How to Eat Healthy on a Budget with JJ Virgin

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Here's JJ Virgin triple board certified nutrition and fitness expert and four time New York Times best selling author. It's time to Reignite Wellness.

Foreign. Hey, it's JJ Virgin. And welcome to the Reignite Wellness Podcast. Today, we are talking about a question that we get asked all the time. Oh, my gosh, all the time. And that is how the heck can I eat healthy when I'm on a budget? Can it be done? And I'm going to share with you 7 kitchen staples to help you eat healthy on a budget. But I want to share with you a little story first. And here's the story, because I always thought, yes, it's a little more expensive to eat healthy, but shoot, it's worth it. Turns out I was wrong. And I'm glad I was wrong. This is one thing I want to be wrong about. I went to the grocery store and I filled a cart full of things that were all virgin diet, sugar impact diet approved. I even had my shakes added into the cost of this, all right? And I was doing grass fed and wild, so doing the whole deal. And then I filled another cart full of like what a normal family trying to eat healthy, you know, doing reasonably well would eat. And I kind of was stocking the carts at the supermarket. I admit it, I did it. And when I got to the checkout line, I fully expected. I thought, you know, maybe we'll be a little bit more or it'll be even. And for a family of four, for what I bought, it was like, I don't know, 30 bucks less for the week. I mean, something substantial to eat healthy. And that is because I know how to shop. If you've been around me at all, all my friends know I'm like the uber discount bargain, always hunting. I buy high quality stuff, but I'm always looking for how to get the best, the best deals. Which is why in the JJ Virgin land, we have done subscribe and Save as our big initiative. All right, now before we dive into this, because I'm going to give you my strategies here. Again, I'm going to tell you the things you're going to want to make sure that you keep in your kitchen to eat healthy. But before we go there, I want to shout out to Carrie Marie, 76, who gave me a five star review on Apple itunes. Thank you, thank you. By the way, if you've not subscribed, it's so easy. My buddy Paul who does our podcast has made this so easy for everybody. All you have to do is go to subscribe to JJ subscribetojay.com that's it. You can subscribe and while you're there, leave a review and I will shout you out too, like I'm doing with Carrie Marie. Who said I came. Well, first of all, here's your subject line. Like I got to say this one because Carrie Marie, thank you. Discovering JJ Virgin has been life changing. I came across JJ earlier this year in my quest to resolve what I knew was food intolerances. She's been life changing for me through her podcast programs and products. Her podcasts are super informative and she is clearly so passionate about wanting people to be educated on health and lifestyle choices. Yes, that is true. Her guests on the show are always nothing short of amazing too. And yes, that is super true. Amazing guest jj, thank you for all you're doing in the world and keep up the incredible work. I fully intend to. Now I'm about ready to dive into how to eat healthy on the budget. So stay with me. We'll be right back.

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And welcome back. All right, let's talk eating healthy on a budget. And here's the thing. Getting those things, the convenience foods like the broccoli already cut, you know, stuff that's pretty much already prepared, those or last minute, like the last minute drive by, especially when you're hungry, that's where a lot of the bills come in. And going in there without a list, impulse shopping kaboom. That can just crash your wallet. So we want to do is keep your pantry and fridge stocked with smart and healthy cost effective choices that are the best. And I will tell you that I live by this. I have actually I've got not one, not two. I've got a big fridge in the house and then I've got a freezer and another fridge freezer in the garage and I have my staples all stocked up. And plus I have an amazing pantry because I watch for things and when things are in season, I stock up. And if something goes on sale, I stock up. Like if my buddies over at Vital Choice that have the best, best wild salmon and wild halibut shout out to my buddy Randy Hartnell, have a sale. You better believe I am stocking up. So and we'll put that by the way, in the show notes. We will have the show notes will be let's put JJ virgin.com budget we'll put that in the show notes. And so we will do that. So you'll get Vital Choice a little how do, how do we get to Vital Choice? Also shout out to my pals over at Thrive Market. Think Thrive Market is like Whole Foods meets Amazon meets Costco. So you get great healthy stuff delivered fast and free and inexpensive. So there's all sorts of great resources here. And that's really the point. And the other point is you know, we could be one of those little excuse people that goes, I can't. I can't afford to eat healthy. Or you could be the person saying, how, how can I afford to eat healthy? How can I do it? I'm so glad you asked. Well, the first thing you want to do is make sure you've stocked your fridge, freezer, and pantry. And you want to have these seven essentials. All right? And for those of you watching live right now, because I'm recording this podcast live on Instagram @jj virgin and on Facebook @jj virgin official, I would love. I would love to, to hear what you think these seven staples are. That's what I want to know. In fact, I might even throw out some prizes to those that come up with this. So, first one, coconut oil and coconut milk. Now, if you've been around my community, you know I love these two things. They're superfoods. They help fight infection, prevent heart disease, and help with weight loss. The MCT oils are great. They're great fuel for the brain. They're very satiating. And so this is a great one that you always want to have on hand. You can use them for so many different things, like coconut oil. You can throw a little bit in your coffee in the morning if you are delaying eating for a while. That's a simple one. It's also something great to cook with, to roast vegetables with. Awesome. Coconut milk. Of course, I keep coconut milk and coconut cream in my pantry. I use the aseptic packed ones, the coconut cream. If you come to any of my parties, you know, I make the best coconut whipped cream. And we will do that and put it on berries. We'll put it in coffee. We use it for all sorts of things. I'll throw in some protein powder in there to make Pro Whip. Huh? It's that good. And then, of course, coconut milk. And you can use both of those things to make great creamy soups, creamy sauces. Put them in your smoothies. You know how I feel about smoothies. So this is just one you want to have on hand all of the time. So watch for when the store has a sale on so delicious septic pack coconut milk. Or the other big hack here is watch with Whole Foods 365 brand because they built that brand. And I got this from the inside. This is an inside scoop. They built that brand to compete with the other store brands. So watch for the 365Organics brand. There's the 365 Regular and 365O like, let's go organic whenever possible. All right, next one, Next one. I want to know what. Come on. Let's see what you guys are. Are put in here. Yeah, someone's put in Cheryl. Cheryl's going coconut whipped cream. Yes. We had someone saying here, and it's. Michelle says organic mixed nuts and berries. Hey, you're gonna find that you. You get a prize over there. So, team, watching Michelle DM me on Instagram, say JJ said I was getting a prize, and we will figure out we got some great swag. We'll send you something. So just tell them I told you so. Okay, here we go. Bone broth is the next one. Now, one of the reasons I have this second freezer is I have my paleo treats. Shout out to Lee Selman, my buddy over there. Paleo treats. Oh, my gosh. Those are great to have on hand for parties, but that's not what we're talking about today. Although I'll put that in the show notes@jjvirgin.com forward slash budget. What we're talking about today is bone broth. And bone broth is something I stock up in my freezer because there's so many awesome things that you can do with it. The weather's starting to get cold. Not so much in Tampa. It's 80 degrees. I'm going out to dinner tonight. It's going to be 80 degrees at 9 o' clock at night. So. All right, it's October. It's not cold. But so great to curl up in the morning, have a little bone broth. Throw bone broth in when you're making your wild rice. If you're using your slow cooker, you can put bone broth into your oatmeal. I thought it sounded disgusting. I got asked to do this show on Dr. Oz where they wanted me to make a savory oatmeal. Phenomenal. Oh, my gosh. So bone broth, why are we drinking it? Well, it's rich in amino acids and minerals that can help promote weight loss, enhance metabolism, reduce appetite, and strengthen the immune system. Plus, it's got collagen that, as we know, helps your hair, skin, and joints, keeps them youthful and strong. Just ask my buddy Dr. Kellyanne Petrucci about that. And, of course, you can just keep in your freezer. Now you can also make it. And if you do, I bow down to you, and I'm very impressed. I am like, the queen of fast. So, Dolores, we will definitely address that too much saturated fat question. Team, make sure you pull that question because that is one I want to blow up. Blow up that question. So glad you asked it. All right, so back over to bone broth. And again, if you're listening to this podcast, I'm actually taping it live on Facebook and Instagram. Hanging out. But you can make your own. Will include a recipe for bone broth. That obviously is the most inexpensive way to go with it. And then you can freeze it. I'm just, you know, I do a lot of cooking, but that's that cooking. Like the little, little chicken feet. Yikes. All right, next one. Frozen berries and cherries. So here's a big hack for this. My hubby loves organic blueberries, and he always has fresh organic blueberries because he likes to put them in. He does this little rice crispy stuff with coconut milk, and he likes to have that. Don't judge. Anyway, that's what he. But as a result, we always seem to have these blueberries that are kind of like getting sketchy. And so we always have a bunch of frozen blueberries because I make sure that before they go bad, they go frozen. So one of the things you want to look at is if any of the organic berries and cherries or are on sale, hey, grab them. You know, whether they're frozen or fresh, because you can always freeze them. In fact, the other thing that I like to do is get organic green bananas. And I freeze those because they are super duper high in resistant starch. But back, back to the frozen berries and cherries again. These are awesome. Easy to throw in smoothies. In fact, just did that this morning. And you can buy them frozen. But other big important thing is when you have fruit and it looks like it's going to go bad. And you know how it is with berries. Like, they're great, they're great, they're great, they're bad, right? And then all of a sudden, you got the icky mold. So keep an eye on them. If you see them just starting to do that slide, freeze them. Super important. This is when you definitely want to get organic. They're like little pesticide sponges. Very important. But they're so high in fiber, high in antioxidants, and very low sugar impact. And plus, you can make my amazing dark chocolate cherry chia protein shake. We'll put the recipe into the show notes. And again, that's jjvirgin.com forward/budget. Put it in the show notes. Okay, next ones. You knew I was gonna say this. What do you think I'm gonna say? Just by saying that everyone watching it is leafy greens. And by the way, I'm add leafy greens. I'm put zucchini in there. I'll tell you why. So here's the other thing. Leafy greens, like if you buy a bunch of spinach, because sometimes we get way too many spinach, too much spinach, and you can freeze that too and throw it into your smoothies. But, you know, leafy greens, super inexpensive. We always have. I like romaine. My, my favorites are romaine and butter lettuce and radicchio. I like arugula. So we always have a bunch of different types in the house to make salads with. And then I have a little glass container where I cut up some radishes and I cut up some red onion and I cut up some cucumber. Some other things to throw in a salad because I know if it's already cut and I put in my little glass containers, I'll use it. If it's not, I won't. But super inexpensive, really high. You know, they're. They're rich in vitamins A, C and K. They're rich in folate, minerals, antioxidant, and fiber. We want to be getting at least five servings a day. Now, the new stuff, I like to say 5 to 10 servings, but the latest information just came out and said seven servings. So look for all the different places that you can sneak a ton of vegetables in. Last night we did shaved brussels sprouts with red onions and portobello baby bellow mushrooms. So good. With some wild salmon from our buddies of vital choice. And most that stuff just was stuff that we'd had on hand. Now the other one is zucchini nut. And here's why. Zucchini is so awesome. You can make zoodles, and they are easy to make, by the way. Like, like this is one. Nutribullet has one of those veggie things where you can make these. And there's a bunch of those little machines so you can make your z. You can make them from zucchini. You can also make the butternut squash one. So a lot of different ways to do this. I will actually put into the show notes here for this one. Jjvirgin.com budget I'll put my chicken zoodle stir fry. I just wanted to say zoodle, zoodle, zoodle. All right. And how about cauliflower, quinoa and wild rice? And when I say cauliflower, I mean cauliflower rice. So I get cauliflower rice. I keep it in the freezer and Then I always get wild rice. We always have wild rice in the pantry. And quinoa. And we'll. What's cool about these is you can have them separate or you can have them together. I cook both the wild rice and the quinoa. I make both of these with bone broth. So that's how I do those ones, is I make them with bone broth. With the cauliflower rice, I like to saute that in a little avocado oil. And then I'll add ghee to either one of those. But what I generally do is we'll do a mix of usually wild rice and cauliflower rice. 2 to 1. More cauliflower rice than wild rice. Or same with quinoa. So it's fun how you can make a little bit of a nice little trio there and blend these. But I like to do two non starchy vegetables to one starchy. That's how I like to do it. Remember, wild rice is even better because it's a grass, not a grain. Okay. And quinoa is a seed. So there you go. And speaking of seeds, the other thing I want to make sure you have on hand is chia seed and flaxseed meal. These are loaded with protein, healthy fats and fiber. They fight inflammation, boost brain function, and help keep you satiated for hours. Plus, you can do so much stuff with them. You can make chia pudding. You can use chia and freshly ground flax in your shakes. Makes them nice and smooth and thick. You can put these things in your sauces to help thicken them up as well. So, I mean, a lot of easy things. We'll give you two in the show notes. A chocolate berry pudding with chia seeds. Like, who doesn't want that? Yum. But lots of so versatile. And you can throw them in places, get more fiber, get more Omega threes. And if you got picky kids, they won't know, so don't tell them. And finally, you knew I was going to say this. Protein shakes, I mean, come on. Protein shakes, to me are one of the ultimate stables that you want to have we put into place in our company because we really made a commitment. We decided, you know, it's not about getting healthy. It is about getting healthy. It's about getting healthy, but it's really about staying healthy. And so what we wanted to do was help you stay healthy. So we put together subscribe and Save. So that just became a habit because it's really the habits that make all the difference. So protein shakes are super Important. What's awesome about a protein shake is that you're just changing what you were spending the money on instead of buying that muffin that's a cupcake, let's face it, without the frosting and spending all that money on that, you can for $3.50 and that includes the fruit in there, by the way. You can have an amazing protein shake. You just got to make sure you're making them the right way. Like don't just throw some water in a protein shake and some ice and shake it up. Come on, throw it in a little nutribullet. We've got great recipes. We'll include some in the show notes. JJvirgin.com budget will include them on in so you can make some awesome ones too. Okay. Why do I love shakes so much? Because most people blow it at breakfast again. They have that muffin, they think they're being so virtuous. It's a healthy morning muffin. Not realizing it probably has more sugar than Hostess cupcakes do. So I don't want to see that happen ever on my watch ever. Ever. All right, now after the break, I'm going to put this into like, where should you start the action steps for you? So stay with me.

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Welcome back. All right, now here's where I give you your marching orders. What are we going to do from here? So biggest takeaway. And again, it's not like I can't afford to eat healthy. It's how can I eat healthy? How can I eat healthy on a budget? What can I do? So I just gave you the staples and again we're going to look at where can you get this healthy stuff from? What's so awesome now is like all the grocery stores are having all of this out there now, so it's much easier to find grass fed and wild and organic. But again, when you see things on sale, stock it on up. I have stuff, I have my wild salmon and my wild halibut, my grass fed beef just stashed. So watch for sales on this on all of the staples I just talked about. Stock them up because, you know, here's the other thing Like, I have a great stash of all the stuff in my freezer, fridge and pantry. And then really all I have to do during the week is get fresh vegetables. So it makes life so much easier, too. The other thing along there, like one of the biggest expenses besides buying processed foods or stuff that have already been made because they've spent all the time is make like I cut up a bunch of vegetables last night so I'd have them for stir fries and salad throughout the week. And I put them in little glass containers. So make food once, use it multiple times throughout the week and, and watch your food. I think the biggest place where we get into trouble is throwing food away. And so if you're having, if you're looking at food and it looks like it is going to go bad, throw it in the freezer. Like a lot of times if we know we're going out of town and we had a roast chicken, we just pull it apart, put the chicken meat in the freezer. Now be able to do something with it like throw it into a soup like my amazing Cauliflower rice Creamy soup when I get home. So do not throw food away. Put it in the freezer and keep an eye on it so you know when it's getting ready to make its downhill slide. And that's where those glass storage containers, this is one thing you do want to invest in. Get the glass storage containers super duper important. That is one of the things that I made sure that I had when I moved to Tampa. I left mine behind for my sons and I got some new ones when I got here. So really, really important. I want to remind you again, if you have not subscribed, subscribe to JJ is how you subscribe to my podcast. Subscribejay.com and while you're there, leave a review. I want to shout you out and I super appreciate you tuning in today. And you can grab the show notes@jjvirgin.com forward/budget. All right.

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