The SNAP Challenge - Part II

This is a continuation of a post from last week. If you missed it, click here for Part I.

A friend mentioned recently that she was going to try the SNAP challenge. She heard about it on social media. It seems it’s becoming something of a fad. I’m interested to find out how she does.

Here’s how Brett approached his challenge:

I said goodbye to "Food Inc." and took a step back in time — to the days when food was something you prepared, not bought… I looked, first, for good-value proteins. I figured those would be the biggest challenge. I found three which formed the basis of the entire diet: peanuts and peanut butter (which cost around $2.50 a pound, even at Whole Foods), eggs (20 cents each), and pulses or legumes, like split peas and lentils, which can cost not much more than $1 a pound. I rarely ate meats or fish. They were too expensive.

I then added healthy carbohydrates: oatmeal, whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, baked potatoes and sweet potatoes, and whole-wheat bread — which I made at home and cost a little more than $1 for a 1½-pound loaf.

Fruits and vegetables were tougher to work into the budget. But I ate plenty of bananas (sometimes just 20 cents each), and I bought frozen peas, corn and other mixed vegetables for around $1.30 a pound. I took a cheap multivitamin a day.

Milk is expensive, but I had a cup—about 25 cents—a day.

Interestingly, what I tell my clients and what Brett Arends discovered is a valuable lesson: Eating well is like anything else. If you slow down, plan, and do it with intention, you have a great deal more control over the outcome than you probably first thought.

Concerned about the possible ill effects on his health, Mr. Arends consulted an expert. Dr. Donald Hensrud is the Chair of Preventative Medicine for Mayo Clinic. After reviewing the foods included in Mr. Arends’ daily diet, Dr. Hensrud was quoted as saying, “Overall, I think this is excellent. It’s more nutritious than the way many, if not most, people eat.”

Interesting, I find. So while many of us have a difficult time imagining being without many of the food-like substances that we know and love so very much, we would do ourselves a favor to forget about them every now and again, and just get back to the basics.

Are you tired of being in poor health?

Are you ready to make a change?

Now you know you can actually do it affordably. No more excuses. Your health is too important. YOU and your family are too important.

You can learn how to heal yourself and unlock your body’s own medicine cabinet. By making a few changes in the areas of Lifestyle, Exercise, Attitude, and Nutrition, you can transform yourself. Showing you how to use this simple framework to get better is what I do.

Finally living is what you do.