I thought, since I wrote about wanting to eat healthy and organic foods, that it would be good to share with you what I have learned. Compared to some, I only know a little, so I hope those who have input will share their knowledge with us!
For great organic fruits and vegetables, visit your local farmers' market. Oftentimes you can also buy bread, eggs, and local honey there.
If you cannot go to a farmer's market, most grocery stores have an organic produce section. Try to buy vegetables that are in-season and bought locally (versus out-of-season and shipped in from Mexico or South America).
Friends in California can try Farm Fresh to You. They are a family-owned farm in the Sacramento area (with a second farm in Southern California) and they will deliver to your home a variety of organic produce. My family has enjoyed their produce for the past six months. They are a great alternative for those who would love to go to the farmers' market, but can't. They are also affordable. Boxes come in a variety of sizes, and can be delivered weekly or bi-weekly. Their website is www.farmfreshtoyou.com.
Another useful website is www.pickyourown.org. It lists farms in your neighborhood that are pick-your-own (it's aptly named.) It also has a calendar of the best times to pick your choice of produce. This is always a fun family adventure!
As for meat, a friend recently recommended grass-fed beef from Miller Ranch in Oakdale. You buy 1/4, 1/2, or a whole cow, and you get the best price for great beef! We didn't have the freezer space for 1/4 of a cow, so we split it with my mother-in-law. Their website is www.millerranchenterprises.com
I believe the best price for organic milk is at Costco, but someone correct me if I'm wrong. And I'm still unfamiliar with the best sources for free-range chickens and eggs.
And lastly, organic teas and coffees are now available at many stores (including Costco). I recommend buying organic teas and coffees because leaves and beans are greatly affected by chemicals used on them. If you can, look for the fair trade logo (or the words 'fair trade') on the label. This means that the tea and coffee was bought from a farm that pays its workers fair wages, as opposed to poverty-level wages, or in worst cases, salve workers. This also applies greatly to chocolate. Organic chocolate is safer (again, it's made from beans) and organic fair-trade chocolate is even better. Whole Foods is the only store I've found to carry both organic/fair-trade chocolate for eating and baking. Raley's/Nobhill and Trader Joe's do have milk and dark chocolate bars.
That is the extent of my knowledge, but I would like to learn more. If you know of a good source of organic food, please share it with us!
Hi Rita! If you are looking for a good deal on whole organic milk, Trader Joe's is really where to go. They have a good price on cream-top whole milk, which is better for us than regular homogenized milk. Straus also offers some wonderful dairy products and they are LOCAL!
ReplyDeleteAs for free-range eggs, the best in our area are:
Judy's
Rock Island
Shelton
or Trader Joe's organic "free range"
PASTURED eggs are the best which you can find from small local farmers or Shelley's from Brentwood. Her eggs are pricey, but the quality is absolutely amazing. WELL worth the price.
We LOVE Trader Joe's organic fair trade coffee. Very tasty stuff!
Also, with the organic milk at Costco (our Costco anyway), it's ultrapasturized and %2. So much of the good stuff is either cooked out during the pasturization process, or is lost through the processing to skim it. Whole, organic milk is where it's at, though it is definitely pricier! I think we spend 2-3 times more on milk now than we did when we got non-organic whole milk at Costco. I wish I'd known all this when I was pregnant with E.
ReplyDeleteThis site seems to have some good information on milk: http://www.organicpastures.com/faq.html
I've been thinking more and more about how raw milk might be good for SB as well. I didn't realize that Nathan and A are intolerant as well. I'm interested to hear how they do if/when you go the raw milk way.
It's funny, since Wyatt and I began eating all the local, organic, pastured stuff, our grocery spending has decreased. Most of our meats, dairy, eggs, etc., are now more expensive, so I guess it's just all the other "stuff" that we've cut that's helping us save.
To be honest, though, we still eat our fair share of junk and In-n-out, and we don't have a source of local raw milk. I'd like to switch that around!
I have also found that we are saving more! I think it's mostly because we have a set amount of vegetables coming in very week, so I'm not overbuying at the stores.
ReplyDeleteI will let you know more about the raw milk when we try it. Our only source for that (that I know of) is the Danville Farmer's Market. And I have read that it make take some time for your system to get used to it, so drinking it at first doesn't feel like an improvement!