Is anyone else trying to eat organic/whole foods???

abbrarogers

I was wondering if anyone else was trying to eat organic, clean and minimal amounts of pre-packaged foods while dieting?

FemininGuns

I cook everything from scratch and if I'm able to buy organic, I do... Pre-packaged or processed things aren't very clear content wise... that's why I cook from fresh.

daj150

I am starting to go that route. Right now I stick with organic dairy-type products. I also prefer organic meats, but once in a while the selection is just terrible and I buy regular. Huge taste difference in my opinion between organics and regular food. From a numbers perspective, not always much healthier, but you do avoid all of the crap they feed the animals.

tigertchr23

Yes! We are fortunate to have a co-op in our area. It is called Bountiful Basket. I'm not sure where you live but they have drop offs in several states. You can order your fruits/vegetables and then they have optional items on a weekly basis. Some times they have breads, granola, fruits for canning, salsa kits, cookie kits, etc. It is a much cheaper way to get good quality food. Try checking into it -- there may be something similar in your area or maybe some farmer's markets?

Here is the website: http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/

This is another one we have: http://greenbeeproduce.com/

I hope this helps! We also have a Sprouts, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's here but sometimes they are pricey!

tierra85

im 100% organic, even down to my spices lol the only prepackaged foods i'll buy are from my local organic supermarket. but even then i try to make most of my food from scratch as well as femininguns

missyhse

absolutely, whole/organic/sustainable and local whenever possible

cutmd

I'm not doing it as part of a diet, my hubby and I decided to go organic a few years ago for the sake of our long term health. We pay more for our food, but as he says better to pay in the grocery store than in the hospital. We go to the farmer's market every week and buy the rest of our stuff at Whole Foods and trader joes. We eat grass fed beef and bison, natural chicken, wild fish, and free range eggs. Basically the only time we eat non-organic is at restaurants. We have amazing energy from all this and will never go back. I also can't eat wheat or gluten, and find a lot of options at the organic stores. I do occasionally indulge in packaged foods like brown rice crackers, gluten free cookies, and ice cream, but try to keep it a low percentage of my diet.

I highly recommend reading Michael Pollan's "in Defense of Food". It will change the way you view eating. He also has articles on michaelpollan.com :flowerforyou:

albredera

I was wondering if anyone else was trying to eat organic, clean and minimal amounts of pre-packaged foods while dieting?

My household is. We stopped eating meat and stopped buying frozen/pantry pre-packaged foods. AND, it's empowering! For far too long I was a passive consumer and eater. NOW, I am much more mindful of what I buy and eat ~ the benefits are mindblowing!

teasdino

The best magazine to get is called 'Clean Eating'. It has fantastic recipes. They try and give you a combo of different things while making it easy for you to find the ingredients. Hope this helps.
jac

hill242

I think we should treat ourselves every now and then, but I am really trying to eat whole foods as a majority. I guess it would be more defined by what I don't eat: No processed grains: bread, waffles, pasta, grits. I avoid packaged foods and snacks -- apples and nuts instead of 100 cal snack packs or energy/protein bars.

I do make some choices that are organic, but I don't stress about that as much.

bsexton3

We are not completely organic. But, we get our eggs from a friend. We get half a beef every year from another friend. Our grains we get from Bob's Red Mill. They are located in Portland, OR but also on line. They have wonderful hot cereals. Just tried their Cinnamon, Apple & Grain yesterday. Wonderful. We also shop at Trader Joes.

But, we don't eat much packaged, simply because it costs less to make it ourselves and tastes better.

Just got a Traeger Grill. It is a smoker. Gives wonderful flavor to chicken, pork and beef without added calories.

RunLove

I started eating "clean" several years ago and have not regretted it. I cook everything form scratch so that I know exactly what goes in it. I won't buy anything that has ingredients in it that I don't cook with, such as high fructose corn syrup or anything that sounds odd. I do not buy any prepackaged meals frozen or otherwise. Additionally, I buy organic whenever possible, however, the label organic doesn't necessarily mean better quality (given recent reports I've read), so I don't beat myself up over not buying organic all the time. I actually began this way before dieting and it has actually helped so much with dieting. The only difference I've made is finding recipes with fewer calories

azlady7

i would if i could afford it

jojoworks

So glad to hear the question and to see so many folks out there understanding the bigger picture of food/health/choices, etc.
I avoid processed foods and I avoid breads, pastas, rice and anything else made from refined carbs.

I belong to a CSA and get fresh, organic veggies and eggs dropped off weekly from the farmer that grew them June thru November. For all else I shop organic at my local food coop.

Information is power and the more we understand about our food the better choices we can make.

Good luck and happy eating!
JoJo

abbrarogers

I'm really trying to cut out non-organic packaged foods but it is hard to completely get them out of my house...I pack DH's lunches everyday and he pretty much doesn't like anything that is healthy so I am very limited to what I can give him, he wil not eat veggies except for iceburg lettuce(crunchy water) and he won't eat fruit either, except for applesauce and it can't be natural unsweetened it has to be the sweetened flavored kind(yuck!) So he is nearly impossible to cook healthy for! I, on the other hand, love all fruits and veggies and am not a picky eater at all and I make sure that my kids eat a wide variety like I do! Luckily DH is on nightshift so I can prepare dinners that the kids and I like to eat that are healthy with lots of veggies and good stuff, I try to make healthy things that DH will eat too but it is VERY hard! I love cooking from scratch but sometimes need things that are quick because it's crazy having 3 kids that are 5 and under! But quick doesn't mean unhealthy, I like to have Boca Nuggets in the freezer for the kids, some cans of Annie's Organic Stars Pasta, organic canned green beans and that sort of thing. Plus it's also hard when my DH just doesn't really understand the importance of eating whole, organic foods, he just sees it as being more expensive and doesn't want me buying everything organic but I'm the one who does the grocery shopping so I buy it anyway as long as I get him his "lunch foods" he doesn't say much unless our grocery bill is outrageous which I am getting much better at not spending as much.