So if you haven't noticed lately, I've been posting more deals about organic foods. It's something that has been on my mind for about a year, and then I became friends with this woman and finally subscribed to her feed. Then I watched this movie and it was completely over. My family now hates me.
This has been part of an overall effort in our home to move away from processed foods and towards more whole foods and organics. However, I have to say that this transition (that has been going on for about 2 months now) has not been completely well-received in my house. While my children love the whole-wheat pancakes, they aren't too thrilled about giving up their Kraft Mac & Cheese (we actually had a fight/me-stomping-out-of-the-kitchen-in-tears episode a few weeks ago. I went to the trouble of making homemade mac & cheese and they complained that it wasn't "orange enough")
So what does a Frugal Mom do, when she has 4 other people in the house who are resisting the idea of eating healthier?
1. Understand that change is gradual: Both my children and my husband have been used to eating a certain way for many years. I need to find healthier "copycat recipes" of their favorites....and then I can scale those back to be even healthier.
2. There is nothing wrong with using up the stockpile: If you have seen my TV spots, you know I have an obscene stockpile of processed foods. Am I throwing it away? No...I was taught that wasting food is a sin. Am I donating it? No. It seems hypocritical to donate it...as if those foods aren't "good enough" for my family, but they are for an in-need family? We will be using up the stockpile of processed foods, but we will be mixing them with a much more healthy menu and being way more conscious of the foods we buy in the future.
3. Find healthy alternatives for the children: Jonathan laid out what was a very well-rehearsed and compelling argument last night as to why he should get back his Cocoa Puffs and Goober Grape. It actually broke my heart to say "it's not going to happen!". Finding naturally sweet non-processed alternatives is at the top of my list. I'll worry about scaling the sugar back later.
4. One organic product doesn't mean that all organics are bad: Brad still hasn't forgiven me for (what we call) "the Muir Glen Salsa Incident". Does that mean that we are giving up on organic salsa? No - it means that we will try other products until we find ones that we like (or until tomatoes are dirt-cheap and I can make-and-can my own salsa...I've done it before and it was the best salsa we have ever had)
5. Bake from scratch: one of my childrens favorite meals is whole wheat pancakes. I make them with King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour and whenever I do, I make a quadruple batch and freeze them in individual portions. The kids LOVE them. Before the pumpkin shortage, pumpkin muffins were an every day after school snack. I can make amazing bread from scratch for less than $1 per loaf. It's a worthy endeavor!
6. Scale back on the meat: I have switched to organic meats and it is a KILLER on the budget. We are finding less-expensive alternatives for our proteins.
7. Drink water: giving up soda, flavored waters, etc frees up more money in the budget for nutrient-dense foods. There was a line in Food, Inc that really drove that point home for me: "People are complaining about $3 for a dozen of good eggs, but they're holding a $0.75 soda while they are doing it!". Think about it: a dozen eggs provides much more goodness than the 4 sodas for the same price do!
Do you have any "Real Food On A Budget" tips? Any "Real Food On A Budget" recipes? Post them in the comments! If you are a blogger, make sure that you use the Simply Linked to link up your posts so we can all enjoy them!
The Thrifty Mama
Love it Mindi! I am so excited that you are doing this!
.-= The Thrifty Mama´s last blog ..Beginner Gardening: Top 5 Plants You Can and Should Grow =-.
Lynn
I saw this on twitter and love the idea. I just posted today about how I make homemade baking mixes. It fits this theme well. I love making at home versions of things. They are almost always healthier and cheaper than what I can buy.
Dara
The story about the person holding a can of soda while complaining about the price of eggs stuck with me too. However, it hasn't made me want to give up my Diet Coke so much as it made me switch to buying eggs from ethically raised chickens. It is hard to change our way of thinking so that the best deal is NOT just about the lowest price.
.-= Dara´s last blog ..Muffins for a Cause =-.
sarah (GenMom)
Oh, this is great! You have such awesome ideas. I went to the store and bought organic and it DOUBLED my grocery bill. I have to figure out how to better watch costs and still eat healthy. It is hard.
.-= sarah (GenMom)´s last blog ..GIVEAWAY Contest: Year Supply of Hillshire Farm Products =-.
Billie
I agree completely. After seeing "Food Inc.", we changed. I am thankful that my family supports me. I have 3 children and I have told them everything that I am learning...what is good/bad and WHY it's good/bad. I wanted them to why i'm not buying junk anymore and letting them watch this movie support it all the way. We also joined Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution. Buying meat like we used to, is no longer an option. I simply couldn't stomach buying it anymore after watching the movie. Our weekly menu's changed. I buy a package of organic hamburger, which is 4.99/lb, but I use it for 2 meals a week. The rest of the week is veggie, whole wheat pastas, tofu dishes. I will buy the organic meat, eggs, milk. Limiting chicken to once every other week, $7.99/lb is ouchy, again, I don't care! I don't trust the system anymore. I will make, bake more and buy what I can in meat(organic), but we will be using more beans, tofu and have more veggie dishes. This movie opened my eyes and I am so thankful for that. I will be going planting a garden this year and visiting our local farmers markets this year for deals on locally grown food too.
Kelly
Thanks Mindi! I love this link up.
I just wrote about having your own Food Revolution!
I think it's one of the longest posts I've written.
ashley
One of the reasons I didn't find your site as usefull as I would have liked: I don't buy just anything, like mac and cheez, no matter how cheap it is. Looking forward to what you can come up with. For my family, no more meat products from the local chain grocer, and dialing back on everything. Sure, it costs more, but can my husband and afford to eat less? Sure. And do I want only the best, healthy, and filling foods going into my kids? No Question.
Emily
How are your thumbs? You can grow your own tomatoes for making salsa...
.-= Emily´s last blog ..Thursday 13: Earth Day =-.
Lena P
Mindi, dear, if I have met you in person, I would give you a million kisses for this! In my personal opinion this is the best thing I have watched you do on this blog since I started reading it. I am so excited. Also, thank you again for telling us about the movie. I too noticed the line about the eggs and soda. You can ALWAYS find a better alternative to processed foods. And (with no judgement) I never ever gime my toddler any mac-and-cheese stuff. But I watched this movie the other night and today I went to ACME and was so lost! I didn't know what to buy and what to trust. So I ended up buying some lean "natural" ground turkey instead of pounds of just the regular ACME chicken I usually get. So I made a little change today. Then I bought some frozen ACME veggies. Then I crossed the road and went to local farmer's market and bought a bunch of fruits and vegetables. But I really need your help eating raw and organic and still try to stay withing the same budget... If it is at all possible. I only have one baby and her precious life just started so I want to only feed her the best food I possibly can. So right now we are trying to eat as much fruits and veggies as we can. She ONLY drinks water. I also drink coffee and only water. She never ate a french fry in her life, never tried a sip of soda. I am telling you guys this just for inspiration, please don't get offended. She loves broccoli, apples, bananas, raw carrots as snacks. I just never gave her nothing else, so she didn't have a choice but to eat this. Also the juices: the real juices... I never ever buy "juice", as they call it. These beverages contain too much sugar and other bad stuff, so I purchased a refurbirshed Juicer on amazon.com and juice everythinhg possible. So that's something we drink besides water and bad bad bad for you coffee ))) Sorry for this long comment.
Celia
Hey, I am THRILLED that you are moving toward organic foods. Without boring you with every detail of my life, after much research I moved myself and my husband to about 50% organic about two years ago. Trader Joes is an excellent resource for organic foods that are well priced. Your kids may like Annie's mac and cheese. My husband was EXTREMELY resistant to organic food and was only doing it to indulge me for about a year. He is still horrified by how much the meat costs. But now that we have a baby ( we tried to conceive for three years and I believe eating a cleaner diet helped us) and I am breastfeeding he is completely on board. I also stopped storing our food in plastic and store it in glass whenever possible.
.-= Celia´s last blog ..Bird is a freakin genius. =-.
Carrie
I am so happy you are doing this! I was raised eating healthy, natural foods and very few processed foods came in our house. Now that I have a family, I am raising them the same way.
A few tips:
1. Look for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in your area to get vegetables and fruits from during the growing season. You can save so much money on fresh, ORGANIC produce. Some CSAs also have meat and eggs.
2. Shop for Quick Sales/Manager's Specials. At Wegmans, I scan the organic meat section for the organge stickers that indicate sale. Tops uses yellow stickers and often have dairy products reduced by 50%. The expiration date is usually a day or two away but you can freeze it.
3. Organic coupons are hard to find, but I have contacted the companies I buy from and requested coupons. Also, many companies will send out coupons if you subscribe to their newsletter.
4. Store brand organic products are good. My kids love Wegmans Organic Apple Juice.
5. BJs carries organic foods. I buy milk, yogurt and produce there - the prices great.
6. Educate yourself about which foods are high in pesticides. For example, I will only buy organic strawberries but will buy conventional asparagus since it is least likely to be contaminated with pesticides.
Hope this helps and I hope your family takes it easy on you!
Melissa
Mindi, I have not personally done this (our current house doesn't allow for enough freezer space) but you could investigate buying a cow directly. I saw this as an option for getting organic meat once on Jon & Kate Plus 8 (can't believe I once watched that....) But anyway, they came up with a list of how many pounds of each kind of cut they were interested and then drove out to a farm and got it. I know it would be a big expense all at once, but buying direct would probably save a ton in the long run! Good luck!!
Manisha
Mindi, I have been making this switch for a while. I don't have anyone in my house who resists me, and part of my switch is because of newly discovered food allergies, but even still, it's hard.
One thing I'm learning is that in general, a small locally owned natural food store or co-op is much cheaper than the grocery store. My grocery store carries only some organic things and they don't mark them on sale often. A natural food store will be the same or less as a regular grocery store, and things will actually go on sale. Many of mine take coupons. This week, one of them had organic strawberries for 4.99 on sale, but they also have a $2 off fresh berries, so I walked out with a container for 3 bucks. In the regular grocery store, it's at least 7 or 8 bucks - more probably. I think even on BOGO sale, the best I could do for regular strawberries at Acme was 2.50/piece, and I'm happy to pay the extra 50 cents.
Farmers Markets/Co-ops have the best produce prices especially now. There is one every Sunday here and it's amazing. For $15 bucks, I can get everything I need for a week including salad greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and some fruit - all organic or at least, all natural.
Trader Joe's has the best price on organic milk and cheese. A guy in Kennett Square has the best price on alternative flours (I can't have wheat anymore). A store near my house has the best prices on organic frozen foods. Another place carries organic beans for 1.50/lb. I just kinda keep track of who has the best for each thing, and I group trips together.
Lastly, I shop at a local butcher now who has only free range meat - fed no hormones or antibiotics. I buy chicken breast in 10 lb boxes for 4.50/lb (but it's already broken out and packaged into 1 lb groups, skinless, and boneless, basically ready to be thrown on the grill). I also go in on a 1/4 steer with my mom 2-3 times a year and it works out to about 4 bucks/lb. Yeah, that seems like a lot for ground beef, but besides it being free of scary hormones, you also would get things like porterhouse, sirloin, flank, filet mignon, etc that I could never afford to eat - especially the non mainstream varieties.
So, as you said, it's a process. I figured it's probably ok to have Kraft Mac and Cheese or Coco Puffs once in a while. And, not everything organic is healthy - organic oreo-like cookies are still cookies. So, I dunno, is that worth buying organic? Maybe it is. Or maybe it's ok to buy regular ones much more occasionally than before and enjoy them for what they are.
Kathy Bampfield
Hi Mindi,
I work at Whole foods, Plymouth meeting, I know this is a challenge when you start trying to help your family eat healthier. I have been following your example since 1995. I started shopping at Freshfields when I was pregnant,
then when I decided to get a part time job I went to work at Wholefoods 2 years ago. My tip for you is to start with the store brand...365...They have organic and non organic....If you have looked into a WF value system you will notice that even the non organic brand is superior to conventional...
Your cocoa puff delima can be solved with 365 cosmic cocos...sugar is 10 mg but it is a least an organic product...the mild 365 salsa is good ,( my favorite is Paul Newmans though)...Go for your dirties foods first....and everyone has there own personal preference....so keep at and good luck.
I'm not speaking for Wholefoods, I have been following Mindi for quite some time and felt I should speak up in support so everything I just said is my own opinion.
Kathy
Cinnamontoastgirl
I cannot speak enough praise about Trader Joes in this arena...I lived across the street from one for a couple of years, and did all of my grocery shopping there, mostly organic. Their prices are so great, like $2 ketsup without HFCS,usually only 20 cents more a pound or so for organic produce vs. regular, great prices on organic dairy. Now, living in a town without a Joe's, I spend MORE on groceries from the local grocery store than I did at the "specialty" store; even with coupons, and unfortunately am buying less organic due to affordability. When we travel to a city with a Joe's, we stock up. Good luck on your endeavor!
Kacie
Congratulations on taking such a huge step! I've been gradually doing much the same for the past few years, learning every step of the way how to cut costs, where to find great deals, etc. It's an adventure, to say the least!
We've gotten deeper into healthier and frugal eating lately by adding Nourishing Traditions principles to our habits. A great primer is Nina Planck's Real Food, then find Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon (actually mostly a cookbook, but highly imformative!). If you're already making most of your foods at home, the techniques she uses, especially for baked goods and meats, make foods taste the way they were intended to taste (instead of mealy and bitter grain breads, with a smidge of effort, you get wholesome, light, and fluffy results! and the pot roast is exquisite...).
Finding a good Whole Foods/Trader Joe's type of store is the best way to save money on real foods (especially meats--Trader Joe's has the cheapest fish I can find), but if there's not one nearby, Walmart and Target are stepping up their efforts to meet organic and whole food demands, you just have to dig a little.
We're still getting used to spending more on food (I used to be quite the dealfinder in my processed food days!), but realizing that you're saving money in the long run on your healthcare costs and personal welfare sees to balance out the extra fundage.
Blessings on your journey!
.-= Kacie´s last blog ..naturally, it makes sense… =-.
Amanda
We try to strike a balance with healthy food in our family as well. One of the realizations we came to was that chemicals ON our body are probably just as bad as chemicals that we put in our mouths. So, we've been slowly replacing our shampoos, detergents, hairsprays, etc with more natural versions when we find them at reasonable prices. It is kind of a lot of work, so we have been slowly but surely finding moderately-priced brands of natural beauty products. Slowly replacing your food options is a great idea- good luck!
PS You could always make Kraft Mac and Cheese a "special treat" food! I actually love a bowl of the orangey stuff every once in a while, too!
.-= Amanda´s last blog .."Beans and Rice, Rice and Beans" =-.
Diana
I think it's great you're doing this. Even though we try to keep our food budget under $100 per week I still buy almost all organic, whole foods. I have a chicken and eggs CSA (where the farmer slaughters the chicken the day before herself!) and I buy half a steer every fall. It's not certified organic but it comes close--free range, all grass fed, etc. I have a fruit and veggie CSA with another farm and that's great. It's almost all organic so I make sure to pay for extras to freeze for the winter. I buy the store brand gallons of org milk (Harris Teeter has a great sale this week of $3.99 for a gallon!!) and my organic chicken breast from Costco, only $5.99 per pound for beautiful cuts that are almost completely free of fat. Good luck to you! It's worth the extra amount of money to save on future health costs.
Melissa S.
Hi!
Thanks so much for the increased blogging on organic foods! I am so excited about this!! I am trying to incorporate more into our diets!
Also, you might be interested in knowing about Danda Farms in Lancaster, PA. (I'm not sure where you are located, but you seem somewhat close?!) It's my Dad's farm and I manage the small store on the farm for him. We sell organic beef, chicken, and dairy products. Ground Beef (regularly $4.49) is 20% off when you purchase 100lbs, so it is a pretty good deal. (You can spit it up with a friend or two.) It is all frozen and cryvacked, so it last for a while in the freezer! Let me know if you have any questions. . . I'm more than happy to return the favor since you have helped me so much in the past few months as I've been learning to coupon! Thanks
kathleen
i have watched about half of this movie and am truely distuded by what is going on in this country. i seen that part you where talking about. it is so true! i love eggs so would be more then happy to pay $3. that still makes a cheap meal! i am so excited you are doing these. i want to change my familys diet.
Julie
I'm looking forward to seeing more about your switch. After seeing the movie, we've decided to make some changes around here, too.
We don't have any Trader Joe's/Whole Foods-type stores near enough to make shopping there regularly an option. We do grow most of our own produce. I know the switch away from "regular" meat is going to pose a real challenge to the grocery budget, so advice there is much appreciated.
Oh, and when you discover a bright orange alternative to boxed mac and cheese, please share it. My four year old will be ever so grateful.
Adriana
I'm not entirely sure what you consider "processed food", but I'm gonna second the Annie's Mac and Cheese comment. I just tried it today, and it's the same shape as Kraft Mac & Cheese and the same orange color. However, it's made with organic whole wheat pasta, and it's colored with some natural food coloring. I thought it was a bit lacking in flavor, but I did add more milk than the instructions said.
Anyways, good luck in your venture! I am slowly moving that way, and I'm exciting to see what you have to say!
Jan
Count me in on those happy to see more info on organic food. I found that a 5-lb bag of organic carrots is $3.99 at Giant, while a 2-lb bag of regular carrots is $1.89 ... we have carrots for lunch snacks, so 5 lbs isn't too much! I've been introducing more healthful items a bit at a time (but we still have cake and cookies occasionally!), and I've always stretched meat and had meatless dinners (waffle night is always a big hit). Oh, and now that my DS is a teen, and hungry 24/7, getting him to eat more fruits and veggies is almost easy!
Julie
You can mix something in to the homemade mac-n-cheese to make it more orangey, like baby food carrots or baby food butternut squash, although it will change the flavor slightly. We don't eat the boxed stuff, and my son has really only ever had it at friends' houses, so he doesn't really notice or complain about it. We don't buy that much organic, I guess, because whatever Michael Pollan and those guys say, my husband and one of my sons cannot actually afford to eat less than they do--they are already thin and lose weight at the drop of a calorie. It's a constant struggle to keep weight on them, and I mean just enough weight to keep them healthy. So, we eat a lot of meat, and I really and truly cannot afford to buy organic meat most of the time. We do buy meat from local farmers and a local butcher, and we know they're mostly "free-range" animals and not given antibiotics, and so it's good enough for me. I also buy local produce during our very short but awesome season here (eastern Idaho) and can and freeze like crazy, so that we have a good supply of fruit (no, not all organic, not by any means, but any fruit is better than no fruit) all winter without breaking the budget. I also buy cases of tomatoes from a local grower and make everything from fancy condiments and salsa to "tomato soup base" and things of that nature for convenient, homemade food all year.
alex Martin
I am East African so eating in America the last ten years has been an education. Beans, green bananas, yucca and the such is great part of my diet. Eating organic is a nice concept I embrace when I can but I am not married to it. Go to ethnic stores and explore those foods. Sometimes the prices are pretty good, sometimes so-so. When you mix up your foods and introduce your palate to different tastes, you will crave a variety. That will a long way in pulling you away from a standard of eating. My sister hates vegetables, I adore them. If I make a gravy from whatever I am making, ie curry chicken or italien sembola ( african with italien) she will eat them. It just about engaging the senses. Bon Chance!
Nicole
Last year a friend and I split a steer for the first time. We got it from a local farmer here in Berks Co. Our share was approx. 200 lbs. and we received some of every cut of meat and paid 1.04/lb! The 2nd steer was slightly more expensive, but not much. And considering it was local, grass-fed, etc. I think it was well worth it. We are trying a pig this week for the first time. Obviously, you need the freezer space and the money up front but in the end it really is beneficial in many ways! Definitely an option to consider.