Eating Healthy When You're Broke

 It saddens me to say this, but I am watching more and more people around me succumb to the current economic crisis.  Relatives who were doing well and living on credit three years ago are nearly as broke as we are.  In my area, we can't sell anything on Craigslist, because everyone wants you to give it to them on payments, trade for something they own (and of a lower value), or give you pennies on the dollar for it.

I've come across quite a few people who are dangerously close to losing their house.  Although my husband is employed now, he went over a year without a job, and we are still suffering financially because of it.  We can't seem to catch up, and things are getting worse.  We're about to lose everything if something doesn't change...and we're not spenders.  We're barely getting by.

I know there are many people out there going through the same thing, and worse.  So I've decided to try to solve my own problem, and hopefully help some of you out there in the process. 

Anyone who knows me, knows how important it is for me to feed my family healthy food.  But how can  you afford organic food when you can barely afford conventional food as it is?

I know there are ways, and I'm determined to find them.  I recently did two podcasts on this topic for my Blogtalkradio show, Real Health Revolution.  It was a basic overview of tips on how to improve your health without spending a lot of money.  But I want to do more than that.

My goal is to come up with healthy recipes and ingredient lists that the average person on a tight budget can afford.  It will be based on making items from scratch, from whole foods.  This may be a challenge for those who are busy, but I think the average person can do it, if they really want to.  That's the key...you spend time on what matters to you.  If you're spending time watching tv, on the computer, or doing anything that isn't absolutely necessary, but say that you "don't have time" to cook from scratch, you're fooling yourself.  I should know.

I have six young children, and I homeschool.  But the fact is, I find plenty of time during the week for the internet.  I don't really want to give that up, but I know I need to.  How can I say I don't have time to feed myself or my family well, when I still have time to be on the computer?  I can't.

So here's my challenge:  spend less time on unimportant activities, and more time coming up with a cheap healthy food alternatives and recipes that I can afford...and then implement them!

I plan to come up with a full menu for one week, complete with grocery list and assemble it into an ebook format.  If you have any suggestions or tips, I would love to hear them!  When it is done, I will assemble it into an ebook format, and share a few recipes with my readers.

If you want to hear about my frugal adventure with low-budget, health, natural food, sign up to follow me so you will know when my project is ready to share!

Update:  Still planning to do a healthy recipe book, but it will likely contain a large amount of raw food, as we are eating primarily raw right now.  But the biggest thing you can do to eat healthy on the cheap is to start growing your own food!