Organic Recipe Dilemma: How To Get Organic Food On A Low Budget?

Understand Organic.

Thinking about starting a list of organic recipe at home? But first, what is organic? The word organic in every brand is used to describe products that are grown or made without chemicals, such as pesticides and synthetic fertilizers involve in the process. In addition to it, organic products also will not be irradiated, will not be bioengineered, and will never be exposed to sewage sludge. Therefore, to describe organic food is always such as food that comes from animals or that is grown from the Earth in the most chemical free or pollution free of the way.

Other than food products, organic may also be used to describe certain cosmetic or personal care products. When a person buys food such as their favorite vegetables and fruits or the poultry that is labeled organic, he or she should understand that even it is organic it is not guaranteeing high quality, or claiming that organic food has a higher nutritional value than other foods in the market. The term is only for the reference on how the food was grown or produced. For anyone that practicing green living, organic food, and products are always their number one choice as organic is free from chemicals and safe for the environment too.

Eating Organic and the benefits.

So what do you think are the benefits of eating organic foods? This is the main organic recipe dilemma because we are not well-promoted about this topic. Everyone is agreed that chemicals in food products are harmful if not been handled or washed properly. That’s why people nowadays always looking for organic food because of this one main reason which is that people are able to avoid putting undesirable or unsafe foods into their bodies. Organic foods in it definition, are the foods that have not been exposed to the toxins that conventionally grown foods are subject to. The result from that, people who eat organic foods do not run the risk and do not have to worry about consuming certain pesticides and other chemicals.

Eating organics and the benefits is particularly important when it comes to children as well. The children absorb more chemicals in their body if compared to adults. That’s why for most parents, they are so cautious and selective when it goes to food for their children.

Organic food is also a best friend for the environment. There are a lot of evident why eating organic is giving a lot of benefits for the environment. Firstly, it can avoid us from the harm of conventional farming because in the conventional farming, techniques that been used proved can damage the water quality and destroy microbes in the soil, including those that are beneficial to the environment. In the other way, which is the organic way, it actually helps to improve the quality of soil and also helps to protect water quality from any hazardous waste from the chemical. When people consume and buy organic food, it also giving benefits to the small farms.

 Why Organic Foods are Better for Health Improvement

The biggest reason and advantage of eating organic foods is, it is one of the best ways to reduce the exposure from contaminants that commonly found in foods that have been grown using conventional agricultural practices. Most of these possible contaminants may include many other chemicals besides the pesticides, which have been classified as potential cancer-causing agents to our body but also heavy metals hazards such as lead and mercury, and solvents like benzene and toluene. Minimizing exposure to these chemical hazards and potential toxins is an important benefit for your better health. Heavy metals are usually linked to the damage of the body nerve function, it can contribute to diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and it can interfere with hemoglobin production in our body that increases the risk of anemia. Solvent is a substance that usually can damage white blood cell function and lower the immune system's ability to resist infections.

In addition, eating organic is a way to lessening your exposure to any substance that potentially harmful to your body, and increasing nutrients intake to your body at the same time because organically grown foods, on average, is containing higher levels of many nutrients including vitamins and minerals.

In the organic consumption research, the controversy topics for it are always about the decreased intake of contaminants and the increased intake of nutrients and this kind of topic is also been on every nutritionist research. This controversy is so understandable but people nowadays are also firmly convinced that organically grown foods do contain significantly far fewer contaminants than the conventional way of grown counterparts, as well as significantly richer nutrient content.

There are two aspects in the organically grown food, one is contamination aspects, and another is high nutrition aspects. You can't have your own organic recipe without having the certified organic food at home.

This is the discussion about contamination aspect. U.S Department of Agriculture is conducting one of the largest scale studies on more than 94,000 food samples, found, at least one pesticide residue on approximately 75% of conventionally grown fruits and vegetables, in comparison to approximately 25% of organically grown vegetables. Almost half of the pesticide residues found on organically grown vegetables involved DDT or its metabolites. (DDT is a pesticide that has been banned for 40 years for use on food, but because it can be very persistent in the environment, it often shows up in foods decades later.) When DDT and related pesticides were excluded from the results, the percentage of organically grown foods with pesticide residues dropped to about 13%. Studies have been conducted in countries throughout Europe and the Mediterranean comparing one or two specific, organically grown foods to their conventional counterparts, and the results have consistently shown lower contaminant levels in the organically grown foods.

About nutrient content, organically grown fruits and vegetables averagely appear to contain about 15% higher levels of nutrients than any conventionally grown fruits and vegetables. Even the results in this area have not always been consistent, however, and in some cases, conventionally grown fruits and/or vegetables have been analyzed as having a slightly higher nutrient levels than organically grown vegetables. One early piece of research in this area - a review of 34 studies comparing the nutritional content of organic versus non-organic food - was published in 1998. In this research, compared to conventionally grown food, organically grown food was found to have: similar or slightly lower amounts of protein, but higher protein quality (in terms of amino acid composition); higher levels of vitamin C in about half of all studies; and 5-20% higher mineral levels for a majority of minerals. Higher flavonoid content has also been shown in one study of organic versus non-organic foods.

Organics regulations are quite extensive in their lists of prohibited substances, and lower levels of contaminants in certified organic foods make perfect sense and this is where organic definitions derived. More about nutrients, every grown food depend on soil and water for their nourishment, and cleaner soil and water means cleaner food and safer to eat. This is very logic and so simple to understand for everyone.

Nutrient composition in plants is the result of many different factors that interact in a complex way, and organic farming practices - while beneficial - would not be expected to function like an "overriding factor" in terms of nutrient content. The idea of an average improved nourishment level of 5-20% makes good sense to us given this complicated mix of factors.

When you combine a significantly lower exposure to food contaminants with a 5-20% greater intake of nutrients, what you get is a winning combination. That's exactly the way we think about certified organic foods with respect to health: they are a winning combination, and clearly deserve a place in your meal plan.

 How to save more when shopping for organic?

Organic food and consumer products that have been produced in a cleaner and environmentally friendly manner are the main reasons why we have to pay a little bit more. On this point alone, organic products can be and often are pricier than their conventional counterparts. But don’t give up on your organic recipe yet because there are ways to offset the costs so that your overall expenses in going organic won’t be much more than what you’re paying now, and possibly even a little less.

Here’s how to make organic shopping is more budget friendly:

1. Buy direct from the farm near you.

Farmers’ markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) arrangements are typically less expensive than the organic section of your local grocery store or in any organic market. You’re also guaranteed the freshest flavors of the season, and at the same time, you can ask farmers to give the best recipe tips!

2. Choose to buy store brands.

Supermarkets and large discounters (like Wal-Mart and Tesco) have realized good success in offering their own organic products. Private-label offerings are expanding, and they’re a lot cheaper than name brands.

3. Enjoy to clip coupons.

There are coupons for organic food if you know where to find it. Just look for them in health and fitness magazines or in lifestyle magazines. Not just that, you’ll have more luck online — search Web sites for organic coupons: www.couponsherpa.com and www.organiccoupons.org are two reputable sites. Grocery Coupon Guide recommends going directly to company Web sites and will even direct you there — search the site for a blog post on “Organic & Natural Food Coupons,” which includes links to a long list of them. A few to start with: Organic Valley, Stonyfield, and Knudsen Juices.

4. Make your own organic food.

Why not you make your own organic food at home? Instead of buying granola cereal or any cereal, just make your own. How to make sure your baby’s food is the freshest and healthiest it can be? The answer is if you make it yourself, you can ensure the quality of the ingredients and the processing. Cook at home and make sure using organic ingredients, for sure your family will love your organic recipe.

5. Buy in bulk in order to save.

Buying in large quantities is always cheaper than buying small quantities or small portions in any shopping procedure. The more you buy, the more discount you’ll get.

6. Read your labels.

Don’t get confused when it goes to the food label. It is important for you to know how to read your label before buying. As a beginner, please keep in mind something that labeled as “natural” is not the one that you looking for. Organic will be always labeled as “organic”. Please refer USDA info when you’re looking for “organic.”

7. Learn what to and what to not buy organic.

Do you know top fruits and veggies to buy organic so you can choose what is worth for you money? You can skip some so you can save more money for yourself.

8. Grow your own.

The best supply solution for your daily organic recipe! Your small balcony is not a reason to stop you from growing your own plant because even the smallest balcony can usually support a pot or two. So fill those pots with your favorite like a tomato plant and maybe a lemon plant and you’ve got the beginning of an organic garden. Herbs like rosemary and thymes also grow well indoors.

9. Don’t get obsessed.

If you think that you want to be 100% organic in your life, of course, you can but just get smart at it. Not all thing are necessarily organic since there is a way to know how healthy or how safety the product is. In food, make sure it is organic or it is grown with safer manner. Read the labels so you will see what is in your food. Don’t just buy something labeled organic but in the ingredients, all preservatives or artificial coloring are also stated.