Organic Produce Delivery--Too Expensive or Money Saver?

We just received our weekly organic produce bin from Prudent Produce. We've been using this company for the past few years and continue to love having a bin of fresh organic produce delivered to our front step each Monday. They also have lots of grocery "add-ons" that meet our clean-eating standards.

The Absolute Truth!

Does eating clean mean spending a fortune at the store? We don't think so. Our budget for four people (Dr. Wes, myself, and two boys) is $151/week. We consider eating healthy part of our "health insurance" policy and look for the cleanest foods to eat when we're at home to ensure long-term health. We eat 85% of our meals that are prepared at home. If you know Dr. Wes and his love of Pancheros, you can probably figure the other 15% is eating there. 


This week we decided to try something new. I tried to buy ALL of our groceries from Prudent Produce to see how close we could come to skipping the grocery store completely. Here's what we got and what we spent:

Mini-Produce Bin (This is what was in the mini-bin this week. We subbed a few items)
2 each Bananas
2 each Navel Orange
1 each Romaine Lettuce
2 each Fuji Apple
1 each Avocado
1 each Tommy Atkins Mango
2 each Tomato (IA)
1 5oz Baby Spinach
1 each Breakfast Radish

Add-Ons  

Natural White Cheddar Cheese Curds (16oz)

Natural Mild Cheddar Cheese Slices (7oz)

Stacey Tortillas (wheat)

Apple Cider Vinegar

Broccoli

Grape Tomatoes

Salted Butter (lb-4 sticks)

Beef Breakfast Sausage

Chicken Bites

All Natural Turkey Meat Sticks

Local Grass Fed Beef - GSGF (Monroe, IA)

Motley Kale

Blueberries

Strawberries

Total: $91.80

Ha! Love this! Same goes for anything that is "sugar free"
or "reduced sugar". 

Additionally, I bought eggs, bacon, salsa, Dr. Zevia, and some other random things at Hy-Vee today (I ordered eggs too late and missed out on eggs from Prudent Produce). We easily stayed within our $151 weekly budget for food and have lots of good, clean food to eat this week! Yum! 

What's your health worth to you and your family? Are you buying fresh produce and clean meats, or do you put chemicals in your cart? Would you save money if you never went down the store aisles? Are you sacrificing money today for your future health? 

Weekly Meal Prepping

One of our favorite routines in the Nyberg household is preparing as much food on Sundays as possible. This has been one of the BEST changes in our home for our health and sanity throughout the week. Here's what happens after I come home from getting the groceries on Sundays...

Breakfasts

1) Cook a dozen cage-free organic scrambled eggs. Mix one dozen eggs with a little coconut milk and add to a large skillet that has some hot coconut oil in it. (Sometimes I make hard boiled eggs too)

2) Cook breakfast meats like sausage and/or bacon according to packages. We like the precooked sausages found in the Hy-Vee Health Market Freezer. We throw them on the contact grill and brown them. Bacon--bake on broiling pan at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Be sure all meat is nitrite free! We also cook bacon on the contact grill too. 

3) Wash and prep any fruit that can be prepared ahead of time--grapes, blueberries, strawberries, etc. 

4) Sometimes I'll make a batch of Paleo Pumpkin Muffins or a treat like too. 

Dinners

1) Decide on recipes. I like to marinate meat before grilling or cooking it, so I will typically make the marinades on Sundays and put the sauce into a gallon ziplock baggie (or dish). Then on the day of the meal, I throw the meat in the baggie in the morning or sometime in the afternoon so it's ready to go. 

2) Prepare the meats--slice up chicken, make hamburger patties, shape homemade chicken nuggets, put a roast in the crockpot with veggies and set into the fridge, etc. Tonight I made a marinade in a large baggie;  wrapped chicken in bacon and put the sauce on it; put green beans, chicken, and sweet potatoes in a 9x13 pan with butter & Mrs. Dash; started thawing beef. 

A little fuzzy, but you get the idea! Chop those veggies!

3) Prepare the veggies--dice up zucchini & squash; slice carrots/tomatoes/peppers/onions; snap green beans; etc. Having veggies already cleaned and ready to cook makes it easier. I typically just use a little butter in a pan or throw them in a steam-pot to cook them for dinner. 

Lunches

PACK ON SUNDAY! Start with a meat (we like DiLusso Nitrite free deli meat at HyVee or leftovers) and add veggies. Raw veggies are great! Remember those veggies you just cleaned and cut for dinners? Use some of those! Salads can be pre-made--just don't use the dressing yet. 

While cooking at home definitely takes time, we've found that prepping our food on Sundays really helps. Maybe Sunday isn't your day--but find a time and make a commitment to clean, healthy eating. You'll love the results!

9x13 Pan; Green Beans, Carrots, Chicken, Sweet
Potatoes; Mrs. Dash; Butter squares.

Recipes We Used This Week

Paleo Bacon Wrapped Honey Mustard Chicken

Budget Friendly Balsamic Mustard Chicken

Chipotle Lime Rubbed Steak

Fun, Free Fitness Ideas--At the park & your backyard!

Hey everyone! I'm sure we are all noticing this wonderfully beautiful weather we get to have all week and hoping to get late night walks in, or simply just open up our windows to keep the fresh air flowing! But if you're anything like me, you also want to figure out how to get a great workout while enjoying the nice weather!! Sometimes I simply just go for a nice run and enjoy the alone time to think. However....recently I find it most fun to gather a group of friends and do a mini boot camp in a nearby park. Help keep each other accountable while getting healthier! Want to know some exercises to do while at the park? That's what I'm here for! Here are some of my suggestions:

Push ups on a park bench

Run up and down the hills as sets of sprints

Pull ups on the monkey bars

Burpees or mountain climbers in the grass

Sit ups in the grass

Partner squats(backs together-hold at bottom for as long as possible)

Calf raises on the play equipment (hang feet off edge and go above and below the plane)

Lunges in a circle around the play equipment (usually it is a decent sized area so 2 or 3 laps will have those legs burning)

And if you have kids or a spouse, get out the gloves and baseballs and play catch. Try out a new sport like tennis or simply kicking a soccer ball around. And always be sure to stretch after you get done-take that time to sit and relax and really take in the gorgeous Earth around you while stretching your body to prevent injuries!

Be sure to take advantage of it this week while we have it! Get out there and move! 

--Emily

"When Diet and Exercise are Not Enough..." False.

Health is not about bad/good luck with your genes. You don’t have arthritis, heart disease or back pain because your parents did. Getting old DOES NOT mean you should have more health problems and more pain. Do you really think we are supposed to have more pain and sickness/disease the older we get? Your health choices ultimately determine what genes are expressed or not expressed. I’m not saying that genes don’t play a role, they do, but they are not the determining factor in your health. Being healthy requires regular deposits in your “health” account.

Our society has been blasted with commercials and ads that say, “When diet and exercise are not enough…” Diet and exercise don’t fail. Making healthy choices don’t fail. Our society is about getting quick results right now by taking care of the symptoms, not the problem. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, pain, and other health conditions usually result from poor health choices and stress. Getting healthy and reducing your physical, chemical, and emotional stress will eliminate the problems. Here are 5 healthy choices you can start to get healthy with. To learn more about incorporating these healthy choices into your lifestyle, come listen to our next 8 Weeks to Wellness orientation. Check the office and website for details.

1.     1.  Have your spine and nervous system checked by a Chiropractor. Your nervous system controls everything. Make sure it’s working at 100%.

2.      2. Eat healthy. 5-6 small meals/day with a balanced portion of carbs, protein and fat.

3.     3.  Exercise- 3-4 times/week for 30-45 minutes. It needs to include cardio and resistance training.

4.    4.   Relaxation techniques-massage, meditation, yoga, reading, etc can help relax your mind.

5.      5. Sleep