I started this project with the idea of doing a radical change on my lifestyle. It is possible, but why is it so hard for me? We’ll find out step by step and work it out.

So far, it’s been 9 days since I decided to start diet & exercise in order to get in shape. Yes I’ve been eating better.. NO, I haven’t been as strict as I should’ve. Specially with the work out part, but well, one step at a time, one topic at a time.

Now I’ll write about how it’s been like buying the healthy-like groceries in a budget in Monterrey.

I live at home with my parents, so buying the groceries isn’t usually part of my chores. Both of my parents work and they usually eat over at the cafeteria of their office. I got a card with which I could get lunch in the campus for free during the semester (for which I thank enormously to the “Consejo de Filatropía” of Tec de Monterrey and SAIIA for providing me this support, without it I would’ve survived out of cookies and coffee, no joke). My sister works and studies so my parents give her money for lunch. We rarely eat at home, for breakfast or dinner we only have scarmbled eggs or milk and cereal, so we’ve got to a point where there’s only milk, eggs, cereal, tortilla, frijoles, salsa and potatoes. This is way more than many people in my country have access to, so I must be thankful. However, the weekends, since we’re out of time and ideas of what to cook out of this, they just grab the phone and order, hummmm… maybe some (in)glorious papas asadas (Grilled potato with butter, 3 types of cheese, grilled meat and bacon.. YES, bacon) or some flautas (beef in rolled tortillas, deep fried, with guacamole, cream and salsa).

So it was about time I did something about our arteries. Last week I made my super list, which goes as follows…

Meat products:

• Lean beef
• Pork meat: Despite the common belief that pork meat is a bad choice, its fatty acid composition makes it pretty healthy.. except for the cholesterol, but well, consuming it moderately should be fine.
• Chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
• Tuna (canned in water)
• Salmon (smoked)
• Eggs

Dairy products :

• Greek yogurt (no added sugar, 0% fat)
• Goat cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Skim milk

Fruits & vegetables

• Papaya
• Pear
• Spinach
• Grapefruit
• Cucumber
• Avocado
• Tomato
• Nuts (pecan, almonds..)
• Strawberries
• Broccoli
• Nopales
• Zucchini
• Green beans
• Carrots
• Onions
• Mushrooms

Grains:

• Oats
• Flaxseed
• Chia seeds
• Quinoa
• Whole wheat bread
• Beans
• Corn tortilla
• Corn tostadas (baked)

Then went to the supermarket to face reality… eating healthy is relatively costly. Specially the items labeled as “organic” “superfood” “Low fat” “Whole grain” blah blah

The budget is pretty tight, and even though the economical support of my parents was not yet for sure, I spent all the cash I had (literally) in order to buy most of my list. There are even some foods and drinks I just didn’t include since I knew they’d rise up the cost (wine… for example).

At the supermarket (went to HEB), I found things I hadn’t initially considered in my list that I’d love to get and when I saw the price tag of other items in the list, then just had to remove them. One day, when I earn my own living I’m pretty sure I’ll spend a fortune eating healthylicious foods… and travelling, hopefully. I also realized that there are fruits and vegetables I could get at the local market instead. Not so fancy, but waay cheaper.

In the end, my shopping cart looked like this:

aaand the bill

I know that compared to many people’s budget for food this is nothing, but for somebody with my unstable income, $90 USD is a huge amount, specially since there are things in my list that weren’t yet purchased, and that many of these things would only last for around a week.

The highlights in the bill are: the agave syrup (not in the list, but I thought it was a good idea because of the low glycemic index and such) quinoa seeds, the organic kale salad, frozen berries (just couldn’t resist…), the actual greek yogurt from Greece and the goat cheese.

I had to remove the salmon, replaced it with tilapia fish. Also brought brown rice, whole wheat pasta, olives, sesame seeds, habaneras (whole wheat crakers), berries, chickpeas, oranges, etc.

My parents were nice and gave me the money they usually give to my sister for lunch for the week, so she’s on a diet now as well, involuntarily (sorry not sorry). However, it wasn’t even the half of what I spent there, so I just have to keep telling myself my body will reward this effort.

The next day I went to a local market: El Mesón Estrella. Which is in the very center of Monterrey

This isn’t the first time I come to this market. I love such folkloric chaos: the sellers blocking the street, interesting odours here and there, colors everywhere, exotic fruits I’ve never heard of, voices singing in an attempt to invite people to try a piece of their fruit, sellers bothering and cursing at each other, others cat-calling me “sh sh, guerita” (blondie, even though I’m a brunette)… But above all, this is a cultural spot where you get to see the real faces of Monterrey’s working people.

It’s amazing how cheap everything is. We should also consider that as we purchase our foods at local markets, we are stimulating the economy of our people.

There’s a whole variety of fruits and vegetables, from which many of them I haven’t even heard about, so maybe I’ll do a little research and why not? modify my shopping list in order to add up a few exotic fruits, which are one of the advantages of our rich climate.

There’s a downside though, the hygiene and the storage conditions of these products aren’t always the most adequate, so we should be careful about choosing the right fruits and veggies, and also, wash and sanitize them thoroughly when arriving home, for safety reasons obviously.

In the end, I spent around $100 USD buying the groceries for the first week, which was alright I guess. I thought that hopefully, next week I won’t have to re-buy most of the items yet… I’ll write about that later on.

Hope you enjoy this thought.

Tell me…

Do you buy at the supermarket or at local farm markets?

How is the local market of your town/city ?

How do you pick the foods in your groceries list?