First Person: Eating Organic Without Denting Our Wallet

With the world busting at its seams with all sorts of perils and hazards, one thing we certainly should not have to worry about is the safety of our food. Unfortunately, statistics tell a different story.

According to the World Health Organization, it is estimated that in the United States, some 76 million illnesses result from food borne disease each year and of those cases, approximately 325,000 involve hospitalization.

Peanut butters, spinach, all sorts of meat cuts, even Spaghettios have all made recent headlines because of product contamination. E. Coli and Salmonella spearhead the bulk of the recalls.

Eating has posed a real risk. It's sobering to think that an everyday food can put you into the hospital; because of this, organic food has a growing base of enthusiasts, my family included. When it comes to fruits, veggies and meats, we seek out stores or markets in our area that sell only fresh, untreated commodities.

Too expensive you say? Perhaps. But we say the health benefit greatly outweighs the slight overcharge.

To begin with, we avoid processed, pre-made packaged foods. We do "perimeter shopping" at our grocery store, sticking to the fresh fare and specialized departments. We sub in Polar's naturally flavored carbonated spring water for pop, avoid bologna like the Spanish Influenza, and have the slim waistlines to prove the argument.

You may think that the packaged and processed food is cheaper and convenient, but it is wholly unhealthy and cuts into your grocery bill that is better spent on fresh produce. It's a little heartrending to see a family with overweight children, their cart loaded with frozen dinners, soda and food that only comes in a box or a can.

With that in mind, here is a list of the foods we only buy organic, and why buying them just makes more financial sense.

Apples

According to What'sOnMyFood.org, the USDA has detected 42 pesticides on typical apples. The white film on most apples is just that - noxious chemicals designed to ward off pests and beef up that apple. Or how about those apples that appear to be encrusted with multiple layers of Armor All car wax? A 3 lb. bag of non-organic apples is about $4. The organic variety is about 50 cents to a dollar more. When apples are in season, we go picking and stock up!

Eggs

If you have never watched the Food, Inc. documentary, I would encourage you to do so. It will change your meat and poultry eating habits forever. It's horrific and nauseating the way chicken and eggs are mass-produced. We buy only Eggland's Best cage-free organic eggs, at about $3.50 for the dozen.

Regular eggs are a few dollars cheaper, but the taste difference in an organic versus a non-organic egg is astonishing. Non-organic egg whites are truly flavorless. The yoke of an organic egg is ultra creamy. Ever try to peal an organic hard-boiled egg? It's difficult! This alone tells you the strength and quality of the egg.

Chicken

Farm-raised chickens are bred immobilized in the dark while their bodies are injected with an assortment of hormones that would make Jose Canseco blush. Organic chicken is juicy and tender, not tough and stringy. The cost of organic chicken has come way down, as more consumers get on the organic poultry bandwagon. You can pay about $3 for a lb. of chicken. We pay about a buck more for the good stuff.

Spinach

Most leafy greens are loaded up with pesticides, and spinach leads the pack with close to 50 different chemicals. If you go frozen, then unfortunately you are not cutting any of the pesticides out, and canned spinach, although lower in pesticide, just tastes like porridge. We go with organic spinach and other greens, stay away from nutrient-barren iceberg lettuce, and pay about 75 cents more.

Kale, considered a hardy "superfood" among the leafy greens, is incredibly high in pesticide as it absorbs more chemicals than most other lettuces. For a buck more, go organic. Try roasting the kale in the oven with olive oil, then spreading hummus on the crisped up leaves. Excellent and a great stand-in for potato chips!

Carrots

Organic carrots have a big taste difference as well. Inorganic carrots taste watered down. An organic carrot tastes as it should - earthy and velvety at the same time. The multiple chemicals strip the carrot of it's nutrients and taste. Price difference per pound is 50 cents to a dollar more only.

Fatty Meats

Hormone injected cows and pigs store these chemicals in their fat. When you purchase a cut of meat, pork or ground beef, go for the 90 percent lean or above in order to avoid the accumulated hormones and antibiotics. It may not be "organic" by definition, but your body will thank you. The price difference varies greatly, depending on the cut, but leaner meat is only about one dollar more per pound.

Fish

Salmon, bass, tilapia and cod are common farm raised fish. They are over-stocked in cages by design, artificially fed with, among other things, corn-produced meals, and harvested when they reach a market size. They are injected with chemicals to give them some color, and have very low Omega 3's because of their lack of a wild diet.

Just take a look at the washed out color of a farm raised salmon versus the vibrant and healthy crimson color of a wild caught Alaskan. We head to a local fish market for wild caught; we find the prices are better than the supermarket. Plan to pay about two to three more dollars per pound.

For some foods, we say non-organic is still okay. Fruits that you have to peel get a pass, since their skin or husks protect them from the harmful sprays. Bananas, eggplant, kiwi, pineapples, avocados and onions are all considered just as healthy non-organic.

So the bottom line? Based on the above, my family spent approximately $10 more on these food basics. Absolutely worth the nominal increase. Healthy eating to you and your family!