Organic eating - Page 2

[MrsKatie]

Originally Posted by jbk21 

I don't mean to critique, but since we are veg with a dairy-free person in the house I just wanted to point this out-  Dairy is actually a pretty poor way to get calcium.  It has actually been shown (in many many studies, I can look some up if you'd like) to leech calcium and other nutrients from the body, especially in high animal-protein diets.  The dairy farmer's assoc. has been the main group touting the calcium benefits of milk, etc, but it's really not true and has been debunked (though the idea has been rammed into our heads it's hard to convince folks otherwise!)  In fact, other foods (beans and broccoli come to mind specifically) have MORE calcium per calorie than milk.  

 

REALLY glad you brought this up.

I was going to say the same thing.  There is a strong positive correlation between dairy consumption and osteoporosis; cultures who don't consume dairy don't really get osteoporosis.  And for the boys out there, the link between low-fat dairy and prostate cancer is as strong as the link between cigarettes and lung cancer.  Dairy really should be avoided, anyway -- so don't worry if you can't afford it!

Quinoa has a lot of calcium, too!

[Abraisme]

Yup, I was thinking the same thing.  Dark green veggies are another great way to get calcium.
 

Originally Posted by MrsKatie 

REALLY glad you brought this up.

I was going to say the same thing.  There is a strong positive correlation between dairy consumption and osteoporosis; cultures who don't consume dairy don't really get osteoporosis.  And for the boys out there, the link between low-fat dairy and prostate cancer is as strong as the link between cigarettes and lung cancer.  Dairy really should be avoided, anyway -- so don't worry if you can't afford it!

Quinoa has a lot of calcium, too!

[birdhappy85]

Well, to my knowledge, raw dairy is still one of the best sources of many nutrients including calcium.... but I, too, have read before that pasteurized dairy products leech calcium from the body rather than add to it. I believe that's an accurate assumption? Although I know we weren't distinguishing between raw and pasteurized earlier.

I'm looking into CSA's in the area. I wish there were one really close by. I live in a Milwaukee suburb. The closest I've found posted online is still a half hour away and says that all of its shares are booked up, but I could try to apply for next year. While that's not that far, I am not a big fan of making highway drives frequently, especially when winter comes. I think it'll be too much of a hassle to drive that far to get food when we have the baby to take care of in general. That's the main reason I don't go to my friend's organic farm much at all. It's almost an hour away and I just dread the drive a lot of the time. When I was working, there were only a few hours a week when I wasn't at work that the farm was even open for business, so that kind of made things harder to work around.

I looked at that website for LW Dairy that a pp mentioned where they deliver to the Milwaukee area. That's an awesome idea. Unfortunately they don't deliver the kinds of foods I'd be able to eat. But if they ever offered goat milk, I'd be there! lol

I talked to my husband about everything tonight. He said he's supportive of me just completely overhauling our diets and cooking whatever I can eat, no matter how simple, and he'll eat it too. Even though he's reassuring, I still feel like I'll be inconveniencing him. I need to start putting myself first and stop caring if I disappoint other people by not eating food they offer me and not going out to eat with them if I can't find acceptable dishes, etc. I keep thinking about my baby shower in a month and how there's going to be so much food and they picked out a cake for me... It's so hard to turn down food in social situations! People at work would put a spotlight on me and question me and want to know all about why I'm not eating what everyone else is eating during company lunches and stuff. Ugh. Sometimes I wish I lived in California or someplace else where it's more common to see this kind of eating because when you live in Wisconsin and can't have dairy (or gluten) it's just pure hell, IMO. It's like you're an outcast. Cheese, beer, and brats. That's what we're all about here. Food is love. Blah blah.

Off my vent. I'm going to chill for the rest of the night. Thanks, everyone, for your support and ideas!!!!

[meesh933]

I totally feel you on the social situations. We're vegetarians, which is a little easier, but it's still tough. I don't know how many times I've been told "Oh, it's ok, we're just having chicken/fish." My MIL offered my DD tuna, and then Chef Boyardee beef ravioli last week. ???

Anyway, I just wanted to chime in that Azure Standard is really, really what you're looking for. I'm not sure if they have drop points near you, and if not, I don't know what their UPS costs are, but their GF grains/flours are a whole lot cheaper than anywhere else. We order from them monthly and I love them. We're moving to an area they don't deliver to soon, and I don't know what I'll do. You should really check it out though - azurestandard.com.

As far as budget, we spend $500/month for two adults, a 4 yo, and an 18 mo. We get most of our produce at the farmer's market/CSA when we can, order staples through AS, and avoid as many processed foods as possible. We also get our eggs and raw cow's milk locally. Meal planning makes a huge difference in how much we spend, too, as does leaving DH at home when I shop!

[Paigekitten]

That's crazy that you need three acres for chickens.  Our lot is 1/10th of an acre and we have three chickens and three more chicks that will be joining them in a few weeks.  We are planting two dwarf apple trees and blueberries this weekend, plus I have a garden in the front and back yard.

What about ordering gluten free mixes from Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur Flour?  That way your DH can still have the stuff he likes, it's easier then baking from scratch, but should be cheaper too.

We were casein free for a while and it was AWFUL, I totally get how depressing social situations can be.  Sitting there, watching everyone else eat all this yummy stuff that you can't have, and they totally don't get it, like "here just have this root beer, it doesn't have milk"  but um, yeah, caramel coloring....

[LunaLady]

We spend an average of $200 per week on food for just DH and I... so about $800 a month.

We shop at Whole Foods for our basics and buy organic primarily. We buy our meat from a local butcher that only sells local, organic and grass fed/free range animals. I have an egg lady that I get our eggs from and I get raw milk from a local organic farm that doesn't feed grain or corn to their cows.

We are gluten free by choice, with occasional 'treats'. 

I'm not sure how to slim down a food budget - we are of the mind that we can cut our budget in other areas because food is so important. We canceled our cable this year and save $75 a month. We  downgraded our cell phone plan and save $35 a month. DH started taking the company shuttle to work and that saves us about $50 a month in gas. In the last year I've overhauled our household and completely stopped buying commercial cleaning products, I quit using make-up years ago, I make our soap, we don't use hair products, and I've purchased any clothing we need from Goodwill, CL or on super sale at Target and whatnot. Those choices save us TONS. A gallon of white vinegar, a bottle of Dr. Bronner's, a box of baking soda, borax, and some soap nuts are all I need to clean the  house and do laundry - at the cost of about $25 every three or four months to replenish supply. I made some felted wool dryer balls to replace dryer sheets, and we got a clothes line to reduce the dryer use when it's sunny. We also really don't go out to eat much because we care about where our food comes from, so we save money in that area, too - I think we go out to eat once a month or so.

As for social situations, I'm getting more and more to the point where I just tell people we are 'gluten free' and let them either say, "Oh, okay." or ask me about it. Neither DH and I have any medical issues that necessitate being GF - but we've chosen this way of eating for better health and to avoid any future health problems associated with eating copious amounts of grains, so really it could be considered 'medical'. Like I said, though, we do allow ourselves to cheat on occasion, and because it's not a medical risk we just deal with some indigestion and grogginess when we do.

Also, because we purchase such nutrient dense foods I don't feel like we need to take a bunch of vitamins, so that saves us money, too. I'm just taking vit d.

I hope you can find a balance! As Hippocrates said - "Let food be thy medicine". Food is so important 

Have you read Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon?

[Jaimee]

Originally Posted by LunaLady 

Have you read Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon?

Full of great info!  I used it to make yogurt and learn how to sprout beans.

[LunaLady]

Originally Posted by Jaimee 

Full of great info!  I used it to make yogurt and learn how to sprout beans.

Yes, it is a lovely read! Very passionate and full of great recipes! I've made the kombucha, ginger beer, lamb musaka, meatloaf, kraut, ketchup, mayo, and cesear dressing (OMG, soOOOOOooo good!!!). It really changed my whole food philosophy when I read it!

[1love4ever]

I havent read the other posts, but I order my non-perishables from vitacost.com for the most part.  There is also azurestandard.com that delivers monthly to certain areas, I know it delivers to the north west USA for sure, and in to north dakota, just email them to ask if they deliver to your area and they will give you a contact person in your area.   They sell perishables and non-perishables.  I also grow a garden during the summer and can tomatoes, pumpkin, freeze zuccini, etc.  I dont go to hardly any health food stores because they are very expensive in my area but in other areas they are more reasonable.  I go to Albertsons and they have a lot of reasonable priced organics.  They have drastically expanded their organic produce section on my request, and I ask them to order in the fruits and veggies that I want and they usually can get it.  I also write to organic companies and ask for coupons.  Look for local eggs and local grass fed meat, which around here is way cheaper than buying it in the store.  You said you are dairy free, but the private farmers here sell the raw milk cheaper than the cheapest store brand non-organic milk too.  BUY IN BULK, and make sure you get at least a 10% discount, but always ask for a bigger discount.  I buy cases of organic butter and freeze it, and get about an 18% discount off the shelf price, I pay $4 a pound for it.

Processed and prepackaged organic food does seem to be the most expensive so I do stick to whole foods for the most part.  Buy half a beef or something instead of a few steaks or pounds of ground burger.  I ended up paying $3.53 a pound for a half a beef, that includes processing and everything.  I got lots of steaks, roasts, burger, etc.

I eat ALL organic, I do not feed my family anything that is not organic.  I really dont know how much I spend on food in a month because so much of my groceries I buy in bulk, so I pay a higher price one time, but then it lasts me months or even a year.

I also get cases of Newmans Own organic prunes from Amazon, but I have found that Amazon tends to charge way too much for even their cases of food. 

Definitely go to farmers markets, ask if they treat their gardens with anything, and buy from people who dont.  I live in MT and some people go to WA and get truck loads of organic peaches, pears, nectarines, etc and bring them to the farmers markets to sell.  If they are unmarked, ask them if they are organic, if they dont know then they can call the farm where they got them from to ask.