Choosing Your Battles

I love to cook. I love food. I love other people who love to cook. However, I know not everyone is a talented chef. (Side note: any recipes I share are relatively easy, I swear.)

I buy organic dairy...unless I stop at Super Saver where a half gallon of organic milk costs about as much as a gallon of organic milk at Trader Joe's. I buy Prarieland, instead. Always whole milk. Skim milk is basically like drinking sugar water. Organic milk is really not that much more expensive than conventional milk. Cheese is a different story entirely. Organic cheese is treated like gold and consumed accordingly.

I buy pastured beef straight from the farmer...except for when I run out and it isn't on sale at Whole Foods. (Side note: I can't pay $8/lb for anything). I buy whole, free range chickens at Sam's Club. I buy as much close-dated, reduced-price meat as I can get my hands on. I splurge on nitrate-free hot dogs and lunch meat, but I buy regular bacon.

I buy organic apples because we eat a ton of apples, but I can't afford organic strawberries. I don't buy organic avocados or bananas because we don't eat the peels. I can't buy only non-GMO, organic, humanely raised, hugged and kissed, read a bedtime story food. I can't. It's too expensive. However, you'd be surprised how affordable it is to eat a mostly whole, highly organic, and mostly un-processed diet.

We have a  garden in the summer, and I buy food from a crop share. I raise chickens in my backyard. I freeze close-dated (cheap) bananas, spinach, herbs, and whatever else I can in my deep freeze. Even though it's probably bleached, I buy pre-washed (though organic) salad, spinach, and greens. I just can't waste time washing and soaking and drying greens.

Part of my backyard flock

I can't always drive across town to Natural Grocers.  I can't just pop into Trader Joe's whenever I want.

Are you still with me?? I know it seems like I just said a whole lot of nothing, but I have a point: when it comes to eating and grocery shopping you have to choose your battles. The truth is that many of us cannot afford to purchase all organic foods. However, you can ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS afford whole, healthy food. You can get three pounds of bananas for the cost of a box of Hot Pockets, and I guarantee you the bananas are much better for you.

Eating lesson #1: choose your battles, plan your attack, and win the war against processed food!  The Best Me is determined to honor my body by eating as little processed food as possible.  It's a battle I know I can win.