Strategies to Eat Organic and Not Break The Bank

I acknowledge that eating organic food will increase your food budget. I firmly believe that you will be making a very important investment into your health when you purchase organic food. I also firmly believe that you cannot stretch a dollar that isn't there. So, in efforts of fitting organic foods into your budget, consider these ideas.

1. Eating organic will protect your health, so spending your money on organic food will save you money down the line.
2. Free up dollars in your food budget by redirecting money that you currently spend on "junk foods" and use those funds to purchase organic vegetables, fruits and other healthy foods. These are foods that you don't need to be eating, whereas you do need to be eating organic foods.
   • Soda
   • Juice drinks
   • 100% fruit juice (except on occasion)
   • Store-bought pastries, cakes, cookies, etc
   • Ice cream
   • Alcohol
   • Chips
   • Granola bars
3. Rather than spending big-bucks on staple foods that are packaged for convenience, do some of your own home cooking. Replace these foods on your grocery list and dedicate some time to do your own cooking with organic foods.
   • Rice-a-roni, Noodle-Roni and other pre-seasoned boxes of grain-based foods-make your own pilafs
   • Pasta sauce
   • Granola and snack bars-make your own granola bars
   • Dry cereal (Expensive!! Choose rolled oats instead or invest in organic unsweetened cereals and buy in bulk.)
   • Canned beans (cook dried beans instead; cook in bulk and freeze)
   • Frozen entrees (make your own by freezing leftovers of your delicious organic meal)
   • Canned soups
4. Buy less. Eat less. There is an excess of food in this country. Sadly much of that food goes to waste, either into the trash or into our belly. Whenever you eat past the sense of fullness and satiety, that's wasted food, wasted on yourself. So buy less! Make organic a priority and then buy less. By purchasing and preparing less food you will have less waste and throw less food and money away.
5. Eat out less often. Think of how much you spend eating out... Add drinks to that... and you probably spend, at least, $10-$15 per person. I guarantee that you could make a beautiful, delicious organic meal for less than that.
6. Bring your lunch. If you are eating out for lunch every day, redirect those funds to purchasing organic foods and prepare yourself an organic lunch.
7. Eat simply. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store. By eating whole, unprocessed foods, you will fill your grocery cart with less expensive food.
8. Invest in a spice rack. With all this home-cooking that you will be doing, you will need to season up your foods and using herbs and spices is a low cost way to add flavor, interest and positive nutrition to your meals.

Eating organic really becomes an investment in yourself and your family. Yes, it does cost more that other store-bought food, but it does not cost more than eating out nor does organic food cost more than many processed foods. Particularly when you consider how useless processed foods are for you, it makes sense to purchase less processed and more organic.Make time to cook and reorganize your budget to start making more organic food choices. Remember that you don't have to be 100% organic, 100% of the time. Each small step towards organic eating makes a difference in your health and to the health of the environment.Material on this blog is provided for informational purposes only. It is general information that may not apply to you as an individual, and is not a substitute for personalized nutrition or health advice or healthcare. Never disregard medical advice or delay seeking medical care because of something you have read or accessed through this website.