12 cheap ways to live healthy

LIVING healthy doesn’t mean you have to break the bank. Contrary to popular belief, you can still maintain a great physique even without setting a foot in the gym or shopping at an organic food store. Instead of repeating the usual argument that staying healthy isn’t cheap, try out these suggestions.

1 Buy fruits and vegetables in season. Fruits and vegetables are essential for anyone wanting to live healthy and the advice from nutritionist and wellness coach Donovan Grant is to buy them in season and closer to the source. “If you are going downtown or you know someone who goes downtown, try to get them to buy it for you,” he said. “If you buy it early in the morning when the vendors have just come, then they are in no hurry to give you the best price. But if you shop in the evening when you have people wanting to go home, then you get it cheaper,” he noted.

2 Stretch protein. “Chicken can be done in such a way that you can stretch it. You can put vegetables in it, so, for example, you don’t have curry chicken alone, but you can put some vegetables in it to make it stretch. If Irish potato is cheaper than the chicken, then you can put some Irish potato and some carrots and so on,” the nutritionist said.

3 Do less frying. “Frying might be more expensive than some of the other food preparations because you have to consider the oil. You can bake it, you can grill it or something else, so you would reduce the cost in terms of ingredients,” said Grant.

4 Buy products straight from manufacturers. If you get whole-wheat or whole grain bread from the baking outlet for example, it might be a little cheaper. “In some cases, persons buy a large bread and it spoils and then they throw away half of it. Just cut it in half and put half in the freezer,” the nutritionist suggested.

5 Use coconut milk instead of cow’s milk. “You can use coconut milk because it is cheaper and just as good and it is alkaline, for all those persons whose bodies are very acidic,” Grant said.

6 Utilise ground provisions. Brown rice and flour can be a little expensive, so for days when there is no money to purchase these, you can get ground provisions instead, like pumpkin, cho-cho, string beans and sweet potatoes.

7 Buy generic brands. Don’t feel pressured into buying foods because of their brand, since brand name foods usually cost more. You will be surprised that some products from little-known producers are just as healthy as the more established ones. So the next time you go grocery shopping, look at the nutritional contents of the product you are buying instead of the name.

8 Check out advertisements for used gym equipment. Check the weekly ads to seek out sellers who might be trying to get their gym equipment off their hands because they are migrating or probably because they want to upgrade. You might just be lucky enough to get your own elliptical machine, treadmill and weights.

9 Buy protein in bulk. You can save yourself some extra change by buying meat in bulk and then planning your weekly menu around your protein dish. It might seem expensive at the cashier to buy in bulk, but it works out cheaper later on.

10 Take your lunch with you. Think about how much you could save if you woke up earlier and prepared your food for work instead of purchasing meals daily at the canteen, or even worse, at the fast-food joint. By preparing your meals, you also have a better idea of what exactly you are having.

11 Set up your own personal home gym. It doesn’t have to be fancy like a fitness centre, but a stability ball, a broom stick, skipping ropes and weights are sufficient for a great workout in the comfort of your home.

12 Buy fitness DVDs. Instead of investing a tonne of money in a fitness trainer, invest in fitness DVDs instead so you can work out whenever or wherever you want.