Whole Living on a Budget
Resources for a more natural, balanced, and sustainable life.Archive for health
Get Kids to Drink More Water
Personally, I’m pretty hardcore about drinking water, and I want my son to be the same. Drinking water is a crucial element of good health, but it’s a habit hard to aquire in our culture.
That’s why it’s super important to try to make drinking water a part our children’s lives so it will become a habit that will stay with them. My son is just an infant, so his primary drink is formula (I am unable to breastfeed due to medical reasons), but I’m trying to get him into the habit of drinking water by providing it in his sippy cup throughout the day. I also have him drink it while I feed him solid foods.
Some people think it’s acceptable to give young children, even infants, soda. I’m going to get on my high horse and say that it’s absolutely not okay to do so. Soda is full of sugar (and not just any sugar, high fructose corn syrup!), caffiene, and a bunch of other crap that is terrible for young teeth and young bodies.
Beyond that, giving your child any flavored drink on a regular basis is setting him up for thinking that everything he drinks should be flavored. This will mean more work to keep him on a healthy diet when he’s older. You’ll also be setting yourself up for higher grocery bills to sooth his desire for flavored drinks when he could be consuming mostly water.
If you’re already in this situation, I know from experience that you’re not doomed. My siblings and I were raised in the same household, drinking and loving soda from a young age. Although I have a small addiction to soda, my drink of choice is water. And my teenage sister is the same way due to my overzealous water preaching. Now as far as my 13 year old brother…he may be doomed!
One thing I have found that works for kids (including my 9-year-old nephew) who hate water is Propel Vitamin Enhanced powder packets. These flavored packets are added to water and make them taste good. They also add some vitamins to the water, and with a suger content of 2 grams per serving, they are aren’t a bad substitute for plain ol’ water if your kid drinks it happily.
Hate Changed My Life for the Better
I’m not an old lady yet, but I’ve been a few places and taken some misturns that have eventually led to a little insight. And one thing I’ve learned? Having some hate in my heart has made some things better for me. Of course, hate for sentient beings is just setting you up for bad karma, but hate – in general – is a natural human emotion so why not use it for some good?
I confess, I’m so very happy that I hate:
1. TV. I thought television was uncool and bad for me many years before it was something I could happily avoid. But today, even though I’m living in a house with cable and lots of people who watch it, I have no desire to. I can proudly say that I want to kill my television just as much as the average Culture Jammer.
This is my plan to add years to my life. Every second in front of the set is really just dead time…and I’m saving that for after my funeral.
2. Driving. With some love for walking mixed in, of course. For instance, I would much rather park in the very farthest end of a parking lot and walk than even attempt to drive in the over-crowded, pedestrian filled area toward the front.
The world is so beautiful in slow motion, fresh air in your face and feet on the ground. It’s good for the body and saves in gas money too.
3. Meat. Yep, PETA got me when I was 15: young and impressionable. I’m no longer a vegetarian, but meat still grosses me out and I’m glad. Although not all of it is as evil as I once thought, the majority of it is inhumane, unsustainable, and bad for me. And when I’m not watching my diet closely, not eating meat is usually the best bet so I’m lucky it’s what my subconscious chooses to do.
4. Dead end jobs. If I didn’t hate them so much, I wouldn’t try to get anything else out of myself. I wouldn’t push myself, I wouldn’t try to be frugal to avoid working as many hours at them, I wouldn’t look into new income-making ventures. And if I didn’t do that stuff, life would just be dull. I would be depressed. And my mom would give me more lectures.
5. The GAP (and similar places). Oh my goodness, this hatred has saved me so much money over the years. I can’t tell you when it first came about, but I just hate clothing companies that charge you $50 for some cheap garment made in a sweatshop for two dollars. Yes, I still think their stuff is cute, but I refuse to pay any company that much money to exploit people in other countries.
So there are some of my positive hatreds. Now if only I could get some hate going for Diet Pepsi….
Kroger Jumps on the Cheap Prescription Bandwagon
I’ve posted before about how you purchase low-cost prescription medications from Meijer and Wal-mart. Now many Kroger Pharmacies are offering over 300 generic prescription drugs for only $4. You can read more about it at http://www.kroger.com/generic. Hopefully many more pharmacies will be following suite soon.
Two Places to Save on Prescription Drugs
1) Mejier. Everyone is prescribed some type of antibiotic at some point. Now you can get your antibiotics at Mejier for FREE! That’s right, if you are prescribed Amoxicillin, Cephalexin, SMZ-TMP, Ciprofloxacin, Ampicillin, Penicillin VK, or Erythromycin by a doctor, just take it to Mejier’s pharmacy and you’ll get up to a 14 day supply at normal oral dosages for no cost, regarless of insurance or lack of. To see a short video or read more, check out Meijer’s” website.
2) Wal-mart. Yes, I know it’s not the top of the list when it comes to socially-responsible, but when you need medication and you don’t have a lot of money, it’s an option. Most Wal-Mart pharmacies are participating in the $4 Generic Drug Program which offers over 300 generic medications for only $4 per fill or refill. Although generics are the only type that qualify in this program, generics are of the equal quality and effectiveness as their brand-name counterparts and a great bet if you don’t have insurance or just want to save some money. The medications that qualify fall into a range of categories from allergy to cardiac to hormones. 14 of the top 20 prescribed medicatons in the United States have made it to the list, so it is very likely that a medication you need is availiable. Visit Wal-Mart’s” website for more details.
