[~*Bethy*~]

We have a budget of about $350 a month for food. Is this possible to do with the more pricey organic foods? I LOVE whole foods, but still feel very intimidated when I walk in there. I want to be able to cook/bake and freeze. Anyone (Like Resi) care to share some insight on buying organic? (organic on a budget - now theres a new blog name for me LOL!!) Thanks ladies!!

~Beth

ETA: I should mention, that Im going back on my high protein diet starting december 1st, so would this help out a lot?

[bittersweet]

I don't think *I* could do 100% organic on $350 a month...especially if you are on a high protein diet with a lot of meat. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I buy mostly organic and I don't think it would be possible. Organic meat is outragous priced. I want to say plain old ground beef (and not even the super lean kind) is around $10/lbs. Boneless skinless chicken breasts are around that too. Its hard to pay that when I can buy chicken breasts on sale for $1.87/lbs.

I would suggest picking and choosing what you buy organic ...and stay far away from Whole Foods if you have other organic grocery options. I LOVE Trader Joe's. They have great prices and tons of options. They don't have a huge produce section, but it covers the basics. All their products are natural made of whole ingredients. So even if I buy something there that isn't organic, I still feel good about my family eating it. They sell organic meats, but they also have nice grass/vegetarian fed options that I buy most of the time.

Other tips: eat less meat, more beans and lentils (or tufo if you like it). You can make a large pot of bean and/or lentil soup that will last a long time (or freeze for later) for very cheap.


One other tidbit that I wish someone told me....don't buy fresh organic brocoli that is shrink wrapped! Unless of course, you don't mind eating bugs. I'd be fine washing off a bug or two. But for some reason, organic brocoli is often COVERED in bugs. They are small, greenish, and tiny...and they hide on the underside of the brocoli inside the florets, so they are hard to spot. You won't notice them until you unwrap it and start washing and cutting. I only will buy organic brocoli if it is free of plastic wrap so I can really inspect th florets well before getting home.

[~*Bethy*~]

Thank you! I was actually told to go frozen or dried for fruits and veggies this time of year. If its got a peel or fuzzy skin, go with non organic, but if its just something you eat without peeling, then organic is the way to go to get away from the pesticides that live in the skin of the food. I can be a big pea/beans/tofu person, but I love me some hamburger! I ate a lot of nuts, beans and corn/rice pasta (in moderation) when I was on the gestational diabetes diet (high protein) cut out alot of the hidden sugars.

I was mainly thinking of going all organic to see if it would help my IBS. I have a super sensitive stomach that most foods you buy in a regular grocery store just send my stomach into spasms.

[Resi]

It would be extremely hard for me to do $350 per month. I spend around $150 per week sometimes more and sometimes less. Are you big meat eaters? We only buy poultry and seafood/fish. Sometimes bacon on occasion. The organic meat and produce is what adds up fast! I do buy the 365 brand to save some. If you have a Trader Joes near by that might help save a little money too. I'm sorry but I'm not help because I have a hard time when it comes to saving on groceries. Some months I spend $800!

Also, when I shop at WF I don't always buy organic. All of their meat and other products are very natural so I'm okay with non organic foods when it comes to certain items. When it comes to some fruits and veggies I will go with frozen to save money like brocoli. And yuck! I never heard of the bug thing!

[soImarriedAnerd]

What reason are you switching? (health, environmental, etc?) I ask because if your looking out for the planet buying local non organic is better than organic from far away, and eating less meat makes the biggest impact--local or not. If you doing it for health... Prioritize things... like if you eat the skin go organic (berries) but if you don't eat this skin go normal (bananas). What will you eat the most of? Try to find local farmers/co-ops that sell you baskets per month at a good price...kind of makes you try new things also.
And why high protein? (just wondering LOL) Look up the tons of things that are high protein that are not meats---because like someone else said---organic meat is $$$$$$$$$$.

[~*sierra*~]

i was going to suggest local farmers markets too. you can get a lot of really fresh stuff from that type of place. where i live they have a whole network of different organic farmers markets on all different days of the week. also local farms that offer pastured beef, pork, poultry often sell their meat for a LOT less than you'd pay at Whole Paycheck...i mean Whole Foods! I get my meats from a local farmer & he also does fresh eggs from chickens that have not been fed soy (i have no idea why this is good but my uber natural foodie friend assures me its what i want lol). I also normally get my milk, butter, cheese, yogurt etc from a local dairy farmer, but that's harder to find i think (so great & fresh though!)

The pastured meat i think is the main thing. Here you arent allowed to call your meat 'organic' unless its certified by some place that charges the farmers an arm and a leg to get certified. so to keep it more affordable he just calls it pastured & really it is organic too, i mean its eating plain old nature! his bacon is sooooooooooooo much better than regular bacon.

[sara~b]

Our vet for our horses raises cattle and does so without antibiotics, steroids, and the like. He also lets them be free range most of the time. Every year we (my mom, grandma, aunt, and I) buy one and the vet slaughters it and has it processed/butchered for us. It usually costs about $5/lb and we each end up with about 60 pounds, a mix of ground beef, steaks, stew meat and the like.

It lasts my family about a year, along with venison from my step-dad's hunting, and turkey and chicken from our farm. Since we raise chickens we also have fresh eggs.

We raise some vegetables in the garden as well so we have fresh carrots, lettuce, etc.

If you can make friends with a local farmer, grow a garden, buy local, etc. you'll be just fine. Don't pay for the organic label, pay for the quality.

[Resi]

I've tried local farms, food co-ops, and farmers markets. They seem to be the same price as WF or more. Maybe it depends on where you live.

[**jessie**]

I really don't 'agree' with organic meats. I think the certification is a load of BS. For example, for a beef farmer to be certified organic all the hay/grain that the cattle eat have to be certified organic. In Oregon, there are NO certified farms selling organic hay and therefore all of it has to be shipped up from California which imo does nothing except to raise prices... which is silly since Oregon grows much better hay than CA.

Okay that was a little side tracked. What I would suggest would be to buy 1/4 beef and 1/2 pig from one of the local butchers. It won't have the official organic sticker on it. We've gotten a 1/2 pig from Buxton's in Sandy. Also have you thought about maybe raising a pig yourself? If you have a place for one it is SUPER easy. I have done it many times before. Pigs are slaughtered between 8-10 months old so not a huge commitment

Here's another place out by Tillamook selling beef really reasonably priced. Foss Road Beef LLC

[Mjp121212]

I was gonna suggest buying the half cow half pig thing. We do that here and you can even go and pick out which you want....which is kinda morbid in a way lol. I don't like eating my steak and remember the cow who donated it to me. but at any rate, the meat is much better. There's a local grocer here who sells natural meat and that's what I generally buy and it's actually cheaper than the nasty tube stuff at walmart (ICK that's stuff is GROSS) I also go to a farmer who is deacon of the church I attend to get fresh milk and butter......but I hate the stuff so I don't drink it or eat it. I buy a lot of organic stuff for health because Brayden metabolizes things differently....but he doesn't eat a lot of things now so I don't spend too much. for myself, I get carrots that are organic and that I know where they came from because of the soil. I also HATE the plastic wrapped broccoli and refuse to eat it if I see bugs. I generally get produce from my aunt's garden and freeze it for later. If Not, like I didn't get to this year, then I get frozen. Same for chicken, I try to just get the natural chicken that's been grain fed----and here I can get it for about the same price. Eggs i don't eat a lot of but I have a friend who has a farm and sells then for 2.50 to 3.00/dz. about every other month my aunt and uncle travel to amish country and get eggs and cheese (and fudge )

[~*Bethy*~]

We are mainly switching to help out our diets. hubby is wheat intollerant, but is starting to have joint issues. I have servear IBS and need to cut out processed foods. The kids just need wholesome food, so why not switch them as well. With hubby's celiac, its getting easier to find foods that are "gluten free" but all the crap they put into the foods to get it that way is amazing. Not liking the way commercialized gluten free is heading. With my high protein diet, I just want to make sure Im getting the best out of the foods that I can get. We are cooking all of our meals from scratch, including the bread we eat. I went to my WIC appointment today, and they informed me that the fruit and veggie vouchers can be used for organic foods, so this makes it a lot easier for the produce.

Speaking of organic hay, Jessie, our batch we had about a year ago was actually certified organic orchard grass. Not sure where my barn owner bought it, as she goes through a broker for hay since we buy 5+ tons at a time.