Stretching our dollars to afford Organic and safe products

Is this it?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfgxDwuYmRs

FOX is a notoriously right wing, antil-liberal rant fest.  He slams the bacteria element in organics.  It's a little like vegetarianism--it's not just one issue.  It's about local business and farming, family values, nutrition, and a whole lot else.

"Conventional farmers are wonderful."  Huh.  Just take a look at the Orwellian madness of Montsanto, I'm afraid not, John.

He also skips the dairy issue, which is huge and may be part of the reason girls are reaching puberty at 8 these days.

Many organics proponents have suggested big industrial organics isn't better nutritionally, and local is usually better, whether organic or not.  

So join a CSA.

I'm a city girl, so CSA is the only way to go.  Kay, I have learned to cook with what I get, which I know is in season and best for us.  It can be a challenge.  We are swimming in lettuce, but that just means more salads. Our is good: last week we got chard, lettuce, squash, onions, bok choy, apples, turnips, and radishes.  That's a pretty good mix. I used to live in the tri-state region, I definitely found that Jersey CSAs were limited.  I think a lot of that is the whole area has been downsized in terms of farming.

One thing that has been a lifesaver:  getting good at sauces.  I have tahini and indian spices on hand at all times so I can make low-calorie curry and yogurt kind of sauces I put over many of the veggies we get.  

Radishes and dandelion greens are full of vitamin C. Beets and cabbage are full of fiber (though beets are supposedly high glycemic index).

We also got a lot of potatoes (red and white) which I didn't really want, and corn which we enjoyed, but not particularly healthy.  Once in a while would be nice, but got them for weeks in a row.  Also turnips and squash til it was coming out my ears.  The green peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers we also used, but not particularly healthy.  Just decided for next year I want to pick out what I want to cook rather than have it forced on me.  Was really happy with the lettuces when we got those.  It was actually mostly produce from Lancaster, but some things came from Jersey.

Good advice Mcgaffey.  I think that is what had me disappointed with the CSA, so many starchy veggies and not a lot of green ones.  I have not gone vegan, but I am cutting back drastically on meats and sugar and white flour, potatoes and rice.  Have lost 25 lbs and am now a size 2. Loving it! 

Kay, your CSA does sound like it's too reliant on the "easy" crops.  Too bad!  You are right:  corn and potatoes are sorta like the "sugar" of vegetables.  Not my go-to.

McGaffey, me, too!  I always tell people if they really wanna save, come over to the vegetarian camp.  In order to maintain this planet of 7 billion, we are going to have to stop consuming so many animal products for sure.

Can you all let me know how much sugar you take in, and how you cut back on dairy and sweeteners?  Sugar is a huge environmental and human rights issue, I want very much to cut it out completely.  Yet, every day I seem to go off the tracks.

carcharm wrote:
Just wondering if anyone saw John Stossel's report on organic foods? He used to work for or at least researhedh for consumer's reports. He says it is not worth it to buy organic.

I haven't seen it, but I think "worth it" is opinion, not fact, right?  I started buying organic years ago because I hated the thought of all those pesticides in our dirt and water supply, not to mention the exposure to the ag workers and people who live, work and go to school near the fields that are being sprayed. Now I have extra concerns with my own health.

FWIW, my hubby said Michael Pollen is making the pitch for organic while promoting his latest book. Pollen is using the argument that organic foods may be more nutritious  (since the plants are bred to be stronger to fight off the pests). 

OKay, didn't know what CSA stood for. I was in an organic Co-op..... different all together. I'll see if I can find a CSA.

My CSA was organic and local, but I was disappointed in the kinds of veggies and fruits they gave, would rather just buy the organic veggies I want at whole foods or trader joes. I guess they won't be as fresh, but they will be what I want and won't go to waste. Have some local farms nearby too where I can buy local, but they're not organic.

bump

I posted this question on another thread, but I am going to ask it again here...What do you ladies use to clean/disinfect your tub and toilet without using toxic chemicals?  Thanks in advance.

For those interested in a healthy tolerable green thick drink...My husband and son will even down one of these..

First I poor into the blender about 2 cups of Bolthouse "Green Goodness" fruit smoothie

Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness Nutritional Facts

Calories: 140
Total Fat: 0
Cholesterol: 0
Sodium: 25mg
Potassium: 470mg
Total Carbohydrates: 33g
Dietary Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 27g
Protein: 2g

Vitamin A: 120%
Calcium: 2%
Folic Acid: 30%
Vitamin B6: 15%
Manganese: 150%
Vitamin C: 105%
Iron: 15%
Riboflavin: 7%
Vitamin B12: 30%
Zinc: 120%        * Percent Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Ingredients: Apple Juice from concentrate (water, apple juice concentrate,) Pineapple Juice from concentrate (water, pineapple juice concentrate,) Mango Puree from concentrate (water, mango puree concentrate,) Banana Puree, Kiwi Juice, Natural Flavor, Spirulina, Open Cell Chlorella, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid,)  Lime Juice, Zinc Sulfate, Broccoli, Green Tea, Spinach, Barley Grass, Wheat Grass, Blue Green Algae, Echinacea Purpurea Extract, Odorless Garlic, Tamarind Puree, Dragon Fruit Juice, Lemon Bioflavanoids, Jerusalem Artichoke and Nova Scotia Dulce.

Then I push in about 2 of cups of organic super greens or greens or choice, blend, then about a cup of brocolli, blend, 2 chopped organic apples, blend,  2 quartered kiwi, blend and a couple of bananas, blend and you are done...I guess any other fruit or veggy you want to add, but this is usually what I have on hand..

This makes a whole blender full of not-so-bad tolerable mush, lasts a couple of days in fridge..gotto to be good for us just look at ingredients and nutrition, add to that your own food preferences and a good way to start your day.....

Merilee, it's a great base and a good way to get brocolli and other greens and good stuff in one big mushy drink and done for the day...I am bad about eating raw brocolli, super greens, like spinach, arugula, an apple or banana or kiwi etc, but this way you can get it all in one drink...There's plenty left over for the next day or two...

I'm usually growing my own stuff in the backyard - when it comes to tomatoes, cucumbers, sugar peas, green beans, peppers, zucchini, melons and herbs. Being Romanian born and raised (so SE Europe) and eating only organic small farmer-produced fruits and veggies (my parents also had a country-side house where they would spend the summer, full of fruit trees and veggies and stuff) - I always had the issue with the lack of taste of produce here in the USA. I can only get the taste if I grow those things myself.

I make my own compost out of kitchen scraps mixed with a bag or two of manure and dry leaves for everything that goes in the cook-pot. Over summer I had lots of cherry tomatoes, foot-long burpless cucumbers,  and bell-peppers that were my staple in salads, mixed with a sheep feta cheese that comes from Romania that I go buy from a localdeli importer.

A tip to avoid the moths in the pantry: put garlic cloves in the bags/jars of flour, cornmeal, rice, etc. Make sure you don't peel the cloves, that they don't even have a nick that shows the garlic flesh underneath - just separate the head of garlic in cloves without the use of a knife. Usually organic stuff, not having pesticides, might have the eggs of insects in the grains (I know it sounds yucky but they are in no way dangerous) so they'll eclose once they are in a dry place with plenty to eat. The garlic makes them not eclose. Use about 2 cloves of garlic per lb of product.That is what is used in the country-side in Romania to store grain and it works.

Edited to add

Also, if you do your own gardening, make sure you buy ecological dirt-enhancers and pesticides. I always buy for my garden: nematodes (they kill the grub worms in the ground), nightcrawlers (they keep the dirt aerated and fertilize some), preying mantises (they keep lots of insects at bay including the dreaded locusts), lady-bugs (keep aphids at bay). There are a few ecological companies that sell these online, and they are quite cheap compared to the chemical ones that you'd have to buy over and over during the year.Use jar lids full of worcestershire sauce for the earwings and full of beer for the snails as traps. They work wonders.