As the cost of living goes up many people take short cuts, but when it comes to health this is where we should place more emphasis and reduce costs somewhere else.  Why?

Prioritising your health when the budget gets tight is key. Health is not hard to maintain, and even getting back to health is achievable with certain strategies.  You can destroy your health getting rich, but then you must be prepared to destroy your wealth getting healthy again.  When you have health there are very few lost work days, you have more energy, your mind has more clarity and life doesn’t seem such a burden.  You are able to achieve more in less time, and who knows, you may be able to make more income with these health assets.

The Nutrition Academy have compiled some keys ways in which you can still put health as a priority even when the cost of living is rising more and more.

1. Free Health Advice for The Human Body.
Humans do not have modern bodies. They have bodies that evolved over time.  Leading a modern life that is mostly sedentary and inside is bad for health.  It’s important to fake a hunter gatherer lifestyle but still be able to live in a modern society.  Free healthcare includes sunshine every day, seeing the sunrise and making sure you see the stars at night.  Movement is free. Put your walking shoes on and get outside and walk, or download the many free yoga, stretch and Pilates sessions on YouTube and follow one each day. If you love swimming and live by the ocean, make a salt dip a morning routine all year round. The science behind breath work is also encouraging for health, find a 10-minute breath work out on the internet and begin your practice.  Sleep is important for health. Make sure you prioritise sleep over watching TV, creating a routine to be in bed no later than 9.30pm. The more hours of sleep you have before midnight the better.  If meditation takes your fancy, then make that a priority.  These are all free. Start with one or two and keep adding to your day. Over time you will notice the positive effects. With consistency and discipline, you can take advantage of all that is freely available.

2. Reducing your herb, fruit and vegetable bill.
Growing food is a cost-effective way to make sure you have a supply of seasonal foods.  Planting fruit trees in your garden creates an abundance in the seasons.  Vegetables such as salad greens, tomatoes, cucumber do not take up a lot of room and can be done in pots or raised garden beds in units. Potatoes are also an easy staple to grow. A little bit of time is all it takes to get it started and then with sunshine and water the abundance will present itself.  Herbs are also easy to grow. There is nothing quite like the feeling of going to your garden and picking the herbs for your pesto, salad or garnish. Rosemary, parsley, oregano, thyme grow most of the year.  Flowers can also be part of diet, so do not forget to plant some for their aroma, look and taste.

3. No Waste Needed.
Food waste is one of the biggest issues that face consumers. Be mindful about when you purchase your food and make sure you do not put new food on top of old fruits, vegetables, and herbs.  When you roast a chicken or cook anything with a bone, save the carcass and bones, put it in a bag in the freezer, adding vegetable cut offs and old vegetables to the bag over the ensuing week.  At the end of the week, throw them all into a pot with water and salt, boil, then simmer for around 3-6 hours. Now you have a stock ready for other meals, or you can drink the hearty liquid for increased nutrition, replacing synthetic supplements from your expenditure.

4. Chickens Create Protein and Clean up Scraps.
If you have a backyard, consider having a few chickens. Chickens love your food scraps, they fertilise your land, get rid of pests and in return they feed you the richest and most available source of protein, the humble egg.  Most families would not go through more than 5 eggs a day, therefore around 6 chickens should do the job. Just make sure they cannot get into your vegetable and herb garden!

5. Become a Hunter, Angler and or Forager.
I remember my father in country Victoria would go rabbit shooting once a week. My Mum would skin the rabbits and we would have rabbit stew.  I have friends who hunt deer and pig and make that part of the dining experience.  Yes, it is a skill you may need to learn. Ask around in your local area if anyone knows where to hunt and go along.  My daughter did a course and came home with a freezer full of deer that lasted us many weeks of meals.  Foraging is also a skill and there are local guidebooks and courses on what is available in your area.  I especially love to forage. There have been times where I have not needed to take water and food with me as I was able to consume and drink what I found on the track.  When it’s berry season, it can be a very lucrative hike.  And if you love fishing, take time out with the family to catch the nightly meal. Ensure you check for safe fishing areas and the regulations about fish size before packing up your meal.

6. Source Your Water from a Spring or Fast Flowing Creek up stream.
Buying water is expensive, especially if you are not prepared to drink tap water which is filled with chlorine, fluoride and any chemicals that have washed into the municipal dams.  My brother lived in the Blue Mountains and once a week he would take his 2 children on a small hike to a local spring to fill 4 x 20 litre water containers.  It saved them a fortune in buying water and it was a wonderful family outing.  If you can’t afford bottled water or a filter for your tap, search your local areas for springs that are clean.  It may be important to boil the water before drinking. That will depend on the integrity of your gut microbiome.  Not only do you have clean fresh water for free, but the exercise carrying heavy weights adds to your health. 

7. Buy Single Ingredients and Cook from Scratch.
My mother did not have a pantry. She had her spices, flours, sugars, nuts and salt.  Weekly she would buy meat, eggs, fruits, herbs and vegetables and from those ingredients she made thousands of recipes.  We have lost the culture of being in our kitchen to nourish our family.  It is a wonderful skill to have and when sourced correctly a far cheaper way to eat. 

8. Purchase Dry Goods in Bulk.
Look around to find a store or online store that sells dry goods in bulk. This would be products such as whole grains, legumes, sugars, flours, salt, spices, nuts, seeds and good quality cold pressed oils.  By purchasing in bulk, you can reduce the cost of the items.  Store in glass jars that you can pick up at thrift stores or that you’ve saved from time gone by.  Add to this, finding yourself a local beekeeper or farmgate who is happy to sell to you.

9. Nature holiday adventures.
Get out into nature and go camping and hiking.  Exposure to nature and its elements is so important to our health.  When you walk through a forest there is an exchange of minerals (like magnesium from giant tree ferns), oxygen, and sporebiotics that strengthen the healthy keystone parts of your microbiome.   When you dig in your garden you will also receive soil-based biotics which have an effect of improving the microbiome and immune system.

10. Buy cheaper meat cuts and slow cook.
Learn to use your camp cooker in the oven or if you have a slow cooker start using it on a regular basis. You don’t always need to buy expensive steak, you can purchase the less expensive cuts and make delicious meals.  They are great for a meal and left-overs.  Other cheaper cuts are the organ meats like heart, liver, brain, tripe, and kidney.  Once upon a time we all ate nose to tail, but for some reason these wonderful, concentrated organ meats are discarded and given to animals.  It’s time to revive these wonderful sources of nutrients.  Liver is concentrated in B vitamins, Vitamin A, and a list of minerals including copper and iron.  Liver is a wonderful way to pull out the iron stores in your body so that you have more energy and oxygen holding capacity.   And I’m not sure if you know, but heart is easy and quick to cook and is delicious.

11. Find a Farmer who sells direct to Consumers
In my local community there are a number of farmers markets where the farmer picks the food the day before and delivers it fresh to the markets. There are other farmers in my community that send out boxes of fresh food to the consumer, they are by subscription, so the farmer knows exactly what to plant and pick each week to reduce waste.  That means you are purchasing from a small ethical farmer, the food has not been stored, the nutrient value is higher and a better product overall is purchased.  Also, in my community and a bit further away are animal farmers who butcher their animals on their land in their own facilities, freeze the product and then send them to you overnight.  This is where the middleman is cut out and you purchase the best food that you can with the most nutrient value.  Examples of these farmers include Good Harvest, Forage Farms, The Turkey Man, Fig Tree Farms, Black Barn Farm, Tin Shed Farm, Belvedere Farm, Wolki Farm and many, many more.

12. Fermented Foods Can Be Made at Home.
The secret to fermenting foods is a little time, culture and tradition, and a touch of modern-day wizardry.  Seasonal foods are usually in abundance, so when cabbages are cheap this is the time to make sauerkraut.  It is far cheaper to make your own kraut then to buy it. Look up a you tube video to understand the fundamentals — chopping, salt etc.  My brother makes all his own kraut on a weekly basis, one cabbage is far cheaper than a bottle of kraut.  I love to make all my own juice ciders by adding ¼ tsp of The Changing Habits probiotics into the bottle of juice (apple or anything you desire) and letting sit for 24 hours.  I also make all my own milk yogurts, coconut yogurts and preserve many fruits with this wonderful tool.  Check out the website www.changinghabits.com.au for some fabulous recipes and ideas.

13. Shock The System for Health
Cold showers, cold creeks, cold oceans and cold exposures are wonderful for health.  You don’t have to go to an expensive ice bath seminar you can do it yourself by getting into nature and finding some creeks to take a refreshing dip into.  You don’t need ice on the top you just need it under 13c.

14. Budget other Things Not Your Health
Too much time is spent in front of the TV or Netflix, or Stan, if you need more money hiatus your subscriptions and start using the library for your entertainment and education.