A good and affordable place to order organic grains, flour, nuts, nut butters, dried fruit, some oil and other things (I can't list them all here, there's too many) is Jaffe Bros. Their phone number is 760-749-1133. And hey, I just saw that they have a website now! That is
www.organicfruitsandnuts.com . I've never gone to their website, but when I call they are very nice. Very good customer service. Because of shipping, they are a bit more expensive than a store much of the time, but the more you order at a time, the lower the shipping prices per item. We usually save up and order several things at once because of that. The closer you are to CA (that's where they're located), the lower the shipping, too. Their maple syrup is wonderful. We get their dark amber (Grade B), which is cheaper and so much more flavorful. It's not listed in the catalog as organic, but it's labeled on the bottle as organic. They also have maple sprinkles (dehydrated maple syrup, pure and simple), which are nice but expensive as an alternative to sugar. I get them for making a special candied nut, but otherwise don't like to spend that much.
Now, we also live in the Southwest, and we live 2 hrs. from the "big city" where we can get organic food (except that we can get organic milk and lettuce at the Walmart just 30 min. away). Here's what we do (and how). We go into the city once a month. We get almost all of our groceries at that time. We are very organized, and we know exactly what we're going to get and where. We have a shopping list that we've typed up on the computer. It has all of our staples, plus things that we regularly get every so often on it. We've grouped the items into sections of the store (produce, grocery, bulk, frozen, refrigerated, herbs and spices) so that we can shop efficiently. When our shopping/eating habits change, we change the list. We print it out each month right after our big shopping trip and put it on the fridge. We circle the things we need as we realize we're going to need them next time. We also write in things that aren't on the list but that we'll need (and circle them, just to avoid confusion). The day or two before our trip, I go down the list and check cupboards and circle things that we need. I also write quantities when applicable.
We have a huge cooler that goes in our car. We fill it with recycling to take in, and then fill it with frozen and refrigerated food to bring home. We also have a large freezer (aside from the freezer with fridge), which is essential if you eat meat, and very useful even if you don't (for keeping grains and nuts from going rancid, among other things).
We only buy meat every 3-4 months. It's a big hassle to buy meat, so we spread it out more than each month. If you live in NM and would be buying in Albuquerque (and if you eat meat), pm me for a good source of antibiotic- and hormone-free meat.
We make our own bread in a bread machine, which saves us money and space in our freezer.
I think this is everything. If you want to do this method, and have some questions, feel free to ask. HTH
Christie
