Moral Budgeting: Benefits of Organic Products

On a limited budget, the recommendation to buy organic fruits and vegetables is extremely difficult. On one hand, you want to be pushing away toxins as far away as possible from your body. But living this way comes with a cost, and typically its a dollar or so more than something that is not organic.

It is understandable that in a strict budget, organic food is simply not on the radar.

However, if you eat fewer foods with pesticides, you may be saving money in the long run avoiding the health problems attached to them.


The best overall approach to this budgeting conundrum is to reduce your exposure to as many different kinds of toxins as possible over your lifetime. Don't become obsessed with the idea. You can't financially afford to eat organic right now, so remember:

The advantages of eating a diet full of fruits and vegetables far outweigh the risks of consuming pesticide residues. 

Book : Eat Vegan on $4.00 a Day | A Game Plan for the Budget Conscious Cook

This book caught my attention.

The book description also has me captivated:

"Not only can a plant-based diet be good for health, it can also be easy on the pocketbook. At a time when many people are looking for a way to cut costs, Vegan on $4 a Day will show readers how to forgo expensive processed foods and get the most flavor out of delicious, high-quality basic ingredients. Author Ellen Jaffe Jones has combined passion, money savvy, journalistic expertise, and culinary skills into a consumer's guide for an economically viable dietary lifestyle. She has scoured the shelves of popular supermarkets and big-box stores and calculated exactly how much it costs to eat healthfully and deliciously. Readers will learn how to adapt their favorite recipes, cook with beans and grains, and use bulk buying to get big savings. Includes nearly 100 nutritious, delicious and low cost recipes and a week's worth of menu- planning ideas that show how the recipes can be combined to get a cost of $4 a day."


I wonder how easily adaptable this theory would be to a small family. 4 dollars a day for 3 people is 12 dollars a day... I feel like we already live this concept. 

What I should do is purchase the book, dissect it's best advice, and compare it to our current budgeting plans.

Blog Post Concept

I was talking with my wife, and was curious if my viewers would be interested in seeing how exactly we plan our meals for the week and the receipt from that result. The idea would be that we would scan in our receipt and post it as an image, highlight the total, and discuss what item is for which reason.

Not only will this give you insight on how our family maintains this lifestyle, but it also will keep us accountable for our budgeting mistakes.

Thoughts?

Whole Foods Tip #1 | Bulk Bins

Whole Foods, more and more commonly known as Whole Paycheck, isn't always financial death.

There are many secrets to successful frugal grocery shopping at this store. My very first secret that I am proud to share with you, is the mighty bulk bin.

Bulk what?

The bulk bin is a storage device that holds product, in this case of the food sort, and sits amongst a variety of choices in the bulk section of Whole Foods. Often times this section becomes overlooked, perceived to be time consuming and possibly confusing. It does take a little bit of time to take a paper bag, fill it with desired product, and write the associated SKU number on the bag; but trust me it's worth every penny.

Whole Grains

Grains are an excellent and healthy alternative to rice. They have a similar texture and flavor and are often really cheap, sometimes around a dollar per pound. My go to grains include red and white quinoa, millet, and barley. You can combine any of these grains with a vegetable bullion or broth to increase their flavor as apposed to water which creates a particularly bland batch of grains. Also, grains are an excellent source for protein. (as if we need any more)

Dried Beans

It's cheap, filling, and if you throw it in your brand new crock-pot, it's absolutely painless to cook with! As you would expect with the quinoa, they are also a product that is low in a cost per pound ratio.

The Art of Leftovers

I have many memories as a child dreading to eat the same pot roast for a week. My mother was queen of making a meal last; something I didn't fully appreciate until I became a parent myself.

Storage

What do you use to extend your fridge shelf-life? My brand of choice when it comes to food saving is Pyrex.

Why Pyrex?

It's glass, I try to avoid plastic as much as possible. This glass is nonporous that is guaranteed to never warp, stain, or absorb colors.

The tops have a strong enough seal that I feel comfortable transporting soup in my laptop bag.

Another plus is that they stack really easily in the fridge.

Slow-Cookers are from Heaven

At the end of 2011, I was gifted during the holiday season one of the most fantastic kitchen appliances I would have never expected to love so much.


A stainless steel Slow-Cooker named Crock-Pot®.

This 6-Quart beauty has become an absolute necessity for this winter thus far. This particular model can feed from 7-8 people when completely filled and allows you to cook worry free with the digital timer. Another neat feature about this wonderful machine is that the oval stoneware is removable, easily washable, and functions as it's own Tupperware for easy clean-up.


Why should I have this?

My daughter is 2 and a half, and has more energy than most people can keep up with. Between entertaining her, cleaning the house, freelancing, school, and the day job; there is nothing more satisfying than knowing that dinner is being made without you all in three simple steps.

"Prep it, Place it, and Leave it."


What do I make?

ANYTHING.

Not quite anything, but really, almost.

Baked Potatoes, Apple Sage Sausage, Minestrone, Sweet Potato Soup, Chili, Jambalaya, Risoto; A never ending list. My favorite dish to "cook" lately has been anything of the soup variety, my winter pal. Really anything with dried ingredients has been the inspiration of my soups; of which I would have never considered until I read this book: The Vegan Slow Cooker.

"one 15-ounce (420 g) can of beans costs three to six times as much as a single 1-poud (455 g) bag of dried beans. Cooking the 1 pound (454 g) of beans yields the amount of cooked beans you'd get in three or four cans!"

This quote alone instantly had me sold.

The book continues to share similar money saving tips alongside recipes that are absolutely delicious (and nutritious).