In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world, where the pressure to keep up and succeed in life is keeping our bodies and minds so much occupied that we have started to neglect our health. We have over complicated our lives down to our diets and sleeping schedules. We see all these fit and athletic individuals on social media and assume that a good body and a healthy life comes with the expenses of personal trainers, personal nutritionists, fancy whole foods, well-prepped meals and getting memberships of fancy gyms, yoga classes, and whatnot.

Let me tell you, this is not the case. Healthy does not necessarily mean expensive. You can lead a healthy lifestyle even on a budget and good nutrition is one of the keys to a healthy life. Here are some healthy food options and tips that can get you started on your healthy life journey without breaking the bank:

1. Drink Water

This is something that you hear all the time. Nearly every health-related blog post starts or ends with advising you to drink water because that’s how important it is! Rule no.1: DRINK WATER!!! Stay hydrated and avoid sugary and caffeinated drinks as much as you can. Keep a water bottle with you at all times so you can have water on hand. Add fresh lemon slices and some mint leaves in your water to make a healthy detox drink. You can even add fruit slices or even apple cider vinegar that has a lot of benefits and helps to reduce body fat.

• Eat your greens:

Eat your vegetables or even drink them! Sounds disgusting I know but, try adding spinach, kale or celery to your smoothies for variation. They do taste delicious. Explore your local farmer’s market and buy fresh produce. You can find a lot of healthy recipes online that require minimal prep time.

• Grains:

Your body’s quickest energy source comes from foods such as bread, pasta, oatmeal, cereals, and tortillas. Be sure to make half of your grain choices whole-grained foods like whole-wheat bread, brown rice, and whole-wheat pasta.

• Avoid sugars and sodium:

One of the main changes that you can do to your currently existing diet is to cut down your sugar and salt intake. Avoid canned foods and juices that seem healthy but contain more than 50% sugars and salts in the form of preservatives. If you don’t check the ingredient list at the back of your products then I suggest that you start doing that right now. You’ll be shocked to see that a lot of healthy labelled food items contain more sugars and sodium. Switch to natural sweeteners like raw honey.

• Vary your fruits & vegetables:

Ge the nutrients that your body needs by eating a variety of colors, in various ways. Try blue, red or blackberries; red and yellow peppers and greens like spinach and kale that are also packed with iron and calcium. Make your salad bowls colorful, add some berries or even apple to your boring salad. Be mindful while adding salad dressings. 

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