Thoughts from a Dietitian on Food, Mental Health, and Money
- Luciana Lo
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
“Just eat healthy.”
If only it were that simple.
Between the price of groceries, the stress of everyday life, and trying to manage things like diabetes or mental health, food can start to feel less like nourishment and more like…another thing to worry about.
For a lot of people, eating isn’t just about what’s on the plate. It’s about:
How much is left after rent and bills
Whether there’s energy to cook after a long day
Bus rides to the “cheaper” store across town
The guilt when meals don’t look like what we see online
To unpack all of this, we sat down with Christina Seely, a Registered Dietitian at the London InterCommunity Health Centre (LIHC). She’s worked in mental health for years and now focuses on diabetes education in the community. She also co-chairs the Dietitians of Canada Addictions, Mental Health, and Eating Disorders Network, so she’s right where food, mood, and money collide.
How Food and Mental Health Feed Into Each Other
Christina describes the relationship between food and mental health as a two-way street.
“What we eat affects how our brain works,” she explains, “and how we’re doing mentally affects whether we’re able to shop, cook, and eat regularly.”
Our brains use a big chunk of the body’s nutrition, so regular meals and a mix of fibre, protein, and healthy fats can help with mood, energy, focus, and how we handle stress. Foods like veggies, fruit, whole grains, nuts, and omega-3 fats (think fish, canned tuna or salmon, or omega-3 eggs) can support brain health.
But when mental health is already shaky, things get harder:
Low mood or anxiety = zero motivation to cook
Medications can change appetite or digestion
Fatigue and brain fog make meal planning feel like climbing a mountain
“People often say, ‘I know what I should be eating,’ and then beat themselves up when they can’t do it,” Christina says. “But their meals are happening in the middle of health issues, money stress, and everything else. It’s not just about willpower.”
There’s no “one right way to eat.” For Christina, the goal is finding an approach that fits someone’s life, culture, health, and budget, not some idealized version of “healthy eating” from the internet.
When the Fridge Is Empty and So Is the Wallet
We asked Christina what topic comes up most in her work and she didn’t hesitate: money.
“Income is one of the biggest determinants of health,” she says. “If most of your cheque goes to rent and bills, it doesn’t leave much for groceries, especially now.”
She sees this very often among people living with disabilities or serious mental illness. Many rely on social assistance that doesn’t come close to covering real-life expenses. Food bank use is up, and even then, it often isn’t enough to get through the month.
And it’s not just about hunger.
“Not knowing if you’ll have enough food is incredibly stressful,” Christina says. “It affects sleep, mood, and decision-making. Some people feel embarrassed to use food banks or community meals. Others feel resigned, like no matter what they do, they’ll never be able to afford the kind of food they’re told they ‘should’ be eating.”
She’s very clear on one thing:
“Food insecurity is not a budgeting problem. People are already cutting back, using coupons, going to multiple stores. The issue is that income and costs just don’t line up.”
Food Literacy: Less About “Should” More About “What’s Possible”
In our previous blog, we talked about food literacy not as memorizing nutrition facts, but as having the skills and confidence to work with the food you can access. Christina lives this out in her practice.
“Food literacy looks different for everyone,” she explains. “For one person, it might mean learning to cook with lentils or beans. For another, it’s adapting favourite cultural dishes so they still feel familiar but fit with diabetes care or other health needs.”
Often, the most helpful skills are simple ones, like:
Throwing together quick meals from cheap staples
Toast and peanut butter
Rice and beans
Eggs and frozen veggies
Pasta with tuna and veggies
Keeping ‘low-energy’ backups on hand for tough days (canned soup, frozen veggies, instant oatmeal, yogurt)
Planning around sales and flyers, and using unit prices on shelf tags to spot better deals
Learning one new skill at a time, like using a slow cooker, batch cooking, or freezing leftovers
And woven through all of it:
“Self-compassion is a huge part of food literacy,” Christina says. “There will be days when you have cereal for dinner. That’s okay. We look at patterns over time, not that one day.”
Turning Ideas Into Real-Life Tools
Christina and the LIHC team know that “just eat healthy” is not helpful advice. So they’ve put together resources that are actually usable on a tight budget.
One example is Healthy Meals on a Budget! A two-week menu plan with a grocery list and easy recipes built around low-cost staples: oats, rice, eggs, beans, lentils, canned fish, frozen vegetables, yogurt.
“It’s not a strict plan people have to follow,” she says. “It’s more like, ‘Here’s what about forty dollars a week can look like in meals with protein, fibre, and some fruits and vegetables.’ People can swap in things they like or that fit their culture.”
There’s also a Stretching Your Food Dollars: a guide that pulls together:
Where you can price-match
Apps like FlashFood, Food Hero, Too Good To Go, Flipp, and Reebee
Programs like Good Food Box for more affordable produce
Community meals, food banks, and frozen meal options around London
“These kinds of tools don’t solve low income,” Christina says, “but they can give people more choices and reduce some of the day-to-day stress.”
When someone is dealing with mental health issues, chronic illness, money stress, and limited kitchen access all at once, Christina’s approach is simple:
“We start where they are. If someone only has a microwave and very little energy, we talk about how to make that work. We don’t start with complicated recipes.”
She also protects cultural foods as a priority, not an afterthought.
“Food is about identity, community, and comfort,” she says. “We want changes to feel like your food, not someone else’s.”
Christina’s Takeaways If You’re Struggling with Food, Mood, or Money
After years in this work, Christina has a few messages she hopes people hang onto:
1. Be kind to yourself.
Big promises like “I’m going to overhaul my whole diet” usually backfire.
“People can feel a lot of guilt or shame that they aren’t eating as well as they think they are supposed to. One of the dietitian’s roles is to promote self‑compassion, and to help people feel more confident that there is no one‑size fits all diet.”
2. Tiny steps still count. Start with one small change: adding a fruit, drinking water instead of pop, or making sure you don’t skip meals completely.
“We focus on small steps that are customized to each person.”
3. Make food skills fit your actual life. Short on time? Learn one 15-minute meal. Always exhausted? Focus on no-cook or low-cook options and batch-cook on better days. Overwhelmed by information? Ask a trusted provider to help filter what actually matters for you.
“We do a lot of validating the challenges of trying to eat well within each person’s barriers such as cost, taste preferences, time or energy limitations etc. We focus on small steps that are customized to each person.”
4. You don’t have to do this alone.
Community health centres, food programs, and dietitians in public settings often offer free or low-cost support. They’re there because this is hard, not because you’re doing something wrong.
Underneath everything Christina shares is this reminder: if eating well feels hard, it’s not because you’re failing.
Food is tangled up with health, money, housing, culture, and mental wellbeing. When we support people with practical tools, community programs, and policies that actually reflect the cost of living, we’re supporting dignity, stability, and hope..
And in the meantime, if all you can manage today is something quick and simple? That still counts.
A special and heartfelt thank to Christina Seely, RD for providing her insights and expertise for this blog.
