I've heard brown rice is pretty cheap. What other foods are pretty cheap? If possible, specify the quantity and price, thanks! The following are all organic, and the prices I've paid for them in the Chicago area. Everything is in US dollars.
Dry beans - a pound of black beans would be 1.20 or so a pound.
Grain - it's only a dollar a pound for organic millet (I just bought some last week!); organic quinoa is 1.50 a pound or so.
Oatmeal - A huge container of organic rolled oats was only 4 dollars for me.
Pasta - a pound of organic pasta is 1 - 3 dollars depending where you shop.
Pasta sauce - organic pasta sauce is 2.50 to 4 dollars a jar typically, a very affordable line of organic pasta sauces was introduced by Safeway under their "O" organics store brand name.
Carrots - three pounds of organic carrots for four dollars. A pound of cut and washed organic baby carrots for 1 - 2 dollars.
Bananas - .69 to .99 a pound, depending where you shop.
Tofu - a 12 oz tray of organic tofu is 99 cents at Trader Joe's. Organic tofu ranges from 1 - 2 dollars at other stores. It's most expensive in huge upper crust chain stores... usually tofu is very reasonable.
Organic sweet potatoes - 3 pounds for $3.50.
Organic potatoes - 3 pounds for $2.99. If you going to be going to local chain stores/markets - check the ads out before setting out to buy and MAKE A LIST! Also when in the store - check for the 'in store sales' that are not listed in the paper. Many times a particular store will have too much of a particular item and it will have a sale on it when the others are not - so be aware.
Try to buy local from local farmers if you can. Buying direct cuts out the 'middle man' and lowers the price your going to pay.
Buy things in season. If you know how to can or have a freezer - put up things for later on in the year when they are not going to be so cheap and cost you much more.
If you have friends that are interested in saving money the same as you are - think about starting your own co-op for buying food in bulk. I have done this in the past and you really CAN save alot of money if you buy in bulk and split the cost between say - 6 others. Everyone is getting fresh food - everyone is saving money.
No matter what the cost of the food - if it is food that you don't like it matters not how little you paid for it if you don't like it. So buy things that you know that you are going to eat, that you like when it is on sale.
Also, try checking out many of the Asian markets as they have great prices and don't normally put out sales ads in local papers (at least around where I live). I check them out usually on the weekend.
Buy enough - not more than you need (unless you are going to be freezing or putting it up) and things that are in season. Learn to be creative with your cooking with the foods that you like and how to make them in varied ways so as not to be boring (won't be tossing out rotten food then).
That's the best advice that I can think to give anyone that is looking to save money on the grocery bill. The cheapest organic foods are free: just take a walk through a forest with a basket (and some common sense). My favourite is Ramson (wild garlic). Can I just point out that I'm a vegetarian too but I don't eat only organic foods because they can be grown as intensively farmed food and then have natural chemicals inserted into them. They are unnecessarily expensive and aren't always better for the environment. DON'T BE FOOLED BY SUPERMARKET AND MEDIA CLAIMS! I pick which items to buy organic because they do cost more.
These you should buy organic: Apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, imported grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, red raspberries, spinach, and strawberries.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture鈥檚 own lab testing reveals that even after washing, some fruits and vegetables consistently carry much higher levels of pesticide residue than others. Based on an analysis of more than 100,000 U.S. government pesticide test results, researchers at the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a research and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., have developed the 鈥渄irty dozen鈥?fruits and vegetables, above, that they say you should always buy organic if possible because their conventionally grown counterparts tend to be laden with pesticides. Among fruits, nectarines had the highest percentage testing positive for pesticide residue. Peaches and red raspberries had the most pesticides (nine) on a single sample. Among vegetables, celery and spinach most often carried pesticides, with spinach having the highest number (10) on a single sample. Try some reasonably priced, wholesome, organic, carrots. This is a great question and you've already gotten some helpful answers, but I'm adding something that really makes a difference:
For the best prices AND the highest quality foods with lowest environmental impact, buy local! A lot of people hear this "buy local" information and think it's just about supporting local businesses and farmers. While that IS a huge part of it, there are other really, really great reasons to buy locally that benefit you, the consumer.
You can often get really nice, fresh produce like fruits, vegetables, and other wonderful goods...at literally a fraction of the cost you pay for them in the supermarkets and health food stores. There is no middle man (the distributor or supermarket), no fancy printing and packaging cost, and most importantly, no high gas prices to fly their green beans from where you live to across the country! :) This passes the savings onto you, AND your food is healthier and much fresher because it has not been processed, packaged, and transported, all of which can diminish the quality of the nutrients. There are also no preservatives added, and you'll hardly ever have to encounter a small, locally grown organic produce with any sort of pesticide at all. For these reasons, local foods retain their flavor better...yummy! :)
You've been given some very nice, accurate advice on some of the dried goods that are organic, and what they might cost you. But eating just rice and beans and such can get rather limiting, so working in local produce is really a great win-win for everybody!
If you don't have a local farmer's market, try doing a little research to find out if there is any sort of co-op, or locally grown website, that can help you find what's yummy and available.
One thing to know about shopping at the farmer's market/locally is that you won't find as big of a selection as a supermarket unless you're in a really large community or very diverse climate. Expect to shop with the seasons and embrace what's available, which can vary from time to time.
I hope this helps you...best of luck! It really depends on the store and what you are buying.
My local store just had 3 lb bags of onions and 5 lb bags of potatoes on sale for $2.50 a bag.
Look also for organic canned good that are private label.
My store started selling organic canned goods under their own label. It's usually less than .50 cents more than the non organic.
The other thing to consider is that things like berries and raisins and lettuces have more pesticides than other produce.
For instance, if you peel carrots, then buy regular.
I like to buy organic, but to buy all organic is just too expensive. |
