Changing diet on a budget

[Sam_2.0]

We are finally getting to the point where we can afford to upgrade our options. But are natural/organic/grain-free foods really worth the extra cost? I am trying to pay more attention to what we eat for DDs sake but I don't know where to start. We have a Whole Foods somewhere around here and we just got two Trader Joes stores. HyVee also has a decent selection I think.

[Deleted]

If you have time and there is a CSA around you, they will often have shares where you can work the farm for so many hours in exchange for your share.

In general maybe try to find local suppliers, not just 'chain organics' ... Might be cheaper for some things.

[Deleted]

Dec 11, 2012 17:18:52 GMT -5 Sam_2.0 said:

We are finally getting to the point where we can afford to upgrade our options. But are natural/organic/grain-free foods really worth the extra cost? I am trying to pay more attention to what we eat for DDs sake but I don't know where to start. We have a Whole Foods somewhere around here and we just got two Trader Joes stores. HyVee also has a decent selection I think.

I would start with hormone-free milk for the kids and organics for the dirty dozen (google it). other than that, the less processed a food is the better, even if it's not organic.

[Sam_2.0]

Trader Joe's has hormone-free milk ($3/gal). So does Aldi's (same price). The organic milk is $6/gal. What's the difference if neither have hormones? And the dirty dozen list seems to change every time I look for it so I am confused on that one too.

[Deleted]

Definitely look up the dirty dozen, that's a great point. And clean list, example...If its broccoli, I buy it local first, because it's not necessary o be organic, but potatoes, which make the dirty list need to be organic, even if I'm not getting them local.

[Deleted]

Dec 11, 2012 17:31:47 GMT -5 Sam_2.0 said:

Trader Joe's has hormone-free milk ($3/gal). So does Aldi's (same price). The organic milk is $6/gal. What's the difference if neither have hormones? And the dirty dozen list seems to change every time I look for it so I am confused on that one too.

I don't know the difference, but I buy organic milk (just under $6 a gallon).

I haven't seen the dirty dozen list change so can't help you there.

[justme]

I'm guessing hormone-free just means they don't inject the animals/milk with additional hormones where as organic probably means the cows ate organic feed and (mabye means?) didn't get antibiotics.

[kittensaver]

Sam: this is a really good basic article to get you started:

www.naturopathyworks.com/pages/nutrition.php

My favorite saying of hers is: the only thing wrong with pesticides is that they don't know when to stop killing. The issue of "clean" foods in our diet is not about acute exposures to chemicals (which Western medicine acknowledges) but rather the "cumulative load" we carry in our bodies from years of "tiny" (read "safe" as marketed by the food industry) accumulated exposures to thousands of chemicals (which some select few Western medicine folks are finally beginning to wake up to).

It's not about shopping at "higher end" places - there's a reason it's laughing called Whole Paycheck. Its about seeking out "real" food - food in a state as close to how nature made it as possible. Yes, probably more of these items are found at organic and health food stores - but there's a lot of greenwashing going on there too. At least for a while (until you get comfortable with new choices that you make), become an intense label reader. Put back on the shelf anything with poly-syllabic chemicals. Ditto for "food" made with processed ingredients: white flour, white sugar, HFCS, processed grains, synthetic colors, flavors, preservatives, "enhancers," and anything else on the label you can't identify.

For example, the ingredients on a jar of applesauce should say: apples, water. It should not say: water, apples, concentrated fruit juice, corn syrup, sodium benzoate, natural flavors, tricalcium phosphate (to preserve color).

CSAs are wonderful. So are buying clubs that share large purchases - sides of organic beef, cases of organic products like oils, honey, organic dairy, etc etc etc. So are farmer's markets, if you're lucky enough to have one or more in your part of the country.

Start slow with the stuff your family likes, and take it from there. IMHO upgrading your ingredients is about finding the freshest, purest (closest to nature) products that you reasonably conveniently can.

Good luck to you - it's a journey. I started what you're starting 8 years ago and I'm still learning every day.

[kittensaver]

Here is a wonderful book I cannot recommend highly enough:

www.amazon.com/Nourishing-Traditions-Challenges-Politically-Dictocrats/dp/0967089735/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355267674&sr=1-1&keywords=nourishing+traditions

The first part of the book is the most simple, understandable explanation of human nutrition I've ever seen. Her recipes are basic and made with ordinary (but whole-food, non-processed) ingredients.

[Tiny]

Maybe you need to first decide what "healthy" means to you. And how you are going to define "organic". And then decide WHY you are eating 'healthy' - is it to loose weight? to spend less money (I'm a firm believer that it's cheaper to eat actual food in appropriate daily portions than you'd think)? To feel better?

I'm sure you can buy all sorts of salt and sugar laden processed foods at Whole Foods... My definition of healthy doesn't include foods with alot of added sweetners (of ANY sort - beet sugar or HFCS - it's all unnecessary added calories to me) or that contain the daily recommend amount of sodium per serving. I'm exaggerating abit - but you get the idea.

I've seen their (whole foods) 'organic' veggies and they looked creepily 'perfect' - just like the non organic veggies at the JeweL and totally UNLIKE the imperfect (but astonishingly tasty!) organic veggies that come in the Farm Box (CSA) I get. Not sure I'd pay big bucks for them at whole foods.

You might want to start reading the ingredient lists on the things you buy (and don't assume it meets your criteria for 'healthy' just because the label sez it's healthy OR because you can purchase it only at a supposedly 'healthy' store).

FWIW: I've got a friend who falls for all the healthy hype whenever some new thing comes out... she too struggles with her weight and spends alot of money on 'food'... she's currently avoiding sodium in things she drinks (I suspect she saw some show about the sodium in some beverage) - but still eating her favorite frozen dinners and canned soups. She's not really good at reading labels.

I watched my neice, who's trying to eat healthy to loose weight (she's obese and then some), drink 2 tall cans of some 'healthy' juice drink. I peeked at the label at each can was 2.5 servings at 100 calories each. So she had 500 calories in addition to her 'healthy' dinner. I suspect she's not doing very well loosing weight - or being healthy (she drank 500 empty calories over the course of 3 hours).
Just an example.

I'd start by defining what you consider 'healthy'... and then reading labels and visiting alot of stores.

[kittensaver]

Another must-read if you're interested in nutrition:

www.amazon.com/Nutrition-Physical-Degeneration-Weston-Price/dp/0916764206/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355267978&sr=1-1&keywords=weston+price+nutrition+and+physical+degeneration

(can you tell I'm passionate about this subject?)

Good luck to you!

[Deleted]

don't try to do everything at once. pick one or 2 things at a time and then once you have those down, pick another thing.

[lynnerself]

If you can find this issue of Time magazine it has a very interesting article.
www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20121203,00.html
It's all about eating nutritious and cheap.
But not necessarily organic.

Unfortunately the article is not available on line for free.
And the author is controversial.
But it had some interesting information.

[Deleted]

I feel so much better since I gave up corn. (and dirty, but hat's harder). But giving p corn really forced me to relinquish most of what was processed left in my diet.

[weltschmerz]

We are finally getting to the point where we can afford to upgrade our options. But are natural/organic/grain-free foods really worth the extra cost?
----------------
The term "natural" is meaningless, for starters. Arsenic, heroin and asbestos are natural.
Secondly, why would you want to eat grain-free foods? Is there celiac disease in your family? Has your doctor told you to avoid gluten?

[susanb]

Sammy, we have some Trader Joes and Whole Foods here. TJ prices are cheaper than Albertson's according to their promo's and reports I have heard on Motley Fool money.

Their whole wheat pasta is very well priced as is their organic produce.

You might also check and see if you have any local food co-ops. There is one in my city that lets you pay $25 for non organic and $35 for organic produce. The ladies who run it, go and get local deals on produce. It is 1/2 fruits and 1/2 veggies and enough to last a vegetarian family of 4 for a week! Bountiful Baskets is the name. They are actually in a number of states: www8.bountifulbaskets.org/?page_id=6

[Tiny]

Start with making small changes is a good suggestion. Instead of completely cutting out grains/rice... What if you switch over from regular pasta to the whole wheat kind (higher fiber) and from white rice to brown rice (higher fiber again) and from regular white bread to a whole wheat bread? Then start measuring out your portions of pasta and rice. Then start looking for grains that don't have alot of other stuff added (ie a low fat/lower calorie bread). Pasta and Rice generally don't come with added fats and sweetners.
Work on any 'portion distortion' problems you may have. Google for examples and see if you've been eating too much.
As far as grains and rice go... in theory, apprioprate portions of pasta/rice/corn/carbs shouldn't be a health hazzard unless you have some sort of medical problem.

Start comparing labels... my current favorite annoyance is the sweetner and oils added to diced canned tomatoes. I'm not sure why adding some basil and garlic to the diced tomatoes has to add 20 calories (the sweetner/oil) to diced tomatos. I thought the already seasoned kind would be convenient... but NOT if they come with all the extra calories. Same goes for salad dressings and pasta sauces and breads. Don't get me started about the supposedly healthy breakfast cereals were you get 1/2 cup for 300 calories!! really? who eats 1/2 a cup? and then there's the calories from the milk you add. Not a good breakfast for an almost 50 year old woman... too many calories and not particularly satisfying.

[Sam_2.0]

Thanks for the articles and book recommendations. I appreciate it!

I want to model a healthy lifestyle for my daughter and avoid health issues that run in my family. But I feel like a lot of this stuff is just clever marketing to scare me into paying five times as much for strawberries, for example.

I went gluten free before I had dd and felt great. Not sure if it was cutting out the junk or the grains. Ive read some things that suggest limiting grains can be good.

Totally agree that tv dinners or other similar items are not the best even if the label says its natural. But I need some good convenience options for meals when we are short on time or energy. Trying to get better at meal planning too.

[Apple]

One big money saver will be to stick to fruits and veggies that are in season -- the price (and taste) will reflect that. This may mean you'll have to get creative with recipes, or do a lot of freezing during the summer months (you can can as well, but that usually adds sugar).

Grains aren't a bad thing to reduce, but most people don't have any health reasons to eliminate them, but it seems to be a huge "fad" lately.

I know someone who raises "organic" pigs. To be "organic" there cannot have been ANY pesticides sprayed in the area over "x" amount of years. All feed must be organic as well. If the neighbor decides to start spraying and some of the spray drifts over, he's not supposed to call it organic anymore. It sucks, but an honest farmer will play by the rules, which is what makes the organic label so hard to maintain. Hormone free is a much easier goal for a farmer.

[Deleted]

Dec 12, 2012 0:11:59 GMT -5 Sam_2.0 said:

Thanks for the articles and book recommendations. I appreciate it!

I want to model a healthy lifestyle for my daughter and avoid health issues that run in my family. But I feel like a lot of this stuff is just clever marketing to scare me into paying five times as much for strawberries, for example.

I went gluten free before I had dd and felt great. Not sure if it was cutting out the junk or the grains. Ive read some things that suggest limiting grains can be good.

Totally agree that tv dinners or other similar items are not the best even if the label says its natural. But I need some good convenience options for meals when we are short on time or energy. Trying to get better at meal planning too.

for convenience, grill up a bunch of chicken breasts on the weekend, microwave some frozen veggies, and add a grain (quinoa, couscous, etc). Even easier, buy the tyson chicken strips or breasts in the refrigerator section and serve with carrots and dip or hummus. Simplify your meals. A simple piece of meat or fish, a veggie, and a grain if you want.

[Deleted]

Yes, i think you have to define what healthy means for yourself. If it is eating more fruits and veggies, there are many ways to do that. There are cookbooks about mashing and pureeing veggies and adding them to all kinds of foods. I think bagged, frozen veggies are cheap and healthy and a good way to go. I think of just eating less processed stuff. Like instead of a bowl of cereal, eat some oatmeal instead or other hearty grains. Bake wheat bread instead of white if you think that is the way to go.
For me, organic" doesn't mean much but if it does to you, then shop around for the best prices. If you want fresher foods start looking for local farmer markets.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I choose what is important to me and don't care what other people think. I don't feel shame in voting with my checkbook because my groceries don't pay the bills for me, there is only so much to go around.

I shop the farmer's market when it is in season for 90% of my produce, when it is not in season I'll go for the organic if it is a good deal but if it is not, I don't sweat it. Any vegetable/fruit is better than none at all.

Personally I can't stand whole wheat pasta, I think I've tried every brand on the market and just can't choke it down. So I use SmartChoice or Brallia Omega. Still better than plain white pasta. If I die at 90 instead of 92 because I didn't eat 100% whole wheat pasta, oh well.

Just about anything can slap "organic" on its label. Like anything else if you have deep enough pockets you can get the FDA to give you what you want. I've seen Organic Kraft boxed Mac & Cheese. Yeah. .. it's still Mac & Cheese in a box.

I do easy swaps like brown rice instead of white for example and have gradually reduced the amount of processed foods DH eats (I didn't eat many to begin with). That alone has gone miles.

I also try to limit HFCS. Not because I swallow all the jargon about how evil it is but because when you think about it we eat a crapload of sugar in our diets. It's in practically everything! Just elminating that has saved calories and made our diet more healthy.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

And don't feel pressure that in order to eat healthy you have to shop at Whole Paycheck or other expensive stores. That's clever marketing on their parts.

I won't lie, no matter how many times I hear it, our budget is not cheaper now that we've changed our habits, but it is hardly backbreaking either. It would be backbreaking if we shopped at Whole Foods.

If you feel it is important to you then I'd make a list of items that very important to you to buy at Trader Joes or Whole Foods and then shop for the less important items elsewhere.

That's what I do with the Farmer's Market. I have what I really want to get there and I fill in the rest elsewhere for cheaper.

[milee]

Dec 12, 2012 9:19:42 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

And don't feel pressure that in order to eat healthy you have to shop at Whole Paycheck or other expensive stores. That's clever marketing on their parts.

Good point. There are many ways to eat healthier that don't require spending huge amounts of money. I don't buy all organic and don't think you need to buy all organic to be healthy, but even if you did, you'd find that even Walmart carries a large line of organic products, for example.

Start with some easy switches that don't traumatize your family, like reducing processed foods, and go from there.

And the idea that you'd need to pay 5x as much for organic strawberries (or anything else) is crazy - just start looking at other alternatives that are in season.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

And the idea that you'd need to pay 5x as much for organic strawberries (or anything else) is crazy - just start looking at other alternatives that are in season.



Hy-Vee often has pretty good deals on their organic selection. One time I went everything organic in the produce section was 99 cents. Awesome.

And even if organic is not on sale the 99 cent non-organic carrots are still better for you than a bag of potato chips.

[wvugurl26]

I love Wegmans but that is an east coast, NY based chain. They have a lot of bulk bins and organic stuff.

Like drama I find it costs somewhat more but is better for me. My continuing goal is to make more stuff from scratch. I am allergic to a bunch of typical fillers like HFCS.

Safeway had organic green peppers for $0.99/apiece the other day. I need to slice them or make up stuffed peppers.

I used to buy those Birds Eye stir fries in the frozen section. Those things taste like crap to me now. To save on time I try to grill up chicken breasts or thighs and slice them up and freeze them. Or I can slap them on the George Foreman grill while veggies and pasta or rice cook.

Start with a few swaps and go from there. It gets easier as you adjust to new habits. And at least for me, processed junk doesn't taste good anymore. I struggle still with quick but I'm getting there.

[Deleted]

I also prepare a whole bag of good rice at a time and then store it in the fridge for the week, easy to doctor or add to a stir fry... Since good rice tends to take longer to cook.

[wvugurl26]

I have a rice cooker so that helps. I just have to remember to start it when I begin my prep. The landlord is Vietnamese so we have varieties of rice I was unaware of.

[Sam_2.0]

I wish DH would eat rice. He hates rice and only tolerates some pasta. And he is not a casserole fan at all (neither am I really). I've been buying a lot of the pre-cooked chicken breasts to make quick meals with but it would probably be better for us if I pre-cooked my own on the weekends. For most dinners I pull out some kind of meat (shrimp, tilapia, chicken, porkchops) and bake or cook in the skillet. Then we add in some veggies (usually frozen broccoli or normandy mix) and that's about it. I try to make the plates with 1/3 or less meat (or meat-dish) and the rest veggies or fruits. Sometimes I will make mashed or roasted potatoes if I have the time. Anyone have luck pre-cooking those?

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Roast potatoes I've found don't reheat well. Mashed potatoes do pretty good in the fridge. I've never frozen them but I've seen on Smart Spending several people do it with success, you just have to make sure to stir them really well before you reheat.

You don't have to eat rice or pasta to be healthy. We hardly ever eat pasta or rice. Those are just two examples of things that are easy to switch out if you already eat them.

There are a bazillion grains out there you can try and cook with. DH and I discovered we like Qunioa (sp?). I did not have much success with Amaranth. I want to work with wild rice again but damn the stuff is expensive. I need to see if I can find a health food store that carires it in bulk.

One thing I like to do is if I find something interesting and it isn't super expensive, I'll get it and figure out how to cook with it.

Did not have much success with Kohlrabi but we discovered we both like Turnip greens and I found I prefer Swiss Chard over spinach. Rachel Ray's roasted eggplant lasagna was freaking awesome.

You might want to try looking into Sneaky Chef to start with if your DH is kinda a picky eater. My DH would eat barely anything when we met. So to start with I worked on trying to make his preferred foods better for him using Sneaky Chef.

I've grown out of most of her recipes. but I still use several of her tricks. I add a couple tbs flaxseed/wheat germ to every ground meat dish I make. I add baby food squash to my Mac & Cheese sauce. I'll add canned pumpkin to spaghetti sauce.

Her green puree makes my meatloaf super moist without adding any more fat. I've been lazy about making it though. I switched to Hungry Girl's trick and I use broccoli slaw instead. I chop it up really fine in the food processor and add it to my meatloaf for extra nutrition and a bit of color.

Small changes add up to big effects over time. You don't have to change your diet to something you don't even recognize or like.

What I do is I ask myself "How can I make this recipe better for us?"

I don't have to never make Mac & cheese again or make a version we can't stand to eat, but I can use better pasta, add some pumpkin/squash to the sauce, throw in some veggies etc.

It's all about changing your mindset/viewpoint one step at a time. Eventually you'll turn around one day and realize that you're eating better than ever.