Eating Healthy and Cheap
I’m really trying to eat healthier, but it’s expensive! I’ve mentioned before that I’m on a health kick lately. This is actually rather amazing, because I used to have no problems eating a fast food burger and fries for dinner on a regular basis.
Then I started reading blogs like Squawkfox (make sure you check out her frugalicious foods) and Nutrition Fitness Life, and now I can’t stomach the thought of french fries and greasy burgers anymore. That’s a good thing, right?
Like any changes I’ve ever made in life, I decided to research healthy living. I picked the book Shoppers Guide to Healthy Living. It’s a lot better than it sounds. At first I thought it would be a book trying to sell you a bunch of “health” products, but it’s not. It’s basically advice from a woman who totally changed her family’s consumption from fast food and junk to all natural and organic products.
It was a quick read. I think it took me an afternoon. The author, Kathy Loidolt, provides a 5 phase plan for transitioning to a healthy lifestyle. In each phase she tells you what to buy (in general terms…not brand names) and what to avoid. She does provide some brand names at the end of the book to get you started, so you’re not overwhelmed.
I was impressed, and decided to jump right in. The problem is, in the first phase I’m supposed to give up meat and chicken with hormones. Organic, free-range, grain fed meat is EXPENSIVE!!!! As is organic produce, though I haven’t checked the weekly farmer’s market yet.
So my question to you this week is how far do you go to eat, drink, live a healthy lifestyle? Do you eat organic? If so, what? Just fruits and veggies? Meat? Canned goods? Personal care products? And how do you budget for it? Did your grocery bill go up? How do you cut costs, yet still eat the way you want to?
I obviously have a lot to learn. At least I’m avoiding McDonald’s. That’s a small victory!
If you like this article, please sign up for free weekly email updates.
Author
By Lynnae McCoy, on May 9, 2008
I'm Lynnae, wife of one and stay-at-home mom of two. I'm committed to getting out of debt by being frugal with my choices in life.
Freebies
- Credit Sesame: Get free credit score
- Personal Capital: Free money management tool
- Ebates: Get $10 to sign up, plus earn cash back on purchases
- 360 Checking: Open a checking account and get $50
Popular Articles
- How to Save Money and Cut Spending: 93 Ideas
- Homemade Cleaning Products: Cleaners That Won't Break The Bank!
- 168 Money Saving Tips to Stretch Your Dollar
- How to Make a Budget That Works
- What if I Can’t Afford to Pay My Mortgage Payment?
- 52 Ways to Save Money in College
- My Experience Buying a Used Car with Cash
- 7 Easy Part Time Jobs
- My Husband Lost His Job: How to Survive a Job Loss
- Why the Minimalist Lifestyle Appeals to Me
{39 Comments}
Leave a Reply
Disclaimer and Legal Mumbo Jumbo
I'm just an average mom, trying to live a frugal life and get out of debt. I write about things that have (and haven't) worked to improve my family's financial situation. What works for me may or may not work for you, and you should always consult a financial advisor before making important financial decisions.
In accordance with FTC guidelines, I state that I have a financial relationship with companies mentioned in this website. This may include receiving access to free products and services for product and service reviews and giveaways.
Any references to third party products, rates, or websites are subject to change without notice. I do my best to maintain current information, but due to the rapidly changing environment, some information may have changed since it was published. Please do the appropriate research before participating in any third party offers.
For additional information, please review our legal disclaimers and privacy policy.
I try to maintain a balance. The foods we eat are minimally processed, yet not necessarily organic. We get our meat from a trusted source, it’s not organic, but much better than factory.
Thankfully my mom raises chickens, so we have a source of free range eggs. My compromise is to buy things as close to in-season as possible and preserve it myself. We also keep our processed food to a minimum. Our costs have stayed reasonable, but not as cheap as it could possibly get. I feel we are both eating healthfully and being good stewards in this regard.
They discussed this very subject on Nightline last night with the author of a book advocating organic foods. He believes we need to spend more money and time on food, and food preparation (neither of these ideas are very popular these days). We are killing ourselves with junk food, convenience items and processed junk – but I keep eating it!
We’ve also started eating organic/healthier foods lately. I avoided it for a while because I was afraid my grocery costs would skyrocket and that there wouldn’t be much difference in quality. In actualality they haven’t and have probably gone down.
I have started buying beef from a local farm that sells it at the Public Market I go to. Their prices are the same as my local grocery store, but the meat is totally hormone free and local.
I still buy chicken and pork from the grocery store, but I am going to try and phase those out as well. The same farm sells pork, but I haven’t been able to find a good organic/free range chicken vendor.
As for produce it’s the same thing, the Public Market is vital. I try to buy in season items now from local organic farms. At the grocery store it might be $1 for an organic apple where the public market has the same item in a bucket of 8 for $2.
I am also trying to grow my own garden of veggies this year (in a small apartment it’s hard but so far is going well) I know that anything we grow is organic and much cheaper. It does take time and effort to grow the stuff though.
The things I buy at the grocery store organic are milk (Organic Valley is the best tasting milk I’ve had outside of a farm) and bananas or things not native to upstate NY. I am not totally tied to organic foods, but so far everything I have tried tastes better. (and should be healthier)
We eat mostly organic. The meat without hormones etc is the most expensive and, for us, most necessary bit. (I have RA and had endo , hubby has migraines, oldest has migraines and other neurological stuff–all of those benefit from no hormones/pesticides. We don’t get sick as often when we are avoiding that stuff.) We find that getting meat from hunter friends really helps but in the end we usually go without. It is just too expensive (we get meet maybe once a month). We buy almost nothing prepackaged (prepackaged organic is EXPENSIVE) sticking mostly with basic baking from scratch foods bought in bulk from a wholesale place nearby. A 25 lb bag or organic unbleached white flour goes a very long way. So does a 10lb bag of organic noodles. We grow our own of what we can, have learned a lot about edible weeds, make our own jelly and yogurt, and have simplified our menu significantly.
I’ve been trying to adapt my diet for a while. Sometimes I won’t buy organic but I will buy the next best thing, like free range chicken or eggs. I also try to buy local food- a local producer might not be able to afford to be certified organic, but doesn’t use harmful products.
I’ve also learned how to use less meat, because I really do prefer buying organic when I can afford it. So I put less in the dish, and add a lot of veggies or rice to stretch it. A simple way to stretch ground beef is to mix half hamburger with half cooked beans (kidney are best) in a food processor, adding one or two eggs until the mix sticks together. Then you can make meatballs, hamburgers or meatloaf. I discovered this in a recipe for Kefta balls, a Middle-Eastern dish but you can spice it any way you want. It not only makes the meat go twice as far, it makes it very moist too.
We eat only organic everything – milk, juice, veggies, fruit, cereal, etc.. We try to eat only organic free-range meat, when we can – but eating out sometimes you don’t know where it came from.
I figure spending money on food is probably the most important way we can spend money – after all, if we don’t have health, we don’t need our money anyway!
I am sure you will find your Farmers Market to be cheaper, as there is no middle man.
I suggest reading the book Foods Not Lawns, as it goes into depth about how to grow your own organic produce in your yard. Another good source of inspiration/information is http://www.pathtofreedom.com which is the website of a family who raise the majority of their food needs on their 1/5 of an acre in Pasadena CA.
I try to buy as much organic as possible, but it is very expensive. We don’t eat a lot of meat, so when we do I spend the extra money to get hormone-free, vegetable fed chicken and beef. The hormones in meat concern me most of all. My fiance and I have cut way back on junk food, though every now and again I do crave (and eat) fast food, but it’s not very often. In the summer I get a lot of veggies from family members who have big gardens.
We have started to incorporate more organic items into our groceries and it has increased our budget slightly, but not too much. Sonny boy gets organic soy milk while Hubby and I get organic regular milk. When organic fruits and veggies are on sale and the price difference between the conventional version and the organic isn’t too big (.20 to .40), I get the organic. Recently, I’ve been finding lots of organic fruit and veggies that are LESS money than their conventional counterparts. Those finds I call “the jackpot.” I stock up on them, take them home and either plan to use them in as many meals as I can for the week or i freeze them. Meats are another story though. You are right, they are expensive and every once in a while, I will purchase some organic chicken. We eat more chicken than anything else, so I figure splurging on the chicken is more valid than getting grass fed beef. Any other items I can get organic or natural(juice, pasta sauce, etc)and you coupons for them, I do. You just have to do what you can with what you have.
I’d like to be able to say that I can ditch the McD’s, but like you said above, organic is SOOO expensive. Being frugal minded I can’t get myself to move over yet. I DO buy the leaner meat and the less fat products when I can though; just can’t take the full step yet.
This article on the NYtimes site, is about when you have to buy Organic produce and when its not as important (Strategic Spending on Organic Foods):
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/.....nic-foods/
It links to a complete list of the 43 fruits and vegetables tested by the Environmental Working Group: http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/
I’m not sure if you have a SunHarvest (similar to WholeFoods) in your area; but here in San Antonio we have a few. They put out a weekly ad with sales on certain items which we will stock up on for the future. For instance, last week their hormone, organic fed chicken breasts were on sale for the same price as normal chicken at our local grocery store. We bought 5 or 6 pounds and kept it frozen until we needed it. It is hard to find sales at WholeFoods but SunHarvest tends to be a little more liberal in that area. It helps the grocery budget each month.
Cheers,
Colin
It is expensive to eat organic, but worth it. I was shocked when organic milk hit $4 a gallon. I’m trying to stick to a budget these days, so I only buy one cut of organic, free range meat a week. I supplement with frozen fish and veggie/bean meals. Now that we don’t eat meat as much, we hardly miss it. Since we buy all our produce locally, it tastes so much better! Now veggies are what we really look forward to, and meat has become a side dish.
If you want to use something but it’s expensive, seems like a no-brainer to me: use less of it :) You can also keep a couple chickens in your yard.
I’m vegetarian so animal products are moot for me. I try to get as much of my produce as possible from the local farmer’s market – nearly all of it is organic, though some of the farms can’t afford to be certified, so they can’t actually SAY they’re organic – which is stupid IMO. Anyway, this is easier in the summer than the winter, since the market is every week vs. twice a month. But I try my best :)
We always buy Organic milk. But we buy the Publix brand when the others aren’t on sale. I try to stick with the dirty dozen when buying organic produce. It is expensive, but I’ll save on hospital bills in the long run! I try not to buy too many organic items a week so I don’t bust my budget.
If you are moving from processed fast foods then any fruit and veg is good, I’d be less concerned about organic at this stage.
I buy hormone free meat and milk (although this is less of an issue in Canada) and free range eggs. I very rarely purchase organic produce from the supermarket (the mark up is extortionate).
In the summer months I go to local farmers markets and get more of my produce there, often it is organic, sometimes a little pricier than the supermarket but I like to buy from local farmers.
As others have said, local sources tend to offer higher quality for less money. My biggest single savings item the last two years was joining a CSA. I live alone, and the one I joined is run by a family farm as their daughter’s summer project when she’s not at college studying agriculture. They aren’t fully certified organic, but they practice organic methods. It’s small, so the charge per share is lower than some of the others in my area and they offer a half share, so I get 20 weeks of fresh off the farm produce for under $20 a week. That amount of food usually only needs to be supplimented with another $20 of stuff from the grocery store plus other staples I have at home, and I typically have plenty leftover at the end of the week to freeze or preserve which allows me to continue eating the bounty of the CSA well into the winter.
This year in addition to the CSA, I’ve also planted a small veggie/herb garden in planters on my patio and plan to use that to suppliment my preservation supplies and fill in for some of the veggies I use up more quickly from the CSA. Both the CSA and the garden are up front costs, but now that they’re both paid for, I just get to reap the rewards all summer.
Morning!
First thing’s first: Stop with the fast food! It’s so bad for you and although it may be convenient for on-the-goers, you can do the same at home in just a few minutes.
Beyond that, I’ve started eating fresh, as fresh as possible in our economy. I visit the fruitstand and the international market before hitting the big grocery stores – it does my heart some good, too, since I’m supporting my local economy first before the big capitalists. I spend about $5 a week on fresh fruit and veggies (that $5 doesn’t sound like a lot, but consider that that same $5 would be $20 in a grocery store. I’m not a starving marvin! I just shop well.)
I buy meat when it’s on sale and freeze it. I don’t go so far as to go organic, grain-fed whatever, simply because I don’t really eat that much meat. When I’m not having meat, I’m having beans, rice, or eggs in my meal, so it’s not a huge deal.
I skip the freezer aisles completely; it’s all prepared garbage that isn’t unlike the fast food. I also don’t own a microwave, so I’d have no way of heating up any of that junk. I make my own ice cream at home in the amount of time it takes to make a crockpot meal.
I also skip the empty carbs. About two years ago, I did a low carb diet stint and learned quite a bit about the food I was putting in my body. White breads, chips, pasta… etc. It doesn’t do anything for you, really, except make you feel full at the cost of sacrificing good nutrients from other foods that you could eat in their place. (Not to mention they bloat the heck out of you. Water retention, anyone?) When I do make bread or baked goods, I make them at home and skip the preservatives.
Before you go “OMG you must spend HOURS in the kitchen!”…no, I really don’t. I spend about two hours every weekend getting things organized and another two hours during the week shopping.
I hope this helps :)
I don’t eat meat and I try to buy organic when I can. For example, this week at Safeway organic strawberries are on sale 2 pounds for $3! That’s a ridiculously low price even for non-organic berries. So far I’ve bought six pounds. What I don’t think I’ll be able to eat I will freeze. They also had organic apples on sale, so I’ve bought a lot of them – they’re also 2 pounds for $3, which is still a little pricey, but I think it’s worth it. I don’t mind eating only what’s on sale, so this kind of shopping works for me. I find recipes to fit what I can buy – I just made a strawberry couscous cake yesterday and it was great, and a nice way to use the strawberries.
Hi, long-time reader, first-time poster…
Organic, free-range meat is expensive. That’s what I’ve pretty much given up meat altogether, because the cheap stuff is total crap, and I don’t want it in my body. I’ll splurge on occasion for an organic, grass-fed locally-raised burger at my local pub, but other than that, I leave meat out. Beans are a fantastic, dirt cheap source of wholesome fiber and protein. I’ve also tried out some vegan recipes, and they’re very good. What helps me survive, more than anything, is taking advantage of the bulk bins at my local megamarket. I also buy lots of frozen veggies, and I also buy healthy non-perishable items in bulk (like Kashi) when they’re on sale. It’s not necessary to buy organic everything–I believe that FDA has a list of the “Dirty Dozen,” the produce that is the worst when it’s non-organic. I try to follow that, but overall, when on a budget, I’ll take the non-organic produce if I have to.
When I’m able to get into my own house with a yard soon, I’ll start a garden and get chickens for eggs immediately.
I guess I have it easy here on the rural Oregon coast. Mostly I eat game meat: deer, elk, clams, fish, goose. And grass fed beef my son raises.
I don’t worry about organic as much as I worry about “Local”… I like to know where my food comes from. I, single working full time and babysitting grandkids, raise a large garden on my little 50×100 city lot, but no livestock (chickens) are allowed in the city. I use edible landscaping, and vertical gardens, I believe it is called Urban Homesteading. I also have berry bushes and fruit trees. Plus I trade with other friends who do the same.
I do the local farmer’s market and have found a small private store in Tillamook that has really inexpensive produce, like organic bananas for 39 cents, and I shop there once a week or so.
The trick is to preserve everything I can get my hands on in the harvests…I don’t turn anything down. I dehydrate fruits for snacks – grandkids love them. I dehydrate veggies for stew mixes in the winter – my kids were raised on these stews! And I cook ahead and freeze meats, etc. I also can soups and meats for ‘instant meals’. Sure helps with the grocery bill!
HI
well i am vegeatrian so my shopping bill is a lot cheaper than when i used to be a meat eater. Now i know this not for everyone but what about eating less meat ie don;t have meat everyday. this meats that the meat you do buy you can afford to buy better quality ie no hormones etc.
Trader Joe’s can be a great place to find good prices on meat. I also check online for the specials at New Season’s Market (I live outside of Portland, OR).
For other organics, the local Grocery Outlet (discount groceries) has started carrying them, and they’re always great buys (no meat yet though). Farmer’s markets and, during summer, local U-pick farms, are always on my “hit” list. There are also sites online (www.horizonorganics.com, http://www.kashi.com, http://www.stonyfieldfarm.com, http://www.scojuice.com, http://www.mambosprouts.com, http://www.edenfoods.com,www.amyskitchen.com, http://www.organicvalleycoop ) where you can print up coupons. You can find a list of links for organic coupons here: http://deals.families.com/link.....ons,t19985 . And, my local stores provide a free mini-magazine called Natural Solutions which always has seasonal recipes and a couple of coupons.
I ordered some things (flour, three different grains, and brown rice) from http://www.bobsredmill.com at great prices, and have bought beans in bulk as well.
This year we’re planting a garden and I’ll be doing my own canning. In the meantime, whenever I find organic peas, carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms, blueberries or strawberries on sale, I buy extra and dry them in my dehydrator to stash away for future use.
Organics ARE more expensive, and we haven’t been able to switch completely. But, like others here, we’ve cut down on the amount of meat we consume and eat more whole, made from scratch foods, more whole grains, more legumes. With the organic flour that I bought in bulk, I’m busy putting together “recipes in a jar” – which is the equivalent of home-made convenience mixes!
I use lists like the one found here: http://green.msn.com/galleries.....SN51N1653A to prioritize my purchases.
I have fibromyalgia and eating as healthy as possible minimizes my symptoms, allows me more quality of life, and keeps me free of pharmaceuticals!
After reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma, I decided I agreed with the author: It is odd for us to expect to pay 29 cents a pound for bananas. We eat food all day every day and should be willing to invest in it, to shop around for the best. So, I decided that I would save money in lots of other places (no credit cards, no eating out, vegetarian, no buying useless crap). We buy exclusively organic for my son and mostly organic for ourselves. Farmer’s markets and local growers are crucial. It is well worth the investment for your health, for the environment, and to prevent farmers and farm workers all over the world from being abused and taken advantage of.
that being said: whole foods is a waste of money. try local health food stores and less trendy stores which usually have the same thing. and of course, avoid that packaged stuff. frozen organic fruits and veggies are economical and very good for you.
We long ago ditched fast food and processed foods in favor of natural, low fat and sometimes organic foods. The key for us is to buy pesticide-free produce (not necessarily organic) dairy, meat and chicken without hormones, and stick to whole grains, nuts and non-enriched flour-based products for everything else. Thankfully, we live in a city with a Trader Joe’s market, which carries many products that are healthy and delicious, even though they may not be organic. Eating healthy while staying frugal was important to us, so we buy most of the groceries at Trader Joe’s and a few other grocery items at the big grocery store when the ads show ‘em on sale. As for ditching fast food, I either buy ready to heat burritos or tamales or similar from Trader Joe’s or freeze leftovers in single servings so there’s always something quick to heat up. Eating healthy on a budget isn’t as tough as you think. Good luck!
Thank you very much, Lynnae! I appreciate the mention! :)
Congratulations on dropping McDonald’s like a Micky-D, rubbery hot cake! ;) Seriously, I think that is a huge accomplishment and something of which you should feel proud.
And, yes! Why does it seem that the healthier the food, the more expensive it is??? I don’t like that one bit!
I’m all for gardens and farmer’s markets. However, I really don’t have much of a yard to speak of. The sun shines most right in the front of the house, but the back is better for a garden. Hmm, think the neighbors would find a square foot garden unsightly right in the front yard??? :)
(I just asked Dearest Husband, and he said, “Ahhh, it’s just not a good place.”)
Trader Joe’s offers a lot of organic choices for very reasonable prices (although their produce is usually not very good); I buy organic dairy products, some personal care items (shaving cream, for example), snacks, and frozen foods there. I recently compared prices to Acme (my local supermarket) and was pleased to find that Trader Joe’s brand organic yogurt is cheaper than Acme’s non-organic generic brand!
Please read “Fast Food Nation” and “Diet for a Small Planet”. At first, eating better might take more time, but after you get used to it, it’s a breeze. I was raised on good homemade, wholesome food and it is so much better for you.
Diet for a Small Planet… Yes :) My old dog-eared copy is literally over 30 years old… and I’ve had it that long! Great recipes, great ideas. Love it!
I’ve been where you are and had the same “sticker shock” reaction. Trust me, the more effort you put behind it, it will get easier…perhaps not cheaper, but easier to spend that money on GOOD HEALTHY QUALITY FOOD.
It’s like this; if you absolutely must feed your family of 5 on $25 a week, you are going to eat crap. Period. You cannot always serve two masters—you can’t always be frugal to the core and be healthy all at the same time. Well, it can be done eventually but you have to really get the basics down and then start doing things like gardening your own veggies and such! :)
Basically, the baby steps I tell people to start with are as follows:
1. Switch your dairy first. Milk, butter, cheese, etc. Buy LOCALLY raised non-hormone fed dairy products first. It doesn’t necessarily have to be organic if you know the source and you know that the milk/dairy is pure. Small dairy farms cannot afford to even attempt the red tape one must go thru to get that nifty USDA organic green circle on their product. And, locally supported is always better for your own economy too! For the record, I pay $4.25 for a gallon of locally produced non-certified organic milk. Not too shabby really!
2. If you can’t find a local dairy, then go for the organic at the grocery.
3. EAT LESS MEAT. Let me repeat: eat less meat. Once more, eat less meat. We’re huge meat fans and this was a hard one to do. I didn’t say NEVER eat meat again, I just said eat less of it. When you do buy it, try to buy locally raised (same reasons as above) meat.
4. Find a CSA. Go to localharvest.org for more info. Basically a CSA is where you pay a farmer to give you a share of food each week. For instance, my CSA runs 12 weeks minimum (you can go longer if you’d like and we do). I get about THREE grocery sacks full of fresh produce each week for $26. It is a game of chance some weeks—there is always great stuff in my CSA bags, but there have been times I’ve had to figure out how to cook kale or beets or something I’m not superly fond of. The tradeoff? you eat really healthy locally produced food, help a farmer stay out of debt himself, and learn to eat new things.
***Read Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan when you can, and then my all time favorite is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.
In the end, nobody can force you to do it. You have to WANT TO CHANGE. Even if it is more expensive, it is worth it in the long run.
Thanks for the great ideas, everyone! I knew you’d all come through for me! I need to really go through the comments to see what strategies will work for me and then see what resources are available in my area.
Interestingly, while I was out driving near my house today, I saw a sign for an organic farm that was open. I’m definitely going to check it out!
My garden is in the front yard…that’s where the sun is :) I don’t really have any where else for it to go, and I really like to eat well! And part of it is square foot garden. If that’s too much, could you integrate some plants into the flower beds and shrubbery? Such as blueberry plants, rhubarb, swiss chard, raspberries, runner beans, kale, tomatoes, grapes, currants, gooseberries,cabbage, brocoli, herbs, chives, and strawberry groundcovers, etc…. Those could all be a part of the existing flower beds and not even look out of place. And most of them are permanent, as well as edible, landscaping. Good luck finding a place :)
I can totally relate to this problem. One weekend my husband and I decided to read Fast Food Nation and when we were done I turned to him and said, “Or children will never eat another hamburger again.” The problem is what do you do when eating healthy is so expensive. This is what I do about meat though, my Meijer carries hormone and antibiotic free chicken. I watch the paper because at least once every two months they mark legs and thighs down to 79 cents and full chickens down to 99 cents. I buy a ton and freeze what I can’t use to last until the next sale. It isn’t as convenient as frozen chicken breast but it makes me feel a little better.
I am in the same boat (thought I do NOT eat fast food)…eating healthy/organic is very expensive! I have removed red meat from my diet, so don’t have to worry there.
I have just begun to add organics to my diet, I try to get things on sale, or with coupons – our Whole Foods chain gives out coupon books filled with coupons for organic producst only! I also get my produce from a local stand, it may not be organic, but it is certainly better and cheaper than grocery store. If I do a little at a time, soon my pantry & fridge will be full of organics!
Wow, a lot of good ideas! My wife and I were the poster children for the Wendys 99 cent value meal when we were first married (going on 25 years next year). Today we make everything ourselves. 3 tips to make the transition from processed to homemade.
1. Keep it simple nothing wrong with shepherds pie
2. Be realistic I love cooking but will probably never bake bread
3. Freeze it for later.
This is really what made all the difference in the world. It’s just my wife and I so we tend to eat at different times so I now freeze everything into individual portions. Takes up more freezer room but I haven’t bought a prepared Lasagna in like forever, as well my wife rarely eats in the cafeteria at work as she always brings meal with her.
Unfortunately over here in Spain organic food is almost unheard of so we’re pretty limited to regular store produce.
Yeah DIET FOR A SMALL PLANET. Even if you are not a purist, it’s a great basic idea to model your overall food plans on the amino acid combos – that is – pasta cheese = whole protein
grain beans = whole protein. Nut butter grain = whole protein and so on. Sound familiar? It’s tacos, and rice & beans, and curry – and Italian pasta dishes – all sorts of peasant cuisine. There is meat & chicken – but almost as “flavoring.” I have a carnivore husband – so I do the best I can. But if I had children, I would be especially careful about meats & chicken with hormones!
Yes, buying organic is more $. I have compromised for years by buying juice oranges (taste better) & cooking apples (no waxing) – and bananas, which you can peel – to avoid pesticides. It’s only since organic peaches, nectarines and so on are available at the local Farmer’s Mkt. that I can eat them without whatever they put on them irritating my lips/mouth!!
There have always been problems with the food supply. We just have to do the best we can and avoid fatty foods (carcinogens) as much as we can.
The only thing I get at fast food joints is ice tea to go and at McD’s their yogurt and ice cream!!Altho occasionally I go to Carl’s Jr. or Arby’s…
I was raised up on “real” food – no chips or that sort of stuff – & avoidance of overly processed food. It’s appalling what people eat nowadays. All those empty calories & it doesn’t even taste GOOD. The real stuff tastes much BETTER. I can’t eat industrial donuts & pastries, because they leave a funny chemical taste in my mouth.
But with picking & choosing you can do all right even in a large chain grocery. Just get the old-fashioned unprocessed stuff – real cheese & bread & fruit & vegies & nuts and so on! Real juice instead of sugar water & tea & coffee you make yourself. Cut back on the soda (I do like diet cola!) – Read labels! I read somewhere that you just go around the OUTSIDE aisles of the grocery store & avoud the inside ones where are the industrial food ends up. Bag of frozen veggies are a good deal & not expensive, and are easy to cook up. You can get bags of potatoes & make them all sorts of different ways. I like backed potatoes, cut in half, with the centers scooped out and a raw egg put it with soy bacon bits. Then broiled until the egg sets. Yummy & very easy.
We fully use our large freezer, buy things on sale & have them later. Use the leftovers to make soups or stews & not let much go to waste. (Sometimes the bananas do get overripe.) Certain things keep, like heads of cabbage (more economical and healthy for salads than just lettuce), and apples and oranges. I remember a writer who said that his idea of prosperity was to be able to have fancy fruits like peaches more often instead of the old stand-bys like apples (& for me, prunes.) Dried fruit – like the prunes and raisins lasts a long time, too.
You can look for deals in canned goods and bottled goods, which again which last a long time. REAl Chinese soy sauce (from the 99 Cent Store) is a bargain. And they also have teriyaki sauces, salad dressings, and all sorts of things to spice up your meals. I stock up on the pickled red peppers when they have jars of them!
And the crackers are a good deal, too.
Having the fixings on the shelf makes it easy to whip up an emergency meal – like spaghetti salad and avoid the fast food outlets. Soups are great for combining leftovers, especially in colder weather.
I learned from my mother never to just serve food as is – but to add spices to bottled spaghetti sauce, and fresh onions, and garlic, for ex. The bottled version is only the base on which you build your own meal. You can also add wine to sauces and soups and stews to beef up the flavor. Sweet & sour sauce is made up with tomato sauce, with added sugar & cider vinegar for the sour!
This will give you a brief idea of how I stretched my food budget for YEARS. Now that I am married, we have a little leeway (in the old days having a meal delivered was a real TREAT). Luckily for us, where we are there are all sorts of good places that deliver & are not too expensive. And you can recycle the noodles/rice and so on from an Asian meal, too!
It’s not salads with argula or anything fancy most of the time – but it is good, basic & nutritious food! And we even add vitamins for further insurance, as you never know the real vitamin content of the food you eat.
I second those who said to check locally for organic meat. I haven’t had any success with (inexpensive) chicken yet, but I buy my meat from the same farmer my mom has been using for 30 years. He doesn’t pay for the organic label (passing the cost on), but his meat is hormone/antibiotic free and is free-range. I pay only $2.04 a lb! Grocery store beef around here is about $3.99/lb.!
We got a deep freezer free from Freecycle and purchased a half-cow this year. I think we saved about $200 this year just by buying the beef in bulk.
Organic chicken, on the other hand, is super expensive in our area. I’m still looking!
We try to eat healthy. It helps that my wife is vegetarian so most fast food is usually out of the question. One place that’s great for us is Trader Joe’s. They have lots of natural/organic foods for relatively low prices.
One tip – watch the ingredients. I’m on a Kellogg’s boycott. Grew up with their cereals but I noticed that every one of them has high fructose corn syrup. I try to stay away from that stuff as much as possible.
A recent find for us is quinua. It’s a pasta like grain that has great protein content. You cook it up with some roasted veggies and it’s great!
How far do we go? We drive ~50 miles to a nearby Amish / Mennonite community at most once a month. Lately we’ve been stocking up for 2-3 months at a time. There we can easily get free-range eggs, organic cheeses, and all-natural beef, pork, chicken, lamb, turkey… All at a fraction of what a grocery store would have you paying. And the quality! Wow! Absolutely unbeatable.