IBS on a Budget

Gimme all your money!!!

It's true.

This winter, between heating the farmhouse and drinking myself out of a broken heart, I am broke. Like, I'm running out of moneys.

The cool thing about IBS is this - the less I eat, the better my stomach feels. So not having money can be kind of a good thing. At the same time, there are supplements that I've grown to LOVE. And I can't afford them anymore.

Choices must be made. I can't have everything. So I have to decide what's most important.

Here's what I came up with.

Local, instead of organic veggies

I happen to live five minutes from a kickass farmer's market. Every Friday, I go and stock up on veggies. I can spend under twenty bucks and get everything I need for one - two weeks. This includes potatoes, greens, peppers, garlic, lemons, mushrooms, - literally everything.

Romaine soup - enough for a week!

Usually on Sunday or Monday, I roast or steam everything. Then I'm good for breakfast, lunch, and dinner the rest of the week. All that's really left to buy is nut milk, yogurt, raw cheese, and beans.

Yogurt? It's like, a dollar!

Flaxmeal bread, crackers, and muffins

flax bread!

flax crackers!

From this market, I can score a month's worth of flaxmeal for two-three bucks. So yeah. There's alotta flaxin' going on at my place!

one-minute muffin
with chocolate sweet potato icing

The Essential Vitamins

Over the past two years, I've tried A LOT of supplements. A LOT. These vitamins are my faves. There's double the daily dose of D3 in them, as well as non-binding iron, good B's and vitamin C. Ideally, I'd love to afford a whole food vitamin. But for now, these really do the trick. And they taste awesome.

When these run out, I've got back-up bottles of Trader Joe's D3, Megafood's Blood Builder (for Iron), Nature's Way Magnesium, and Nature's Way Quercetin with Vitamin C. Over time, these have proved to be the ones I feel the best from taking. They are worth my moneys!

Homemade kombucha, not GTs

I am a huge fan, Facebook friend, and now texting pal with Kombuchick. A year ago, she was selling three-day kits. Now, her business has expanded to a full make-your-own-booch start-up kit, a second fermentation kit, as well as numerous tea blends! There is no way to screw up making booch at home, if you follow Kombuchick's guides.

Look at what's in the cupboard

This is yummy garlicky sauce, made out of a baked potato, some tomato juice, garlic, nooch, and oregano. I poured it on a summer squash. Voila! Dinner.

Garden!


It's almost effin' spring!!!!

Simply by doing this, I've cut my weekly expenses in half.

Whole food eating continues to be the best practice for IBS. Veggies and grains are rarely as expensive as meats, dairy, and nuts anyway. So I think that eating on the cheap can definitely be a sort of treatment for farts - as good as any other!

Toots

What are your tricks for saving money?

Is it necessary to spend more, having IBS?