The big myth I heard most during 40 years of nursing and training others about pregnancy, childbirth, nutrition and good health, is that “eating healthy is too expensive.”
It may sometimes take some planning and time in the kitchen, but eating healthy on a budget is possible. Plus, it could save far more health related expenses in the future. Plan meals and snacks around sales.
Here are ways to make it happen:
🔹Shop seasonally, especially with fruits and vegetables.
🔹Create a shopping list and stick to it.
🔹Stock up on staples, such as brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, dried beans and lentils, when on sale.
🔹Consider purchasing frozen or canned fruits and vegetables as an alternative to fresh products. Be sure to check the ingredient list to avoid items with added sugars or salt.
MORE MYTHS ABOUT NUTRITION
Eating at night?
Fasting?
Cholesterol?
Carbs?
Eggs?
The content of this article is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult with a qualified health care professional before acting on any information presented herein. Any statements about the possible health benefits of any subject discussed have not been evaluated by medical professionals or the Food & Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or illness.
These are some of my favorite healthier alternative meals that are also easy to prepare.
They are relatively quick and easy to make, plus they pass that “Jack Test” for being especially delicious.
Enjoy!
4. Quick Pepper Steak
Ingredients
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons minced fresh gingerroot
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) beef broth
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon molasses
1-1/2 pounds beef top sirloin steak, cut into 1/4-inch strips
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large green peppers, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1-1/2 cups sliced celery
3 green onions, chopped
4 teaspoons lemon juice
In a bowl, combine the cornstarch, brown sugar, ginger and garlic powder. Stir in broth until smooth. Add soy sauce and molasses; set aside.
In a nonstick skillet or wok, stir-fry steak in oil for 4-5 minutes; remove and keep warm. Stir-fry peppers, celery and onions until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Stir broth mixture and add to the vegetables. Return meat to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Serve over noodles if desired.
The content of this article is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult with a qualified health care professional before acting on any information presented herein. Any statements about the possible health benefits of any subject discussed have not been evaluated by medical professionals or the Food & Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or illness.
The first time I ate this at a friend’s house, it was the best soul food black-eyed peas I ever tasted. She used smoked turkey. Over the years I’ve used turkey or bacon, depending on what whim I had. It’s all good.
Ingredients
🔹4-5 green onions, chopped (or 1 medium white onion, chopped)
🔹3 cloves garlic, chopped
🔹1 (16 oz) bag dry black-eyed peas
🔹Your choice: at least 1 cup of chopped up smoked turkey or bacon
🔹7 cups of chicken broth (or enough to cover the beans)
🔹Red pepper flakes
🔹Black pepper (optional)
Instructions
1. Sort & wash the black-eyed peas. Set aside.
2. Chop onions & garlic.
3. In a large pot, add in 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and saute the onions and garlic until tender.
4. Add in the chopped meat, black-eyed peas, & chicken broth.
5. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until black-eyed peas are tender.
6. Remove from heat and let sit covered for about 10-15 minutes.
7. Season with red pepper & black pepper if desired.
We live in a rural area miles away from fast food restaurants, but do enjoy the convenience of such dining when we are on a roadtrip or pressed for time in a city.
Fast food has a reputation for being unhealthy and high in calories, salt and fat.
Thankfully, there are exceptions. Although many fast foods have been processed, refined or deep-fried, some fast food restaurants now offer healthy options.
To make a healthier selection, look for items that include vegetables, lean sources of protein or whole grains. Additionally, opting for foods that are grilled or baked rather than fried can significantly reduce the calories and fat in your meal.
Here are the top best menu meals for healthier eating.
6. KFC Grilled Breast and Sides. Most of Kentucky Fried menu items are filled with grease and loads of sodium. This is not too surprising since the word “Fried” is in the fast food restaurant’s name.
5. Wendy’s Ultimate Chicken Grilled Sandwich. While many of their burgers are high in calories, this Wendy’s offering is relatively low in calories.
4. Baja Fresh Wahoo Fish Taco. At just 230 calories, this taco is a good way to include some seafood in your diet. You can even add avocado.
3. Taco Bell Grilled Steak Soft Tacos. They have added a more lightened variety of menu items for healthier options for their customers. These are the healthiest from these menus.
2. Chipotle’s Salad Bowl. With a good reputation for fast healthy food, they are good about using organic meats and vegetables. They offer build-your-own options too.
1. Chic-fil-A Grilled Market Salad. They have a variety of meal options most of us would enjoy, but this is their healthiest option.
Bonus Options
Although not in the top six, here are some healthy choices at other fast food chains:
🔹Culver’s: Beef Pot Roast Dinner.
Healthy eating doesn’t have to be all salads and chicken breast. If you enjoy pot roast, opt for the beef pot roast dinner option from Culver’s, then choose steamed broccoli and a side salad (or a double portion of either) as your two sides.
🔹Jack in the Box: Chicken Fajita Pita
This Jack in the Box pick is basically a handheld salad—fresh veggies, flame-grilled chicken, and zesty salsa are all nestled into a whole grain pita pocket.
With 40 years experience as a licensed Registered Nurse on a cruise line, a Colorado ski resort, and in Phoenix, AZ, I did everything from Operating Room to Immunology to all levels of Newborn care.
Among my favorite jobs was teaching childbirth and nutrition classes.
For the most part, I believe whole foods trump supplements. And eating a nutritious diet loaded with veggies, grass-fed meat, and plenty of good fats is the starting point.
You certainly cannot supplement your way out of poor dietary choices. However, even with the best diet, there may be a few gaps that we might want to fill to “supplement” a solid diet.
🔹For example, Omega-3 fatty acids are vitally important to our health.
🔹Our Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio should be 1:1 or 1:2. Sadly, the average person’s is more like 1:20.
🔹Not only are we not getting enough Omega-3 from sources like grass-fed meats and fish/seafood, we’re also over consuming Omega 6 (e.g. vegetable oils, excessive nut consumption) – a double whammy.
Personally, Jack and I don’t eat enough fish to get adequate Omega-3s due to concerns about toxins, mercury, etc. That’s why our go-to for supplements is with Green Pasture Fermented Cod Liver Oil (FCLO).
I use the word “supplement” loosely here, since FCLO is really a whole food. Not only that, but it’s also a traditional food with a long history of use. Quite the opposite of highly processed fish oils.
Fermented Cod Liver Oil is simply cod livers fermented naturally to extract the oils. The cold-processing method maintains all the fat soluble vitamins.
The reason we choose Green Pasture Cod Liver Oil is simple.
🔹Most fish oils on the market are heat processed.
🔹What’s worse is that they’re then bleached and deodorized, and since most of the vitamins have been removed or destroyed, synthetic vitamins are added back in.
FCLO contains more than Omega 3s. It’s also a great source of Vitamin A and Vitamin D, and contains small amounts of Vitamin K2, Vitamin E, and various other quinones.
If you want to try out the amazing benefits of Fermented Cod Liver Oil, or maybe your current supply is running low, we highly recommend Green Pasture.
They are the only company to supply naturally fermented cod liver oil that we are aware of (and the one recommended most highly by the Weston Price Foundation).
The following “foods” may not be the most absolute deadliest on the planet, but many studies confirm they are the ten most consumed offerings in America that are more likely to cause bad health.
How many of these have you consumed in the last month?
Nestled snugly in the Texas Hill Country, between Kerrville and the “Cowboy Capital of the World,” Bandera, is the delightful Camp Verde Store and Restaurant.
Today, near our home, Dodie and I enjoy passing through historical Bandera Pass to see bison, zebra and exotic wildlife on our way to dine at the site of the old fort, situated on Camp Verde Creek.
Known far and wide as Old Camp Verde, it was here, on July 8, 1856, the noted camel post was established by the U.S. government.
War Department records explained the camp was located “On the north bank of Rio Verde, or Verde Creek, a branch of the Guadalupe River, half a mile west of old Johnson Road, leading from San Antonio to Fort Terret; about four miles from Fort Ives; about 55 miles, direct course, northwest of San Antonio, but about 65 miles leading from San Antonio, through Fredericksburg to Forts Mason, McCavett, and Concho.”
When the camels first arrived from overseas, they entered in Indianola, Texas. The herd was driven to San Antonio grazing along the route, in about 14 days.
They were kept in the “headwaters of San Pedro” creek for a few days and then moved out to the ranch of Major Howard on the Medina River, twelve miles from San Antonio, where they were kept until they moved to their permanent home in Camp Verde on August 26 and 27, 1856.
Old Spanish maps identified this as “Verde Arroyo” (Green Creek). Before the thirty-three camels arrived in 1856, a sketch had been drawn of an Eastern caravansary in Asia Minor. This drawing was used to construct a detailed reproduction at Camp Verde.
The camels were used to transport supplies and dispatched to Forts Martin Scott, Concho, Griffen, Phantom Hill, Inge, Clark, Lancaster, Hudson, Stockton, Davis, Quitman, Bliss and other forts in West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.
What was formerly the officers’ barracks is where the store and restaurant is. On March 26, 1910, the headquarters abode was destroyed by fire, which took the life of Tom Blair.
The camp was continuously garrisoned until March 7, 1861, when U.S. troops surrendered the post to the Confederates, and withdrew. After the Civil War, the post was reoccupied by Federal troops on November 30, 1866, and finally abandoned on November 30, 1869.
It was rebuilt by W.H. Bonnell as an exact replica using the stone structure that survived the fire.
History shows that camels roamed the Bandera hills and many pioneers in this area actually herded them.
🔹Amasa Clark, who died at his home near Bandera at age 102, herded camels. Among his possessions was a pair of pillows made from camel’s hair, which he sheared from the animals he tended.
🔹Jim Walker, who died in 1945, owned a bell worn by the lead camel at his time working there during the Civil War.
🔹Andy Jones, a pioneer citizen of Bandera who died in the mid 1940s, often saw droves of camels miles away from the old fort. When Camp Verde was handed back to the Federal Government after the Civil War, the original 32 camels had grown to a herd of over 100, under the care of the Confederate troops.
“When I was a boy on my father’s ranch, the government kept a lot of camels at Camp Verde,” Jones said. One day we hobbled three of our horses and turned them loose near the house, and fourteen of those old camels came lumbering along.”
“The horses took fright at the sight of them, and we did not see those horses for many days,” he continued. “My brother and I penned the camels, all of them being gentle except for one.”
“We roped the wild one, but never wanted to rope another,” he recalled. “For the old humpbacked villain slobbered all over us, and the slobber made us deathly sick. However, we had a jolly time with those camels, when we got rid of the foul, sickening slobber, and we often rode broncos and wild steers, we rode camels too…They could easily travel one hundred miles a day. The Indians seemed to be afraid of the camels, and of course never attempted to steal any of them.”
Camp Verde today. “Jack & I enjoy the restaurant for family gatherings, birthdays, our anniversary or for informal meals.”–Dodie
Here is a delicious recipe inspired by our roadtrip through Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Jack was enthusiastic about stopping by Dollywood along the way. It is a beautiful area.
Gatlinburg fun!
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When you’ve been working 9 to 5, you need a treat that will lift your spirits. Dolly Parton Pie is the world-famous singer’s favorite, a walnut pie with a rich, sweet filling you can enjoy whenever you get the Mule Skinner Blues!
Buttery, crunchy, and melodic, Dolly Parton Pie is just what you need most when it’s time to tuck into dessert. You’ll fall in love with it on the first bite!
Ingredients
• 1 (9-inch) fold-out pie crust, thawed
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups walnuts, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• whipped cream, optional, to taste, for serving
Directions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Step 2
Line a 9-inch pie pan with the unrolled crust, cutting off any overhang.
Step 3
In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a hand mixer.
Step 4
Add the sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt gradually to the beaten eggs, mixing to combine.
Step 5
Add the melted butter and mix until thoroughly combined.
Step 6
Pour the mixture into the prepared pie shell.
Step 7
Add the walnuts, spreading them evenly throughout the mixture.
Step 8
Bake for 10 minutes.
Step 9
Reduce the oven heat to 300 degrees F.
Step 10
Bake for 45 minutes, adding a collar of foil around the crust after 30 minutes.
He snacked on a small bag of delicious H-E-B brand potato chips Monday evening after such a healthy day of eating.
So how much sodium is in the average small bag of chips? In his bag, H-E-B noted 170 mg (with 150 calories). We looked at the sodium content in a small bag of chips of three leading brands: Lay’s (170mg), Ruffles (160mg), and Kettle Brand (210mg).
By taking the average of these three, we estimate that the average small bag of chips has about 178mg of salt. Here’s how other popular foods compare:
🔹One serving of Bumble Bee White Crabmeat has 260mg of sodium.
Buy the Solid White Albacore Tuna In Water with more protein and 140mg of sodium.
🔹Canned, packaged, and restaurant-prepared soups often pack a lot of sodium, though you can find reduced-sodium options for some canned varieties.
On average, canned soup has 700 mg of sodium, or 30% of the Recommend Daily Intake, per 1-cup (245-gram) serving.
Here’s a tip to save costs and reduce sodium intake: Just add rice and water to any can of soup to double or triple it for almost free. Note: This same hack can be used on other high sodium consumables like tomato sauces, chili, etc.
🔹Making a sandwich? Two slices of Oroweat’s Whole Wheat bread contains 270mg of sodium. Instead, try an Oroweat Whole Wheat Sandwich Thin Roll with just 170mg.
🔹Ham is full of salt. A 3-ounce (85-gram) serving of roasted ham averages 1,117 mg of sodium, or 48% of the RDI.
🔹One Serving of Grape-Nuts Original Cereal has 270mg of sodium so opt for Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds with 135mg instead.
🔹Instant Pudding. A 25-gram portion of instant vanilla pudding mix — used to make a 1/2-cup serving — has 350 mg of sodium, or 15% of the RDI.
🔹Jerky. A 1-ounce (28-gram) serving of beef jerky packs 620 mg of sodium, or 27% of the RDI.
🔹A serving size of V8 Original Vegetable Juice contains a whopping 640mg of sodium but the V8’s Purple Power Veggie Blend contains just 100mg instead. Some brands offer low-sodium versions, which means they can have no more than 140 mg of sodium per serving according to FDA rules.
🔹One Serving of Organic Valley’s Cottage Cheese contains 450mg of sodium so replace it with a Grassmilk Plain Yogurt which contains 120mg per serving. Note that one study found that rinsing cottage cheese under running water for 3 minutes, then draining it, reduces sodium content by 63%.
🔹Pizza. Yikes!A large, 140-gram slice of store-bought, frozen pizza averages 765 mg of sodium, or 33% of the RDI. A restaurant-prepared slice of the same size packs even more — averaging 957 mg of sodium, or 41% of the RDI.
Jack and I agree that since going as salt free as possible, we’ve noticed the original tastes of vegetables, fruits and other food are far more naturally flavorful.
SALT FACTS
🔹Salt is an essential part of a healthy diet. It helps our nerves and muscles function properly and help us control blood pressure and volume. But too much may lead to hypertension, a leading cause of heart disease and stroke. The FDA recommends no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day, but Jack aims for under 1,000 at home.
🔹The Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for sodium of 2,300 mg — is about 1 teaspoon of salt.
🔹Table salt, known chemically as sodium chloride, is made up of 40% sodium.
🔹It’s estimated that at least half of people with hypertension have blood pressure that’s affected by sodium consumption — meaning they’re salt sensitive. In addition, your risk for salt sensitivity increases with age.
🔹The average daily sodium intake in the United States is 3,400 mg — much higher than the recommended upper limit.
This mainly comes from packaged and restaurant foods, rather than from overusing your salt shaker.
It’s in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, NKJV. “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
🔹What is God’s desire for us?
It’s in the Bible, 3 John 2, NIV. “I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you.”
🔹On what conditions was freedom from disease promised to God’s people?
It’s in the Bible, Exodus 15:26, NIV. “He said, ‘If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you.”
🔹Who is able to heal?
It’s in the Bible, Psalm 103:2-3, NIV. “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.”
🔹Does attitude affect my health?
It’s in the Bible, Proverbs 17:22, TLB. “A cheerful heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit makes one sick.”
🔹Stress on the outside need not mean stress on the inside.
It’s in the Bible, Philippians 4:6-7, TLB. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank Him for his answers. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus.”
Since current White House Resident Joe Biden came out of his basement to reside at his Wilmington, Delaware beach house (and occasionally in the District of Columbia), nearly 100 food plants have been destroyed, ruined or incapacitated.
Biden has spent 41.7% of his 511 days in office away from the White House, breaking all presidential records. There has even been a fake Oval Office set constructed so he can pretend he is working while he babbles through his teleprompter when addressing the nation.
Meanwhile, here is a current list of destroyed food plants from January 21, 2020 to June 12, 2022.
What do the Scriptures say about liquor? It’s in the Bible, Proverbs 20:1, TLB. “Wine gives false courage; hard liquor leads to brawls; what fools men are to let it master them, making them reel drunkenly down the street!”
Will using alcoholic drinks really affect me adversely? It’s in the Bible, Proverbs 23:29-35, TLB. “Whose heart is filled with anguish and sorrow? Who is always fighting and quarreling? Who is the man with bloodshot eyes and many wounds? It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new mixtures. Don’t let the sparkle and the smooth taste of strong wine deceive you. For in the end it bites like a poisonous serpent; it stings like an adder. You will see hallucinations and have delirium tremors, and you will say foolish, silly things that would embarrass you no end when sober. You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast. And afterwards you will say, ‘I didn’t even know it when they beat me up.”
What is the result of over-indulgence in food and drink? It’s in the Bible, Proverbs 23:20-21, NIV “Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.”
Clever Journeys 