I mentioned in a past article or two that my husband, Rich, had open-heart surgery this past July. On many levels we were not prepared for this experience whatsoever.

He’s doing well, however, and we’re slowly getting back to “normal” (whatever that is). But now the bills are pouring in. Once again, we were not prepared for this side of his health issue.

So, because we’re living on a fixed income, with little to no discretionary income to fiddle with, we’ve been looking for ways to meet these expenses and keep a sense of humor, too. We figure the day of “debtors’ prison” is past, so it’s all good.

And this is what I want to tell you about—an unexpected source of cash to help meet our medical expenses. An “AH-HA!” moment on cutting the grocery budget.

Those of you that’ve been with me for a few years (I’ve been writing for DVO and Cook’n for 10 years, now) know that I’m a huge fan of organic food. I stand by the importance of avoiding GMOs, chemicals and pesticides, food dyes, preservatives, and other mystery ingredients. The theme has always been that our health and well being deserves the very best food.

BUT, when you compare organic foods to the traditional stuff found in our grocery stores, there is a financial difference that can add up to a bit of savings. So it occurred to me that this is where I could find some hidden money, at least for awhile (until we get on top of these bills).

Now, I know I’m not telling you anything you didn’t already know. You’re aware of the price differences, as well. And we all know we can scrub the produce to minimize its toxicity, but the fact remains there’s still going to be a substantial amount of yucky stuff showing up in our food that we’re not crazy about.

So here’s the “AH-HA!” moment I had around this dietary sacrifice: How about we exercise our faith and bless the food? I mean say a blessing with real meaning, not just the typical “Rub a dub, dub, bless this grub!” kind of blessing. We’d always prayer over our food in our house, but it hadn’t occurred to me to ask for a miracle like this.

Calling on a “higher power.” In the old days God parted the Red Sea. Today couldn’t He neutralize the harmful stuff in our food so we could save some money and not have our health affected in the process? What the heck, why not?

Did you grow up saying grace before meals? What was done at the family dinner table may have seemed like just a nice ritual, but in reality, blessing the food is so much more. Expressing gratitude for our meals and asking that it serve to keep us healthy is not only a wonderful gesture; it actually enhances the vibrations of what we eat. Blessing our food is a sacred and important act, whether you’re religious or non-religious.

Since ancient times, people of practically every culture engaged in a form of food blessing, prayer or ceremony. Nowadays in many cases, such blessings are relegated to once a year on Thanksgiving or only at special family gatherings. Or if grace is a regular practice, many times it becomes nothing more than rote.

But it should be more than just lip service. Perhaps it’s time for us all to get reacquainted with this practice. Consider the thoughts, feelings and actions that accompany those words you speak. We all know the power of our thoughts, words and attitudes upon our reality—and food is no exception. Blessing meals works with the Law of Attraction. Feeling true gratitude for the bounty of food set before you and trusting that your “higher power” will ordain it to your health ensures even more blessings to come!

So there’s my “AH-HA!” moment and thought on cutting your grocery budget. Thanks for listening and I’ll report back as to how we’re doing with this new normal that we’re experiencing. Thanks for listening!