Health is WEALTH.

Prioritize your mental and physical health- it is our biggest wealth. Without it, we have nothing.

One of the ways I like to keep my health in check is by consuming nutritious foods.

I used to work at a nursing home in high school and all of the food I ate was greasy + fried food I got from the kitchen. I LOVED the taste but hated how I felt after I ate it.

I had terrible cystic acne, and was constantly in a bad mood. I had no idea that the greasy food I was consuming was the cause of my physical and mental problems.

Not only was I constantly moody but my body was always in pain. My belly would bloat after every meal which my family called a food baby. I hated how I looked and felt with a food baby. Not only did my stomach get bigger but my thighs started growing cellulite.

I thought “this can't be normal for a 15 year old girl”.

My periods were also miserably painful, and my face was glossy with embarrassing acne. I felt insecure about my body and I hated everything around me.

But then something miraculous happened when I moved to California for college.

✨I discovered the magic of clean eating✨

This was completely accidental at first, as I just couldn't afford to eat out. Those of you who have lived in San Francisco know the high cost of living. I was working two jobs and paying for school while also trying to have an active social life.

All in all, I had $20.00 left in my account every month after bills to pay for food. This was a big problem, which I stressed about frequently.

I noticed that the farmers market on Market Street had a pretty vast amount of fruits and vegetables, and the prices were extremely low in the afternoons right before they closed. I would walk by after work and pick up two bags of fresh produce every week for about $5.00. I froze some of the produce and made daily smoothies and soups. I snacked on fruits during my long walks throughout the city and sipped on smoothies when I felt hungry but didn't have anything concrete.

I bought flour from Trader Joes and made bread which lasted about two weeks depending on how big I made it. I thank my Bosnian mama for this skill, as she taught me how to make bread from a very early age. I also bought 99c pasta bags and mixed vegetables to make it taste better.

I couldn't afford sugary treats so they were out of the question. Little by little, I started noticing changes in my body.

There was a big difference in my mood and the shape of my body. My acne started to disappear, and my overall skin health improved.

I no longer carried food babies and my body felt energized + less tired for classes and work.

I noticed an energy shift in my mood, I was actually happier and laughed a lot more than I ever did before… This was weird for me, so I started thinking about what I was doing differently to have these shifts.

Then I realized it was the food!!!

Which was crazy because I was so stressed about my food budget. I couldn’t believe that I could actually eat healthy on such a low budget.

I started to understand that everything we consume is either going to feed us positively or negatively.

As I got more familiar with the city and my bubbly mood, I got better job offers which equipped me with more money to buy more varieties of food. It was tempting to pig out with burgers and pizza, and whenever I did indulge in those greasy foods, my body felt sick almost immediately.

Understanding how my body and mind works while eating healthy, helped keep me on the right path of clean eating. I became obsessed with nutrition because of how it made me feel.

Clean eating isn’t easy by any means. It tastes awful to an organism that’s used to processed sugars and fats. It’s a very tough struggle to tackle.

But the truth is most illnesses come from the way we treat our bodies, and when our bodies and minds are ill- it makes life very painful. We have the power to choose our future based on the things we introduce to our organisms.

Choose wisely.

Our health is our greatest wealth.