Posted in Simple and Frugal Living

In our home, people have asked different questions about our food supply.  The questions are along the lines of, "How can you afford to purchase organic food?"  "You must make a lot of money, because you have so much organic stuff, right?"  "I can barely afford our food now, how can you possibly manage to buy so much healthy food?"  You get the idea.  The ironic part is that we do not have nearly the amount of organics as we would like.  Yet we do purchase many organic items. 

Something people usually do not note, is the amount of fresh food we keep on hand.  Organic or not, we purchase as much of our food fresh as possible.  Why?  Well, it is simple, the less processing any food item needs, the more healthful it is.  This means that fresh carrots have more nutrients than frozen or canned.  While this can mean more trips to the grocery, meaning more gas and time spent shopping, we make every effort to make compensations for this and know that the cost of healthful food far out weighs the costs of frequent illness, doctor visits, OTC meds, and prescriptions.  That is a HUGE savings to any family, big or small. 

That said, you will look at your budget and think, "Even so, how can I purchase healthful food on my budget?"  Here are a few tips that can really make a difference.

1. Start small.  Replace just one or 2 items per week with something more healthful.  I know "healthy" costs more.  But this is a general thought process.  This doesn't mean you have to replace 2 items with like organic items.  This may simply mean that you do not purchase 2 unhealthful items (chips, cereal, cookies, soda, prepared foods, processed foods, etc).  In place of those 2 items purchase something healthful.  Or you may swap purchasing 2 cans of green beans, for frozen or fresh.  (While fresh is always best, frozen is the next best for health.)  Another option is to replace to regular items with like organic items. 
2. Prioritize!  This is one of the most important parts of the transition and maintenance process.  We have a list of organic items we like to purchase.  However, they are listed in order of necessity and organic importance.  What's that, you say.  At the top of the list are items that we will not purchase anything  but the organic kind.  This part of our list contains items such as milk, grapes, apples, cheese, celery, lettuce, and potatoes.  These are items that we have found to have the most chemical content when not organic.  Towards the middle of the list are items that we make every effort to purchase organic, but at times cannot due to availability or cost.  This part of the list includes items such as peppers, chicken, fish, fruits with thick skins or rinds (watermelon, oranges, bananas), flour, frozen veggies.  The bottom of the list contains items we cannot afford on even a semi regular basis to purchase organic, but keep our eyes open for any and all sales and coupons.  This part of the list has items such as cereal, meat, poultry, fish, and any thing from the middle of the store that hasn't been mentioned already. 
3. Be Flexible.  This is about eating more healthfully.  If you are stressing out about grocery shopping, that is not good for your health.  Don't stress.  As previously mentioned, We do what we can by choosing the best that we can afford through our priority list.  If you switch from all frozen veggies to half frozen half fresh, that is AWESOME!  It doesn't have to be organic to be more healthful than what you are already eating.  It is more important to regularly replace chips, cookis, crackers, prepared & processsed foods, with fresh healthful selections, than to worry about organic.
4. Don't be a food nazi.  Be careful as you make changes, not to become so rigid that no one can handle to be around you and foodin shape, form, or fashion.  What I mean is, choose your battles wisely.  For example, although we make every effort to purchase healthful and organic foods, our kids also eat sugared cereal.  It isn't the most healthful choices, but my kids would rather give up chips and store bought cookies than cereal.  I am ok with that.  I don't worry if my kids ate a bowl of cocoa crispies for breakfast, because I know that lunch, dinner, and sncks will balance that out.  For example yesterday's lunch offering was kiwis, watermelon, pickles (we have some pickle lovers here and they are perfect finger food), grapes, and cheese.  Dinner was seasoned chicken and pasta with salad.  Snacks are normally fruits or veggies, but when they want something crunchy they will have crackers, breadsticks, etc.  With as much good food as we eat, we are not purists.  It's about the best balance for a healthful family.  Choose your battles.
5. Slow and steady wins the race.  Don't try to change every thing to fit your budget at one time.  It will not only be stressful and frustrating for you, but your family not like all of the things you bring home.  This may result in food in the trash...which would not benefit anyone in your family.  Over time, we have made concessions on other parts of our overall budget to allow for a larger food budget.  Also, I have researched my area intensely to find where I can purchase the most items for the cheapest prices, how frequently I need to do that, gas and time, quality of food, where the food comes from (this can be a huge factor in all produce), etc.  This has been a slow process that has taken aver 3 years.  Make your tranistion gradually, and you and your family will be happy you did.

One note about frozen vegetables.  Frozen foods are usually frozen at the peak of freshness and therefore are an excellent choice if fresh is not available.  We also purchase frozen vegetables when fresh does not look good, we are camping, or to prevent waste.  For example, I choose to purchase frozen butternut squash cubes instead of a fresh squash, because the time involved in preparing winter squash prohibits us fom eating them regularly.  Remember, the goal is to eat more healthfully for less!

These are my thoughts.

Leslie Valeska

~Contributing Writer~

Raise the Cup!

Journey to Simplicity