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How To Eat Organic On A Budget (Over 75 Tips!)

The one tried and true worry I get about living an organic lifestyle is the cost. It’s likely the only immediate downside because everything else about living organically is pretty magical. Remember, non-organic food often contains cancer-causing hormones, immunity destroying anti-biotics and dangerous pesticides. Pesticides by nature are designed to kill, they are poison. So when given the choice, I don’t know why anyone could logically buy food with poison sprayed on it? Pesticides can cause neurological problems, cancer, infertility, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, allergies and asthma, wheezing, rashes and other skin problems, ADHD, birth defects and more. That’s why buying quality organic food and eating the most nutritious foods on the planet will save you BIG BUCKS down the road in medical costs, prescription drugs and doctor visits…like my friend Birke always says “We can either pay the farmer or we can pay the hospital” – It’s totally up to us.

Over 75 Tips On How to Eat Organic On A Budget… 

In hopes to mitigate the initial money pains of buying organic, I want to share the top organic money saving ideas that I’ve gathered from my friends and family members. And, let me tell you, I learned a lot myself while putting together this list and combining everyone’s tips into one cohesive guide. I can’t wait to put some of these new ideas into practice. Let the savings begin!

piggy-bank

FIND AND USE ORGANIC COUPONS 

  • Check the websites of your favorite companies for coupons and special promotions, almost all of them have some.
  • Join your favorite company’s social media pages for special coupons and deals. 
  • Check out various organic coupon sites. Some of my favorite examples include Mambo SproutsAll Natural Savings and Organic Deals for organic food/natural living coupons, and money savings ideas.
  • Simply Organic who makes spices, seasoning mixes and baking mixes always have coupons on their website here – sometimes more than a dollar off.
  • Kroger has coupons or Simple Truth.
  • Whole Foods has coupons here every week for various products throughout the store.
  • Earth Fare has coupons here every week for various products throughout the store.
  • Most stores take each others coupons, so don’t be afraid to use them all in one shopping trip at your most convenient or favorite store.

AT HOME AND IN THE KITCHEN

  • Stay organized. Plan out your meals for the week according to organic foods that are on sale and/or that you have coupons for.
  • Budget. Write out a weekly and monthly budget to help you keep track of both erratic spending and responsible spending. This will allow you to see your spending habits and help you prioritize purchasing organic food within your budget.
  • Do it yourself, rather than buy it. Make your own organic granola bars, kale chips, smoothies, juices to replaced store-bought with more overhead.
  • Learn how to portion and prioritize – it is a necessity to always buy organic meats and dairy products, and, therefore, learn to portion your consumption of these products each week. For example, keep meat to 4 ounces or less per serving.
  • Invest in a 4 stage water filter installed directly under your sink to avoid having to buy bottled water. Also, check the Environmental Working Group guide on choosing the right water filter for you.
  • Check out the book “Wildly Affordable Organic” for organic menu planning on $5 a day or less.

USE YOUR FREEZER

  • 9 times out of 10 the organic frozen produce at the store is cheaper than fresh, especially if the fruit or vegetable is out of season.
  • Freeze all left overs using inexpensive mason glass jars or silicone ice molds for smaller portions.
  • Freeze homemade cookie dough and other treats like almond freezer fudge, so you can have a treat ready to go in the appropriate portion size.
  • Buy local produce when in season and freeze to save for out of season, for example in the spring and summer spread berries on a sheet pan and freeze overnight and then store in jars for the fall and winter.
  • Double recipes and freeze leftovers, this works great with soups and stews.
  • Freeze core kitchen staples like butter, cheese and bread scraps for bread crumbs or homemade croutons.

MAKE CHOICES

  • Meat & dairy (animals products like chicken, eggs, cheese, butter, yogurt, milk, etc.) are the most important to buy organic because of the combined risk of pesticide, anti-biotic and cancer causing growth hormone exposure. Whatever you do, do not skimp here.
  • Reduce meat and dairy consumption if you cannot afford organic – One way to do this is to be vegan before 6pm, as Mark Bittman explains in his latest book. For example, have a green smoothie for breakfast with ezekiel toast, and then a large salad with lentils at lunch or a wrap made with hummus and then at night choose high quality meat in small portions.
  • Reduce amount of organic meat used by substituting half the portion with organic beans.
  • Buy a whole organic chicken for less per pound, vs. just the breast, legs or wings which are more expensive per pound. You can use the carcass to make your own chicken broth.
  • Use the “Clean 15” and “Dirty Dozen” lists available on ewg.org to help you navigate which products to buy organic (or take with you when you travel). For example, if you have a choice between more expensive organic red peppers and less expensive conventional asparagus – choose the asparagus. Asparagus naturally repel pests allowing it to be grown with minimal pesticides. Include red pepper in your diet when it is in season or you can find it cheaper at another grocery store.
  • Do not buy pre-washed and ready to eat fruits and veggies, as they can cost twice as much.
  • Skip conventional Starbucks (and other coffee shops). Buy organic coffee and tea such as: Larry’s Beans Organic Coffee and Numi and make it yourself. This will actually save you time in the morning too.
  • Eat out only twice a week – eating organic at home is significantly less expensive than eating at organic restaurants.

BUY IN BULK

  • Take advantage of the ‘buy one get one free’ sales or buy one get the other for a discounted price. You never know when it will go on sale again, so make sure to take advantage of it and store for later use. (This trick only works if you really love the product and it is a staple at your home – otherwise this could lead to wasted food)
  • Always buy packaged staples on sale
  • Buy unpackaged foods from bulk dispensers – I personally save a ton of cash by doing this, I buy everything from oat groats, to nuts, to dried fruit and lentils.
  • Bring measuring cups with you to the grocery store if you are buying from bulk containers. That way you can get exactly the amount you need for a specific recipe and you won’t be paying for extra.
  • Buy smaller organic spice packets or jars, old spices lose their medicinal qualities so it is smarter to buy in smaller quantities. For example, Earth Fare has little pre-portioned tiny ziplocs with herbs and spices available at the fraction of costs compared to a whole jar.
  • Buy the whole animal and freeze the portions you don’t use. I personally know someone who is on a budget and does this all the time. You can also do this by contacting your local farmer and then splitting the cost with a group.
  • To satisfy a sweet tooth, skip the full size packages of candy and chocolate. Buy a few pieces in the bulk section, for example go for a few pieces of organic dried fruit or 10 chocolate covered almonds.
  • Find out what foods are in season and buy those in bulk, as they are significantly cheaper.

OrganicShoppingList

BUY ONLINE

  • Join Thrive Market – This website is like a health food store stocked up with non-GMO and organic groceries at drastically reduced prices (up to 25-50% off). I’ve found that the quality of their products are always as good as what I can buy locally and they carry many of the brands I love and support. The way they work is similar to Costco because you need to join to shop, but their fee is really reasonable (works out to about $5 month). If you’ve never shopped at Thrive Market before, they’ll give you your first month free so you can try it out and see if you love it as much as I do and they’ll also give you 25% off your first order. No code needed to get 25% off, just go to this link.
  • Amazon – One of my favorite shopping sites, because they basically have every brand available and ship free over $25.00.
  • VitaCost – Another low cost website that has a wide variety of organic and healthy foods, vitamins, etc.
  • Herbs Pro – Another low cost website that has a wide variety of organic and healthy foods, vitamins, etc.
  • Before you check out online, visit Retail Me Not for online promotional codes and discounts for all your favorite online stores and sources.

CHOOSE ORGANIC BRANDS THAT SAVE YOU MONEY

  • Choose more inexpensive grocery store brand products like Trader Joe’s, Earth Fare, 365 brand, ShopRite, Wegman’s, Kroger, Publix, Harris Teeter. Regardless of the brand, they are all required to follow the same guidelines set forth by the USDA organic certification program if they contain the USDA organic seal and chances are that you won’t be able to tell the difference between a brand name and store brand.
  • Join grocery store loyalty programs for discounts. For example, if you join Earth Fare’s tomato bank program, you get a dollar back for every 100 points you earn.
  • Use your rewards cards always. Most convenient stores, grocery stores, and drug stores allow you to sign-up for a rewards or savings card that will help you save money on a few of your items at the checkout counter. Even if this time of purchase does not contain organic food, the extra money that you are saving on your items can be put towards buying it when need be.
  • Always remember that if you are not satisfied with your organic product, most grocery stores and organic food companies offer you money back guarantee. This also works for companies you bought in the past that you are now boycotting like Kraft 🙂
  • Check Ebay‘s section for food and beverages, prices are really cheap!

BUY LOCAL

  • Local food can be significantly cheaper than food shipped from miles away.
  • Find a farmers market near you through LocalHarvest.org or the USDA – get to know your local farmers, create a personal relationship and negotiate prices.
  • Ask your farmer about his farming practices. Some farmers do not spray pesticides on their crops but do not seek USDA certification to keep prices lower.
  • Be the last person to leave the farmer’s market. Farmers will likely cut their prices at the end of the day, so they do not have to take their produce back to the farm.
  • Buy a share in a community-supported agriculture CSA program. It’s nice to contribute to a local farm’s operating expenses while getting a weekly box of fresh fruits and vegetables.

GROW YOUR OWN FOOD

  • Plant an herb pot in your kitchen or somewhere convenient so you can always have fresh herbs on hand. Organic herbs are one of the most overpriced items at the grocery store.
  • Follow these tips from The Organic Consumers Association to grow organic food inside your home year round.
  • Check this amazing guide that details out all the options and information you need to start urban farming at your home regardless of how much space you have.
  • Once you start growing produce, give herbs, fruits and vegetables as gifts to family and friends (saving money on other material objects they might otherwise not use or collect).
  • Remember to buy non-GMO seeds, check out Sow True Seed for lots of options.
  • Check out growing lessons learned from 100 Days of Real Food.
  • Learn how to can the produce you grow, here’s a how-to-guide for strawberry jam.
  • Get a couple of chickens and hatch your own eggs. One friend of mine has so many eggs she doesn’t know what to do with them. You could also sell them to your neighbors or give them as hostess gifts.

TRAVEL WITH ORGANIC FOOD

  • On a road trip use EatWellGuide.org to find out where to buy local, organic and sustainable foods from point to the other.
  • Remember, a pricey restaurant doesn’t equal organic or quality food – going to a grocery store and picking up some organic food will save you money and your health.
  • Bring your food with you in a cooler – even if you are flying. Did you know you can check a cooler?
  • Bring organic tea with you and ask for hot water. A cup of tea can cost up to $5 dollars, vs. $1 dollar you would tip the barista or server.
  • Bring filtered water with you wherever you go in a reusable safe water bottle so you never have to buy expensive bottled water.
  • Always carry snacks like homemade trail mix in your purse or bag for emergencies.
  • At the movies, bring your own organic popcorn and snacks if they do not offer them. There is no reason to pay a premium for conventional food.

STOP WASTING FOOD

Quick fact: Americans waste an estimated 1,400 calories of food per person EVERY SINGLE DAY.

  • Raw nuts and flours should be kept in the refrigerator to last longer without going rancid.
  • Line your refrigerator’s crisper drawer with paper towels to absorb excess moisture. They’ll absorb excess moisture which will help keep produce longer.
  • To repel bugs, place a bay leaf in containers of rice, flour and pastas.
  • Buy and keep bananas separated from one another, they spoil slower.
  • Turn almond butter, yogurt, sour cream, tahini and cottage cheese containers upside down when stored in the fridge – this creates a vacuum seal, keeping them fresh longer
  • Do not throw away nut meal from homemade nut milk – use it for smoothies, baked goods like biscotti or to make nut flours by placing the pulp on a baking sheet and drying it out in a 250 degree oven or dehydrator.
  • Repurpose vegetable pulp from juicing to add fiber to soups, smoothies or make crackers or bread.
  • Placed limp celery, baby carrots and radishes in water with a slice of potato to make them crunchy again.
  • Keep all organic citrus fruits in the fridge – they will last up to 1-2 weeks longer.
  • Do not wash organic dark leafy greens or berries until they are ready to consume.
  • Store herbs, spring onions, asparagus upright in a large glass filled with an inch of water
  • Learn tips and recipes on how to use over the edge food. For examples, panzanella with stale bread, and banana bread with overripe bananas.
  • If you know you will not have a chance to eat it, freeze food before it goes bad.
  • Choose to eat less, use a smaller plate to help you control the amount of food you might eat or end up wasting.
  • Compost all food waste to put nutrients back in your garden (you will spend less on fertilizer).

If you know someone who’s struggling to buy organic because of cost, or that needs a little extra cash (like most of us!), please share this post with them.

Thanks for spreading the word – let’s make buying organic easier for everyone!

Food Babe

P.S. Got any more organic food budget tips? Please share them with me and others in the comments below.

 

 

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324 responses to “How To Eat Organic On A Budget (Over 75 Tips!)

  1. Super deals in organic products can be found at Costco. Bags of Baby Kale, Power Greens (spinach, kale, & chard), tubs of Baby Spinach, Carrots, frozen Blueberries, Cherries, Strawberries, Mixed Berries, Broccoli, Mixed Vegetables, Edamame, Black Chia Seeds, Strawberry preserves, Olive Oil, Hummus, certain spices, and probably other products I’ve forgotten, ALL ORGANIC, have prices that DESTROY the competition. They are constantly adding more organic products so always tell the managers and email the company and let them know of your gratitude and interest in them expanding their organic product lines!

    1. Thanks for sharing Bill! I’ve always wanted a reason to shop there since my family is small and we don’t have much room in our fridge/freezer to keep extra things in bulk.

  2. Regarding my earlier Costco organic products post, I just remembered that in my warehouse they also carry organic chicken, eggs, milk, butter, salsa, oven dried tomatoes (they’re wonderful), diced tomatoes, cereals, milled flax seed, certain juices, sometimes fresh fruit, and probably other items as well. They also offer several organic products online, including organic beef. Check it out!

  3. got a few hens used to feed them pellets until I sort of got the gist of whats in them. Too much junk and insecticide for me in the eggs feeding pellets to them. So now feed them barley and shellgrit and scraps and they freerange. Am getting real organic eggs. Not many , but enough. Nearly everybody feeds chooks pellets and the eggs have to be unhealthy . Also they get tank water – no chlorine or fluoride. And for everyone that’s just so important. – including the chooks. tunzaluv

  4. Do I understand your organic priority list correctly? Spend my money FIRST on buying organic DAIRY, then MEAT, and on down the list?

    1. Hi Julie,
      the way that I understand this is to not skimp at all on milk-any kind of dairy, yogurt, half-half, butter. Do not skimp on non-organic meats. The cows eat the grain that could be gmo, we drink the milk. Chickens eat corn, gmo, we eat the chicken and get all of the pesticides, hormones etc.. The same with beef, what they eat we ingest. I am not messing with any of it. I have been drinking milk from Walmart for years. I have been drinking everything that wasn’t organic, eating non-organic. I am healthy but who knows what time will bring? After reading what Monsanto is doing, this kind of scared the stuff out of me. I read an article about the Dooms Day Vault being built in Iceland. Well, if all of this GMO crap is so darn “healthy,” why is Bill Gates and others, building this vault? It’s not for us common folk, it’s for the big $$ people. Reading this article changed me. I will not buy any more processed food ever. Organic food is a bit $$ but If I have the money, I am going to buy as much organic certified food as possible. Thank god for organic certified foods 😉 Let us not let anything EVER hinder the standards put on these products. Take care all. LJ

      1. Self Promoting and nothing on the site is helpful. False advertising smh. We are trying to get healthy and she is trying to divert our attention. BLOCK

      2. Thanks for the link Jessi! 1/2 of the blogs she listed in this post aren’t up and running anymore! I found some great organic coupons you posted so self promotion or not, your site should be listed on this! 🙂

  5. Our local co-op (PCC Natural Markets) offer memberships that give a 10% off your total bill coupon every month. Plus members save an additional 5% on the 15th and 16th of each month. They also have a wonderful website with very tasty recipes and members get a discount on cooking classes. I save up my receipts each month and then bring in the largest one to claim my 10% off my next purchase. It’s another way to save $$ while eating well. (I also noticed this week that their price for organic chicken thighs was nearly half the price of organic chicken thighs sold at Costco.)

    Mother Earth Living ran an article about eating Organic for less than $2.00 per meal (essentially a food stamp budget). It was a great read that incorporated many of your suggestions above: http://www.motherearthliving.com/food-and-recipes/cooking-methods/eating-organic-budget-zm0z14mazpit.aspx#axzz37J6xX3vG

  6. Do you have any tips for those on food stamp budget? Farmers don’t except it and it’s really not easy to spend cash on that budget.

    1. There is a farmer’s market near us in Ohio that accepts EBT cards and trades them in for tokens. If Ohio has a market like that, maybe your area does too! Let’s hope! 🙂

    2. farmer’s market farmers take “WIC checks” They used to hand them out right at the market. i don’t know if they still hand them out, but check with the farmer’s market info desk when you go.

  7. Get to know your farmers. Offer to help out with weeding or watering. Your farmer will most likely pay you back with organic produce tenfold.
    Most of us farmer’s welcome a little help and are very generous and appreciative in return.

    1. I used to help my farmer friend Antonio sell and I would get free stuff. I usually selected items that were going to be tossed out soon, but I just ate them right away and they were delish! Also, I helped promote another organic farmer Arturo at Acma Farms”. a few of my FB friends came to buy boxes of apples from him as a result. He would give me good deals, and in addition…some free items from the “you need to eat this right away” bin. I liked them better anyway because sometimes i wanted to eat the peaches right away! I froze many of them for smoothies. I also took some photos of their produce and photos of them selling it, and made some really nice photo gifts for these farmers. Minimal cost for me to hand make them, and again, more free produce. I like the you scratch my back-i’ll scratch yours” idea.

  8. Thank you so much for all your hard work. My head spins with all the things I have to watch out for when shopping for my family. I wish I could afford to buy everything that’s deemed safer than conventional. Having an inflammatory autoimmune disease (crohns) makes eating healthy a challenge. Where there is a will there is a way.

  9. Contrary to popular belief, you can store bananas in the refrigerator as long as they’re in the produce drawer. If you’ve bought a large bunch and know you’ll only eat half of them within a few days, put the rest in the produce drawer. You can keep bananas for about 4 days longer this way. Even if the skin starts to look slightly brown, the bananas are fine. But be sure to take them out of the fridge several hours before you know you’ll eat them. I don’t know how many bananas I threw away (or made into banana bread) before I figured this out. So if you hate spotty mushy bananas like I do, try this out!

  10. Another great buying club resource is Azure Standard. Even though they aren’t in every state yet, they are adding more every few months. Check them out at azure standard.com. To see prices just set up an account (it’s free.). A phone call will let you know where the nearest drop point is.

  11. There are a lot of great tips in here, but PLEASE DO NOT BUY/ADOPT CHICKENS/HENS without *really* doing your own research first. Firstly, in many areas there are local zoning ordinances that make this illegal, so you could end up buying chickens only to have to spend time, money and energy to find them a new, legal home in the country somewhere (or get them put down!). More and more chickens are showing up in city animal shelters because people got them to get “free” eggs without realizing what they were getting themselves into, and most of these animals are put down because they are sick, injured, or there’s just no one who can properly care for them.

    Here are some more important facts to consider before bringing home a chicken:

    – They only lay eggs for a few years. Just like how human women can only have babies in the life-stage between puberty and menopause, there are often many years of a hens life where she is too old or too young to lay eggs. Be aware that this is a living being, just like a dog, cat, human, giraffe, whatever, and you should make sure you are committed to taking care of her for her entire life, not just the few years that she is useful to you.

    – Because they only lay eggs for a few years of their life span, it may not save you any money in the long run, since you will have to pay for food, water, shelter, possible veterinary care, etc., for the animal(s)’ entire lives, not just when they’re laying.

    – Chickens (and their waste) can create health hazards, especially if they do not have proper facilities (a coup and a large enough pasture that they are not running around in their own poo all the time) and/or if their facilities are not cleaned regularly. This is particularly hazardous if you are pregnant, have young children, or are growing other food or raising other animals in close proximity. Most urban/suburban yards are not big enough or set up right to do both of these things in a way that is safe and hygienic.

    STILL WANT A CHICKEN? Great! Just please, please do your homework first! Read up on how to properly care for them! I’m not saying don’t ever get chickens. I’m just saying, if you want farm-fresh, organic eggs, buy eggs. If you want to raise chickens (and maybe get some eggs as a nice bonus), then adopt a chicken. 🙂

    1. Not to sound cruel or anything, but I would probably butcher the chicken sometime after she is unable to lay any more eggs.

      1. I helped my aunt every summer with her farm and let me tell you: chickens are dumb! I’m not advocating chicken abuse but these are not cute cuddly animals that want lovins’ but livestock. After their egg laying is done so are they. My thought is feed them well, treat them well and appreciate their contribution to Sunday dinner… of roast chicken! (Obviously, these chickens were raised in a farming environment -but not those hideous tanks from food Inc, yuck- not as pets so if you had a special chicken that you raised from a egg I’m sure it was special)

      2. I raised a hundred chickens every year…most for butchering. The egg layers and a rooster that I kept year to year, loved to be held and petted, follow me around the yard, sat on the arm of the swing set and watched kids swing, even saw some come out of the dog house followed by my German Shepherd, a rabbit and a duck…all pets, must have been snuggling together. Chickens aren’t totally stupid…when our Shetland pony unlocked the chicken shed at night, and a pack of stray dogs attacked my chickens… most if the chickens found places to hide and didn’t make a peep. I only found them by calling out and than they clucked like they were glad to see me. Found them hidden in empty feed bags, down the rabbit holes, and between the straw bales and hay bales. Only list one chicken… found her carcass, egg still inside, in the alfalfa field. So…if you spend a little more time with your livestock than just feeding them, you’ll learn that each single animal has its own personality, will welcome affection, and do show more brains than you thought. Did you know that cows pair up with one best friend for life…and when one of the pair is gone, the other gets depressed. Animals have feelings too. Hogs, pigs…they’re very intelligent… yet factory farming treats them horribly. Let that sink in….

  12. I started eating Organic 8 days ago and I lost 6 pounds in 5 days. I feel incredible and I know that the Cilantro Heavy Metal detox and Chlorella are helping to rid my body of poisons. I felt as if I was dying before I started the Coconut oil and after 3 days I had no pain in my hips. I will never go back to the way I was eating before. No more SPLENDA and ORGANIC all the way. I wish I would have been open minded before and did my own research. My father in law is 89 and looks 60. He helped me so much to learn about the Organic Lifestyle and I am forever indebted to him. He takes no medicine and is very healthy. I am on my way to a healthier, happier me. Please share the information with all of your family and friends. I am a true testament that Organic is the only way to eat.

  13. With havin so much written content do you ever run into any
    issues of plagorism or copyright infringement? My website has a
    lot of exclusive content I’ve either created myself or outsourced but it appears a lot of it
    is popping it up all over the internet without my permission.
    Do you know any solutions to help reduce content from being ripped off?
    I’d definitely appreciate it.

  14. Besides freezing produce that’s about to go bad, I also dehydrate. My freezer gets packed pretty full in the fall and if I get an elk, forget it! Bananas, apples, plums and bread (for bread crumbs) dehydrate very well and make for great snacks. Dehydrated veggies can be thrown into soups and stews. Also, dried foods last a lot longer than frozen and they’re much easier to take camping, rafting and backpacking!

  15. I found that my local grocery store often has a good selection of organic produce on the “marked down” shelf – which very few people seen to shop. I always check the shelves first before going to the full-priced produce. Occasionally, the conventional and organic fruit or vegetables are bagged by like items so I always check the sticker for the organic code (5 digits instead if 4, always starts with a 9). The marked down produce is great for freezing, juicing, etc.

  16. I especially like the tip about consuming less food. My understanding is that when we consumer less, our bodies start to use food energy more efficiently. Im experimenting with calorie restriction and would love to hear from anyone else that has insight about this! 🙂

    1. Fat burns fat, and fats make you feel satiated or full for several hours. Just make sure all of your fats are healthy fats, such as unrefined coconut oil, cold expeller pressed grapeseed oil, Pasture-Raised unsalted butter, organic rendered lard. If the word hydrogenated is on label, it’s poison. Standard oils in stores are processed at high temperatures and are made to be one molecule from plastic.
      I cook mostly in cast iron skillet, melt a couple of Tbsp’s of unrefined coconut oil over medium heat, toss in my chunk of meat. Cook both sides until cooked to taste and sprinkle herbs and Pink Himalayan Sea Salt on it, place on plate. Toss some sliced potatoes or sweet potatoes in skillet. Place on plate, drizzle remaining oil over meat and potatoes, sprinkle pepper, and eat….slathering every bite in the meaty oil.
      Eating like this, I only eat twice a day, maybe a handful of raw nuts and some dried tart cherries in the evening….never hungry, losing weight, not counting calories, energetic, haven’t been sick in years.

    2. Also: every cell in your body requires fats to create protective layer, or the cells would short out and die…electrons, protons, and neutrons. The more healthy fats you eat, the more alert you feel.
      Eating this way, has also lowered my LDL and raised my HDL cholesterols, lowered my blood sugar, lowered my blood pressure, cured my IBS and chronic bronchitis. I just feel so much better!

  17. What to do when visiting relatives’ houses over the breaks and they use only conventional food and despite explaining organic’s benefits lot, nothing budges. Also, as hosts they want to do the cooking for Vegans, Vegetarians or NonVegs. Then when going outside to get organic or cook my own creates an issue.

    Bc of situations like this, where the only option is to take what is offered and how to combat such when it is once in awhile?

    Bc of this always sticking to organic is literally impossible.

  18. This is so excellent! It is important to remember that we can make things work, if they are a priority! Specifically the food waste portion–it’s essential to sticking to a budget. I recently wrote a post on my blog, Making Mindfulness, about what incredible things people are doing around the world to help reduce food waste. If you’re interested, please check it out: http://makingmindfulness.blogspot.com/2014/10/rethinking-food-waste.html.

  19. What’s so ridiculously frustrating is that the cost of healthy food is MORE expensive than the unhealthy processed foods. All humans should have access to healthy and affordable food. The government should be subsidizing the small local farms who produce organic food rather than the big corporations and biotech. We shouldn’t have to go to these extreme measures to scrutinize and have to learn about every single ingredient in our food. Wouldn’t it be nice if both the government and food industry companies chose people over profits?

  20. Great tips here. By following these tips, anybody can get a good organic foods on a budget. Shopping grocery items from online grocery store that can be also one ideal way to have an organic food on a budget.

  21. Organic foods for the most part have been bought out to become subsumed into corporate giants. I have struggled to afford organic foods for over 30 yeaars. Now that monsters such as Whole Foods have become the RiteAid of organc and HEALTHY food, many indie stores havee gone under. The next change was the affluent wanting something that was better, as low loives certainly cannot just have this food! Now there is just two or threee cereals I can find in mile-long isle not containing unhealthy organic sugar as the SECOND ingredient. Plus, many other nutriciuos foods are GONE, replaced by organic oreos, organic candy, organic ice cream, organic pizza! Also, with chemtrails and Fukushima, NO food is organic, unless grown in a biodome! Under these conditions, the most dangerous foods are dairy produucts and meat and fish and seafood. Another big nuisance is the triumph of the few big labels like Amy’s whose soups contain water as a second ingredient. I persisted in finding out from them that do NOT purify their water, they use industrial bag filters simply meant to catch debris from the pipes getting into the food! Plus Amy’s puts only non-organic cheese on all their non-vegan products that contain cheese! I cannot think of a better way to thoroughly poison a meal! As for coupons, there are NONE for produce. I buy everything to cook from scratch, no processed foods. There are no savings for me. Most of our food is now grown in CA WAvand OR, the places getting the continuous heavy fallout from the only worsening Fukushima. Obama ordered the EPA to stop monitoring and raised our food contamination limits four times higher! Did you know that almonds sent from CA to Japan were returned for beinng far above their limits? They could have been organically grown, but they are lethal! Wake up!

  22. I chime in with you Dona! Whole Foods is taking total advantage of the “eat healthy” choice. My husband and I are new on this life style change journey. Yesterday was our wedding anniversary and we chose to spend some time at Whole Foods. We have an abbreviated store in our area and we spent almost 3 hours slowly walking the aisles, reading labels and talking to employees – all were VERY helpful. The more I walked and looked at prices vs the quantity I was getting more and more angry! Reading the labels trying to figure out if it was a good witch or a bad witch. Once we found what we thought was the good witch, we had BPA issues to consider. Then once we found the RIGHT food, the packaging was so tiny for $$$$. Then we walked the meat area. REALLY? Most of the seafood was either farm raised or from the west coast or both! Fukushima anyone??? Really Whole Foods? We ended up with more carbs and little protein.

    I just couldn’t agree to put down our hard earned money on foods I know nothing about or don’t particularly like, especially when I have a kitchen FULL that I have to throw away. I realize I/we need to do that, but I’m in that transition. I am a cook – I love food – I love to prepare beautiful yummy meals and baked goods – I have for almost 50 years and VERY comfortable in the kitchen and with my “tried and true” recipes. I think I’m pissed that we’ve been duped for so long and now duped by the big box store Whole Foods to take advantage. Maybe I just thought Whole Foods was THE place to shop and trust that you were getting the BEST healthy foods – worry free. My mistake. Still LOTS of work to do on my end. I know this may sound crazy, but I feel like I will be grieving my previous food life and anxious about where to go and what to do next. Kind of hard to cook for a small town country church in Texas – Sauteed Kale anyone?

  23. I follow many of these guidelines and yet for only my husband and I, we are still spending well over $700 per month, even with a good meat and produce supplier that is delivered straight to our door. Eating organically has proven very tough for us, we are always very hungry, my husband has dropped way too much weight even though we are eating 5 meals a day, he didn’t have any weight to lose in the first place. I am very frustrated, when I follow these types of guidelines and still the prices of our food is so astronomical (I’m in Canada, maybe you’re in the states and food is cheaper there?) that I am actually dirt broke from eating this way. I never buy a product if I don’t agree with how expensive it is, I’m always price comparing and yet we can’t get the cost down. I have started making my own granola, we buy very simple basic ingredients to make our own dishes, we dont have a ton of variety as that was proving to be even more expensive so we dropped down to a very basic meal plan which has not lowered our food cost by any measurable amount of money and does not make a man very happy. I can eat the same things for the rest of my life, but I’ve noticed men really like variety in their food – conclusion on that however is just for men to suck it up 😛
    I’m beyond fed up and feel very discouraged but after you start eating organic its basically impossible to go back. Organic and natural foods have so much flavour, textures are better, you feel better, but the cost… I just dont know what to do anymore, but I cant keep living paycheck to paycheck over feeding 2 people. My heart really goes out to the families. You are rockstars.

    1. Good food doesn’t have to be expensive. Another option that is not listed is growing your own organic fruits and vegetables.

      Our grocery stores are becoming more and more toxic. Who is protecting the consumer? It surely isn’t the FDA. We need more Urban Farming inside our cities.

  24. Sorry to burst your bubble but organic still has pesticides. They’re just “naturally derived.” Their effects are less studied and farmers use more because they are less effective then synthetic pesticides.

    1. What pesticides they do use, break down quickly in the sun, so no toxins left on foods.

      Standard crops….they now spray RoundUp on them AT HARVEST as a drying agent. Same as if you dipped it in RoundUp and then cooked it! RoundUp does not break down quickly.

  25. I always enjoy your articles. It is easy to become overwhelmed when starting out. You have made it easy , accessible and comprehensive. There is no excuse for poor eating habits with you in the game. Websites, priority lists, and even statistics (in some articles ). You walk the walk and talk the talk and that is huge. Thank you so much for making clean living an easy choice.

  26. I really liked your post. Organic food is very healthy for us and buying organic products inspire farmers to grow organic.

  27. I have a membership and get free shipping and handling on all my orders to a new company called ” Brandless ” they offer most all products for $3.00 each. They have many organic and gluten free products and continue to add more all the time. I save money with them every month. http://www.brandless.com . I would also like to thank you for this list as it has given me even more ways to save I did not know about.

  28. I really like your tips. I usually eat organic food for good health. Now, I want to make a proper diet chart to maintain my overall body. I also visited the blogs of Organic 4 Greenlivings to plan my diet chart. Fortunately, I also found your blog and got many useful tips. I will definitely add your tips in my daily routine. Thank you very much for sharing.

  29. I have no problem Buying the food it’s preparing it. Organic grains and veg. Combinations I have a problem with. It’s like throwing down a puzzle, now I have to put it together, can you give me some nutritious recipes?

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