Nutrient Dense Kitchen on a Budget 101: Sourcing Quality Whole Foods
We all know we should be more discerning when it comes to what we put into our bodies, but clean ingredients come with a higher price tag. Let’s explore realistic ways we can prioritize where to spend – and save - our money when it comes to buying and preparing better foods for ourselves and our families.
First, let’s talk sourcing: where does our food come from? The answer makes a huge difference to your body. A steak from Walmart is not the same as a steak from the ranch north of town, with the main contrast being the cows’ diets. When shopping for meats and other animal products, it’s vital to look for items that come from animals who were fed their historically natural foods. This means that chickens had access to bugs, and cows had access to grass. These products can be found at mainstream and discount grocery stores with labels like “Free-Range” for poultry and “Grass-Fed” or “Grass-Finished” for beef. These meats are found to contain higher levels of key nutrients that humans should be consuming. There is a lot of additional science that goes into why it’s healthier to consume free-range and grass-fed meats, but it mainly boils down to the fact that problems occur when animals eat things they aren’t supposed to, be they human or bovine. When the cow is filled with foods unnatural to their evolutionary diet, problems occur in their bodies that then get passed to us: the ultimate recipient of that cow’s food choices. Translation: we truly ARE what we eat.
“Free-Range” and “Grass-Fed” do not also mean organic. Let’s dive into why organic products are beneficial. Meats, oils, grains, produce, snack crackers…virtually everything can now be produced organically. Why do these items cost noticeably more than their non-organic counterparts? It has to do with what is allowed to end up inside of them. Insecticides, genetically modified organisms, chemicals, and other unnatural substances have free reign under the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to end up in our food supply. These foreign toxins wreak havoc in our bodies. Certified organic products are free from these substances, but they’re passing the cost of those pristinely-sourced ingredients on to the consumer. So how do we choose between physical and financial health? Smart shopping means doing the research on when it really matters to buy organic, and these nifty tools did the research for us:
· The Dirty Dozen is a list of fruits and vegetables that have the most chemicals and do the most harm to our bodies when we eat the conventional versions. If you only have a few extra bucks to splurge on organic produce, focus on buying the things found on the Dirty Dozen list in their organic form.
· The Clean Fifteen is a list of produce that do the least amount of harm in their conventional versions. Feel okay about buying things off of this list that aren’t organic if you can’t make a full organic shift.
We can also think outside of the box store when it comes to purchasing whole foods. Backyard gardens are exploding in popularity, and they are a great way to really connect with the foods that you consume. If consistent, you will eventually earn back your initial garden infrastructure investment from not purchasing expensive organic produce at the grocery store. But if you don’t have time to grow your own food like most of us, you can often find a cheaper alternative to buying organic groceries and grass-fed meats at the store by connecting directly with local farmers and ranchers. You can Google produce farms and grass-fed ranches in your area and call them directly, or strike up a conversation at a farmers market. Buying direct from local farmers and ranchers has several benefits:
· You know without fail where your food comes from
· You save money by buying direct from the source
· You can stock your freezer and meal plan around the cuts of meat you receive
· You decrease the carbon footprint that comes with meat manufacturing and food transportation to the shelves
· You can speak with the farmer or rancher directly about the kinds of pesticides they use or how their animals are raised, treated and fed
Many small farms follow sustainable and organic practices, but they don’t have the fancy official certification because it’s expensive for them to get. Another easy way to seek out local and organic produce is to post in local marketplace groups (i.e., Facebook, Nextdoor, etc.) that you’re in search of surplus produce from home gardens. The bottom line is that shopping local and buying organic whenever possible can make you feel good about taking responsibility for your health, and for the planet.
Finding a cleaner source for just one of your family’s favorite main dishes or fruit to have around is a good place to start so you don’t feel like you have to throw everything out. Remember: we’re all doing our best every day. The goal is to take reasonably-sized steps so that achieving our health or food goals is realistic.
For the down-low on prepping and cooking your foods for maximum health benefits and the most bang for your buck, mosey on over to part II of this series:
Nutrient Dense Kitchen on a Budget 102: Preparation, Cooking & Storage.
Sources:
Sass, C. (2020, January 8). Is Grass-Fed Beef Really Healthier? Here’s Everything You Need to Know. Health.com. https://www.health.com/nutrition/grass-fed-beef-tips
Environmental Working Group. (2021a). #CleanFifteen Conventional Produce with the Least Pesticides – @EWG’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in ProduceTM. EWG Food News. https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/clean-fifteen.php
Environmental Working Group. (2021). #CleanFifteen Conventional Produce with the Least Pesticides – @EWG’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in ProduceTM. EWG Food News. https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/clean-fifteen.php
