Switching to organic on a budget - which are the most important to start?

[Michelle T]

If I want to start switching over to organic foods, which foods are the most important? I'm not doing everything, because that would double my grocery bill.

So, which foods do you feel have the biggest organic "bang for the buck"?
Michelle T

[Sue G in PA]

Here are a few foods you should consider going organic w/ b/c they contain the most pesticides:
strawberries
lettuce
carrots
blueberries (any berries really)
most soft-skinner or no skinned fruits

I think it was Dr. Mercola's webiste that had a list of fruits/veggies w/ the most pesticides.

Dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.)

Meat (if you can't find organic, find free-range chicken, grass-fed beef from cows not fed hormones/antibiotics, etc.).

It's hard to go organic (cost-wise), but one quote I heard was, "Pay the farmer now or the doctor later!". Jury's still out on buying organic processed foods as to whether they are worth it. IMHO...it's not! Processed is still processed!

[Michele in New Zealand]

We started with milk and yoghurt. Then I started ordering a box of mixed fruit and veg from our local organic shop. Now we do peanut butter, rice, quinoa, pasta, sauces, dressings, etc., some fruit and veg, organic soya milk and organic soya yoghurt. Any corn or canola product must be organic or I will not touch it for GE reasons.

We cannot afford to do all organic right now bit I figure that some is better than none. In winter we will start getting the organic fruit and veg box as well.

[Mrs. H.]

I started with dairy products and meat (dh started hunting our meat, so that's taken care of), and then I began growing an organic vegetable garden at home. If you live in an apartment or have a small yard, you can still garden in raised beds or even pots. There are some great books about container gardening, and you can even have fruit trees in containers.

[angela in ohio]

The cheapest way to start (and you may have already done this) is to eliminate all processed food. That is waaay more important than eating organic. Next we did milk and meat products, as hormones and antibiotics were my bigeest concern. Finally, we went to organic nuts, berries, lettuces, grapes, and apples. Also, we use organic tomato products (tomato sauce, etc.)

It can get expensive if you buy organic packaged foods, but those aren't really good for you anyway, so save the money. :D

[Liz CA]

If I want to start switching over to organic foods, which foods are the most important? I'm not doing everything, because that would double my grocery bill.

So, which foods do you feel have the biggest organic "bang for the buck"?
Michelle T

it would switching to organic strawberries. The non-organic ones are laden with pesticides. I would also replace other conventionally grown fruit/veggies with organic ones. If this proves too pricey, you can buy solutions to scrub some things off harder fruits like apples & pears. Can't remember the name of the washing solution.
The next step I would take is milk & other dairy.

[~Tara~]

Ooo good thread! I'm interested in this as well.

We've decided to start with anything coming from a cow. And we do eggs as well, simply because the cost difference isn't much. (compared to other 'good' eggs from some place like WalMart)

I can still get 'natural' chicken..some may have a saline solution injected, which, I don't prefer, but, it's the lesser of evils right now, in my opinion. So, I've not gone organic there yet.

And fruits/veggies...we are just such a 'crew' and go through so much of it...*ouch*...I can't do it yet.

We decided the beef/dairy was the best place to start for us.

Thanks for mentioning Mercola...I'll mosey over there and see what he has to say. I always forget to search his site for stuff. :p

[Claire]

If I want to start switching over to organic foods, which foods are the most important? I'm not doing everything, because that would double my grocery bill.

So, which foods do you feel have the biggest organic "bang for the buck"?
Michelle T

I considered dairy and meat to be the best to start with, in part because we ate so much of them every day. It seemed to me that organic butter was very important because of the fat content. Next most important dairy for us was milk.

What helped us with the meat budget was cutting way back on beef and preparing many more meatless main courses. Natural bacon got too expensive so we still buy bacon in 3-packs at Sam's Club, but instead of eating it every week we eat it once a month. We still eat non-organic pork, but again just once a month. We discovered that organic roasting chickens taste a lot better, so we never buy non-organic roasting chickens anymore. However, we will buy "natural" rather than "organic" chicken breasts. We have cut down on all the meat purchases, however, by eating so many more meatless meals.

Next on the list would be eggs. However, when organic eggs become ridiculously expensive I go back to regular. (My dd is an older teen now. If she were still in elementary school, I would stick to organic eggs.)

I will buy only organic strawberries now because of the pesticide content. I can't always find organic apples. When I buy non-organic fruits and potatoes, I try to always peel off the skin and discard. The skin is where most of the pesticides reside.

[Doran]

The reason it's tricky is because no one else knows your family's eating/buying habits the way you do. So, I generally try to answer by suggesting that you take a look at what you eat most, proportionally, and then what you can afford, really, and finally what's most important to you.

Sure, it makes sense to buy organic strawberries, because they are one of the more heavily sprayed products. But, if, like us, you only eat strawberries when they are in season (spring), and don't necessarily buy into the idea that eating strawberries from Chile in February is any better in the global sense...well, you see where it gets confusing. Or, let's say you only eat strawberries once a month, but you have apples available in a basket for your kids every day, well then I'd try to switch out the apples.

Think, too, in terms of what your kids eat in comparison to their body weight. Again, for example, apples, or maybe green peppers, which are pretty high on the list of residual pesticides. Maybe they drink a lot of milk (many kids do), or eat chicken at nearly every meal. These are the places I suggest people focus first because it will make the most difference in your lives to look there.

There was a thread the other day wherein I suggested a number of sites that might be useful as you begin this journey. I'm hoping you can click here (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7189) to get there. If not, it was called "Organic Living", so you could search that.

I have not done a good job of saying yet that I think you're making a good choice, and I applaud your efforts. Take it slowly and know that it can feel overwhelming -- so just tackle one thing or two at a time.

Peace, and I hope this helps a little ~ :)
Doran

[momo4]

I would add corn to the veggie list, just because the genetically modified DNA they use for corn production is horrific.

I would start with fats. Toxins are stored in fat. Dairy, meat, and nuts. Look around some times there are some small local shops that carry local "all natural" meats and dairy that are much cheaper than the health food store, because they don't pay for the organic label. Ask lots of questions. Sometimes all natural means organic grassfed without the certification and sometimes it doesn't.

Farmer's Markets are a good bet too. Especially if you go towards the end of the market when they make bargains.