Hi {!firstname_fix}

Thought you would all enjoy sharing in my travel this week.

I just got back from my visit to the Lummi Nation. It was a very moving trip. The Lummi people are the salmon people, people of the water. They are warm and welcoming. And, the tribe is torn apart by alcoholism and addiction to drugs. They have invited me to offer some ideas on solutions and I am honored to do so.

If you are Native American and would like to share in our discussion please come join our new Radiant Native American elist.

Please feel free to pass this week's newsletter on to your friends and family. Let me know what you like and would like to see.

A copy of this newsletter may also be found posted to the web at http://www.radiantrecovery.com/weeklynewsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, use the link at the bottom of the page.

And be sure to visit our Radiant Recovery website and Community Forum regularly.

Warmly,
Kathleen

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February 23, 2004

** Quote From Kathleen **

Do the food and your life will change. Everything will change beyond your wildest imagination.

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** Your Last Diet: More Than What You Think**

I have been doing some new research on the biochemical aspects of resistance to weight loss. I will start sharing these new learnings with the YLD members shortly.

Come join us and learn new pieces of the puzzle!

http://www.radiantrecovery.com/YLD_signup.htm

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** Radiant Recovery Seminars **

The first one will be held in New York on Sunday, February 29. This seminar will cover the biochemistry of sugar sensitivity and weight loss questions. This is a small group and you will get to talk to Kathleen directly. We will have fun, so if you are thinking of coming, sign up ASAP.

The second will be our annual four-day ranch held in Albuquerque May 19-22. Radiant Ranch is the highlight of the year. Most of the liaisons come and we all have a blast. Swimming, hot tubbing, great program-friendly food and lots of new information. And, for the first time, we are inviting children over the age of 10 to join us.

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David's Corner **

With this week's newsletter feature focusing on budgeting, the store would like to make that possible for you too. Whether you are a new or regular customer, you can take advantage of our "Pac's". These Pac's offer savings and items that will compliment your specific needs. We are also continuing our holiday sale on specific items due to the fantastic response we have received.

Next week I will have notes on our "Best Sellers" and why they are best sellers.

Please send questions and suggestions for items you might like to see in our store.

Thanks
David

And of course, we have something for everybody in our store

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** Featured Topic**
Doing The Program on a Limited Budget?

Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.

So you have gotten excited about your healing. You are ready to make changes. But when you think about the impact on your budget, you get overwhelmed. Things are tight already. However can you do this plan when you are trying to work with a limited income? Sometimes you read the struggles people are having about how many grams of protein and you groan because you are struggling with making ends meet let alone counting protein grams. You know you can't afford fancy foods and the costs of the foods in health foods store is beyond your means.

The secret to making change is just like the program. You do it in baby steps and you plan carefully. Let's start with the proteins. They don't have to be fancy. Pinto beans are great. Tuna, eggs, chicken all work. And they all go on sale. Chicken thighs can be found for very little and have lots of meat. Don't spook yourself. You are already skilled at stretching things.

What you are going to do is make artful trades. For example, if you buy plain oatmeal instead of sugared cereals and spend the difference on extra tuna, you will be on your way. So, try this experiment. Next time you go shopping, add up what you spend on the sugar stuff and the junk food stuff. NO judgment. Just add it up and see how much of your food budget goes for that. You may find that you are spending money on things that you have always bought but never really thought about it. And often when working with a limited budget, you get in the habit of buying what feels like cheap things - bologna and macaroni.

I know you have huge creativity. You have been using it to get by on not much money for years. The trick in the process is to shift your thinking on what you buy. Let's say you have been eating Kraft Macaroni and Cheese 3 nights a week. Not much nutrition but it fills you up. So now you buy a large bag of potatoes, use commodity cheese and add a can of tuna. Same meal, 1000 times better for you.

Or you can get whole wheat tortillas or make pancakes from scratch with whole what flour and you fill 'em with beans and cheese and vegetables. Or you serve oatmeal and eggs instead of poptarts. Lentil soup on brown rice is about as good a meal as you can get. And dry milk is a great protein source. Add it to all sorts of things. When people talk about making a shake in the morning, you can do the very same thing using dry milk powder, oatmeal and day old bananas.

We asked some of our folks what changes they have made. Maybe some of these will ring a bell.

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I'm always looking for ways to eat better for less money. Recently my daughter (who also follows the program) and I hit upon a deal where I do most of the cooking and we share the cost of the food. I freeze individual sized servings and we have our own frozen meals to "heat and eat." I keep track of how much the ingredients cost and estimate the cost per serving. I was amazed that most of our meals with protein and a brown (some include veggies, too) were under $2.00 per serving. Many were less the $1.50 per serving. This is considerable less than even "fast food" prices.

Here are some things that I've learned to do to cut food costs.
- I buy meats that are on sale. And I buy bulk quantities and repackage them into serving size portions. Then I freeze these for use later.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs are cheaper than boneless skinless chicken breasts and are a good substitute in most recipes.
- I buy ground turkey and use in recipes that call for ground beef.
- For things like beef stew, I look for a small roast and cut it up into chunks for the stew. It's often less per pound and better quality meat, too.
- I buy veggies that are in season and ones that are on sale. In the summer I buy fruits and vegetables from local growers and farmer's markets and freeze them. I have a small garden and grow some of my own veggies. You can grow tomatoes and many other vegetables and herbs in a large flower pots.
- Growing my own herbs saves me a ton of money.
- I buy oatmeal and brown rice and whole grain flours in bulk.
- I invested in a soy milk maker and I make soy milk for pennies. I paid for the soy milk maker in less than a year.
- I make my own chicken broth and my own red sauce for pasta for much less than the commercial brands. Plus I *know* mine don't have sugars or coverts.
- Canned beans are not expensive but cooking dried beans costs even less money.
- I buy blocks of cheese, grate my own, and then freeze it by spreading it out on a cookie sheet to "flash freeze." Then I store it in a zip-lock bag and you can scoop out just what you need for your recipe.
It's taken me awhile to learn to shop and cook more economically. And it's definitely easier to stay in my budget since I don't buy pricey foods like boxes of cereal and cookies and chips and prepackaged convenience foods. Because I have lots of ready to eat food choices at home, I don't buy dinner at the drive-through.

It is definitely possible to follow the program and eat really well and not spend a fortune on food. Looking for recipes? Kathleen's book, Recipes to Remember, is a jewel. There are also great ideas on the Radiant Recipes elist and in the Radiant Recipes section of the Radiant Recovery website.

Sheila
I buy items in bulk by going in with my friends and shopping at Sam's Club. We started planning together sort of as a game. Now, it is fun. We kinda have our own little buying club.
I buy items on sale and stock up. I know the basic things I use and PLAN for when the sales come up. I think the planning thing is the biggest change. Of course the longer *I* am doing the program, the less helpless I feel about having such a limited budget.
I buy the fruits and vegetables that are in season. My store has a place for bruised or cut vegetables and fruits and I get them and just cut out the damage. I have talked with the produce guy and he told me the best day to find things. In fact, he loves to help me get the good stuff.
I go to my local farmer's market or grower and get extra and then freeze what is leftover. I was surprised how easy it is to do this. And at the end of the market, a lot of the growers are willing to give me what is left for a very low price.
I talked to my neighbors who grow things. They let me take the drops from the field for free. I got great apples and made lots of sugar free applesauce. Then froze it and use it with all sorts of stuff. My kids even put it in the oatmeal they are eating now.
I planted my own tomatoes and veggies. My kids helped. We had fun and they LOVED eating from their own garden. They used to turn their noses up at vegetables. But when it is their own vegetables, they rub 'em and scrub 'em.
I started to can my own foods. My mother used to do this and I thought it was way too hard. But now I know why she did it. Great food and very low price. I got a lot of the supplies for it at the flea market. That was an adventure. My mother has lots of tips and is having fun passing them on.
I shop online for vitamins/protein powders and watch for the sales. I was surprised at how much cheaper things were.
My kids love it so much they haven't even noticed it is brown. We use it for peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast. They have that and a glass of milk and it seems to work really well for them.
I grew up on beans and rice and corn and tomatoes from the garden. Funny, we were never sick. I went away from this as I got older. But I am trying it out. My brain remembers what to do. I am making brown rice instead of white. My family is actually pleased. We even made some homemade tortillas and then were great!
I get food stamps and usually just roam the aisles deciding. Last time, I actually made a plan before I went. I left the kids at home so they wouldn't ask for things. I ate before I went. What a difference it made. I spent the same amount of money but got totally different things. I am even thinking about using my commodity foods in a different way.
I made this HUGE pot of lentil stew with ham hocks. It smelled so good, my kids are asking for it every week. Then I got brave. We usually have franks and beans on Saturday night. Last week, I MADE the beans and made some brown bread. Surprised even me!
When I started, I thought this was silly. But we have been doing this for a year. My doctor bills are almost nothing. My food bills are more, but my doctor and prescription bills have dropped so much, that we actually have a little extra. And we all feel so much better.
When we looked at what we were spending for cokes, beer and chips, it stunned both me and my kids. We bought some more protein, got better bread stuff and spend some on videos. It is a nice trade.
My sister and I lived closed to each other and both of us were on tight budgets. What we did was invest in some plastic baggies and plastic food containers with covers. Then we'd go shopping together and buy foods/staples and paper products that were on sale and/or in larger amounts than we would need individually. After shopping we'd go on over to her house and divide the stuff up. We also used store coupons on the sale products too. This was great. We saved money and we didn't have to worry about finding a place to store the extras in our tiny apartments.