Yes, organic food can be expensive but here are a few tipz
Get back to the basics , fresh whole foods are naturally nutritious and actually end up costing you less money – they cost less per unit and stretch your meals further. Think fresh tomato sauce with pasta, salad and homemade bread (check out easy to make bucket bread). The fewer ingredients the better for you and your wallet!
Plan your budget / Plan your grocery list! Planning will help you eat healthier meals and soften the blow on your wallet. Why? Less impulse buys, fewer forgotten items (less trips to the store), less take-out and less fast food because you have not got a real meal to eat at all!
Learn to use your freezer. During the summer months when fruits, vegetables, and yes even poultry and meat are cheaper buy and freeze. This is a great budget stretcher. They now have small vacuum sealer w/bags and when you're done you can recycle the bag!
Introduce Herbs into your life. Herbs add flavor and great health benefits without extra fat. However, they are expensive and perishable. Plant an herb garden – most herbs are perennial and come back every year!
Visit the bulk foods section. Bulk foods cost a whole lot less than their packaged counterparts and help out the environment too. You'll be amazed at the variety of grains, cereal, nuts, trail mixes and flours. Another bonus, you can buy what you need and not what they give you. Most conventional grocery stores do not have a bulk food section (grains, flours, nuts and dried fruits in bins that you scoop up by the pound or ounce as you need). But you can find bulk foods at farmers markets, health food grocery stores and specialty stores such as the Fresh Market.
Know your organics. Not all non-organic produce is evil. Items such as oranges, avocados, mangos, bananas and pineapple, are just fine non-organic. Check out our “Dirty Dozen” page and make sure to go to the bottom where there is listed the safest product to eat non organic.
Nothing beats organic home brewed coffee. Buy some good quality beans and brew your coffee at home. Coffee is simply expensive when you buy it everyday – think about how much ditching that daily $2.00-5.00 (depending on what you order) habit will save you. Now that is something you can put towards your grocery bill. You can even do a little research and find a recipe that will give you a home brewed latte.
Family challenge - This really works wonders! This is a simple concept to see who can plan a week's worth of nutritious meals on the smallest budget. You set the criteria with each meal containing a whole grain, fruit or vegetable and some organic meat. You can vote on quality, taste and appearance.
When we're all gone the plastic will be our legacy. Plastic water bottles fill up landfills and if you're drinking the recommended amount of water, they cost you big time! Instead, invest in a filter (for your fridge or faucet) and a reusable water bottle.
Get rid of the soda. Soda should be reserved as a treat not for our everyday meals. Soda is expensive and both sweet and diet verities are shown to cause health problems when consumed on a daily basis. If you need a little variety from just plain water try lemon or tea. Green and herbal teas have tons of great varieties to choose from (and so good for you with high amounts of antioxidants). Try fruit unsweetened real fruit juice or vegetable juice add fresh mint sprigs and other herbs for an extra flavor burst for water, juice and tea.
Eat Sprouts - Sprouts contain a large ammount of protean
