Eating organically is more expensive, and the sticker
shock can be painful. Moreover, once you get used to it, (and once you
know how unhealthy “conventional” food can be) it is impossible to go back.
There are lots of ways that people can eat organically, while
saving a small amount of money, which can lead to significant savings over
time.
- My
two favorite things to do, and to tell others to do, are to make lots of
soup; and decrease portion sizes of meat, but choose the best quality –
organic grass-fed or pasture-fed animal products.
- Next,
eat beans!! Filled with fiber (to satisfy hunger and keep you full for
hours,) protein, and carbs for energy, these little gifts add small
amounts of calcium, iron, B vitamins, folate, phosphorus, magnesium, and
zinc. Dried beans should be organic, because they are one of the
foods that the EPA allows to be sprayed with glyphosate, for quicker
drying and ripening. Glyphosate was recently classified as a
“probable carcinogen” by the World Health Organization. The
healthiest way to eat beans is to soak them; it removes phytic acid – an
anti-nutrient. http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/living-with-phytic-acid/
- Buy
what’s in season, and locally available. Usually less expensive,
local foods are a smarter and cheaper choice because they don’t need to be
transported from far away. If this intrigues you, read the book
called Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It’s a
true story about a family that lives off the land for a year. Great
read!
- You
can also join a CSA. Here’s how to find one near you. http://www.localharvest.org/
- Make
a rule in your house: If you want a treat, you have to make it yourself!
Have all the ingredients in your house ready to make desserts.
Benefit: Your children will learn how to cook and bake. There
are so many wonderful recipes to discover. And almost any recipe can be
transformed into a healthy one: by buying organic ingredients and cutting
the sugar by 1/3. If you replace the fat called for in the recipe with
coconut oil, you can use ¼ less than what the original recipe calls for.
(So if the recipe calls for a cup of oil, use ¾ of a cup of coconut oil.)
- Grown herbs in
pots on a windowsill or deck. Save them, dry them out in a dehydrator or
convection oven and you can use them all year long.
- Websites
to discover:
- https://www.azurestandard.com/ This delivery service
brings bulk items to you once per month. It’s like a delivery from Whole
Foods except at a much lower cost!
- Find
an organic farm that produces meat, dairy, and eggs the way nature
intended at http://www.eatwild.com/ Expensive meat can be
stretched by making a stir-fry, instead of serving a portion of meat on
each plate with vegetables on the side.
- Set
a budget and plan meals each week. You will only buy the ingredients
you need and eliminate the desire to buy extras or go out to eat. (This
takes so much discipline!) Recommended book to help you do this: Wildly
Affordable Organic, by Linda Watson.
- You
don’t need to be completely organic! Know what foods are GMO, what
common foods are sprayed with glyphosate, and which are heavily sprayed
with pesticides and will absorb a lot of those chemicals.
For a list of GMOs: http://bethbeisel.blogspot.com/2014/12/what-are-gmos.html
Some foods allowed to be sprayed with glyphosate
include: oats, wheat, dried beans, sugar cane, and tea.
See www.ewg.org for a list of the dirty dozen and the clean 15.
- Join your favorite company’s social media pages
for special coupons and deals. Also, remember that most
stores take each other’s coupons, so make sure to ask.
- Did
you know you can freeze butter? When it is on sale, buy and freeze
it until needed. Favorite: Organic Pastures Grass Fed Butter.
- Double or triple recipes when cooking and freeze
meals for the future. (Use glass, not plastic.)
- Grind up bread ends in a blender and freeze to
use for bread crumbs when called for in a recipe.
- Be a vegetarian for breakfast and lunch, and feel
entitled to spend more on the best quality animal products for dinner.
- Use a whole chicken instead of buying parts
separately. NEVER throw the carcass away. Put it in a pot or crock pot and
make bone broth; a truly medicinal food. (http://bethbeisel.blogspot.com/2014/06/homemade-chicken-broth.html )
- Pre-washed foods cost more and need to be washed
anyway!
- Be the last one to leave the farmer’s market;
they often lower prices at the end, so that they don’t have to bring
things back to the farm.
- Look the farmer in the eye and ask about their
spraying practices and use of GMO seeds. Some farmers don’t use pesticides
or grow GMOs, but also don’t seek the USDA label because it is so
expensive. The paperwork and bureaucracy required to use the label aren’t
worth it to many farmers. As long as you are satisfied with the farmer’s
answer, you can buy produce that is not labeled organic.
- Grow your own food! It doesn’t matter how
little property you have. Here is a guide to help you get started: http://www.tulanecitycenter.org/urban-farming-toolkit/
- Bring your own food while traveling. (You
can check a cooler!)
- Keep organic tea bags in your wallet and ask for
hot water when traveling, instead of buying a cup of tea for $4-$6.
- When you buy berries, soak them in water with a
little vinegar. It removes the mold spores and the berries will last much
longer.
- Line refrigerator drawers with paper towels to
absorb moisture, so produce will last longer.
- Save the pulp from juicing to put into soups and
stews.
- Splurge on the best quality coffee and tea and
make it yourself in the morning. Sometimes you can find great
options at Marshalls and TJ Maxx!
- We
own several Zero Water Filters – approximately $30 on Amazon or at Target.
This filter is an inexpensive way to get the bleach, arsenic, lawn
pesticides and fluoride out of your water. (They don’t market it as an
effective way to remove fluoride, but if you call the company, they will
tell you that it removes 95% of it).
- Sites
that give coupons on the internet include:
Online shopping:
While many think that eating
healthfully and organically is beyond their means, it is quite possible with a
little extra effort. If you follow these suggestions, and take the
process slowly; eventually it will become second nature.
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