Speaking of Eating Organic - and Budget

I tend to just not focus on the "actual item by item price". Of course the organic version of things is pretty much always WAY MORE expensive. And even going to various sources to scout everything out takes time and gas money. I just embrace the prices (I can tell when things are organic or not, and like you, have found the good sources) and cut our costs ELSEWHERE in our budget.

Yes, our milk is much more expensive than our neighbor's milk, but I don't go the the salon-I do my own nails. Boom. Saved a bundle. Yes, the organic veggies in my cart are more than the others, but we have NO BEVERAGES or packaged food in our cart-we drink water and don't eat meat. Once in a blue moon, we splurge for the hormone free grass fed organic chicken...or some Pepperoni Paul Newman's pizza...but we eat so little of the meat products-the cost is not really an issue. We share one car that is paid off, we don't have any TV service, we barley buy any new clothes, we get all our books at the library, we don't buy toys, we rarely eat out....and our healthy groceries are expensive. It's all about priorities.

When people are ALWAYS focused on getting the VERY CHEAPEST stuff, that's how terrible industries (Wal Mart) get out of control. Sometimes it's about buying lesser quantities of better things from local shops. I understand when a family is so poor that their budget can't get any leaner, they can't opt for the expensive groceries, but lots of people waste plenty of money and then claim organic food is ridiculous. The more we support those products, the more people will grow to those standards, and the prices will improve. Good work!

Sorry, didn't answer question...I guess we cut costs elsewhere. Also, I stock up on the organic products (cans, boxes) we buy when they are on sale and avoid them when they're not.

A garden helps a lot. As others have said you can grow herbs, cherry tomatoes, peppers in pots very easily.
We have a strawberry pot we love so much. It's only about 12 plants in a big pot with the little holes. You drill some holes in a plastic pipe and insert it down the middle before you fill with dirt, this will make it easy to water the whole pot at once by filling the exposed pipe. Then plant four plants on top and one in each little hole. The first year you'll get some berries and once it's established you'll get a lot more. We planted 1/2 everbearing and 1/2 summer harvest, so for several months out of the year we pick fresh, organic berries. It is surprisingly productive and at the price of organic berries very economical.

Our lunch meat is $12 a pound if it makes you feel better. Chicken $9 per pound, steak is $20... And non of that is organic.

BEST deal on beef I've found is buying 1/8th a cow. Requires a deep freeze, but those are cheap, considering. Similarly, I buy 6-12 frozen Turkeys during the holiday season when they're 11-30 cents per pound instead of $6 a pound. Bake one a month (or every other month), for lunch meat. Ditto corned beef, etc.

Ditto what you already do. If you have a bakery nearby, day old bread is 1-4 weeks fresher than cellophane bread, and typically 1/2 the cost.

What is the dirty dozen?

ETA
Thanks for the link...I had never seen this before. Helps with reading your question and some comments in other questions.

In addition to what SB said, plant your favorite vegetables in pots...that way you can have veggies all year long because you can move them indoors when it gets too cold (which is what? about 3 days of the year in Texas?)

I buy my meat from a co-op I belong too. These are some farms I know they buy from. Walnut Creek Farms, and Livestock First Ranch. I don't know if they are close to you, but they are sold at some farmer's markets too. Perhaps, you could contact them and ask which ones. We (family of 3) spend $60 a month on meat. We eat 3 meals with meat per week, and 4 vegetarian meals. That's how we can afford to eat cleanly. We also do farmers markets and get produce from Bountiful Baskets. If you haven't heard of them check on their website and see if they have a location near you. (Wait until tomorrow, they are in the middle of the ordering cycle, and the listings of the entire state aren't up. Ordering your basket is from Monday at noon, until Tuesday evenings. If they have a sight near you, it's likely sold out by now...and you won't be able to see it.) www.bountifulbaskets.org

We also have a large garden. That saves us a ton on money.

Hey T., I live by you. What farmer's market do you go to? I'd love to check it out. I'm just starting on getting healthier, especially since my youngest is now getting on the Feingold diet.

We have a garden. Cheap, organic, we plant what we like and our kids get to learn about food. It's not huge, but we pack a lot into it.

Your local grocery store most likely carries organic products. We use Publix which is based here in Florida and they have a nice variety of organic products. Target does too but they are more expensive. They also sell local produce or I check out local farmers markets.

There are some foods that are worth the extra money, like fresh fruits and veggies. Some are worse than others with the pesticides. If you look at the cost of buying processed foods or ready to serve meals compared to buying organic stuff and making your own meals the cost is cheaper to make your own.

I don't buy too many snack type items. I let my daughter eat fruits or veggies for a snack. I see many companies jump on the band wagon with organic crackers, cookies and stuff like that. I just don't regularly buy them only sometimes as a treat.

We've haven't totally gotten into eating everything fresh/better...but we're on our way. For beef we split a cow with a friend of ours at church. This guy raises his cows and bulls on a farm and they are fed with no steroids, just the old fashioned way off the land way. He does this 3 or 4 times a year. If you're interested ms me and I'll let you know the next time he's ready. The most amazing thing I found from this is there is not a ton of grease from the meat, plus the hamburger patties don't shrink when you cook them. LOL... My girls did plant a small garden and the veggies from that were so delicious. If anyone has an idea on how to get farm raised (non steroid) chickens, I'd love to know about it.

Another healthy, money saving option is buying in bulk. If you have a health food or co-op store nearby you can usually get all kinds of staples there, flour, oats, beans, rice, coffee, etc.

I buy beef from the cousin of an employee. I used to buy eggs from the friend of a friend who had backyard chickens. I buy lamb from someone at work who raises a few lambs for extra $$. All very reasonably priced. Not certified organic, but locally and humanely raised. I found these people just by asking around.

I have a vegetable garden which I am enlarging this Spring (the better to feed our woodchuck). I freeze the extra produce. We shop our local farmer's markets (I am lucky, our city has certification for the markets - food needs to originate within 50 miles - plus many of the farmers are organic) - for food in season - they are comparable to the local supermarket. It makes a HUGE difference to eat with the seasons. The produce is tastier, fresher and cheaper. And where you are, I suspect you have a much wider choice in the late fall, winter and early spring. If I eat meat once a week, the $12 a pound isn't so bad. If you eat meat 5-7 times a week, I am sure your weekly meat budget is more than that. I don't buy soda, prepackaged snacks, spaghetti sauces, salsas, processed meats, etc. DH and I cook from scratch.

Organic is now a regulated term - so it does have meaning. The terms 'natural' and 'all natural' are meaningless. I actually do not spend my money with companies who use these terms. It is a cheap way for them to avoid organic certification and still capture part of the organic market.