5 Health Foods You Should Make at Home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-h-N2_yU2Y

Welcome back to the collaboration between Mint and Brewing Happiness. I’m Haley, the girl behind Brewing Happiness – a blog about celebrating the small healthy choices we make in our lives, complete with recipes for everybody! I’m here to give you tips on living a healthy, happy life on a budget.

Health trends grow in popularity during January, as people recommit themselves to their health journey. If you are jumping on the bandwagon, but don’t want to break the bank then there are certain health food trends you should always make at home. While the ease of buying food at restaurants and cafes can be appealing, you will definitely overpay for these trends.

I find that it is much easier and more cost effective to make health food at home than you may think. I’m here to give you the low-down on which foods aren’t worth your money, and how to make these trends at home. Your journey to a healthier life can be easy and cheap – never fear!

5 Health Food Trends to Make at Home

1. Smoothies

Keep bags of frozen fruit or vegetables in your freezer to make delicious smoothies in a pinch. Freeze over ripe bananas. Use smoothies as a way to incorporate produce that you need to use up. This will not only help you reduce food waste, but it will also help you save money. Plus, it’s much less costly to “upgrade” your smoothie at home by adding nut butter, protein powder, collagen powder, etc. You can buy your extras in bulk and spend much less money in the long run than paying $5-$10 on a premium smoothie somewhere else.

Try these smoothie recipes: Pineapple Mint Green Smoothie, Calming Blueberry Smoothie, Healthy Cookies and Cream Smoothie, Mexican Hot Chocolate Breakfast Smoothie

2. Avocado Toast

It’s no secret that people love avocado toast. It makes a great meal or snack, because it’s loaded with delicious healthy fats. However, the prices you pay to eat bread and avocado in a restaurant are exorbitant. Keep your favorite bread and some avocado on hand at home, and top it with eggs, radishes, sprouts, seeds, hummus, hot sauce, etc. No matter what you do, it will cost less than the $7-$20 you would spend at a restaurant.

Try this Fall Avocado Toast with Kale Pesto and Ricotta.

3. Acai Bowls

Acai is a berry from Brazil that has gotten a lot of attention for its health benefits. It has been deemed a superfood and people charge lots of money to blend it into a smoothie bowl. However, you can buy four frozen acai packets at your local Whole Foods for $7, which is just as much as you’d spend on an acai bowl. So instead, grab some frozen packets and add them to your smoothies for a flavor and nutrition boost!

Try this Blackberry Acai Frozen Yogurt.

4. Chia Pudding

Chia seeds combined with milk and set in the fridge create an amazing, creamy pudding that you can eat for breakfast or dessert. Add in your favorite flavorings and sweeteners to make a healthy treat you can’t resist. You only need about ¼ cup chia seeds to every 1 cup of liquid, so the cost is very low when you make this at home. Plus, you can customize it to your liking!

Try this Health-ified Banana Pudding, Chocolate Chia Mousse, Green Tea Chia Pudding, or Lemon and Berry Chia Seed Pudding.

5. Juice

Juice cleanses are incredibly popular this time of year, and if you don’t have a juicer at home it can feel like the only option is to buy it. That is so very wrong! You can make juice at home with just a blender and a nut milk bag. Use any and all produce you need to use up in your refrigerator, blend it on high and then strain it through a nut milk bag. Voila – juice! Plus this way, you are saving money and cutting down on your food waste.

Try this Pumpkin Spice Juice Cooler or this Pear Mint Morning Tonic.

 

Your healthy journey doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, AND it can be simple to make at home. By making all of these food trends at home, you will add to your health and protect your bank account. What could be better?

Enjoy all the healthy goodies this year has to offer! Xo.

Follow along!

Over the next few months I’ll be covering a variety of ways to be healthy on a budget. Keep an eye out for those and head over to Brewing Happiness for healthy recipe inspiration in the meantime!