via Cornucopia Institute

Have you seen photos taken at The Green Grocer in RI of signs regarding the removal of Kashi, Bear Naked, and Mother’s Natural products from their store shelves?  Learn more about the issue — and why it’s an issue — with the links below:

> Read a summary of the the Cornucopia Institute’s report that spurred the products’ removal by clicking here.

> Read the entire report by clicking here.

We often hear from clients and friends that they’d love to eat healthier, but that it’s just too expensive.  This common misconception is just that — a misconception.  Keep these tips in mind while making your grocery list and doing your shopping, and you’ll realize that eating organically is cheaper than you think!

Take baby steps
Like all changes, switching to a healthier, more natural diet happens one step at a time.  Rather than overwhelming yourself by deciding to switch all of your foods over to organic at once, choose a couple things to start with.  The Environmental Working Group releases two lists each year, “The Dirty Dozen,” which list the most pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables, and “The Clean Fifteen,” which lists the least contaminated produce.  Switching to organic on even just a few of the Dirty Dozen fruits and veggies (or choosing the Clean Fifteen ones in their place) will dramatically reduce your exposure to the chemicals used in conventional farms, and will barely put a dent in your pocket:

• Dirty Dozen: Celery, Peaches, Strawberries, Apples. Blueberries, Nectarines, Bell Peppers, Spinach, Cherries, Kale and Collards, Potatoes, Grapes (Imported)
• Clean Fifteen: Onions, Avocado, Sweet Corn, Pineapple, Mangos, Sweet Peas, Asparagus, Kiwi, Cabbage, Eggplant, Cantaloupe, Watermelon, Grapefruit, Sweet Potato, Honeydew

You can download a printable PDF and an iPhone app of the lists by clicking here.

Try the store brand
Most stores now carry their own natural or organic food brand, in addition to their conventionally-grown ones.  Opting for the store-brand may mean less glamorous packaging, but you’ll get a great return for your buck.

Join a co-op or buying club
Check your neighborhood for a natural food cooperative. These stores offer discounts for members who pay a fee or who volunteer.  If there’s no co-op in your town, chances are there’s a buying club.  Many natural food distributers will make private deliveries, as long as a price minimum and location specifications are met.  Purchasing directly from the distributer cuts out the middle man and can dramatically cut the cost of organic foods.  The trade-off is that you’ll have to buy in bulk; if you can’t find an already established club in your area, grab a couple friends and form your own buying club, so you can split up orders.  Check out United Natural Foods by clicking here, and Neshaminy Valley Organics by clicking here.

Meet your local farmers
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs are cropping up everywhere! In a CSA, members purchase a subscription to a farm each year, and then receive a share of the farm’s harvest each week during the growing season.  Pound-for-pound, the organic produce and/or meat you receive as a CSA member is a great value for dollar. If you don’t have a CSA in your area, check out the local farmers’ markets.  Buying directly from the producer of your favorite meats, dairy, eggs, fruits and vegetables saves you both money.  Blooming Glen Farm has a CSA program and sells their produce at several local markets; you can learn more by clicking here.  Or, to search for CSAs and farmers’ markets in your area, visit Local Harvest by clicking here.

Eat simply
Sometimes, the best advise is the simplest!  Instead of spending your food budget on packaging and processing, invest in whole, natural ingredients.  Not only will your checking account benefit, but so too will your tastebuds.

Making the decision to eat organic foods doesn’t mean you need to go broke doing it.  If you have any tips for eating healthy on a budget, please let us know!

>>> Learn how to select and prepare real food in one of our signature health coaching programs – click here to learn more!

At our recent Live Well workshop about healthy lunches, we covered ways to store fresh vegetables and fruits.  The first step to keeping your produce perky is, of course, knowing what its preferred temperature and humidity level are.  There are lots of lists online, but nothing quite as handy or pleasing as this great Periodic Table of Produce printed in Real Simple magazine in 2006 (image uploaded by MetaMommy at 4theycallmemommy.blogspot.com/2007/07/real-simples-tips-on-storing-produce.html):

Once you have an idea of how long each type of produce lasts in its preferred environment, these storage tips can help you reach maximum shelf life:

• Don’t wash vegetables before refrigerating, but rather wash before eating. Too much moisture is detrimental.
• Remove greens/tops from beets, carrots, parsnips, and radishes before storing.
• Keep ethylene-emitting and odor-emitting foods bagged or contained.
• Tomatoes, potatoes, garlic or any vegetable picked to ripen after harvest shouldn’t be refrigerated.

Using the crisper drawers in a refrigerator for your fruit and veggie storage is best, but, if you’re like us, sometimes space is tight.  That’s why we’re in love with the Tupperware FridgeSmart containers (www.tupperware.com/pls/htprod_www/!tw$shop.p_category?pv_ic_code=25000).  They allow regulation of airflow with a unique venting system and special built-in grid that lifts food away from condensation.  Add to that the super handy universal storage chart imprinted on each of the containers, and produce storage can’t get any simpler!  FridgeSmart containers are a bit of an investment up front, but the fact that they do such a good job keeping produce fresh, and come with an incredible lifetime warranty, we think they’re totally worth it.

Is it any wonder we’re totally confused about what to eat and what to feed our families?  Food companies spend billions (yes, I said billions) marketing their foods to us each year.  They’ve also devised clever, though completely misleading, nutrition claims for use on packaging:

• Froot Loops has the “Smart Choices” check even though it’s 41% sugar by weight. (And what exactly is “froot,” anyway?)
• Hormel Chili label says “Less Sodium,” but just one cup provides 710mg, or a whopping 30% of the daily recommended value.
• Trix is “Whole Grain Guaranteed,” yet contains ONE gram of fiber — and it’s from corn!
• Knorr’s Chicken Broccoli Fettuccine Noodles contain more salt than dried broccoli.
• “Snyder’s Eat Smart Veggie Crisps claim to be ‘A bountiful blend of potato, spinach, and tomato chips,’ even though there is more potassium chloride than spinach, and virtually none of the vitamins and minerals found in spinach and tomatoes.”
• Some seals of approval are even “made up by the food companies themselves, and they may pay for other seals…The end result is very misleading for consumers.”

Don’t be fooled!  Read labels to ensure the actual value of the food you’re eating as well as the ingredients, and limit (or eliminate) processed foods.  Here are some steps to get you started:

• Instead of sugary breakfast cereals, try whole grains like amaranth and oatmeal sweetened up with real fruit (or make your own fruit syrup).
• In the time it takes to open, dump and heat up a can of Hormel, you could whip up the much healthier and tastier 20-Minute Chili on this page, www.bigoven.com/recipe/80722/easy-20-minute-chili.  Triple the batch and you’ll have lunch for the whole week!
• Rather than “Veggie Crisps,” how about actual veggies?
• Used pasture-raised chicken, organic cream-of-mushroom soup and whole wheat pasta in this Easy Chicken Broccoli Fettucini recipe, www.bonelesschickenrecipe.com/Chicken-Recipes/easy-chicken-recipes/chicken-and-broccoli-alfredo-recipes.php.

Sources:
Supermarket Sleuth, www.salon.com/life/feature/2006/06/12/marion_nestle
Most Misleading Food Labels, www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/20/9-most-misleading-food-la_n_538868.html
Confusing Food Labels, www.consumerreports.org/cro/video-hub/food/diet–health/confusing-food-labels/16817885001/54212443001/