggies: Because frozen produce is typically picked and frozen at it's peak the nutritional content is optimal, plus it's less prep-work for you

For Older Babies:
Start mixing multiple flavors together
Add Meats, Beans and Grains
Brown Rice, Quinoa, Dried Beans(cook overnight in crockpot): High in fiber and very inexpensive.
Chicken Thighs: Dark meat contains more iron than light meat, babies need Iron.
Leftover Pot Roast.
Whole Grain Pasta
Spices: Adding mild spices to Baby's food can make it more palatable and help prepare them to transition to the flavors of table food. Avoid salt (and bouillons), sugar and butter. The goal is to help Baby begin life with optimal nutrition, not acclimate Him/Her to eating potato chips

Carrots and Celery. I mixed some of this up with leftover Pot Roast, and some with Chicken Thighs and Brown Rice

Avoid highly fibrous foods such as Broccoli, Celery, and Grapes until Baby is transitioning more to solids. Those "stringy things" can be tough to chew and swallow.
***Keep in mind that homemade baby food will be much higher in fiber than store-bought food, unless you strain it. If you switch from one to the other quickly it could make Baby constipated or give Him/Her the runs. No Fun.

Recipes? No need.
Use your own meals or store-bought baby food for guidelines.
ex. Beef and Vegetable baby food: Roast, Peas, Carrots, Onion
Keep in mind that Baby needs lots of fruits/veggies, some grains, and after 8 months some meat, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, yogurt and cottage cheese. 
Most fruits should be cooked to make them easier to digest and kill any bacteria or mold spores.

Other methods:
If you prefer just blending up what you're eating for dinner that night and feeding immediately a
Magic Bullet or Baby Bullet might be a good option. There are also inexpensive food mills for smaller amounts.

Of course, a regular blender or food processor will work just fine. I prefer the immersion style because it's easier to clean up.
Many people prefer to freeze food in ice cube trays, because a typical cube size is 1 oz. and you can thaw as many or as few cubes as you'd like.

Happy Cooking.

Leave a Comment if you have Questions, or Share a combination your little person enjoyed.

If you want specific recipes and more detailed instructions try visiting http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/

Four EASY Ways to Improve Cash Flow

 Four EASY Things You Can Do TODAY to Improve Your Budget

1. Compare Insurance Premiums
When was the last time you shopped insurance rates? If it has been more than a year call 2-3 different insurance providers and ask for quotes on your auto and homeowners/renters insurance. It should take less than 30 minutes and can save you money almost immediately.


2.  Sign up for Swagbucks
Swagbucks is a search engine that shares its ad profits with its users. Download the toolbar, use it as your search engine, and it will randomly award you with points called SwagBucks, these SwagBucks can be redeemed for Amazon gift cards, PayPal credits, and other great things. I signed up about 3 years ago and use the Amazon gift cards I've earned to buy books for my Kindle and Christmas presents for my family, as well as diapers and other non-exciting things.

Sign Up Here
 

3.  Take A Survey
Surveys are a great way to bring in a little extra cash in your spare time. The company I've found the most success with is MyView. Earnings can be redeemed for prepaid credit cards or gift cards to Amazon and other great retailers.



4.  Spend More on Groceries
WHAT???
This is supposed to be about SAVING money! I don't mean always spend more on groceries, I advocate shopping sales and using coupons, BUT... I have found that buying a few more expensive items at the grocery store can reduce the temptation to eat out, thereby keeping more cash in my pocket. If eating out is a budget buster for you, increasing your grocery budget could help your overall financial picture.
Care for an example or two?
It's easier to skip the sandwich shop and make your own at home if you have great bread, high quality lunchmeat and delicious add-ons.
I'm happy to make my own fried rice and orange chicken, but I'm more satisfied and less likely to splurge on eating out if I splurge on a bag of pot-stickers from the frozen food aisle to go with it.

This Post May Contain Affiliate Links, View My Disclosure Policy Here.