The experts say...

So a few days ago my ever attentive husband-to-be showed me a blog from yahoo in which the experts are now talking about food that you absolutely should not eat. You can read it here 7 Food Even The Experts Won't Eat. This is just a very short list compared to the foods that I could list off for you, but its a start, and at least now someone other than just every day joe schmoes are saying it. When you read these things you will notice that a vast majority of them include things that they have found contribute to all kinds of cancer. When people we know say "dont eat that! it'll give you cancer" I used to, as I'm sure you do, tell them they were paranoid and over-reacting. But now, I am a member one of the cancer choir. With all these things in these every day common food items that are contributing to cancer, is it any surprise that almost everyone past the age of 50 is developing some type of cancer? Hardly. And I refuse to be one of the masses. In the initial email sent from Dana when I began this, she said something that stuck with me - Health before wealth. People so often will skip over organic food because it is just SO expensive - and I'm not going to lie, it truly is. You see a mark up of two to three hundred percent on organic items, and its easy to opt for the potatoes that cost 1.99 than the ones that cost 5.99. However, I was put on this earth with this body, in charge of taking care of it and keeping it as best I can. Men and women in the bible used to live well into their hundreds, and when I say well I mean well. It was not the sickly state that most people who make it to their hundreds are in now. And often in the bible, Jesus criticized those who simply accumulated wealth and did nothing about it. Our money is a blessing and a gift, and one that we were meant to utilize for good and to better people, ourselves included. Now this doesnt mean bettering ourselves with a 50,000 dollar sports car, or a 300,000 dollar home with 10 rooms that will never see company. We should spare no expense when it comes to our health, and if you spend an extra 50 - 100 dollars at the grocery store on food, your body will thank you for it. Now I understand that for some families you are barely putting food on the table as it is, but I am a firm believer that God will provide your needs. Also, if you have to switch products in order to eat organically within your budget, I also believe that that is what you should do. Example,

(All items are Wegmans Food You Feel Good About/Organic)

16 oz. ground angus beef - 5.29
16 oz. Natural ground turkey - 3.99

1lb boneless chicken breasts - 8.99
1lb boneless chicken thighs - 4.99
1 lb chicken drumsticks - 2.99

So if you have to switch from ground beef to ground turkey for a while until you can straighten out a budget, good! (Ground turkey is better for you anyway!!!) And chicken thighs are an easy substitute for chicken breasts. And if you don't mind the bone, or you know how to de-bone, you can go even cheaper. and if you check out this recipe on Dana's blog Dana's sticky hwaiian chicken.

Tips for making organic shopping a little easier on the wallet:

If you have a whole foods or trader joes - GO THERE! These places offer a huge selection of natural and organic foods at prices that, while I will not say are cheap, they are affordable.

If you aren't lucky enough to have one of these "mega" places to shop, do some research, I can assure you that you can find a local whole/natural foods store. The issues with these stores are not in what they carry - you can usually find great local natural foods there - but since they are smaller with no other funding, their prices aren't as competitive. Still, if its all you have, its better than nothing.

If you have a Wegmans - and if you live anywhere in the north east, you probably do, take advantage of their natural foods section. Also some good information, Wegmans has a line of products that they call "Food you feel good about" - This is a good thing to watch for, these products are usually "natural" - as per the packaging. Not all Wegmans products carry this logo on it, so try to be selective, but choosing some of these can really help make the change to organic less drastic.

Clip coupons!!! I know, I know, no one has time for coupons any more, but trust me, they help! Now you wont find organic coupons in the Sunday paper, at least not many, but you can search online and subscribe to some or print some out. Organic Valley coupons and heres a general List of ogranic coupons.

If all else fails, try to stick to fresh food as much as possible - because while they will still likely be altered or have been sprayed with pesticides, fresh is always better than preserved. 

I wish I could emphasize just how important it is to make the attempt to eat right, hopefully I've given you a few things to consider here, and I hope you do. We have one life to use and live, we need to make the best of it!