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Food budget 101: Eating Organic

If given the choice, I think all of us would choose to eat organic foods. However, those price tags can send our budgets out of control. As a stay-at-home mom, with a single-income household, here is how we eat organic on a tight budget.


Start by checking the bargain bins. I find organic produce on discount almost every time I go to the store. Anything that doesn't look 'perfect' gets discounted. If organic lettuce is on sale, buy three and add side salads to dinner all week. Bonus you are saving organic produce from being tossed in the trash.


Know the dirty dozen. This is a list of produce you want to buy organic, to avoid ingesting crazy amounts of pesticides. If your budget allows, certainly go for organic every time. However, at minimum, avoid the dirty dozen:
  • Strawberries 
  • Spinach 
  • Nectarines
  • Apples 
  • Grapes 
  • Peaches 
  • Cherries 
  • Pears 
  • Tomatoes 
  • Celery 
  • Potatoes 
  • Cucumbers
Now, organic apples are much more expensive than non-organic, so eat them less often than say bananas. You don't need to buy organic bananas and they are extremely affordable, even if you want to eat twenty a week.

Use the Makeena app for organic food rebates! If you use this referral link, we both get $1. 

Go for frozen fruits & veggies. You can get a very large bag of frozen organic strawberries at a much better price than if you buy the same amount of fresh. Frozen fruit is great for homemade ice cream, smoothies, and toppings for oatmeal. And frozen fruit isn't going to go bad nearly as fast as fresh fruit!


 Shop at the farmers market. I find that the organic produce at my local farmers market is much cheaper than the organic produce in the grocery store. And for some reason it always taste better. Added bonus is supporting local farmers!

 Grow a garden. Whether you have a green thumb, lots of acreage, or live in an apartment in the city, everyone can grow something.

The simplest thing to start growing is green onions. Buy some organic green onions from the store, put them in a mason jar with a little bit of water, and place them in a sunny windowsill. I have not bought and green onions in months!

Branch out from there. Try growing a tomato plant in a pot. Buy organic potting soil and organic seeds of course. The more organic produce you grow for yourself, the more money you are going to shave off of that grocery budget.


Eating organic on a budget is the name of this game. I would love to hear feedback on which techniques you use to eat organic on a budget!


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