For the Strength of Youth - Physical Health

Read about it here.
I have felt strongly lately of the importance of our Physical Health, particularly Dave's and mine. We have done a much better job of exercising since moving to Oregon, but it is very evident that changes must be made to our diet. Much as I hate to say it. This is something I wish I'd done long ago. Looking for new recipes that are healthier is a chore for me. I love it when I find something everyone likes, but searching out those gems can be discouraging. An added struggle to this is the amount of money it takes to eat healthy. We are in a situation where we can't really tear up a rented yard to put in a garden. Building something that we can tear down later brings with it a necessity of funds that are already stretched. I was really frustrated the other day, feeling like I can't ever come in on budget when it comes to the food. A family of six in graduate school is on an extremely tight budget, and the food budget is strict because it doesn't come from loan money. In my discouragement, my wise husband broke down the challenge that I am facing each time I go shopping. What it comes down to is about $8.00 per meal. Not a person. For the whole family. Three meals a day for six people because let's face it, we really don't eat out anymore.

Someone commented to me the other day when I mentioned the monthly amount budgeted for food for our family and she was surprised at how much it was. She said she doesn't spend nearly that amount of money on her family of eight. I mentioned this to Dave in my discouragement and the kind soul reminded me that like a lot of families, they probably eat out occasionally and don't add that into their budget. He also mentioned that he doesn't think most people really sit down and calculate how much they truly spend on food in a month. It seriously adds up!


I continue to focus on our needs to be more physically healthy. It is an ongoing challenge, but thankfully, so is our health.