1.Yoghurt.
A tub of 250ml of yoghurt costs the same price as 1 litre of milk which can make 4 tubs. In simple arithmetic, it is cheaper to  make yoghurt at home than to buy especially if you have a big family.

I posted simple instructions on how to make yoghurt at home. Read them  here.

2. Sandwiches
Parting with few bobs to buy two slices of bread with some pieces of tomatoes and lettuce saves you time but creates a hole in your pocket. Think again, probably you already have a sliced loaf of bread in your kitchen. The other day, you bought some lettuce and tomatoes that are suffering chilling injury on the lower shelf of your fridge.  It will take you very few minutes to cut the lettuce and tomatoes to make a healthy sandwich instead of buying.
3.Fruit Juice
It is more healthier and cheaper to eat a real fruit than buy a squash. If you wish to read more about unhealthy drinks such as squashes, read my article here.

If you do not prefer eating a fruit, buy a simple food processor that can crush fruits and make healthy fresh juice in your kitchen. A simple kitchen appliance like a blender can be used to make healthy  juice from pineapples, apples, plums, passion fruits etc.
4. Smoothie
A glass of decent smoothie from a local smoothie bar will definitely dent your pocket.  You will look healthy conscious when buying a smoothie. But,  did you know it takes all the ingredients that you have in your fridge to make a healthy smoothie?. You only need yoghurt, and fruits. Thats simple.

If you would like to get a recipe for a smoothie that you can make in your kitchen this evening, ask for it in the comments section below.

5. Bottled Water
It looks fashionable to carry bottled water in the street. However, in many countries, a litre of bottled water costs more than petrol despite the fact that water is naturally free.

In addition, bottled water contributes a big share to messing up our environment. Think of it, those bottles are non-biodegradable, some have chemicals that leach into the water and eventually have detrimental effects to health.

Be realistic, drink tap water, if you are not sure of its cleanliness, boil it, cool it and store it for drinking.

Related posts:

1. Making yoghurt at home made easy
2. Goodness of Brown Bread
3. 7 Tricks Causing You to drink and eat more Unhealthy Foods

One way to lose weight is by reducing the amount of food (either healthy or unhealthy) that you consume.

It is obvious that, the more unhealthy foods you eat, the more weight you gain.

Although you may have great intention to eat less  unhealthy foods in order to lose weight, you might be doing a few things in the wrong way.

These few things  are defeating your noble efforts by causing you to eat more unhealthy foods than you intend.

Below are some of the ways causing most people to eat or drink more unhealthy foods than intended.

1. Large crockery. Using large plates or spoons automatically makes you to eat more food.

People who use large bows and spoons generally eat more than their counterparts who use small bows and spoons.

2. Great things does not always come in small packs.
There is craze of small packs of every snack food. Although the small packs are aimed at providing less amount of the snack, most people end up eating many packs hence more quantity of unhealthy foods.

Sometimes they consume more than if they bought just one large pack.

Next time you buy snacks in small packs, count the actual number the packs you consume, you will be surprised.

Chocolate companies are now packing individual small bars together instead of one big bar. Consumers end up eating many small bars than if they ate one big bar. This is also common with cans of drinks.

Watch the actual quantity you eat, do not be deceived by the small pack.

3. Narrow glass vs wide glass.
You drink more from a wide glass than a narrow glass.

Most of the drinks e.g. tea, coffee, spirits etc are normally put in large holding containers from which they are transferred into glasses. During the transferring of the drink into a glass, most people pour much more into a wide glass than narrow glass. This happens subconsciously because people look at the level (height) of the drink in a glass which is deceptive since wide glass holds more drink than a narrow glass.

When it comes to drinking, it is obvious culture to completely empty the glass. This leads to drinking more for those with wide glasses.  Next time be keen especially in a party or in the dinner table and watch how much people drink from wide glasses.

4. Slow vs Fast eating.

Eating slowly make you eat less food than eating very fast.

Research shows that those who eat slowly eat less perhaps because they assume they have eaten more. Also eating slowly allows body the time to digest. There are also other suggestions that those who eat slowly have less weight problems than fast eaters.

5. Avoid eating while under distraction.
You eat and drink more if distracted by either a good movie, music, under influence or a chat.

Eating or drinking while chatting, watching an engaging movie or listening to music makes you to dramatically consume more. This is because you don’t pay attention to the food you are eating.

Next time you go to a very good or boring movie, carry a bucket full of popcorn and you will be amazed, it will be over by the time the movie is half-way.

Watching football while drinking can result in drinking excessively more than if you were not. The same applies if you drink in a bar, pub or nightclub playing loud music or when drinking with rowdy friends.

In Kenya, I know beer drinkers eat more roast meat than average person while drinking.

6. Keep a Food diary.
Keep a diary of what you eat each day and review it every week. This way, it is very possible to note your eating patterns and be able to avoid negative eating habits.

Without food diary, it is impossible to control how much and what you eat.

7. Out of sight, out of mind.
Keeping unhealthy foods out of sight can dramatically reduce the amount you consume.

Put cakes, desserts and other sweet things in a convenient shelf in a fridge and they will be finished in a day. To eat healthy foods and less junk foods, place things like fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods on top of the fridge or on an easily visible and accessible location in the kitchen. Place junk foods in top shelf of a tall cupboard or in a basement.

Companies are very aware of this trick, they position vending machines right at the entrance of buildings where they catch your attention.  When you walk to the counter of a supermarket to pay, look and see the kind of items they place right in front you at the counter racks. How many times have you been tempted to pick those sweets or chocolates?

Also to reduce eating junk foods place them in opaque packaging materials like cartons.

Conclusion

Losing weight is a complex affair. However, eating less food can help in losing weight.  Both healthy and unhealthy foods if consumed carelessly can lead to weight gain but if healthy foods are consumed in moderation can be helpful.

Avoiding the above seven tricks can help in reducing the amount of food you consume.

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1. 10 Super benefits of Healthy Foods
2. 5 Foods That You Should Never Buy Again
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Everybody in temperate climatic countries wants to go to live in tropics. This is mainly because of good weather, wildlife and social life.

Tropics are also known to offer great healthy foods that are rare elsewhere. These include: fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, fresh meat, fresh milk straight from cow’s udder etc.

The people living in temperate climatic countries like tropical fruits and therefore import them due to their well known nutritional and healthy benefits.

I have listed 5 of the nutritious tropical fruits and their health benefits. If you are living in  the tropics or having an holiday in tropics, after enjoying the sun, make sure you also enjoy these fruits in their fresh state and you will never regret. They will rejuvenate you, quench the thirst and offer massive healthy benefits.

Mango
I love mangoes, why lie. The cool sweet juice that floods the mouth after biting a mango sweeps me away. During a hot day in any tropical country like Kenya, a mango can quench your thirst, offer natural sweetness and loads of nutritional benefits.

Mango will offer high levels of Vitamin A, C and B. Actually half a mango will provide the recommended daily requirement of Vitamin A. In addition to antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, mangoes offer high levels of dietary fibre which has been shown  to help in heart diseases, digestion problems and cholesterol.

Papaya
The vitamins and nutrients in paw paws especially the antioxidants, folate, pantothenic acid, potassium, magnesium and fiber promote the health of the cardiovascular system (vitamins A and C),  and and also protect against different cancers (vitamins A and C). Beta-carotene (Vitamin A) also helps to prevent risk of cataracts.

Papaya’s major enzyme, papain is known to aid in digestion of protein in the stomach.

Banana

I think banana is one of the most consumed fruits ever. Did you eat one this morning, most likely yes. Bananas offer instant energy boost due to high levels of carbohydrate which is easily digestible. This is why  athletes prefer bananas for instant energy rush. Bananas are also rich in Potassium which helps in reducing blood pressure and risk of stroke. One of the highest vitamins in a banana is Vitamin B6 which keeps the immune system at its best.

Nowadays, bananas are commonly used in smoothies to add the ‘body’ or the thick texture.

Pineapple
When a pineapple is mention it is synonymous with Del monte company. Del monte is the biggest pineapple growing and processing company in Kenya. When pineapple is consumed, it offers vitamins C and minerals such as Calcium and Potassium.

An enzyme, Bromelain found in pineapples has been proven to be a natural protease inhibitor hence good in managing one of the incurable syndromes, AIDS.

Water Melon

When I was kid, I thought this is another pumpkin.

But wait a minute, do you know the benefits that can be derived from this head shaped fruit which is green on the outside and reddish orange in the inside?. Water melon will definitely quench your thirst with its high level of sweet juice. Water melon will also offer vitamin A, C and B and lycopene. It provides high amounts of potassium. Although water melon is sweet it has low calories therefore offers more nutrients per calorie than any other fruit.

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