Keeping Organic Affordable

Eating healthy foods is ultimately cheaper than living a toxic life, but it takes some time to train yourself to shop wisely and to really appreciate the benefits of quality nutrition. Plan meals for each day of the week (including how you will recycle and redesign leftovers), make a list and avoid temptation in the aisle: what you used to spend on cookies, snacks, soda, chips, etc. should instead go to organic produce and real food.

There are also some things you can do to begin cleaning up your diet without going totally organic. The most important thing you must do if you live in the United States or any other developed country and want to be on the healthy side is READ LABELS!!!! Start by avoiding the toxic chemicals in most foods like High Fructose Corn Syrup (found in almost 80% of all products on your average supermarket shelf), Aspartame, Artificial Flavors and Colors, and Hydrogenated oils. By simply eliminating these ingredients from your kitchen cabinet, you will have done yourself and your family an INCREDIBLE service. (I have an artist friend that refers to these ingredients as "drugs masquerading as food").

I live near the beach and have had a hard time growing my own food (as I used to do in northern California) because of the sandy soil here, but i do have a great avocado tree and grow herbs indoors. Anything you can grow at home is worth the couple of hours of tending that you might have to do each weekend.

I also make my own yogurt - an extremely easy money-saver. A half-gallon of organic milk is about the same price as a quart of organic yogurt, so you save big and get lots more nutrition from the living and freshly fermented probiotics.

At the end of each week, I grab the scraps of veggies that are starting to get a little rough around the edges and make a creamy pureed vegetable soup that I freeze in small containers. When i make chicken soup for my daughter (extremely picky eater) i add a bit of this veggie puree, it thickens the soup and gets her to eat all the stuff she would not touch if she recognized it (kale, carrots, okra!)

Keep at it, and you will find new ways to save every day. The more time passes, the more your kitchen will be well-stocked with healthy basics that offer long-term benefits such as sea salt, organic sugar or maple syrup (in large quantities – try Cosco), and organic cooking oils. The conversion to organic is worth every effort.

As added insurance for all of us trying to live a healthier lifestyle, let’s keep abreast of local and national laws, amendments and propositions surrounding food and the governance of organic farming and labelling. More on this in upcoming posts…

Bon appetit!