My Journey into Buying Organic

My Journey into Buying Organic

Since starting my blog I have had a few of my friends asking me how I go about buying such healthy and organic food on a budget. So following are just a few strategies I use to help me along the way.

When I first started buying organic I was shocked at how expensive it is. Ben and I are both healthy eaters (enjoying the occasional treat) and both eat a diet high in fruits, vegetables, gains and proteins. We both feel what we put in our bodies to be of great importance and believe in buying a range of wholesome foods. However, since last year I really started to think about where my food was coming from; what was I actually putting into my mouth and body.  
 
What I discovered

 

I started researching the internet and looking at where food from franchises from the major supermarkets was coming from, How is it grown? What chemicals are used on the fruits and vegetables? And how is it stored? Or in other words how fresh are these fruits and vegetables when they hit the shelves? 

 

What I found shocked me quite a bit. I discovered that the fruits and vegetables were grown in mass crops and sprayed regularly with pesticides and the food stocked in our supermarkets can be months old before it reaches our fridges. This was defiantly food for thought!

Slowly I started researching other ways we could get fresh and organic food without sacrificing on quality or nutrients.
    

Make a Plan and Buy Seasonal Produce!

 

The best way to ensure your food budget goes further is to plan. Each week I sit with my favourite recipe books and decide what I’m going to cook through the week and write down the ingredients I’m going to need. To help with this I use some advice my mum gave me years ago ‘buy seasonal fruit and vegetables’.  For one it’s cheaper and the food is more likely to be fresh and not stored for months in a cool room. It’s also a good rule of thumb as it offers me the opportunity to be more creative with my cooking and cook using seasonal fruit and vegetables. Writing a list also helps me decide what I can afford to buy organic. It also helps me stick to what I need and limits impulse food buys.

 

The Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen

 

After working out our budget we came to the conclusion that realistically it wasn’t possible for us to buy entirely organic. So within our weekly budget I try to buy as much organic produce as possible and anything I can’t get organic I try to buy as fresh as possible. One method I use to help me is adhering to the Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen Rule, researched by the Environmental Working Group, which is a list of fruit and vegies and the amounts of pesticides and chemicals they can contain. The Clean 15 is a list of fruit and vegetables that when bought non-organically contain lesser of the evil and are the safest of non-organic produce to purchase. The Dirty dozen however, is a list of fruit and vegetables you should avoid buying if they are not organic; as these fruits and vegetables contain the highest concentrate of pesticides.

Grow your own Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

 

Ben and I bought our very own unit together about a year ago and slowly but surely our place has started to come together. One of the things we have created within our home that I am most proud of is our vegetable, fruit and herb garden. We have a reasonable sized veranda however; it’s defiantly not like having your own garden. So to help us in our quest to devour nutrient rich foods we created our hanging eatable garden, which fits nicely at the end of our veranda. 

 

This is another great way to save on the cost of buying organic pesticide free food. It’s great because you can be creative and grow any fruits, vegetables and herbs you like. Also because through our efforts I have found it very rewarding eating the produce from the plants Ben and I have both watered and cared for. I still get excited when I get to pick the fruits, vegetables and herbs we have grown and use them in our cooking.  

 

              Some fresh tomatoes growing on our tomato vine

These are just a few suggestions I can give to help make buying healthy and organic foods easier. Avoiding foods that contain chemicals and pesticides is not always easy. However, I use these strategies to ensure I always have a cupboard and fridge stocked with fresh and organic goodies. 
 

Love
 

Bianca xx