Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Organic On A Budget


Ok, so you've been doing your research and quite frankly you are appalled with what you've been learning. Suddenly you are confronted with the fact that your grocery list is in need of a major overhaul! All you can think is - I need to just buy everything Organic! And as you are thinking this, you are painfully aware of the fact that it is simply not in the budget right now... So, what do you do? Well, you have a few options. Before you go running to your local Organic Foods store, where you will likely spend a fortune and walk out with half of the items you need, start by going back to your regular grocery store. Chances are, now that you know what you are looking for, you will be able to find some of those things right where you already shop.

When it comes to your dairy products you have choices. While organic would be the ideal, you can always start by buying products that don't contain any artificial growth hormones. Just take the time to check your dairy labels and find out which brands do and which brands don't, and then make your purchases accordingly.

Once you've figured out what your grocery store carries, you can move on to checking out your local organic farmers. Buying produce that is in season is going to be cheapest and supporting your local farmers is always a good thing!

When you can, buy in bulk. Load up on things when you can and save money in the long run. Things like Brown and Wild rice are easy keepers and compliment many meals very well.

Look at what your family consumes the most of. For example, my daughter loves yogurt and cheese! So, I usually end up with a combination of dairy products, some organic and some just without the artificial growth hormones. She is also a big fan of Apples, so I buy those organic - always! I try to get all organic produce when I can, but focus mostly on the items my daughter eats the most, or I feel are the most affected by pesticides. For instance, I buy only organic when I buy potatoes and spinach. We are not big meat eaters so I worry less about that.

Crap, is crap. There are things we consume simply because they taste good to us. We are well aware that they are bad for us when we eat them, and we do it anyway. While you will be able to find your preference of junk food in its organic version, don't bother splurging on it. It still won't be good for you.

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