Converted But Still Frugal

Welcome to "The Budget Organic." I'm a mom of four who recently converted to "Organicism." Within the past year I've truly become horrified to discover what is happening in America's food system.

BUT before that, I'll be honest, I was your typical citizen. I would hear the horrors of processed foods and think, critically, "I would never feed my children bologna" (pat on the back). Little did I know that today, when we hear "processed" that could mean bread, oatmeal, yogurt, cheese - you name it, it's processed! I'm ashamed to admit it, but I actually thought "organic" was a conspiracy to charge more money for the same fruits and veggies I was already buying (sad, I know).

So flash forward to today, where although I want to feed my children the healthiest, least toxic foods, I'm still a bargain shopper that finds it very hard to justify paying twice the price for organic. I make choices, some of them probably not the same ones you might make, but it does take extra money to eat healthy, especially for a family of six!

This blog is about trying to "Go Organic" on a budget. I'll post coupons, post outlet stores that are selling organic items, and just rant about the complexities of what should be fairly easy - eating healthy, chemical free food (most of the time)! And I'll be honest - even when I slip and let the kids eat (gulp!) McDonald's!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Onions for Lunch

Remember those sensors that would tell how much like was left in a battery?  I wish food had this same sensor, or some sort of scale, saying least pesticides, most pesticides, definitely gonna kill ya!  This week was a bad week for grocery shopping.  My wallet was LEAN (like ghetto poor lean) and I'm in the store trying to decide what warrants the gazillion extra dollars.  Do I buy the organic cheese sticks (6 for $3.75) or the non-organic (12 for $2.50)?? Is a cheese stick really going to affect my kids' lives?

I always try to buy grass-fed organic meats because of hormones and antibiotics that are given to mass-produced meats.  Plus the guilt factor gets me almost every time - images of videos I've seen of cows, pigs and chicken being raised for public consumption haunt me while I'm in the meat department.  I also always buy organic milk, but it really kills me to buy organic cheeses and butter.  Is that pat of cream cheese on my bagel going to make difference?  Even that $1.00 off coupon isn't really going to make a dent in the price difference.

Here's the list commonly referred to as "The Dirty Dozen" - 12 foods that you should buy organic if at all possible.  Of course most of my favorites are on the list...Why can't it have stuff like rutabaga, or beets?
  • Beef, chicken and pork
  • Dairy products: Milk, cheese and butter
  • Strawberries, raspberries and cherries
  • Apples and pears
  • Tomatoes
  • Spinach and salad greens
  • Coffee
  • Potatoes
  • Stone fruits: Peaches, nectarines and apricots
  • Grapes
  • Celery
  • Peppers (capsicums), green and red
Most of these items fall on this list because of their thin skins that don't offer protection from the pesticides.

Some items that we don't need to worry about are avocados (big whoop!), onions, watermelon, pineapple.  Think items with thick skins that will get cut away, or produce that wouldn't have many insects nibbling on them, like cabbage or broccoli.

It drives me nuts that we even have to make these decisions.  Why does a grocery store offer 20 aisles of garbage and 2 aisles of real food??  Why can't all foods just be safe, healthy, and free of GMOs??  Until it is, I guess my kids will be getting onions and cabbage in their lunches!
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1 comment:

  1. ElizaFSeptember 23, 2010 at 12:43 PM

    Thanks for this list! I am always wondering which foods matter more with organics. Some of them seem to be similarly priced sometimes when on sale, so I usually just do that, but it's good to know which ones are worth the extra money! And honestly, I did not expect coffee to be on this list!

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