Tips for a Healthy Organic Diet on a Budget
Tips for a Healthy Organic Diet on a Budget Written By Emily Edmonds, L.Ac. Anyone looking at the news these days is worried about the economy and how inflation has impacted it. In particular, we have seen an impact upon food prices. This has made it understandably difficult to shop for healthy food, as most of us are aware – organic food costs quite a bit more already. I always advocate for patients to eat local, organic if possible but how to do this in a cost effective way is challenging for those on a budget. Here are some tips below to get you started on eating a healthier diet on a budget: Clean Fifteen – Optional The list of foods below are known as the “clean fifteen” and these are foods which if grown using non-organic methods are considered to be safer than the “dirty dozen” below as they are less likely to be contaminated by pesticides and herbicides. These foods include: Avocados Sweet Corn Sweet Peas (Frozen Asparagus Mushrooms Cantaloupe Pineapple Honeydew Melon Mangoes Onion Kiwi Watermelon Papaya Cabbage Sweet Potatoes So if you are on a budget, cabbage with chicken and mushrooms is a really good dish and very easy to prepare. Please always make sure you always wash your produce, especially mushrooms! I also recommend for the above foods that if they have a skin to peel them before preparing and do not consume the peel. Dirty Dozen – Always Organic! The list of foods below are known as the “dirty dozen”, which are foods that are known to be the most harmful if they contain pesticides are herbicides since they cannot be washed off. Always go organic for these. The list of these foods include: Strawberries Grapes Spinach Peppers including Bell peppers and hot peppers Kale, Collard, Mustard Greens Cherries Nectarines Peaches Apples Pears Tomatoes Celery Most of these foods are in season in the summer, and you can find these relatively inexpensively at local farmers markets. Eat Seasonally and Locally! Foods that are grown locally and that are in season are usually less expensive than out of season food grown abroad. Most often you will also find locally grown, seasonal produce at farmers markets for less than you would find at conventional grocery stores. The food will also be fresher as well and often tastes better. Buy in Bulk If you are shopping for a large family, buying in bulk can help offset the grocery bill. Costco has an excellent selection of organic produce. As demand for organic has grown, their selection has grown as well. Every time I go to Costco I am always pleasantly surprised by what they have to offer. At conventional grocery stores, buying in bulk can be helpful, especially beans, lentils, and nuts. It is a great option b/c you can just buy whatever amount you need for that week. Prepping Always buy your vegetables whole and intact. If you buy them precut or pre-peeled, they will invariable cost more. Farmers Markets As I mentioned before, farmers markets can be a great way to save. You can also just buy what you need, which cuts down on waste. It’s also a great activity for the family to go out together and go for a walk, while shopping for food for the week! That being said, as Farmers Markets have increased in popularity over the years, so has their prices. This is more often true of things like seafood and meats, which can be purchased for less when part of a subscription package online. It’s also more expensive for the “value added” items such as prepared foods, jams, pastas, and baked products. But for fruits and vegetables, it can still be a good deal. Also, there are some farmers market producers who haven’t yet been able to qualify for the organic “stamp” yet but their methods are organic. Talk to the producers, get to know them and find out what their growing methods are. I once bought some sunflower sprouts from a farmer who hadn’t yet qualified for the organic label, but was using organic methods and not using pesticides or herbicides at all. They were much, much cheaper than I could buy at Whole Foods and the taste was much fresher and better. Avoid “Value Added” and “Pre-Prepped” Items at the Store Although many of us use these (me = being sheepish) to save time, the truth is that buying vegetables pre-cut or foods that have been pre-assembled is much more costly than purchasing food in it’s whole form and preparing it. In other words, those delicious chicken kebab skewers at the deli in the grocery store are several times more expensive than making your own using the same exact ingredients. Also, pre-cut vegetables will go bad faster. Grocery stores often pick the vegetables that weren’t picked up the previous day to be pre-cut. Then, they put it on the shelf and more than double the cost. Ever purchased pre-cut butternut squash? You’d better use it that same day, b/c it goes bad quickly after that. If you don’t know how to chop vegetables, watch videos online, take cooking courses, or do like I did and buy a cheap food processor on eBay and let your vegetables chop themselves. Also, while that bottle of organic truffle hot sauce might be really tasty, ask yourself if you really need that? Grocery stores put up a lot of “value added” products in the front of the store to get you to buy more and also mark up the price. If you buy enough of these, it can more than double your grocery bill. Stock Up on Deals and Promotions Save coupons and stock up on foods that can be frozen when they go on sale. Shop around to different grocery stores and find out what deals they have or promotions. Meal Planning I probably should have put this closer to the top of the
Essential Elements of a Healthy Diet: 10 Key Factors to Consider
What Constitutes a Good Diet? 10 things to check off What Constitutes A Good Diet? A nourishing diet should be customized to suit each person’s lifestyle, constitution, and particular health issues. Though there is no one right diet for everyone, there are some general principles that can be applied across the board. Here are some: EAT WHOLE FOODS in their natural state, organically raised/grown when possible. AVOID processed foods (this means anything that comes in a package with a long list of unpronounceable ingredients). Michael Pollen, that great foodie, says, “Don’t eat anything that your great-great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food”. EAT BREAKFAST. According to Chinese Medicine practices, the qi is in the stomach and spleen meridians (the 2 main organs associated with digestion) from 7-11am. Our body is primed to assimilate and digest in the morning. Breakfast sets your blood sugar and metabolism for the entire day. An ideal combination is protein, fiber, wholesome carbohydrates and a little healthy fat. ELIMINATE SIMPLE SUGARS– this goes back to #1- EAT WHOLE FOODS. Sugar is not even food. We try to rationalize it as a little won’t hurt, and we all love it, but really, it’s best to not eat it. ELIMINATE TRANS-FATS & REFINED VEGETABLE OILS– almost everyone is aware now of the dangers of chemically altered fats. When incorporated into the cell wall they are linked to causing everything from diabetes to cancer. Stick to healthy, stable fats like BUTTER, COCONUT OIL, MONOSATURATED OLIVE OIL INCREASE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES and eat a wide variety of foods to avoid over-sensitizing your system to any one food. It’s great to have a favorite vegetable, but surprise yourself. Wander farmers market and try something you’ve never tried before. Balance protein, carbohydrates and fats to suit your activity level. The more rigorous your physical activity the more carbs you’ll need, but WHOLE FOODS, nothing processed or refined. AVOID EXTREME DIETS CHEW SLOWLY & THOUROUGHLY. Digestion begins with chewing. EAT UNTIL YOU ARE 70% FULL then STOP. It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to get the message from your stomach that it is full. If you are shoveling food down, you most likely will overeat before you even realize that you are no longer hungry. TRY NOT TO EAT LATE IN THE EVENING- the exception to this is people with hypoglycemia. Low blood sugar during the night can trigger an adrenaline spike that can cause insomnia. One of the best ways to regulate/stabilize your blood sugar is to eat breakfast (# 2) and to eat a consistent, balanced, diversified diet (#5). EAT FOODS LOCALLY GROWN AND IN SEASON- There are great Farmer’s Markets- almost every day in the East Bay area.
