Save Money And Fight Inflation By Getting Healthier In Malta
Changes in food choices can be one way to save a few bucks amid soaring inflation. But surprisingly, we can also use the opportunity to reclaim our health.
Malta is the most obese country in Europe. And a recent survey launched by Lovin Malta shed light on the fact that healthy foods can be downright expensive. At least, when compared to whatever one can find at a pastizzi shop.
But in truth, some of the world’s cheapest foods can also be some of the healthiest. Especially if they are of plant origin or grown locally.
That said, what are the foods you should look for to save some cash but also reclaim your health?
1: Up the intake of plant foods
In a country rife with fruit and vegetable vendors bringing fresh, local, and in-season produce right to your very doors, it’s impossible to ignore the opportunity.
Fruits and vegetables are one way to go. Technically, fruit is nature’s candy. So spending €2.69 on an entire kilo of apples looks like quite a good alternative when compared to purchasing the same amount of conventional candy bars (around €12 – €13 per kilo).
Chomping down on nature’s own produce has also been shown to be more filling, considering the additional fiber content.
Fruit and veg are not the be-all, end-all. Considering Malta’s climate, beans are also abundant. And thank God for that, because beans, like all legumes, are absolutely packed with fibre, anti-oxidants and of course… protein. Best of all, they only set you back by a measly €0.60.
Beans are also a key ingredient found in many traditional Maltese recipes, such as the beloved kusksu, if not merely a fresh summer salad.
2: Replace all drinks with water
Let’s face it; most drinks are garbage when compared to water. Expensive garbage. You’ve got your soft drinks, your caramel crappo-frappo-ccinos, your flavoured waters and a whole bunch of other stuff.
These are essentially water-based drinks defiled by nasty things designed to give some awesome flavour and/or colour. Sugar, industrial seed oils, preservatives, artificial sweeteners… all calories with absolutely no nutritional benefit.
So what purpose do they have? None, save 20 seconds of euphoria you get when you drink them.
Substituting these drinks with water can have a profound impact on our health. Scientists even put this to the test by making overweight ladies switch from sweetened drinks to water, and tracking them for up to a year.
Even though the beverage in question was a ‘diet beverage’, these ladies lost weight while enjoying a host of other health benefits which only increased as time went by.
Pro-tip: spending an extra buck to get a Reverse Osmosis installed in your kitchen will also make you save more in the long run.
3: Fasting is pretty cheap too
As we look to shave off the expenditure as well as the pounds, we can delight ourselves with the understanding that skipping the odd meal altogether can be the best thing to tackle both. At least sometimes.
Skipping lunch every day for just one week will reduce your weekly meal intake by 33%, – if you’re consuming three meals in a day, at least.
What a great way to make your body lighter while keeping your wallet heavy. And it makes splurging on that one meal so much better.
4: Cooking home over eating out
We all love a good, old-fashioned takeout. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you’re looking to cut down on expenses whilst making sure you keep all the good stuff on your plate, eat home-cooked food as often as you can.
Arguably, one’s entire family can eat for the same price as one or two persons purchasing meals from a restaurant – depending on the restaurant, of course.
Purchasing natural, in-season produce from your local vendors is a start. And one can only capitalise on the initiative by attempting healthy recipes from your favourite social media health influencer – if it is a healthy meal at least.
5: Local fruit and veg vendors are your friends
Grocery shopping isn’t something we usually think much about, but even that needs to change. Particularly, by getting the goods from local vendors.
You know the ones – those neat trucks selling every superfood under the sun.
There are so many reasons why taking advantage of your local fruit and veg vendors is a good thing. It’s healthier, tastier, more environmentally sustainable, better for the economy, and of course… easier on one’s wallet.
Since COVID-19, farmers have experienced a “massive reduction in sales”, after folks staying in opted for take-out dinners, as opposed to shopping directly from the vendors themselves.
Redirecting your expenditure towards these guys will not only be of benefit to your purse, but potentially, it can breathe new life into a dying breed carrying the key to a healthy diet.
6: Walk more
While working out is important in all its forms, you’d be surprised to know that one type of exercise stood out in its ability to increase lifespans. And that exercise is walking.
Walking falls under a type of activity known as Aerobic Threshold Training (ATR); a training form that makes use of the body’s fat-burning engine.
The form of training comes with a welcoming advantage: that it doesn’t take a huge effort to engage in. And not only can it be done for free, but walking could potentially help you save on fuel costs – a double whammy!
Inflation has affected all of us. But what if we could turn it all around with a few lifestyle choices?
Who knows? We might even have a six-pack by the time the inflation rate starts returning back to normal.
Tag someone who needs to read this