If budget limits you...? (re: organic food)

[momma-rawma]

I have been buying all organic all month. Presently have spent $862 for my family (toiletries and household supplies purchased at wild oats are in there as well).

I figure that I will hit $1000 by the end of the month.

Only problem, our budget is only set for $700 for the month...so I need to do some serious tweaking.

If I am unable to buy ALL organic.....which items should I continue to only buy organically? (i.e. the ones that risk the most leaching from pesticides and such).

Any rawists out there who don't go organic?

(My first step is to not purchase so many Larbars and ThinkOrganic bars...I dont' own equipment so can't create too many things on my own other than those involving a knife or a pampered chef food chopper.)

Additionally--some of the hit was stocking up on things like Agave--that I won't necessarily be buying every month (turns out--I don't crave sugar at all...and am seriously satisfied with fruit and dried fruits if I need something sweet.)

[brawdwaybaby]

I don't know about all fruits and veggies, but I do know that apples and spinach tend to have very high pesticidal residue on them.

[Naiad]

Only buy organic if the foods are on the Top 12 contaminated list.

http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/articles/contaminatedfruits.html

I buy conventional bananas, avocados and mangoes at Costco/BJs at bulk prices. Sometimes $.67 for a huge bunch of Chiquita bananas. They also tend to sell giant boxes of Earthbound baby greens and herbacide free tomato flats for WAY cheaper than Whole Foods/my local market.

Smoothies are also a great way to eat in a more economical fashion. If you buy in bulk, freezing produce to make frosty smoothies enables them to last longer than if you only wanted them "fresh." I find that swiss chard goes bad very easily, so, as soon as I get home from the store, I wash my chard, chop it up in strips and put in baggies :)

[mommy4ever]

I've just started on raw, and am seeing a high grocery bill too.

We don't have a huge organic market here, so selections are few. I get what I can. Thankfully inthe fall, I have a tree in the back that produces like crazy. I am thinking of planting a few other fruit trees, perhaps plums. I'm working on a raspberry patch and strawberry. I do plan on berry picking this summer too for wild blueberries.

As to what to get non organic, from what I've read is items with a thick peel. Oranges, bananas, mangoes, etc.

Think about starting some herbs in the house, they take little space and can look really nice. Also other container gardening if you have the space. Now in the summer, you can grow some of your own, even on the balcony if that's all the space a few big pots will do it for you.

Ultimately, organic is best, or home grown organics, but you have to do what you can. "Conventional" fruits and veggies, aren't ideal, but better than cooked. In time, from what I read, your views of the world change some too, as do your priorities. So perhaps you might not want to be saving for the bigscreen tv, and choose to use organic foods, or decide that you can bus or ride a bike to work, and have more income to get organic.

Just do the best you can. you have a budget to work with, the work within that, no one will look down on you for it. This is an individual journey. I can't walk in your shoes, and you can't walk in mine. We just work with what we have.

OH, apparently, as you go further down this path, from the testimonials I've read, things get simpler. There's a trend to eating whole foods as opposed to prepared foods. Also in time, once your system is cleaned out of it's toxins, and you can properly absorb nutrients, many people eat less and get more from their foods! Right now, detoxing from a SAD diet, people are used to eating larger quantities of nutrient-void foods, so the need to eat more and more! Eating raw, you'll get lots and lots of nutrients in a smaller amount of food, but it takes time to get there.

Stocking up of staples has been pricey, but it'll be worth it!

[Zella Juice]

We discovered a Raw Farm close by..prices are cheaper.

Also, I have heard you can ask the people at the market for their older fruit in the back for a discount. Go at the end of the day.

And we haven't had to pay the doctor or the hospital since we started eating healthy. So you are saving there.

[Lay-Lay]

I buy the more heavily contaminated foods organic and then buy the others non-organic. I also try to raise some things at home like tomatoes and lettuce....etc.....

I spend about $30-40 a week (2 people) on fresh produce and $100 a month in dry products (olive oil, seaweed, tahinni, etc....)