My Favorite Lower-Cost Foods

What a day!  I hate ice!  I am scared to death of it. I went in to work late this morning.  The main roads weren't bad, but my street and sidewalk were nothing but ice.  Now, they are talking about it being worse tomorrow morning.  We will see.  Well, anyway, I wanted to write about the cost of eating healthier.  The doctors don't tell you how much some of the food cost that we are supposed to be eating, when they diagnose us with diabetes.  Some of it is outrageous!  It's even worse if you are on a low-fat diet as well as a low-sugar one.  But there are some foods that are good for us that we can eat that don't cost an arm and a leg.  1. Eggs-are a cheap source of protein that we can use in a variety of healthy ways.  I like to make a nice veggie-omelet.  They are good hard-boiled on salads.  If you use a fat-free mayo, you can make a nice egg salad and add celery and onions.  You can do a lot with eggs.  2. Peanut Butter-another good source of protein that we can use in many ways too.  This is one of my favorites because I love peanut butter.  You can dip your apples or your celery in it.  You can put it in smoothies with bananas.  You can have it on a nice piece of whole wheat toast in the morning.  There are so many ways to enjoy this lower-cost food.  Now, I know we are supposed to be using the natural kinds of peanut butter, but honestly, I can't eat them.  They are okay to mix in with something, but just to eat it....no.  I use a reduced-fat peanut butter that is pretty low in sugar too.  You just have to check the labels.  3. Fresh in-season vegetables are another lower-cost food.  When in season and especially, if they are locally-grown, they are delicious.  I grow my own tomatoes in the summer and usually some peppers too.  Of course, growing them yourself is always best, if possible.  There are an unlimited ways to use them.  4.  Frozen Vegetables are really low-cost and a great way to get all the vitamins and nutrients we need when we can't get seasonal vegetables.  They are easy to cook and already cut up for us, so there is no prep.   5.  Fresh, in-season fruit is always nice.  I will admit, I'm not much of a fruit person.  I like apples, bananas, pears and a few others raw.  The rest of them I have to use in smoothies and other kinds of preparations.  I use a good bit of frozen fruit for smoothies.  But, still, seasonal, fresh fruit is always best.  Berries are very good for us too.  6.  Canned tuna is a really cheap source of protein too, plus you get your fish oils in there too.  I use a lot of tuna.  I put it on salads, I make tuna salad sandwiches on whole wheat.  I use it in cooking too.  There are many ways to use this food.   These are some of the foods I have found to be budget-friendly.  I'm sure there are many more I could list.  Please, if you have any favorites to add, leave a comment.  Here's to our health!!