Budgets and PCOS

Last week was an especially challenging week for us as a couple.  We had to face yet another week without change to spare.  Winter time gets rainy here, and people are not likely to want windows installed during a rainstorm, it happens.  I learned, after our first winter together, to stock up on pantry supplies and things that would last for a few months.  This was when all the lessons from my Mormon (L.D.S.) neighbors from my childhood, helped me in planning for this season in our life.  If you have never seen a Mormon food storage, you should, and take notes.  One of the challenges with this is the low-carb options, I had not adequately prepared for those, I had also not taken care to keep my stockpile refreshed this winter.  So, last week when we lived out of our pantry, some of the creations were rather unique.  Beans were the order of the day, and since I had run out of rice, I also used up some of my couscous, as well as Broccoli that had been frozen earlier in the season.

Don't be afraid of using dried beans, the only warning I have seen is on Red beans, especially kidney beans.  They suggest that you boil them for 10 minutes before cooking them in a crock pot.  All others, I sort and put into my crock pot to cook over night, or while I'm away working.  Then I rinse them off, and use them and store the rest in the fridge.  Beans in a bag last for a very long time, and they are healthy and have lots of protein.

A version of this Red Beans and Rice was on the menu. It was a paired down version.
Black Bean Cakes There are spicier versions, but we had these ingredients on hand.
There was spaghetti of course, I had already frozen a bunch of home made sauce, and we buy the whole wheat noodles in bulk at Costco. I used the rest of my red chard in this, so we got the nutrients, without chomping down on the leaves themselves.  I used my immersion blender and blended in all together.
Then there was the Shrimp in a coconut and cilantro sauce. It was from the Fresh Food Fast Cooking light cook book.  I used up the last of my cilantro before it went bad as well.
The good news is I had vegetables from the Farm Fresh to You, that I needed to use, and I had to find creative ways to incorporate them into meals that I could actually serve my hubby.  Not all of them am I used to cooking with, so allrecipes.com, cooking light, and my food blogs came in very handy.

Having said all of that, we did go and get some canned tomatoes and rice on the last paycheck, and so our meals will be a bit easier to plan out with the addition of those ingredients.  I hope you all have found ways to keep food to feed your families in case of emergencies, it can come in handy.  I've seen some peoples posts with pictures of bare fridges and cupboards, try to keep some things int here to get you through lean times.

Here are some other fun things to consider, regarding PCOS, and Budgeting. Not all things have to be labeled as no, and there are budget friendly goods out there that you can purchase that are still whole foods, and not prepackaged mushed up masses of what used to be food stuffs.  Whole foods can be inexpensive, and when done in moderation starches still help fill the pit of empty stomachs. (I do have to feed a hard working man, who needs more than I do to survive.)  Still, feeding hungry people food is much more important than just filling their stomachs.

 

10 Characteristics of a Healthy Eating and Exercise Program

by Monika Woolsey of inCYST

1. It provides you with enough energy. Anything less than 1200 calories, for whatever reason, makes it challenging to obtain all the essential fats, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. You can lose weight, I won’t argue that, but you won’t be able to live like this forever. A program that teaches you to eat the way you can eat for years to come is a more practical option. Likewise, overexercising is counterproductive. It is rarely a strategy that can be maintained over the long run. What works best, is a balance between calories eaten and calories expended.
2. You’re choosing variety in both food and activity. Any program that eliminates major food groups is also eliminating nutrient groups. Many diets that claim to have a special effect because of its nutrient “combination”, is often cutting calories, which is the impetus for the weight loss. The same exercises, day after day, will help certain muscle groups and
   not others. Plus, you’re more likely to become bored, or not want to exercise if your routine takes you away from your normal exercise environment. Mixing it up keeps it interesting and helps you stay on track.
3. You’re eating in response to hunger more than to emotions.
   Are you reaching for the ice cream when you’re tired? When you’re angry at your husband? When you have yet another negative pregnancy test? Or when you’re truly hungry? When cravings have been in control it can be challenging to even know what hunger feels like. Look for programs that, rather than giving you a calorie level and asking you to stick with it, no matter how you feel, encourages you to think about what hunger and fullness are, and to work to learn to honor those natural body signals. When it comes to exercise, it can be a great stress management activity, but it should never be the ONLY way you manage stress. ..what will you do if you sprain your ankle and all you do is run? Take a dance lesson. Rent roller skates. Be sure it’s about fun, not torturing yourself to make up for something you’ve eaten.
4. You’re eating what you like and doing activities you enjoy.
   OK, so it’s probably not reasonable to expect that a diet of Fritos and Haagen Dazs is going to promote your overall health in the long run…but there’s also a reason to question that eating foods you don’t like, just because they’re “healthy” or on someone’s “Top Ten” list, is going to be a helpful strategy. A good/bad approach, to food or exercise, sets you up to binge when you eat food you like, and punish yourself with other foods and exercise after you “cheated”. No wonder so many people hate exercise, they only do it when they feel badly about themselves, rather than to feel energized!
5. You’re eating and exercising mindfully.
   Meaning, you’re not eating standing up in your kitchen, in your car, at your desk, or in front of the television. And you’re exercising not just because the treadmill was set at 30 minutes. And you don’t have to push yourself to exhaustion to feel like it was “enough”. You’ve tasted and enjoyed the food, and you’ve listened to what your body has told you it wants and needs for exercise duration and intensity. When it comes to food and exercise, our
   bodies are amazingly proficient at telling us what we need. The problem is, we ignore it in favor of what fitness “experts” want us to believe. Try the wisdom of mindful thinking. You might be surprised!
6. You’re flexible without feeling guilty about it.
   When you’re having a hard time conceiving, or wight maintenance doesn’t come easy to you, you can start to feel like if you don’t do everything “perfectly”, you’re going to fail at your goal. The truth is, the more rigid your program is, the harder it is to live a life that includes social activities and stress management opportunities. And that can set you up to fail. The most successful people I’ve ever worked with have been able to walk on a business trip when running wasn’t feasible, and to go to a birthday party and enjoy a bit of the spoils. The ones who struggled, were always the ones who were overly rigid with their expectations of themselves.
7. You can maintain your program over a period of time.
   At inCYST, we often see women super-motivated until they become pregnant, then they disappear, then they resurface when they’ve gained too much pregnancy weight and are at risk of gestational diabetes. Using food and exercise to achieve a short term goal, then going back to the habits that caused the problem, might fix the problem, but only if the habits are maintained. If you are looking at a program and cannot envision living with it for 1, 5, 10 years, ask yourself why you want to proceed.
8. You’re mostly craving free. Cravings tell you that you’re out of balance. A healthy diet doesn’t create cravings, and a healthy exercise plan doesn’t make you ravenous. When those things happen, consider that what you’re doing may be extreme.
9. You’re not using food or exercise to punish yourself.
   Given the popularity of The Biggest Loser, we’re really fighting this one right now. It doesn’t matter how you got to where you are, what you’re doing right now, how perfectly you proceed with your program. You deserve to respect yourself every step of the way. If you’re not coming out of the “better eating and more activity” program feeling better about yourself, you’re a setup for an eating disorder. Food is for nourishing and exercise is for body maintenance. Both should feel satisfying at the end of the day.
10. You can eat and exercise even if you can’t measure exactly how many calories it involves. If I only had a dollar for every time a client told me they passed on an afternoon in the park, or they apologized for not being able to “exercise” because they had a toddler, and the most they could manage was a stroller. So what? So the picnic doesn’t have calorie labels attached. So the stroller doesn’t have a heart rate monitor. Counting every single thing you do, is not how life was meant to be lived. Thinking about the calories, all the time, may be the root of your problem.

This isn’t concrete, but I hope it helps. Good health is about balance, not extremes. Monika Woolsey of inCYST

Strategies for Healthy Eating on a Budget - An article through Rite Aid

• Make a plan. Each week, check your cabinets and grocery store ads. Combine foods you already have with sale or special items to plan a menu. Keep in mind that some products almost always give you a nutritious bang for your buck. These include dried beans, sweet potatoes, brown rice, and regular (not instant), whole-grain oatmeal. Write down each meal and a grocery list of foods you need to complete them.
• Follow through. At the store, stick to your list. Stay at the outer edges—near the produce, meat, dairy, and bakery—and in the canned and frozen aisles. You'll avoid being tempted by fancy displays or unhealthy, expensive processed foods. Read labels carefully to be sure you're getting the lowest price per ounce. Consider store brands instead of brand names.
• Shop in season. Buy fresh fruits and vegetables near the time when they're grown. Check farmers markets if these vegetables aren't available at your grocery store. Only buy as much as you need. Or try frozen fruits and veggies. They're just as healthy and often less expensive, especially outside the growing season

 Source's listed by RiteAid:
"Eating Right When Money Is Tight: Advice for People with Diabetes." Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.  


"Eco-Nomical Solutions: Save Money, Stay Healthy, Reduce Waste." Montana Department of Health and Human Services.


"Energize Yourself and Your Family." National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. 

"Fit and Fabulous as You Mature." National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.


"USDA's Nutrition Assistance Programs: Eat Right When Money's Tight." USDA. 

Have fun celebrating the best way you can, each day is a gift.