How to save money on a healthy diet

For a myriad of reasons, in general, it cost more to eat healthy, fresh foods than it does to eat processed, fast ones. And, globally, food costs have gone up 15 percent over last year. Unfortunately, the costs for some of the healthiest, most nutritious like fruits, veggies and fish, continue to tick up.

So how can you get a balanced diet and a balanced check book? It's not easy and its takes some planning. Personally, I've found that a lot of regular supermarkets have some of the same foods you can find at specialty stores often at a lower price. Check it out next time your shopping.

Also, a recent article in Time Magazine, gives a few times on getting the most nutrition bang for your buck. 

I got the sugar blues

This week I went to a class at Whole Foods Market in Mason about the effects of sugar on the body. It was about an hour long and I learned some new things. One of the most simple, but interesting, is how some food products can lead you to think they have less sugar than they really do.

If you're a label reader, like me, you know ingredients are listed in the order of the amount is makes up of the product. For instance if water, or granola, or sugar is listed first, that means that ingredient is the most used in the product. Ingredients are listed in descending order of the use, with the last one being the least used. But what can happen in some foods is that different types of sugars are listed separately in the ingredients list making it appear that there is less total sugar in a product than there really is.

There are lots of names for added sugars including corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, maltose, dextrose, sucrose, honey, and maple syrup.

So what's the big deal about sugar? Too much sugar can contribute to obesity, tooth decay, heart disease, poor nutrition and more.

Keep this in mind as your watching your sugar intake. The average American gets more than 22 teaspoons of added sugar each day. But the American Heart Association recommends six teaspoons a day for women and nine for men. And one gram of sugar equals about 4 teaspoons. A 12 oz. serving of regular soda has 37-46 grams of sugar!!!

So it's not easy to keep sugar counts low, but it's something to shoot for! Find the sugar counts in more drinks here.

Cereal that sticks to your ribs

One of my favorite breakfasts is cereal. It's quick, easy and tasty. But one of the downfalls of many is they don't stick with you long. A couple of hours after a bowl and you're hungry again. At least that's how it is for me.

So, I've recently been experimenting with making the perfect and filling bowl of cereal. My fave mixture of the moment is a big hand full of Fiber One original bran, mixed with a bit of Smart Start, and topped with a few crushed walnuts. I also drink plain or vanilla Silk Soymilk, and it's pretty tasty. I guess I could put some fruit in there two if I wanted to get really crazy.

Tastes pretty good, and is definitely more filling than some other low-cal, or more sugary cereals.

Smart Start has 4 grams of fiber, 10 grams of protein and 14 grams of sugar (a bit high so I eat less)
Fiber One original bran has 14 grams of fiber, 2 grams of protein and 0 grams of sugar (yay)

Watch out for those "healthy" yogurts

As far as I know, there aren't yogurts out there that are "bad" for you, but some are more nutritionally sound than others. I have a few that I really like, and I'm on the Greek yogurt kick now. There are some that I have decided to stop eating because of their high added sugar content.

Take a look at the yogurt you are eating, how many grams of sugar does it contain per serving? Does it have added sugars? A lot of low-fat and light yogurts have added sugars in them to make them taste better. Also look for higher protein and fiber content. Anything with more fiber and more protein will stick with you longer and keep you from getting so hungry in between meals. If you're counting calories, keep in mind that those with fruit and honey will have more sugar and calories, even if they are natural ones, so keep an eye out!

Some people don't like the taste of Greek yogurts, and there are some absolutely yucky tasting ones out there in my opinion. I suggest if you want to try something more nutritionally sound, try out a few, at different price points, and find what tastes suit you best. I have two or three I like and when one of them goes on sale, that's what I go with that week! Nutritious and frugal; that's a good combo if I do say so myself!

What kind of yogurts do you like? Share! My very favorite is Fage, followed by Oikos. I also like the Athenos brand. A tasty store brand is the carbmaster Kroger yogurt.

Worry IS bad for the waist

Most of us have experienced the worries and stresses that life brings. But chronic worry -- the everyday, chest-tightening, can't sleep at night kind -- can be bad for your health AND your waist. I recently read an article in the October 2011 issue of Shape Magazine called "When Weight Gain is a Warning" that talks about the connection between chronic stress and health problems.

According to the article, chronically stressed folks can suffer from high blood pressure and cholesterol in addition to weight gain. Chronic stress causes a surge in heart pumping adrenaline and cortisol. That can make your blood sugar levels spike and lead to weight gain because your body stores that extra sugar as fat.

So if you are like me and think stress and worry is only mental, take a second to really think about how you could be damaging your body. It's not easy to de-stress, especially in this day and age, but it's really an important part of minding your overall health!