“I can’t afford to eat healthily”
I feel like I have written about this topic quite a lot, but in these times, I am keen to revisit it.
I am still a fan of Jamie Oliver’s £1 meals etc, and there are some good tips that he has about saving money not only on the ingredients, but also the way you cook it as well. I think that’s useful, however, not every recipe is great, and I don’t agree with everything he uses but I think you can take some tips from it and there are some good recipes on his website. (I am a big fan of the Cauliflower curry with roti).
There are of course lots of websites to help you reduce the cost of food and I think now there are a lot more options to reduce waste, from wonky veg boxes at places like Lidl, to websites/apps that have reduced cost food at the end of the day like Too Good to Go And Olio.
There are also groups like freecycle where people are giving away free food that they don’t want, so if you have one of those local to you that’s an option.
Buying in bulk and when on offer is a way to save money (and the environment) but I find even this is still expensive and not everyone can afford to do that. Maybe the £12 bag of rice does work out a lot cheaper in the long run but you might not have £12 at that time.
Frozen fruit and veg is my new favourite, frozen spinach (who knew?!) is something I now use all of time. I think there is still a stigma with using frozen foods but things have really moved on and the nutritional status of frozen foods now is really good. Not everyone has a freezer big enough for large amounts of these but pick a couple that you know you’re going to use a lot of and go for those. Then whatever you’re making add that veg in too.
The important thing I want to address is the guilt, “Surely I should be providing more or taking care of myself more, I wish I could make healthier choices etc”
It’s really easy to go down that rabbit hole, but we’re really not in a place where there is room for that, we are all just doing our best and that’s important to remember too. This might not be forever, and you are making the choices that you are able to afford and live with at this time.
I am definitely guilty of this myself, especially as a healer and someone who promotes healthy eating. You know sometimes, fish and chips are ok! Everything in balance and all that. Feeding the soul can be just as important as the body and I think you do need to take that into account.
Do not look at recipes on Instagram!
Some days, if you can manage to do all the things you have to do and put food on the table and they/you eat it, then that’s a good day! I do not go in for the health shaming.