8 Tips For Eating Organic On A Budget

Let's face it, eating completely organic can get really expensive, really quick.  In fact, organic nutrients contain on average 25% more nutrients, vitamins, and minerals than non-organic. So eating organic foods will generally add 20% to your bill and many families, like ours,  find it difficult to pay this extra cost. 

BUT we really believe that the premium you pay goes directly to the nutritional value you are getting and strongly encourage our clients to buy organic as much as they can. And in today's edition of What's That?! Wednesdays we'd like to offer a few tips that make eating organic a little easier on the bank account. 

You can also read our blog post, Top 5 Reasons to Choose Organic & Non-GMO to learn more about why buying organic is worth the extra cost.

8 Tips For Eating Organic On A Budget:

1. Buy Seasonal & Local - Fruits and vegetables will always be cheapest when they are in abundance during their peak seasons. For example, in early Fall right now -  squashes, spinach, kale, chard, root vegetables, eggplant, peppers, green beans, Brussels sprouts, cranberries, pears, and pomegranates are all in season and at some of the best prices you can get them all year round. Shopping farmers markets, co-ops, and seasonal food stands are another way to get organic, in season fruits and veggies at a fraction of the price that you would pay for them at the grocery stores. Plus its fun experience to get out and enjoy nature and meet like minded people:)
   
   
2. Stock Up On Sale Items - Most grocery stores start their weekly sales on Wednesday's so this is great time to review your mailer or newspaper insert for the weekly deals. I watch for the more expensive organic items like nuts, seeds, olive and coconut oils, gluten free flours, wild caught in-season seafood, nut butters, and spices to go on sale and then I buy several of them at a time and store or freeze (like in the case of seafood) for future use. 
   
   
3. Buy In Bulk - Besides stocking up on sale items, we also recommend buying things like beans, lentils, grains, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and flours in bulk. Most natural food stores and some main stream grocery stores have bulk bins where you can buy all of these items for often much cheaper than their canned or pre-packaged counterparts. For example: A can of organic black beans costs between $1.99 and 3.99 and gives you 2-3 servings, where as 1 cup of dried beans will only run you about 25 cents and give you 2 servings. Visit our blog post, Why You Should Consider Soaking Beans and How to Cook Them to learn more about how to use dry beans and save money.
   
   
4. Comparison Shop & Shop Online - Take a peek at each store in your area regularly and you will notice that some chains just get certain organic items consistently cheaper than others.  For example, you might find that while Safeway has a better price on organic spinach, Whole Foods or Vitamin Cottage might have a better price on organic tofu. 
   
   Spend some time online doing some price shopping for your regularly bought items. Sites like Amazon offer product savings and free shipping, especially if you set up a regular delivery. For example, I order my coconut water this way - each month a case shows up a my door of exactly that I want for cheaper than I can get it at the store. It's perfect and easy! And I don't have to shelp it home from the store.  We do this with several items in my household and it really saves time and hassle. There are also alot of natural food sites starting to pop up online as well, one of the new ones I've been enjoying is called Thrive Market Place. You can find them by clicking here. 
   
   
5. Preserve, Freeze, & Dry - The average american family throws away $1,350 to $2,275 a year in food. YIKES! Unfortunately I can say I used to be a part of this statistic, but not today! Today I think before I toss anything out: how you I use it in another meal or preserve it for future use? For example: I like to stock up on berries in particular in the summer time when they are in peak season and then freeze them for later use, like in smoothies. This is much cheaper than buying organic frozen berries in the fall or winter when they are $5.99 for a small frozen bag. To learn more about preserving herbs and sauces see our posts, Preserving Your Herbs or Ice Cube Freezer Tray Preservation for more food and money saving tips.
   
   
6. Weekly Meal Planning & Grocery Lists - Take the stress of "What are we going to eat tonight?!" out of your life and replace it with a weekly meal plan. Planning what you will eat ahead of time will not only save you the time and stress it takes to figure out dinner every night of the week, but it will cut down on waste and save you money as well. Once you plan your menu, create a shopping list and stick to it when you get to the store. Use a mobile app and/or online meal planning service to help you complete this trick with ease. If you like our recipes and what we do, our Meal Planning Service offers a personal touch with menus and recipes designed by Billie and Jen, both licensed holistic health practitioners, with 7 unique menu options to choose from, and all starting for as little as $6/month.
   
   
7. Use the Dirty Dozen List as a Guide-  A couple of additional tools to help you make informed decisions at the grocery store are the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen Lists that The Environmental Working Group Publishes and just updated this year. The 'Dirty Dozen' is the list of the most contaminated produce that you should try to get organic whenever possible. The 'Clean Fifteen' are those that have been deemed the least contaminated. Go to EWG's website and download the list so you can make more informed choices at the grocery store!
   
   
8. Buy Organic What You Eat Most - If you are like most Americans, eating 100% organic even after you've applied these fabulous tips can still be cost prohibitive. We get it and we are just like you! The last tip we have is to just buy organic the items you eat the most of. If you rock a green smoothie or juice each morning, make sure to use organic greens. If you eat chicken 3 nights a week, make sure to get organic, free range. 
   

Hope you picked up a couple new tips to save some cash when buying organic and eating clean. Feel free to share your tips with us as well. 

Happy Saving Friends!
~Billie & Jen

---