Can I Afford Organic Produce? Days 14-16 Clean Food

This is the question we face every time we go in the grocery store.  When we see the produce, we're always looking for the lowest price.  So why buy the higher priced organic lettuce or apples?  Can we afford it?  Here are some tips about buying produce.

#1.  Know why organic is important.

In the past two years I have wavered between eating some organic produce, and then returning to the lower prices.  "Remembering our why" is important because otherwise we will just buy the low priced food.

In the book True Food, the authors say, "80% of commonly used pesticides today have been classified by NAS (National Academy of Sciences) researchers as potentially carcinogenic."  Pesticides are also linked to birth defects and human reproductive problems.  (Bond, Breyer, and Gordon, p. 93)

Here is a fun link from my friend, Jennifer.  It shows a girl's science experiment using organic and local sweet potatoes.  Click here.

#2.  Start small, begin with the most harmful produce.

Foods to buy organic and some that are okay not to buy organic:

Environmental Working Group's Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen  (These lists help if you can remember them when you are in the grocery store.  I had to write them down when I first learned them.)

ABC News

#3.  Know what is in season, and what you can buy local.  

I love to buy apples at the nearby orchards because they taste so much better than even the organic apples.  Local produce does not have to be shipped far, so we are decreasing energy consumption.  It is also important to support growers in our area.  Usually it will cost less, too.

Farmer's Markets are wonderful options, and they are popping up everywhere.  Buy when it is in season and freeze or can for the winter.  It costs less when it is in season, and it tastes so much better.  We like to freeze fruit when it is in season, then we have it all winter to enjoy.  There is nothing like pulling out frozen blueberries or peaches to enjoy in January!

Simple steps: Lists food that are in season in your area

#4  Grow your own food.  (This is my favorite, but hard to do in January)
We love digging up our own potatoes and going out to the garden to pick all we need for a beautiful salad!  Seeds and starter plants are very inexpensive.  Start with a container or a small plot of ground.

#5  Save money in other areas.
a.  Buy only fresh whole real food.  (You will save money because it will narrow down what you can buy.)

b.  Go plant-based.  You can make many simple meals with organic produce.  Eating lower on the food chain should cost less, so switch some meals from meat to plant-based meals.
Watch Forks over Knives or Planeat documentaries.

c.  Buy in bulk.  I like to go to Miller's Country Market that has bulk grains, flours, beans, nuts, honey, and coconut oil.  I stock up, so that I don't need to pay the higher prices at the grocery store.
Here is a bulk store you can order from online.  (I haven't tried it yet.)  Country Life Natural Foods

d.  Pretend the other harmful options don't exist.

#6  Pay now or Pay Later 
Paying for organic or local food now, will save you later in trips to the doctor, prescriptions, and health problems. Keeping the goal of good health in front of us will help when we are paying a little more now for food.

21 Days of Clean Food:  Days 14-16

Day 14  Dinner:  Veg/Tofu stir-fry with brown rice 

Salad with oranges, golden raisins, walnuts, and cranberries

Day 15 Lunch veggies:  My mom came and cooked us a plant-based meal!

Sorry, we were hungry, and ate it too fast for a picture.  It was boiled potatoes with a wonderful homemade tomato sauce on top, and a side of sweet corn.  The recipe was from Extending the Table Cookbook by Joetta Schlabach.

This is Blane's plate.

Elena and Slade made the homemade whole-wheat tortillas for Dinner.

Refried beans cooked in the crockpot.

Green salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, and yellow peppers.

Evening snack:  Kale and mango smoothie:  Yogurt, mango, kale, bananas, chia seeds, ice

John Deere Green Smoothie:  Just the way Blane loves it!

Day 16:  Breakfast:  Cereal, Lunch:  Refried beans and rice made into burritos, Dinner:  Whole-wheat pita pizza, with fresh garlic, diced tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese/ Salad/ Kale and white bean soup (from the freezer)
Easy Day!

Special Friday Dessert:  Molasses Cookies 

 Molasses Cookies Recipe with Better Ingredients

Cream together:
1 c. butter
1 1/2 c. black-strap molasses
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. flax meal (optional)

Add:
2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/3 c. almond milk

Stir in:
4 1/2 c. whole-wheat flour

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes
Enjoy!

Quick Meals: Half Way Through our 21 Days of Clean Plant-based Food Challenge

Day 8-11 The past four days I've made simple, quick, and clean meals.  This doesn't have to be hard.

Day 8: Stir-fry veggies with left-over brown rice/ Kale and White Bean Soup/ Salad/ carrots and celery/ pineapple

Kale and White Bean Soup

Dark Chocolate

Berry Smoothie:
1/2 c. Greek yogurt
2 leaves Kale
1 c. blueberries
5 ice cubes
1 Tbsp. chia seeds
Place all ingredients in the blender and process until smooth.  

Veggie Sandwiches with Home-made Whole-Wheat Bread (made in the bread machine)

Blane's lunch:  natural peanut butter on Whole-wheat bread, no sugar applesauce, cucumber, and cheese

My biggest encourager, Michael

Day 9

Quick lunch:  100% Whole-wheat pitas from Trader Joes, with organic salsa, and cheese

Dinner:  Sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced, with sliced apples on top, drizzle of honey and sprinkle of cinnamon.  I put a little olive oil and a couple of tablespoons of water on the bottom.  Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.  I covered it with aluminum foil until the last 15 min.

My plate for dinner:  Roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, whole-wheat noodles with arugula, salad
I don't recommend the noodles.  I tried to make them with a cauliflower puree, but it wasn't good.  

Day 10 was spent with Grandma and Grandpa.  We went to the farm show, along with 1/2 the population of PA, at least it felt like it! My big highlight of the farm show when I was a little girl was eating cotton candy.  Not this year!  We ate baked sweet potatoes or white potatoes.  They were so yummy, and it felt good to be strong in the midst of donuts, fries, and funnel cakes.  I'm okay with celebrating sometimes, but not during our 21 days:)

Dinner:  Stir-fry veggies and tofu with brown rice/salad
(I put some chicken in Grandma and Grandpa's stir-fry)

Dessert:  pineapple with Greek yogurt

Day 11
Breakfast:  Eggs/ Whole-wheat bread (easy to make in the bread machine) / pineapple
Lunch:  Veggie Sandwiches with Whole-wheat bread or pitas (hummus makes these yummy)

Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup (from Trader Joes)

I think Mike likes avocados!

Wild Rice and Lentil Soup (Recipe on day 12 and 13)

Final thought from Michael Pollan's Food Rules book:

"There are scores of studies demonstrating that a diet rich in vegetables and fruits reduces the risk of dying from all the Western diseases; in countries where people eat a pound or more of vegetables and fruits a day, the rate of cancer is half what it is in the United States" (Pollan, 2009).

Our goal is to increase our vegetable intake.  Cutting our meat, has helped because we fill our plates with more and more veggies.  We are learning, making good choices one day at a time.  I would love to hear about any plant-based meals you will share in the comments below!  Eat well!