Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Almost 1 week since we've made the switch and have been pleasantly surprised:
I've lost 2 pounds (without dieting) and my daughter says she feels her jeans aren't so tight.
The $325 price tag for 1 weeks of grocery shocked me but alot of it was for one time purchases...like spices, oils, condiments- that last a long time.
I did spend 15 bucks on 3 chicken breasts and the produce was more expensive as well.
But the taste!!! I can't believe it. It tastes so much better. The tomatoes are great...even the peppers have better flavor.
[/b]The real treats came with:
Ben and Jerrys- already organic
Raisin Bran and a few other cereals are 'already' organic
frozen pizzas- delicious
Newmans Own salad dressings were at the natural food store
And Snyders...the pretzel people...they make organic veggie chips- my daughter loves them!
And the best part of all- it doesn't weigh you down...don't feel bloated....and "regularity" is great.
Then I found at my local grocer...they sell this brand of organic foods called Full Circle...so I don't have to go all the way to an 'organic' store...I can pick them up at my local store!
It does cost more but boy do we feel better just after one week!
Oh get off her back. Where did she mention junk food in the entire post? She has posted asking for help in how to prepare all the new vegetables she is discovering, and has one line about Ben and Jerry's and a frozen pizza. Is she never supposed to eat another gram of sugar or cheese for the rest of her life just because she's going organic?! Better to eat ice cream made of real cream and sugar than artificial flavors, whipped air, high fructose syrup, and hormone-filled milk and cream.
Anyway OP good for you! Whole Foods has tons of recipes on their website. You can also check out books by Mollie Katzen, who runs a popular vegetarian restaurant. She is not vegetarian herself but is an expert with vegetables. Do you have a Costco near you? People often forget that they regularly carry organic produce. If you have any farmers markets near you you can always chat up the farmer about how to prepare the produce. You can't go wrong with stir fries. You can throw all sorts of vegetables into a hot, oiled wok and throw over rice. You can use bottled sauces as training wheels until you find some sauce recipes you like. I also encourage you to seek out ethnic supermarkets and ethnic cookbooks to learn new ways of cooking vegetables. Oh and Pinterest is another good resource. There's pages and pages of fruit smoothie and non-alcoholic fruit drink recipes there.
Why do the vegan/vegetarian nazis always have to spoil a decent thread with their tired, militant rhetoric and know-it-all sanctimonious crap?
The OP never stated she wanted to become a vegan or a vegetarian - Jesus Christ how can some people not see the forest from the trees?
excellent post!!
I do believe vegans have a forum/threads of their own to play in,,, when I offer an opinion over there,, ,it is called trolling
to the op
JUNK or Organic?? one or the other....either/or??
first of all, its good you want to make better choices, that's respectable
but,,,read up on organics.... its not the promise land of all healthy foods
I will take local most anyday than so called organic....
also beware,,,,most organic foods are marked up over 50-60% .... the industry knows the folks buying this --it isn't on price..
one of my relatives had gone all organic as part of a "cleanse" body & spirit and it lasted 2 months...its more hype/believe and cost than reality
if I go buy an apple,,,a carrot a steak at the grocery store and prep it correctly,,,it will NOT harm me.... and it will be nutritional..... don't believe all the hype of organics....jmo
The major food makers are buying up these small companies selling "healthy" snacks not because their products taste good or the like. They are doing it because the profit margins are so healthy.
So many of these new product/company introductions are in the hope that the product is a home run and can be sold off to a private equity concern or a multinational company ASAP.
My two markets that are in my area are
Whole Foods and Earth Fare
wholefoods.com and earthfare.com
they have no antibiotic meats, no genetically altered or cloned milk, local produce, high fructose corn syrup, etc.
How does a family of a 40 year old mom and 15 year old daughter make the transition?
I know if I just buy and cook everything- I'll fail...but they have snack foods and sweets-but made with real sugar....so this may be do-able.
Any advice?
well if you can afford Whole Foods that is a great start but a pricy one. Do you have Trader Joes near you? They have a lot of organic, but less expensive.
There are ways to make the transition by first just giving up the snacks; then worry about going all organic. Let me also add, you can eat healthy without going organic. Just simply eating more produce and less meats is a start. But quality cheeses, stay away from the processed meats like hot dogs, lunch meat, chicken nuggets, etc. Quality produce season is just around the corner, that will help. Your farmers market can become your best friend. There are also junk foods that are a little better than some; for instance, if you feel the urge for chips, try baked ones. There are certainly not health food but better than the old ones most of us had as kids. Eat nuts when you want a snack. These are just some starting hints.
Oh get off her back. Where did she mention junk food in the entire post? She has posted asking for help in how to prepare all the new vegetables she is discovering, and has one line about Ben and Jerry's and a frozen pizza. Is she never supposed to eat another gram of sugar or cheese for the rest of her life just because she's going organic?! Better to eat ice cream made of real cream and sugar than artificial flavors, whipped air, high fructose syrup, and hormone-filled milk and cream.
Anyway OP good for you! Whole Foods has tons of recipes on their website. You can also check out books by Mollie Katzen, who runs a popular vegetarian restaurant. She is not vegetarian herself but is an expert with vegetables. Do you have a Costco near you? People often forget that they regularly carry organic produce. If you have any farmers markets near you you can always chat up the farmer about how to prepare the produce. You can't go wrong with stir fries. You can throw all sorts of vegetables into a hot, oiled wok and throw over rice. You can use bottled sauces as training wheels until you find some sauce recipes you like. I also encourage you to seek out ethnic supermarkets and ethnic cookbooks to learn new ways of cooking vegetables. Oh and Pinsterest is another good resource. There's pages and pages of fruit smoothie and non-alcoholic fruit drink recipes there.
Actually she did mention junk food; read her original post. She later mentioned learning to cook more veggies. You are right, ethnic grocery stores are a great place to get started and portion size as well. About a week ago we had salmon for dinner. I had purchased a large piece and cut into smaller pieces for freezing. The piece I fixed for dinner was really small and I just knew it would not be enough for us. Actually we did quite well, realizing we really didn't need much to be satisfied.
OP, I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned it here, but one of the big key factors in a healthy diet is not whether you simply replace your processed foods with equally processed 'organic' items, but instead whether you cook your own food from simple ingredients that do not include high levels of sugars and fats.
Similar to your initial comments, I also used to get overwhelmed with the idea of cooking something 'from scratch'. In other words, what ingredients, seasonings, etc would I need to purchase? What recipes would I use, etc? The big turning point for me was actually when I met my significant other (now husband) who was raised in a culture where processed foods are not a part of the daily diet and basically everything is cooked fresh from scratch with a wide variety of veggies. After we started cooking more together, I noticed how most of our foods began to consist of ingredients rather than boxed items. And, surprisingly, this change wasn't any more expensive than buying all the typical pre-made things.
Depending upon the number of people in your household, you can utilize a number of resources to buy your food. For example, we utilize a local ethnic grocery to buy all our spices in bulk. Instead of a tiny jar of McCormick at the conventional grocery store, I can get a half lb of turmeric or coriander for like $3-4. By purchasing dry items like pulses, lentils and beans in bulk we save a lot. You can also get these huge containers of plain yogurt which can be easily combined with fruits to make homemade smoothies. In the winter we like to get our veggies/fruits at Whole Foods and the farmer's market in the Summer, but I keep an eye out for sales at my local grocery store as well. We go more by what's in season and looks tasty rather than the presence of the organic label. For example, the okra at Whole Foods often looks really, really sad and is on the verge of molding, whereas I can buy fresh green okras at the local grocery store for far less.
Since we both work full-time, we take turns cooking and try to make more items on the weekend to freeze for later. It takes a little pre-planning but isn't a big deal. For example, if you're going to make a dish from dried chickpeas, you need to soak them for several hrs in advance. I usually try to do this the night before. The next day, I'll make the chickpeas, freeze the leftovers (except for 1 box in the fridge for 'current' eating) and make a new dish. We usually end up with enough stuff frozen that it allows for not having to cook anything if we're not feeling up to it after work.
Also, don't feel bad about throwing out the recipe book and experimenting! I hate wasting food, so if I'm stuck with some random veggies, I usually try to incorporate them somehow into a new dish, a soup, stir fry, mixed in with a protein like tofu, egg or fish, etc. It's really up to what tastes best for you. Once you find a few good 'go to' recipes which you enjoy, you can put them in rotation and soon it will become more of a habit and your menu will expand.
This is an old thread from 2010. I wonder if the OP was successful in going and remaining organic.
Mike, thanks for bringing that up. I usually check the date, but I guess, along with others we didn't this time. Now we hear she hasn't posted since 2010. Looks like she found other interests.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Where did she mention junk food in the entire post? She has posted asking for help in how to prepare all the new vegetables she is discovering, and has one line about Ben and Jerry's and a frozen pizza. Is she never supposed to eat another gram of sugar or cheese for the rest of her life just because she's going organic?! 
Better to eat ice cream made of real cream and sugar than artificial flavors, whipped air, high fructose syrup, and hormone-filled milk and cream.
