Just had to share this amazing Eversave deal. You pay $20 for $40 to use at Abe’s Market. They sell lots of natural and organic foods as well as all kinds of natural green products from beauty items to toys. It is very much like a Whole Foods store and I have shopped there several times. When I saw this deal I immediately bought it up and knew exactly what I would buy. I got two bags of my fave grain free cereal Nutcase Crunch, and since they are $19 a bag (yeah pricey!) I ended up getting one free with this deal. Woot! I also had $2 extra cash to spare so I got one of their sample packages that cost exactly $2. Awesome!

Visit Eversave for the deal, while they last any way…

A few weeks back Cascadian Farm asked me to participate in an all organic Earth Day feast celebration. My mission was simply to create an Earth Day feast, or rather a feast worthy of Earth Day since I would have to do it earlier in the month, and use organic foods. To facilitate they sent me an Earth Day Celebration Kit with Cascadian Farms products and coupons. So of course I decided to incorporate Cascadian Farm foods wherever I could.

In honor of the warmer weather of late I decided to go with a backyard picnic feast. I dug out my fave yard sale quilt (only $1.00!) that we use for picnics and I made light and fresh foods. That ended up being paleo chicken tacos, homemade salsa, and blueberry coconut milk smoothies. Perfect for a mid day picnic in the back yard. All the fresh fruit and veggies just scream Earth Day.

Pretty much everything was organic and to make it a Cascadian Farm affair we used their Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes in the salsa, frozen sweet corn as a taco topping, and frozen blueberries in the smoothies. It was delicious! We might just do the whole thing over again on Earth Day for reals. ;)

We buy organic most of the time but it is always good to have that reminder that it is better for the planet and for our health. Supporting organic is a crucial step in voting for the world we want. “Like” the Cascadian Farm Facebook page to get more information on their Earth Day celebration. Also many thanks to them for our kit, which came in that nifty canvas basket seen in the pictures.

It is so easy to just walk into a grocery store and fill your cart with foods that look delicious.  Today’s grocery stores even have ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ foods for you to choose from.  For many the label makes it easy for them to feel that they are getting the best foods available, while still maintaining the convenience of purchasing all their food in one place.

But just because you can purchase all of your foods in one place does not necessarily mean that you should, and it is a fact that even the ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ foods in most grocery stores are not locally grown foods.  While they may be natural or organic, the benefits may be countermanded by the distance they had to travel.  Besides that, there is more to eating locally than simple freshness.

Six Benefits of Eating Locally

Local Foods Are Fresh and In Season. It’s a fact, if you purchase locally grown foods you know that they are in season.  They have to be in order to be grown and harvested. And fresher, in-season foods just taste better and they are better for you as well. Many nutritionists believe that eating with the seasons is the best way to keep our bodies healthy because nature has cycles and it knows exactly what we need to eat.

Locally Grown Foods Have Less Impact on the Environment. Shipping foods across country – even foods labeled organic – can have a negative impact on the environment.  By eating locally grown foods you are significantly lessening the carbon footprint you would otherwise leave by eating foods grown out of state or in another country. Most times you won’t even need to sacrifice organic standards either. More and more small farmers grow their food without chemicals, they just cannot afford expensive certification. Get to know your farmer and you may be pleasantly surprised.

Locally Grown Foods Maintain Farmland. Buying locally grown foods ensures not only that you keep the carbon footprint of your foods as small as possible, but ensures that there is plenty of green space and farmland maintained in your local community in order to sustain the locally grown market.  This is good for everyone who appreciates fresh air and a view of more than city streets and sidewalks.

Locally Grown Foods are Safer. By cutting out the middlemen; those individuals who process and package and ship the food, you cut down on the chance of your food getting contaminated – even inadvertently. Knowing where your food is grown and who grew it tells you something about the food itself, and knowledge, as they say, is power.

Buying Locally Grown Foods Boosts the Local Economy. You were going to buy the lettuce (or spinach or apples) anyway, why give your money to some big chain store or huge agri-business company?  Why not keep that money in the neighborhood where you know it will do some good? If I have a choice between padding the pockets of a big corporation that may use my money to lobby against environmental issues or giving my money directly to a family that needs it.. I know which I would prefer. Purchasing food locally also cuts down on the amount of taxes and red tape involved in purchasing the food; money that would probably come out of your pocket anyway due to price hikes.

Purchasing Locally Grown Foods Create a Sense of Community. When you purchase food from a local grower it connects you to that person; through their land and the attention they have given to their produce, and how many of us want a connection to some big uncaring chain store?  Making local connections instills a feeling of belonging and of community.  People get talking, they share themselves with you, and with others, and everyone is better off.

If you are interested in more healthful living, in sustainability for your local farms, and in creating a sense of true community between yourself and those with whom you share your area, eating locally grown produce is definitely the right decision to make.

Recommends Reads for Local Eating:

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (My Review)

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (My Review)

The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating

Yes, the conundrum that most families into natural health and wellness will face. On one hand we have the argument that organic, healthier foods cost more and therefore cannot be justified when we have a modest budget. There is some truth to this no doubt. Organic cow’s milk might cost you $4.99 for a half gallon at the grocery store. The non-organic milk sits right next to it at $2.79 per whole gallon. The raw organic almonds I buy at $12.99 a pound to make breakfast bars with seems extravagant when I could buy Pop Tarts for a couple dollars a box right? Why go buy $15 worth of ingredients at the store to make a good dinner when we can shop the $1 menu at McDonalds?

But then the counter argument is that unhealthy foods and non organic foods will cost us more in the long run. Why? Because food is our medicine. An unhealthy diet will eventually lead to health problems, doctor visits, unpaid sick days, hospitalizations, pharma prescriptions, etc. If you need proof, look at me. My bad choices turned around to bite me in the behind BIG time. I chose bad foods…REALLY bad foods for many years and got lovely colon cancer, $50,000 worth of surgeries, and chemo treatment at $7000 a week for 6 months. Don’t I wish I could go back and buy healthy foods and complain about how expensive it was. ;)

I see both sides of the coin but only one  really stands up to tough scrutiny. If we cut corners on a healthy diet due to expense…we may likely be paying the piper later…with interest. But like everything it seems there is no black and white here. Some things we may need to compromise on. How can we cut costs and allow access to better food? Let’s explore some of the ways.

Menu Planning – This is probably the best way to cut costs, good old fashioned planning. It gets really pricey when we shop piece meal and only pick up ingredients for a couple days worth of meals. You also might not know what you already have to work with and that can be costly. It just makes good sense to sit down every month or every two weeks and plan out every meal you will eat. Take an inventory of your frig and pantry to see what you have already and work with that. If you have a 5 pound bag of jasmine rice then plan 2-3 meals each week that incorporate rice. If you have lots of dried or canned beans then plan some meals with beans, etc. And when staples like beans and/or rice go on sale, make sure to take advantage.

Meal planning alleviates stress because you always know what you will be making and that lessens the chances that you will just call out for pizza. And eating raw takes planning cause if I want to use rice I have to allow four days for it to soak! But it is kind of fun to do. If it is not your thing you can also use online meal planners or services. Try Menu Planning Central or the Healthy Menu Mailer.

Also don’t be afraid to eat the same thing multiple times in a week if it saves money. There is no law that says dinner has to be totally unique each night.

Buy in Bulk – Sometimes bulk food werehouses can be a bad deal if we buy stuff we don’t need or want just because it is cheaper. But if you shop wisely they are wonderful. Personally I avoid paying the membership fee at Costco by shopping with my mom. I save money on the fee and my purchases count towards her cash back bonuses.

I like to buy frozen fruit at Costco. I can get a huge bag of frozen strawberries for $7.99. A bag ¼ that size can be found at my local grocery store for $6.99. That is a BIG savings since I can easily go through one bag a week and this is one of those areas where I opt not to go organic due to cost. If I had to pay triple for that amount of strawberries I would not buy them nearly as much and I would not make green smoothies nearly as much so the health benefit in that scenario favors the non-organic strawberries. Same goes with their bag of mixed fruit. But when strawberries are seasonal I buy organic and freeze my own. I just run out pretty quick. :(

Organic Baby Spinach is also a great price at Costco so I stock up on that. Fresh, seasonal fruit is better priced too. Costco it is one of the few places I can find wild caught salmon in our area. They have big bags of baking soda that I use to make my own green cleaners. They also add to their organic offerings all the time. Just don’t buy stuff for the sake of buying cheaper stuff.

You might also look into a food co-op where you join with other people to get bulk food at wholesale prices.

Shop Less – This ties in with meal planning. Frequent trips to the store end up costing us more than if we just plan for one or two shopping trips a month. Of course a diet rich in fresh fruits and veggies might mean more trips but the bulk of the shopping should only be done at certain times. The book America’s Cheapest Family discusses this.

Don’t Eat Out – Just stop it already, it is expensive. Make your own meals and save money. Presuming you don’t shop the dollar menu then value meals at fast food places will run around $25 for a family of 5 and it is crap food! That $25 could be dinner for 2-3 nights if you plan well. And don’t waste money on $4 coffees from coffee houses. Yes, it is easy for me to say since I don’t drink coffee but it seems like such a waste. I had to speak with my hubby about this recently and his iced coffee from Dunkin Doughnuts habit.

Make Your Own – Are you buying bottled salad dressing or salsa? Bags of bread? Think about making your own foods and condiments and save money.

Look for Deals – When staples go on sale like rice, beans, nuts, grains, etc, stock up and fill your pantry. Use coupons when you can but do not buy stuff you don’t need or want just because it is on sale. Wasting food is not cool.

If you find you regularly buy certain brand products then contact the distributor and see if they can send coupons. Join their online mailing list to get printable coupons. Pick up Mambo Sprouts coupon books in front of Whole Foods. Look at online sales flyers to see which stores are having sales and even if you have already shopped this week check them anyway, just in case. Don’t go to Whole Foods to buy your almonds when Trader Joe’s down the street has them on sale. If you use Agave Nectar a lot then stock up when they have a sale. I recently found my favorite brand of raw Agave Nectar for $1.99 a bottle! It was an unadvertised sale and needless to say I bought every bottle they had. Which leads me to a little tip: the little natural food sections of mainstream grocery stores often have unadvertised sales. I guess maybe they decide that no one is buying this stuff so they want to clear it out which is good news for me.

Also start keeping track of your purchase in a spreadsheet so you can get a feel for average pricing. This will help you figure out if something is a real deal or waste of time.

CSAs and Farmer’s Markets – Do the math and see if a CSA membership will be a good deal for you, it usually is. BUT if you end up with veggies you don’t like or use then perhaps not. Also check out Farmer’s Markets at the end of the day when the farmers mark down produce to get rid of it. Also be sure to look for local Amish for great deals on organic veggies and eggs.

Eat Less Meat – Meat is the budget killer so try to incorporate as many meatless meals as you can. If you see my sample rice meal plan above you will see only one of the three meals includes meat. That was deliberate. I have been amazed at how much food I have been able to bring home on the average shopping trip since we stopped buying so much meat. If anything we buy fish now instead for 1-2 fish meals a week. Ultimately I would like to see us move to buying sushi only… at our local Japanese grocer.

Eat in Season – Buy according to the seasons for cheaper prices. In the fall buy apples and persimmons and skip the pineapple and green grapes. In the summer load up on watermelon and strawberries. It might also be advantageous to buy a stand alone freezer and freeze some. You can also dehydrate to extend the life of seasonal foods.

Grow Your Own – Even if you have never gardened or think you don’t have the space I bet you can grow at least ONE thing. Pick one item you always buy and see if you can grow it yourself. Cherry tomatoes, strawberries, or herbs are a great place to start. They can be grown on a patio or at a sunny window. I love this post fro J.D. over at Get Rich Slowly about gardening. He found that for every dollar he spent on the garden, they harvested $1.91 worth of food and the expenses were often one time things like a wood chipper and young fruit trees. That is awesome. Wouldn’t you like to make every dollar go twice as far?

There are lots of ways to reduce costs that I can see. How about you? What tips or somments do you have?

More great entries for the carnival! Enjoy this fifth edition of the Natural Family Living Carnival…

Natural Family

First off is Mel of Bean Sprouts. She found an interesting query when looking through her blog stats she answers the question Can I Eat Bean Sprouts During Pregnancy on on her blog.

Dave G share a precious story about he and his family came to a decision about selling their summer cabin. It is a good read!

Stephanie at Stop the Ride shares a great article about creful consumerism with Don’t Get Buried Under Toys This Christmas.

Suzanne of Slanted Little House shares the beautiful story about moving her family to a 100 year old farmhouse with slanted floors and the reaction of her children is priceless.

Kevin at More 4 kids talks about a subject close to my heart and that is How To Raise Eco Friendly Kids.

Another subject I care deeply about is organic foods and Safbaby posts Should I Panic if it is Not Organic.

Trish at Our family Village shares 5 Reasons I Chose to Have a Homebirth.

Eco Friendly Advice

Micaela at Mindful Momma posts about Why it is Not Easy Being Green.

Shannon shares some thoughts on experiencing Oahu in the green.

Phil at Phil for Humanity tells us how to recycle Christmas trees.

Natural Health

Geroge at the hilarious Man and His Baby blog shares an article on Eating Fish During Pregnancy.

Tuan shares 25 Healthy Habits for Fitness and many cater to the more natural lifestyle.

[tags]natural family living, blog carnival, eco friendly, homebirth, christmas trees[/tags]