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[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

Eckhart Aurelius Hughes is the author of In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All. He also runs a free mentoring program that guarantees success..


Many people claim they cannot eat healthy because it's too expensive.

But, in America at least, that's just absurd.

Even on minimum wage ($1,256 per month), a person can easily afford to buy only healthy, organic, single-ingredient foods from the grocery store.

It's as infinitely easy and as super cheap to avoid Red Dye 40 and high-fructose corn syrup as it is to avoid alcohol or cigarettes.

I'm not recommending you do it. I smoke cigars, drink whiskey, and ride a motorcycle. To each their own. Live and let live, I sincerely and happily say.

An important teaching in my book and philosophy is the concept that there is nothing you must do, meaning that spiritual slavery is always a self-deceiving dishonest lie, typically a very miserable and unfulfilling lie, albeit a comforting one. An alcoholic is not only comforted by the spiritually unfulfilling alcohol but also by the comforting lies he tells himself about the alcohol and his own choices:

"I had a bad day, so I have to drink."

"I must have a drink."

"I am trying to not drink, but I am failing."

"I'm not succeeding; I'm not a success."


The happy fulfilling peaceful truth is also uncomfortable, especially to those who have not yet transcended addiction and transcended temptation to find full-fledged spiritual freedom (a.k.a. self-discipline) and the unwavering true happiness (a.k.a. inner peace) that comes with honest spiritual freedom (a.k.a. self-discipline). The happy fulfilling peaceful but yet uncomfortable truth is this: Everyone and everything is a perfect beautiful success. The alcoholic doesn't fail to be sober; he succeeds at drinking. The cheating spouse doesn't fail to be faithful; she succeeds at cheating. The overeating food addict gobbling down expensive Big Macs doesn't fail to lose weight; they succeed at gaining weight. The person spending hundreds of dollars per week on Pop Tarts and Coca-Cola isn't doing something they must do or can't avoid; they are doing what they are choosing to do. With infinite ease, they could spend much less to eat much healthier.

Like all of us, when it comes to their choices, they always get exactly what they want, meaning what they choose.

I say that with no judgement nor negativity. As those who read my book know, I only objectively observe; I don't subjectively judge. I don't believe in shoulds or oughts. I don't have any negative judgements at all towards people who choose to spending their time, money, and energy on consuming alcohol, cigarettes, Big Macs, or Pop Tarts. In fact, I do 2 of those 4, 3 if you count cigars as cigarettes. I just don't miserable pretend I have to like a slave or that it somehow saves me money to buy and consume those allegedly unhealthy things.

With all that said, below is an example of $35 per week food budget.





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Additional Notes:

If you don't care about eating organic vs non-organic, or don't care about humane free-range meat/dairy vs factory-farmed meat/dairy, you can save even more money by replacing those with their non-organic non-humane counterparts.

If 2,200 calories per day is too much for you, you can easily trim out calories by swapping out the whole milk with 2%, skim, or a low-calorie non-dairy alternative (e.g. almond milk). You can also reduce calories by simply buying and eating less of any (or all) items, especially the olive oil. You can add in more calories cheaply by adding in a little more olive oil or peanut butter. A tablespoon of olive oil is 120 calories and only costs about $0.35. Peanut butter is even cheaper, as are non-peanut alternatives.

Needless to say, if you have money to spare, there's nothing wrong with increasing your weekly food budget and splurging on pricier and tastier foods that you enjoy even more. This budget isn't offered to mean you shouldn't pay more, whatever that would mean. Rather, it's offered merely to show that you don't need to pay more. It's meant to help you minimize your spending if desired, such as if you want to eat healthier but are having trouble fitting it into your budget. It is all about what you want. You are spiritually free whether you like it or not. When it comes to your choices, you always get exactly what want, meaning what you choose.


With Love,
Eckhart Aurelius Hughes



Eckhart Aurelius Hughes is the author of In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All. He also runs a free mentoring program that guarantees success.. Success at your chosen goal is guaranteed, whether it is a financial goal, fitness goal, or any other ambitious but at least theoretically possible goal. If your goal is to become a millionaire, it will happen if you follow his system, guaranteed. If you weigh 350 lbs and your goal is to lose 200 lbs and get 6-pack abs, it will happen if you follow his system, guaranteed.

[Ajiferuke Ajibola]

This is a good food roster for health and pocket. Thanks for sharing.

Truly, nothing is compulsory in life. Just that there are consequences for whatever choice one makes.

[Seetha E]

Thank you for this presentation. This is just about the same conversation we had with our daughters last week, explaining healthy food is well within the budget.
The information about healthy and budget-friendly options is open knowledge. It is the next step that counts. The willingness/choice to cook healthy and affordable meals at home rather than picking a readymade, unhealthy, and expensive option makes all the difference.
Adding "what one chooses" into the mix is crucial.

[Sushan]

This is true. Healthy eating is possible on a pocket friendly budget. All you need is planning, discipline, and access to resources. And out of these three, I would say discipline is the most hard to achieve and keep constantly. If someone can excel in that, there won't be any necessity to go back to junk (or processed) food, given that their access to the resources is not suddenly revoked by something like a war or natural disaster.

[JUSTIN CHRISTENSEN]

I love cooking meals for my family from fresh ingredients, and I think there is a lot of data to back up the broad point you're making here that it does not need to be expensive to eat healthy. There are definitely obstacles to healthy eating though, and a big one people don't think about often is what I like to call "green fees". There are a lot of products and brands that sell "health foods" and supplements at a huge markup, taking advantage of people who are trying to better themselves. I've found that in many cases these expensive health products are made of the same inexpensive ingredients you can buy at the grocery store, so educating yourself about what is actually in the products you are buying and the real cost of those ingredients can be a really effective way to cut out some costs without sacrificing your health.

That's my opinion but I would love to know Scott's thoughts here too.