Money Tips #1

Back at the dorm now! All settled in and now just slowly building up my courage to make my way down and heat up the stove. But until then, here are some tips I promised to share.

A good place to start for any college student is money. One of the biggest issues in maintaining a healthy diet is the cost. Let's face it, healthy fresh food can be pretty darn expensive. Not to mention if you're not lucky enough to be close to a farmer's market, you typically have to buy in bulk. And bulk offers the chance of spoiling. Then there is the fact that not every campus has a grocery store or market in walking or biking distance, so for those who have a car you're paying gas bills.

So the big question: With all of this cost, is the healthy route still worth it?

Yes. 110% YES.

This is about being healthy. What you do now can, and typically will, greatly affect your body in the future.

I have high cholesterol. It is from the poor choices and, sadly, genetics (curse you genetics). If I don't do something about this now, I could get very sick in the near future. There will be extra doctor's visits, medicine, and probably would have to visit a specialist. I think a little extra work and a little extra cost now can help greatly reduce cost in the future.

And the same can be said for anyone. So this comes to my first tip:

Tip 1: Don't be put off by the cost. Don't go for the fast-food burger just because it is cheap. That thing can start to cost you greatly later on. So work on saving a little so you can put a little extra in your healthy meals.

But not everyone has time or the talent to instantly drop the fast-food. And not everyone can stand a salad or the thought of getting fresh produce every day. But you don't have to. You just need to be conscious of what you are buying.

Tip 2: You don't have to buy expensive, fresh produce that spoils easily! Don't assume healthy instantly means you're limited to the fruits and veggies section in the store. There are many brands that make healthier alternatives to things you like. Progresso, my personal favorite, has delicious soups that are Light. You can stock up on those and they won't go bad if you don't crave one for a few weeks.

As I write Tip 2, I think back to those diet-frozen meals and it reminds me of the trouble I got into. They don't take up much space, they don't spoil easy, they're easy to cook, and some can taste pretty decent. But be careful. I thought it was going to help me lose weight, but my body reacted the opposite and gained instead. A bit of money was wasted on something I had thought would help my weight loss.

Tip 3: Don't instantly assume that you will lose weight or be healthy simply because "Healthy" is in the name of the product. To save on money, and pounds, start off slow with any healthy product, especially frozen meals. Everyone is different. Everyone has a different body type, metabolism, and reaction to certain things. Don't go and stock up on a certain brand or microwave meal without first checking their nutrition label and experimenting with how you react to it.

This does mean a little extra work when you shop. You will need to slowly learn about what you are buying and what is worth the cost, which takes time. And that will come to my final tip of the day.

Tip 4: I recommend don't go get your weekly or monthly groceries if you are in any sort of a rush. To be healthy will take some time at first. Until you know products really well, you will have do some homework. You will need to check and compare labels. Yes, I am saying you need to be one of the people who stand in an aisle holding two different cans of tomato paste reading them. Taking a few extra seconds per item might be annoying, but you can make sure you are getting your money's worth of something. "What? These cans are the exact same price, but this one has 2% less saturated fat!" It might sound silly, but I think it is worth it.

These are just a few little things, but after you start combining things together I think your money will be saved and, more importantly, your health will be protected. Start off slowly. I am still in the learning stages myself, I will be doing all of this with you. But these little steps can help over time and soon we will all be pro-money-saving-healthy-shoppers!

Dorm Room Cookin

The new term is starting. Time for books, friends, papers, and late nights of studying (or partying). When you're in college, whether you are a fish or about to graduate into the real world, a lot of time can be eaten up by so many things. It can be real hard to eat anything that isn't frozen or made by someone else behind a counter.

College students aren't well known for being healthy eaters. Nor are we well known for having a lot of cash in our pocket. Then there is the idea of actually having enough free time outside of class to cook anything. Add on to the hours of sitting for classes or the sleep (or lack of) it can be real hard to maintain a real healthy, inexpensive diet.

Is it possible to eat fresh, healthy, homemade meals often? Can it be done without taking up hours of time or money?

My prediction is YES. And in this final year of school I am going to make an attempt to do just that. I will try to cook healthy recipes in a college kitchen on a college budget.

The Plan

1) To use as healthy and cheap of items as I can. For now I can only travel to one store at a time, so I will research brands and compare store prices online for now.

2) Look for and share nutrition facts.

3) Attempt to do one recipe a week.

4) Share a rating system on the recipe based on:

• Price
• Ease to make
• Taste (by myself and eventually by others)
• Time
• Leftovers

5) Put alternatives for those who might not like some ingredients or are allergic.

6) Take pictures of what is cookin.

7) Use this blog also as a means to keep up and share my own weight loss.

This probably won't be a daily routine, at least not yet. This is a start of a big life-change. It also isn't the easiest to do a daily diary of it. But I will give it a try. Hope readers may forgive a novice blogger!

In between recipes, I will put up other items to help out anyone who reads. Tips about saving money, healthy choices outside of the dorm kitchen, learning to deal with the guilty days, and what is recommended when anyone wants to indulge a bit.

But before all of this really starts, I'll give a short introduction to who I am and why I feel like this is something worthwhile.

I'll start off to say I am not a professional anything. I am not a doctor, food specialist, trainer, or even a cook. My degree isn't even in the Culinary Arts. So this is about experience, research, and what has worked out well for myself. If it doesn't work for you, I am sorry and hope something in here can provide some help.

Why am I doing this? I have struggled with my weight all of my life. Due to poor choices, insecurities, and genetics I am overweight. Now in may final year in undergraduate school I am ready to push that image away and start something new. This past year I have done more than I ever have like join Weight Watchers and go to the school gym failing. Because of this I have already lost 30 pounds!

However, I am still about 40 pounds shy of my final goal of 140. So this blog can be my inspiration to do even more for my weight and my overwhelming shyness.

Throughout the time I have been at my dorm (since 2010), I have only used the kitchen about five to ten times. Not a lot when you think about it. And each time was only for soup or out-of-the-box noodles. Now, I plan on trying to break out of my shyness and leave my sanctuary of my room and actually cook in public. Something I have never done before.

So, I am writing this blog for myself. To document my cooking experience, my weight loss, and step outside my comfort zone. But I do hope that I won't be alone in this. Perhaps this can help inspire others to do the same. Whether you want to try to break out of your shyness, lose weight, or just try something new. This blog might have a little bit for everyone.

Now, there will be mess ups for sure. Probably will cook something way too complicated for a tiny space, make far too much, or, heaven forebid, burn something. But thesis why I want to do it. My mistakes can show others how NOT to do it.

This will be such a challenge. I am a full time student with six classes, president of a club, I want to hang out with friends, and I hope to get a job. Though I don't party or drink, I do have a busy college schedule. So if I can get healthy, anyone can do it.

School starts in a week! I'm so nervous about it but I'm excited too. Hope to have the first recipe up soon. Let's see what can come out of this little experiment!