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It’s Organic September this month so I thought now would be the perfect time to talk about how to eat organic food for less, so that it feels manageable for everyone! I like buying organic produce but I know it can get expensive and it’s not always available, so I don’t worry about trying to get everything organic, instead I focus on the items that contain the highest number of pesticides. To help me I use ‘the dirty dozen’ and the ‘clean fifteen,’ these two lists make my shopping feel much less daunting and it works out to be much cheaper than trying to get everything organic.
The Dirty Dozen
The dirty dozen is a list that’s published every year showing the fruit and veg that contains the most pesticides, so they’re the foods that I try and focus on when I’m shopping. It includes produce with thin skins like apples, strawberries, tomatoes, spinach, celery, cucumber, bell peppers and potatoes. So whenever possible I get these organic.
The Clean Fifteen
On the other hand you have the ‘clean fifteen’, which is the list of the fruit and veg that absorb the least pesticides, so these are the ones that I worry least about. This list includes things like avocados, pineapples, sweet potato, mangoes, asparagus, aubergine and cauliflower. Luckily I eat lots of these items, which helps to bring down the cost of my shopping.
Other Tips to Make Organic Shopping Cheaper:
Buy Seasonal Produce
Of course focusing on seasonal produce really helps to bring down your grocery bill too, and using farmers markets is often great for this as supporting farmers and getting local organic produce is the absolute best! I find that buying my food there is often cheaper too and it always tastes better.
Buy Frozen
Buying frozen organic is often so much cheaper, especially for foods that are out of season. I always buy frozen berries, rather than fresh ones, as it’s so much cheaper and if I’m using them in a smoothie it makes absolutely no difference but it makes the smoothie significantly cheaper. The same goes for things like spinach and kale, if they’re for smoothies, and of course traditional frozen foods like peas.
Grow Your Own
Growing your own veggies are such an awesome way to ensure you’re eating local and organic produce. It’s so awesome to plant the seeds and nurture them until they grow into ripe and plump fruits/veggies. Picking food straight from the garden can be so satisfying, especially knowing exactly has been on it and where it has come from. Things like courgettes, spinach and carrots are so easy to grow and seriously fuss free! Seeds can be super cheap too and once you’ve got your soil and pot, there are endless possibilities of what you could grow.
