One question that I frequently get is, "How can you afford to eat organic food on a resident's salary?" and "I notice you say that you eat organic, why would you pay more for organic while your husband is still in residency?" Since I get these types of questions on a regular basis, I thought I would share. But please remember, these are my personal beliefs and opinions, and what is right for me and my family, may not look the same as what is right for you and your family.
Really this is a two part question, so I will start with why we eat organic. The majority of the food we eat is organic, what is not organic is as natural as I can get. I typically don't buy products that have high fructose corn syrup* in them so that alone drastically changes what I buy (I would estimate that it knocks out about 85% of what is on shelves at a conventional grocery store). Over the years I have read and watched various things about our countries food supply, and honestly it is disturbing. My conclusion from reading articles, books, watching documentaries, commentaries, etc. was that I wanted our family to eat food that was as "clean" as we could manage while still being reasonable. By "clean" I mean food that is minimally processed, no artificial sweeteners, no HFCS, no added hormones/ antibiotics, and this year I have been trying to eliminate artificial dyes/colors. To sum it up, I want to eat food that my body recognizes as food. My personal guidelines knock out most conventional foods, so we choose to go the organic route. It is also my personal belief that organically produced/ grown food is generally a means of better stewardship. (it is better for the earth, the animals, our bodies, etc.) and therefore is worth paying a little more for. I believe in whole foods- so I cook with real butter, cream, milk, raw sugar, etc. I find the quality and taste to be superior so often times, a little goes a long way. Now, all of that said, I try to have a reasonable sensibility about all of this. I have two small children and therefore I certainly appreciate "convenience" foods. I use boxed mac and cheese, canned soups, dried pasta, ready made pasta sauce, crackers, etc just like anybody else, but I try to buy organic whenever I can, and when I can't I keep a close eye on the ingredients. Sometimes we give up on certain foods because they are too much of a compromise, other times there are items that get tossed right into my cart because they are occasional items. My kids eat M&M's, we drink coke, and sometimes I buy things that are completely against what I would normally buy just because it sounds good. We occasionally eat fast food, and both of my kids would live on french fries if I allowed it, so please do not misunderstand and think that I am some kind of judgey food purist, because I am not and claiming to be would make me a huge hypocrite. To sum it up, most of the food that we eat at most meals is natural/ organic, but of course we have exceptions.
Moving on, "How do you afford it?" Well, some things are more pricey than others. Any animal product, (meat, dairy, cheese, eggs, etc) is something that there is generally a pretty big price difference in between conventional and organic. I have found that the cheapest way to purchase these products is to find a local source. We get most of our meat, eggs and cheese from a local co-op. I also will buy meat when it is on sale at Whole Foods and stash it in the freezer, and I will buy organic meat from Target when it is on clearance and stash it in the freezer until we are ready to use it. I buy cheese in bulk and shred it myself in the food processor, this is a little bit of extra work that saves me a ton of money. The butter I buy is not technically organic, but is natural and from a local source (it is Amish and the most delicious butter ever!), eggs and yogurt are organic and I get them from whomever is the most convenient that week as I have found the price difference to be nominal. Milk is the one thing that I feel like I shell out for, it is expensive, but it is important to me, and therefore worth the price. As far as produce goes, I try to buy in season and find that our local co-op and Whole Foods offer far better prices than Super Target or other grocery chains. As far as convenience foods go, I have found that Super Target is generally cheapest, however I rarely go to our local co-op, Super Target and Whole Foods in the same week. I look at my list and pick the 2 places that will cover the majority of the list, if I have to pay a little more for a few items, it ends up being cheaper than wasting gas running all over town for a couple of items. I also try to keep costs down by cooking from scratch- this works if you keep things simple, if you are using a ton of ingredients, this will back fire and cost you a fortune. But again, you have to be reasonable- you likely cannot fix everything your family eats from scratch so pick out a few things that will make the most difference in your budget, and start there. You also have to consider equipment costs, if you need a specific appliance/ tool to make something, you have to think about how that cost factors into your bottom line. My kids love waffles and this is one thing I hope to start making from scratch this year. I received a waffle maker for Christmas, but even if I was paying for it out of pocket, my kids eat enough waffles that it would quickly pay for itself. (and I love that I will have greater control over the nutritional content- you had better believe that this mama is not above sneaking in healthy purees to boost nutritional content) There are other things that are now treats because they are out of my budget to buy all of the time, so I get them on sale or as the occasional indulgence. Both Whole Foods and Super Target also offer lots of coupons, so take advantage of the additional savings (both also offer bag credit for bringing in your own bags- seems like an insignificant amount, but it adds up over time.
My advice to anyone wanting to start down the natural/organic path is to look at what your family eats, and see where you can make a few easy switches. Then see what you eat the most of and see if you can start making the switch one food or food group at a time. Or pick one thing that you want to eliminate (such as HFCS or artificial dyes) and as you run out of things, replace them with a more natural or organic alternative. There are obvious factors that are out of your control like if you have a Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, etc. near you, or how many natural/organic products your local grocery chain carries, and how readily accessible local food sources are, and also understand that food prices can vary widely across the country (even across town!) so if this is an area that you want to make a change in, start slow and give yourself some wiggle room. I hope this answers some of your questions!
