Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Best Chiropractor in Fort Mill, SC!

We Won – Best Chiropractor in Fort Mill, SC!


We owe all of you and all of our patients the biggest thank you! We could not think of a better time to do it with Thanksgiving right around the corner.

Thank you for voting us the Top of the Times ‘Best Chiropractor’ in Fort Mill, SC 2 years in a row! We would not be who we are if it were not from the amazing support from the families we regularly take care of.

With this award comes a greater responsibility to help our community reach exceptional heights in health care. We are on track to fulfilling that quest and are ready to give your entire family the amazing health they deserve.

The nervous system controls the body and the spine houses that magnificent nervous system. Chiropractic care for infants to elderly is the only profession trained to take care of interference to that system which leads many to ill health.

The environment we put ourselves in, is what causes extreme stress on our body. That is where we shine at Complete Wellness Chiropractic; enlightening you and yours in the ways of ideal nutrition, exercise and mental wellbeing.

These changes are possible through education on where you have the ability to improve and then the knowledge to help you change your belief systems. Long term change is only possible through changing our belief systems first, behaviors then follow. Just working on behavior makes long term success almost impossible. Success in health is a journey and an amazing one worth traveling.

Thanks for traveling with us! We too are patients of a chiropractic and a wellness lifestyle.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dr. Robert Cynowa Jr.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Candy Buy Back Opportunity

It’s Halloween and you know what that means…lots and lots of candy! As much fun as it is, the toxic effects of sugar, artificial sweeteners and food coloring are not.

We came up with a simple plan to make Halloween fun and healthy too at Complete Wellness Chiropractic!

Go have a blast on Halloween and collect lots of candy! Then, bring 1 lb of candy into the office in exchange for you or your child’s first day visit.

This is a great way for you to have fun on Halloween and get your health checked for free.

Not only that, but we are going to donate all the candy we collect to our military men and women over seas to boost their spirits too!

If you are an existing patient at Complete Wellness Chiropractic, please bring your candy in too. We will extend the first visit free to one of your family members, friends or bless someone in need who cannot afford it.

So, get collecting that candy and give us a call to schedule your family’s first visits. Offer expires November 23rd so don’t wait too long, we do not want our military getting old candy.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Complete Wellness Helps out Gold Hill Elementary 5th graders!


Books!  Do you remember those?  The hard bound covers filled with pages with words that opened up worlds to millions of people?  Before Kindles and Nooks and TV and social media we found out about our world and expanded our imaginations through books.  Mr. Smith at Gold Hill Elementary, even with all the tech-savvy gadgets he uses for his classroom, knows the importance of them and wants to expand his homeroom library.  Complete Wellness Chiropractic wants to help him in this mission.

For every new patient appointment made between September 10-21st 100% of the proceeds from that appointment will go back to his classroom.  Who do you know that could benefit from chiropractic care?  A co-worker?  Your spouse?  Your children?  It’s always a good time to refer to our office, but now is an even better time!   

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Children's Attention Home Check Presentation!

With the help of our amazing Fam Jam Committee and all of the wonderful volunteers, we were able to present the Children's Attention Home with a check for $11,000!



Fam Jam continues to grow and we look forward to raising even more next April!


Monday, August 27, 2012

Our New Area!

Complete Wellness Chiropractic would like to introduce our new children’s area. We have been working very hard to complete it and we are happy to say it’s done! We owe a huge thank you to Jamie for our beautiful mural that she created. The mural adds exactly what we needed! Please stop by the office to check out our new addition!

BEFORE


 
DURING


AFTER

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Volunteer of the Year!

Congratulations to Dr. Rob for receiving the
2012 Bruce & Kitty Updike Volunteer of the Year Award!

We are very proud!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Come check out the new Kid's Area!

Yes, that is Batman who graced us with an appearance today!
A big thanks goes to Racheal for coordinating and putting together our beautiful new kid's area. Complete with fun toys and bean bag chairs, kids of all ages can enjoy the space! 

Stay tuned for a potential wall mural that could be starting soon too!

Monday, July 9, 2012

Why Wellness Works-shop TOMORROW NIGHT!


TOMORROW - July 10th @ 6:30pm

Think you know what health really is?  

If you built two houses, one house with good materials and another with bad materials would the houses be different? 

The wellness workshop is 60 minutes of hardcore health exploring what it takes to live with good materials in today’s society. 

What is the gold standard of health in all aspects of your life and how are they all achievable? 

We will also go through the role chiropractic care plays with your family working towards improving health and vitality. This workshop sets the concrete foundation necessary to dive into deeper topics on creating lifelong abundant health.

Please call to reserve your spot!
704.899.5000

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Cleaning Green

Natural cleaners not only saving the enviroment but also saves your health. It is very easy to just grab the off the counter cleaners while these cleaners may get the job done but with the bleach and ammonia they are detramental to your eyes, breathing passages and if long enough exposed your nerves.  

With these few simple ingredients you can make you most basic cleaning solutions you use everyday:

Baking soda

(aka sodium bicarbonate) A deodorizer and gentle scrub; softens hard water, removes acidic stains, and polishes shiny surfaces like stainless steel without scratching.


                                                   Distilled white vinegar
A deodorizer, disinfectant, mild acid, and preserv­ative; breaks up dirt, grease, mineral deposits, mold, and soap scum.

                                                          Essential oils
Aromatic plant oils; some, including eucalyptus, lavender, and tea tree, are natural disinfec­tants and antifungals. Pure essential oils can irritate eyes and skin upon contact, so handle carefully. Pregnant women should consult a health-care practitioner before using. Available from mountainroseherbs.com and natural foods stores.

                                                              Lemon
A deodorizer, stain remover, and grease cutter; acts as a mild bleach when exposed to sunlight.

                                                             Olive oil
 A natural oil that helps to nourish and polish wood.



All-Purpose Scrub

1/2 cup baking soda
Plant-based liquid soap
1/2 of a lemon

Window Cleaner

1/2 teaspoon Castile or plant-based liquid soap
3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 cups water

Floor Cleaner

1/8 cup plant-based liquid soap
1/8 cup distilled white vinegar
1 gallon water
10 drops essential oil (scent of your choice)

Mold + Mildew Spray

2 cups distilled white vinegar


Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Who wants to WIN a Grill???

 
With grill season beginning, Complete Wellness Chiropractic wants to give patients
the chance to win an awesome gas grill! This year is our 3rd annual Great Grill Giveaway!

HOW IT WORKS:
Patients who get adjusted between July 2nd-July 18th will earn one ticket towards the grill drawing. 
Patients who refer a friend or family member to our office will receive ten tickets.
For those who attend one workshop or Pathways Connect, you will receive two tickets, but if you bring someone with you, you will receive ten tickets! 

PRIZES:
First prize is our great gas grill of course!
Second prize is a grill basket which includes grill tools, Mac's sauces and spices, sparklers, and more! 

The grill will be at our office starting on Monday, July 2nd, so make sure you stop by to see the grill and get an adjustment to receive a ticket.

 RAFFLE:
Customer Appreciation Day will be Thursday, July 19th, which will be the day of the
Great Grill Giveaway drawing. Come in for some fresh fruits and juice and see if you will be the lucky winner of the grill or the grill basket!

Friday, June 22, 2012

Tips: Where do you carry your wallet?

Alright guys, where do you carry your wallet? If you answered 'in your back pocket' you may want to reconsider that decision. Think about it... 
















You have major sciatic nerves that run down each leg. And when you sit you're crunching those nerves between your wallet and bone. Not to mention that by keeping your wallet on one side, your pelvis is elevated abnormally. Over time this can create permanent postural misalignments as your body tries to adapt to your incorrect posture. 

And don't even think about carrying a thin wallet in your back pocket. Even the thinnest wallet will still elevate your pelvis abnormally and cause microtraumas every time you sit.

Just carry it in your front pocket!


Thanks to Stephen and Katina who benefited from this advice and inspired this post!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Patient of the Month - Jack!


Jack has seen some great changes since beginning chiropractic care, and we would love to share them with you as well!

"I had terrible pain in my neck that ran down my arm like electric shocks. After treatment, the pain slowly went away and overall health improved. 
I also noticed fewer colds, etc."

Jack is also a graduate of the Functional Movement program!
Balance increased by 10%!
Flexibility increased by 40%!
Coordination increased by 25%!
Strength increased by 60%!
Posture increased by 10%

Congratulations to Jack and all the rest of our patients who have seen the benefits of consistent chiropractic care.  Healing takes time and your health is worth it!

Monday, June 4, 2012

OPC 3


In 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier was leading an expedition up the St. Lawrence River. Trapped by bad weather, Cartier and his crew were forced to survive on a ration of salted meat and biscuits. Cartier's crew began to suffer from severe deficiency of vitamin C and showed symptoms of scurvy. Many crewmembers died before the surviving members encountered a friendly Native American who saved most of their lives. He told them to make a tea from the bark and needles of the pine tree to cure their malady. They complied and, as a result, Cartier and many crewmembers survived.

Some 400 years later, Professor Jacques Masquelier of the University of Bordeaux, France, read a book by Cartier detailing their expedition. He concluded that pine bark not only contained some vitamin C, but obviously was a good source of bioflavonoids, whose effects are similar to those of vitamin C. Further studies and research revealed that the pine bark contained an array of proanthocyanidins complexes. These compounds were also found in a variety of plants, including grape seeds, cranberries, peanut skin, lemon tree bark and citrus rinds. Masquelier termed the active ingredients of the pine bark "pycnogenols", which today are referred to in the scientific community as oligomeric proanthocyanidins, or OPCs. 


Benefits of OPC-3:
Demonstrates anti-inflammatory activity
Powerful free radical scavenger
Supports cardiovascular health
Helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels
Helps maintain healthy circulation by strengthening capillaries, arteries, and veins
Supports healthy blood vessel dialation by promoting healthy nitric oxide levels
Supports healthy platelet activity
Helps maintain joint flexibility
Helps reduce mild menstrual cramping and abdominal pain
Helps support visual health and acuity
Supports a healthy complexion
Supports healthy blood glucose levels
Supports sperm quality

Monday, May 21, 2012

Let's Get Moving!

Our Movement Workshop is tomorrow night (Tuesday May 22 @ 6pm), so we decided to take some time out to go over some of the benefits of getting active. 


Did you know that if you took a 30 minute brisk walk everyday you could: 

  • Prevent up to 91 percent of cases of obesity and type 2 diabetes
  • Prevent up to 50 percent of all cases of heart disease
  • Reduce risk of stroke by 25-30 percent
  • Prevent up to 50 percent of all stroke deaths
  • Reduce congestive heart disease deaths by 63 percent
  • Reduce hospital readmission for heart failure patients by 70 percent
  • Normalize blood pressure and reduce risk of developing high blood pressure
  • Restore or maintain heart and blood vessel health
  • Restore and maintain normal cholesterol triglyceride levels
  • Reduce risk of breast cancer up to 60 percent
  • Reduce pancreatic cancer in overweight people by 50 percent
  • Reduce lung cancer, even in smokers by 72 percent
  • Prevent up to 50 percent of colon cancer
  • Reduce risk of developing, and improve outcomes of these with, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis
  • Prevent osteoporosis and increase new bone formation
  • Increase strength, flexibility and balance
  • Decrease gallbladder removal by 20 percent and decrease gallstones
  • Improve digestion and decrease indigestion
  • Improve bowel function and elimination
  • Increase immune system function
  • Increase macrophage (anti-tumor) activity and antioxidant levels
  • Decrease all-causes of mortality by 67 percent in general population    
  • Prevent up to 47 percent of cognitive impairment, prevent u pot 62 percent of Alzheimer's and 52 percent of dementia
  • Improve physical function in older adults
  • Decrease chance of ever being in a nursing home
  • Decrease rate of aging 
  • Enhance learning by 12 times
  • Increase dopamine and serotonin levels 
  • Decrease depression by 20 percent, including relapse
  • Increased growth and healing hormones 
  • Decrease stress and body breakdown hormones
  • Decrease body fat, obesity, and weight gain 
(taken from Innate Physical Fitness by James Chestnut)


Being active and moving provides your body with necessary nutrients. Exercise is a requirement for your body, not just a means to 'look good'.  If the above didn't inspire you to move, maybe this will!
 
We do not stop exercising because we grow old.
We grow old because we stop exercising. 

 

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Racheal is Pregnant!

Yes, the word is finally out! Racheal is having another baby! She's keeping the due date a secret, but we think that she is due sometime in October. When you see her, be sure to congratulate her!

Monday, May 7, 2012

Why Do You Need Probiotics?



Probiotics are the 'good' bacteria that live in your gut. And like all things in the body, there is a delicate balance that must be maintained to keep you healthy. A poor diet, alcohol, prescription drugs, traveling, frequent illnesses, antibiotics, and aging are some of the factors that can create probiotic deficiency in your body. 

Some symptoms of probiotic deficiency can include bad breath, frequent colds or illnesses, indigestion, stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation, gas, nausea, fatigue, IBS, and yeast infections.

We get our first good dose of probiotics during vaginal birth, and then through breast milk. This gives our digestive tracts a healthy start. 

Probiotics are essential to helping us digest foods and helping us absorb the nutrients in our foods.


Probiotic benefits:
  • provides beneficial bacteria to help maintain optimal bacterial balance
  • promotes a strong immune system
  • promotes bowel regularity and stomach comfort
  • promotes colon health
  • supports a healthy gastrointestinal tract
  • supports healthy teeth
  • supports a healthy urinary tract
  • supports the body's normal resistance to yeast
  • supports a healthy upper digestive tract 

It is important to supplement with probiotics to ensure that your body is functioning optimally.  We offer our patients high quality Innate Choice probiotics as a healthy lifestyle option!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Fam Jam is THIS Saturday!

Fam Jam is this Saturday and we are so excited for all the wonderful events, bands, activities, and all of the amazing prizes!  The Children's Attention Home is a great cause to raise money for, and our goal this year is $10,000. We are expecting a great turnout this Saturday, and rain or shine, we will see you there!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

March Madness Winners!

Congratulations to our March Madness Winners!

#1 - Drew 




#2 - Brian (not pictured)




#3 - Walt


Thanks to all of those who participated in our March Madness Bracket! We all had fun competing and watching the games, and we look forward to next years picks!

Monday, April 9, 2012

Pathways Connect - A Great Start!

Pathways Connect is an educational outreach program connecting local families and the empowering and emerging paradigm of wholism. Through this connection families will find the information and support they need for making informed health and conscious living choices.

Twice a month, we meet to connect and share information and discuss topics presented in Pathways to Family Wellness magazine (a great magazine put out by the ICPA). 

This past Saturday was our first meeting of the year, and it was a fantastic inaugural event! We had 8 members gather to cover "Mindful Mothering," "On Language Development Imagination is More Important than Knowledge," and we also talked about co-sleeping. We all benefited from some practical knowledge about raising children with the help of a mom who has already raised 3 children, including twins!

The next gathering will be April 28th.  
Please RSVP to our office, as space is limited. 
704-899-5000  
Children are welcome!

Saturday, March 31, 2012

A Parent’s Guide to Chiropractic


Most people recognize the value of chiropractic care for adults. But a more normally working nervous system can help everyone. Before subjecting their child to risky drugs or hoping it’s “just a phase they’re going through,” wise parents consult our office.

Chiropractic care for children is different from that for adults. Tailored to their age and weight, their adjustments often require no more pressure than you’d use to test the ripeness of a tomato. Children in our office enjoy their chiropractic care and look forward to their visits.

Can you recognize the signs of spinal nerve interference in your children?

Proper maternal nutrition, exercise and regular chiropractic care help create the best opportunity for healthy prenatal growth. Baby clothes, bassinets and car seats are also concerns. These are important, but consider the trauma of the birth process.
Pulling, forcing and twisting a baby from the birth canal are still too common. Cesarean section, forceps, suction extraction or eager hands can do unseen damage. Even “natural” birthing methods can cause subluxations.

Subluxations are areas of your baby’s spine that interfere or distort controlling nerve impulses between the brain and body.

With vital neurological signals compromised, your child’s health is impaired from his or her first breath. Other problems can appear years later.

Only a chiropractic examination can tell if subluxations are involved.

Many infants and toddlers will rub or tug at their ears. If they can talk, they complain. If they can’t, their crying makes us feel helpless, even desperate.

Subluxations are often found in children who suffer from chronic earaches. An impaired nerve supply can make their middle ears and eustachian tubes susceptible to fluid buildup or even infection. Traditional treatment usually involves the antibiotic amoxicillin. The result? A recent study showed that children taking amoxicillin compromise their immune system function. They are twice as likely to have recurring ear problems than those taking just a placebo.

Instead, restoring proper nerve supply with safe and natural chiropractic care has helped thousands.

Without the language to explain what’s wrong, some newborns exhibit unexplained crying, a lack of appetite, allergic reactions or other difficulties.

Newborns and infants often show a tendency to hold their head to one side or prefer breastfeeding from one side.

These are ways they cope with abnormal spinal function and an impaired nervous system.

Chiropractic care has been shown helpful for infants suffering from colic. As subluxations are reduced, more normal sleep patterns emerge. Many parents notice that other aspects of their child’s health improve as well.

Chiropractors are alert to the many ways nerve interference can negatively affect your baby’s health. As children grow and explore their world, crawling leads to walking. Walking leads to running. Tricycles lead to bicycles. Before we know it, their mobility and curiosity produce a whirlwind of nonstop activity.

Along the way they lose their balance. They fall. They slip. They trip. They stumble. They tumble.

A kiss and a bandage may be comforting, but what about the unseen injury to their spine?

Even though your child’s young body has tremendous capacity to adapt, uncorrected subluxations can set the stage for problems often seen later in adults.

Regular chiropractic checkups during this time of rapid growth are essential.

What’s the difference between children who seem to get “the bugs that are going around” and those who don’t?

Spinal subluxations can hamper your child’s ability to ward off infection. Weakened by a compromised nervous system, his stomach, lungs, nose, ears and throat can welcome viruses and other microbes.

Restoring the integrity of the nervous system and the workings of every cell and tissue is what chiropractic care is all about.

Many parents who consult our office report that their children miss less school and seem healthier than other children.

With puberty come hormonal changes, a new self-consciousness, awkwardness and a lack of coordination. A host of nonspecific aches, pains and muscle spasms often appear.

These so-called “growing pains” may be common, but they are not normal.

That they seem to resolve on their own is merely a tribute to the adaptive qualities of children’s growing bodies. Uneven leg length, unbalanced hips and other underlying spinal distortions often go unnoticed.

We see the results years later in adults with chronic, expensive and hard-to-correct problems.

Parents who want their children to enjoy their fullest potential consult our office to help assure proper growth and development.

Aches and pains at any age are signs that something isn’t right. It’s convenient to treat the symptoms with a couple of aspirin or some other medication.

But should you?

Worse, what do you teach your child when you help her feel better by taking a drug? How will you explain the difference between a “good” drug and a “bad” drug?

Virtually every drug has side effects. Will your child be the one to experience the stomach bleeding, liver damage or other side effects from popular over-the-counter pain relievers?

Rather than dangerous symptom-treating, the chiropractic approach detects and helps correct the underlying cause. Without drugs.

A common symptom during adolescence, especially in girls, is an abnormal sideways curvature of the spine called a “scoliosis.” Alert parents may notice that a high shoulder or low hip make clothing fit poorly. Back and leg pains may be present.

A thorough chiropractic examination can help detect scoliosis in its earliest stages. That way, corrective action can begin with a program of specific chiropractic adjustments.

Adjustments help reduce subluxations and improve spinal structure and function. Muscles can strengthen. Posture can improve.

Safe and natural chiropractic care has helped many young women avoid braces, surgery and the psychological effects of this underlying deformity.

We have high hopes for our children. Above all we want them to be happy, be healthy and reach their fullest potential. Raising children is a big responsibility that can produce extraordinary joy and satisfaction.

Along the way you’ll make many choices on their behalf. Will you allow needless antibiotics to tamper with your child’s immune system?

Will you agree to ear surgery to install an artificial drainage system? Will you consent to the use of Ritalin or other personality-altering drugs? Or, will you trust the ability of their body to heal naturally, unhampered by subluxations?

Please choose wisely.

Traditional symptom-treating is expensive and unattractive. That’s why more and more families include a chiropractor on their health care team.

We look at the total you. We recognize the self-healing properties of the body. We know that regardless of their age, a subluxation-free nervous system gives your child the opportunity to be their very best.

Schedule an appointment for your child or grandchild today!
704-899-5000


taken from http://joshuagelber.com/health-facts/children/parents-guide/

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

How Can Stretching Help with Depression?

Stretching, in its ease of use and portability, can be a great solution in the fight against depression. How? Behold some of the many potential effects:
  • Stretching just before bed can lead to a better night’s sleep. This in turn will help your body balance its hormones, including cortisol. We now know that cortisol is a hormone associated with stress, being fearful, depression, and a host of other undesirable states. Worse – and not surprisingly, studies are indicating that elevated cortisol levels seem to increase our cravings for high-fat, high-sugar foods. Which leads to the next bullet point…
  • By helping you get a better night’s sleep and thus regulating your hormone levels, stretching can also offer the extended effect of helping you maintain your weight. None of us needs a study to know that when our weight is at a level we feel comfortable, we are far happier and far more resilient against feeling depressed.
  • While a good night’s sleep is one way to regulate our cortisol (see first bullet point), slow stretching and yoga in of themselves help to reduce cortisol levels as well, through the stress-reduction benefit of lengthening and consciously relaxing our muscles, and breathing smoothly. And when you’re less stressed, you’re probably also less depressed. Or, at the very least, you know that if you are MORE stressed, almost certainly you are vulnerable to be more depressed!
  • Mindfulness – that is, being mindful and engaged in life’s activities (all of them, including the more mundane) – tends to be quite the opposite state of mind than that of depression. When you’re mindful, you are focused, aware, calm, and involved. When you’re depressed, you’re blah, stressed, and detached. So any activity, such as yoga or stretching, that can momentarily pull you into that mindful state, can also help keep you there and prevent you from returning to that depressed state.
  • Stretching, by virtue of it alleviating physical stiffness, increasing blood flow, calming the central nervous system, and refreshing weary and fatigued muscles, can only help relieve the physical sensations associated with depression, leading to a sense of increased sense of well-being and the ability to extract joy and pleasure from what you’re doing.
  • It’s been shown that an increase in gratitude can help offset feelings of depression and in fact elevate one’s happiness. What better way to cultivate that gratitude than in becoming attuned to the miracle of your body’s abilities through stretching? Feeling your muscles stretch, listening to yourself breathe, watching small improvements from one stretch session to the next, sensing an improved posture in yourself…..all of these things serve to interrupt the bombardment of outside information and bring us back to the sweet simplicity of re-connecting to that inner dialogue with your own body and mind.
  • Finally, stretching simply FEELS GOOD. It’s one activity that we can all do for ourselves, any time, any day, in any number of ways, and best of all, the relief is almost immediate!
taken from http://www.theflexibilitycoach.com/articles/Articles_PDF/Can_Stretching_Alleviate_Depression.pdf

Here at Complete Wellness Chiropractic, we offer a comprehensive stretching program called Functional Movement that works one-on-one with you to establish good stretching habits and routines. We work on balance, posture, flexibility, strength and coordination through a series of stretches that you can weave into your already existing daily routines. This is a great way to get yourself moving and to maintain all of your progress!

Call today to make your appointment!   (704) 899-5000

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Eating Well on a Budget

by Judith Fertig
http://www.naturalawakeningsmag.com/Natural-Awakenings/March-2012/Eating-Well-on-a-Budget/

In tough economic times, many families include food in their spending cuts. How can we tighten our budget and yet still eat well?


Six months ago, Josh Viertel threw down the “value meal” gauntlet in a major way. The Slow Food USA president challenged cooks around the country to create a family-friendly feast for under $5. Many responded, sharing their tips and tricks at SlowFoodUSA.org/5Challenge. Here are some favorites.

 
Setting a Budget

Five dollars per meal for 21 meals a week, plus snacks, neatly totals the $125 weekly food budget set by the Leake family, of Charlotte, North Carolina. Lisa and Jason Leake, parents of two young daughters, first explored what it would be like to eliminate processed food from their diet, which they describe in their blog at 100DaysofRealFood.com. Their success led to the additional challenge of eating real food on a budget.

“Having a realistic weekly budget is helpful, because you can’t go too far over budget before you realize you are in trouble,” advises Lisa Leake. To make it even easier to stay on track, she makes it a habit to shop near home and uses cash instead of credit.

 
Seasonal Shopping

“If we shop for seasonal produce and freeze or can surplus from our local farmers’ market, we can eat well all year and still eat frugally,” advises Rebecca Miller, a macrobiotic and healing foods caterer from Overland Park, Kansas. “When fresh blueberries are $3 a cup at the grocery during the off-season, for example, we can still enjoy canned berries in recipes or thawed from the freezer on our morning oatmeal.”

 
Eating Down the Fridge

Seattle-based Kim O’Donnel, author of The Meatlover’s Meatless Cookbook, blogs about family meals for USA Today. “I regularly emphasize what I call ‘eating down the frig,’” she says. “That means making use of what we’ve got on hand, like generations before us that also went through food shortages. We’re just out of practice.”

One way to help ourselves learn, says O’Donnel, is to stock a “smarter” pantry. Staples include different varieties of dried beans; lentils; quickcooking grains such as quinoa, bulgur, couscous and purple barley; garbanzo beans; brown and black rice; and a few BPA-free canned goods like tomatoes, black beans and chickpeas.

“If we take our time and watch for good deals, we can build a pantry at a low cost,” she says, because such ingredients are basically “blank slates.” As just one example of a low-cost, pantry-based meal, O’Donnel might start with cooked red lentils, then add fresh ginger and garlic, sautéed onion with cumin, and fresh spinach and tomatoes, and then serve it with whole-wheat pita bread.
 

Ingredient-First Cooking

Jane Zieha, a certified public accountant, knows that feeding people and watching the bottom line can go together. She owns the acclaimed Blue Bird Bistro, in Kansas City, Missouri. An avowed all-natural, organic, sustainable and local foods passionista, Zieha has stayed true to the principles of her Pennsylvania upbringing.
Eat healthy for cheap “I didn’t eat like anybody else growing up,” she says. “We never ate packaged food. We ate what was fresh. When I was old enough to go to a friend’s house for dinner, I was surprised at how they ate.” Today, both at home and at work, Zieha continues to select the best that local farmers can provide. “I don’t start with a recipe and then find the food, like most chefs and restaurants do,” she explains. “I find the ingredients and then go from there.”
 

Meat as a Condiment

More expensive ingredients, such as heritage turkey, can bring more flavor and texture to an entrée as an ingredient instead of a standalone part of a meal, advises Zieha. She might feature heritage turkey in an enchilada filling, pasta or savory bread pudding, so that a little goes a long way.

It also makes sense to shop for varieties of fish or cuts of meat that aren’t widely popular or that take longer to cook. Slow Food’s Viertel, who shops near Brooklyn, New York, remarks:
“I buy ‘trash fish’—sea robin, squid, mackerel, sardines—because they are cheaper and I believe, taste best. The same is true of the other meats I buy. I never cook pork chops or filet mignon; I cook oxtail and short ribs.”

Then, O’Donnel adds, the frugal cook turns bones of roasted poultry or trimmings from a whole fish into a delicious stock. Any homemade broth can be just the frozen asset we need for yet another tasty “value” meal.

Cookbook author Judith Fertig writes at AlfrescoFoodAndLifestyle.blogspot.com.