Affordability of Organic Foods
I had a bit more time when food-shopping and decided to look at the price differences between organic and non-organic foods. I took into account the items on sale and understood that although there were obvious differences, some products carry very similar prices.
I looked at a possible dinner menu that would include chicken and a few vegetables (like broccoli, string beans, maybe sweet potatoes), and/or a salad. From the get-go I saw an interesting statement about the most expensive organic chicken. It had a special quality specified on the package: No added water!
I suspected this for a long time, but never saw it officially stated on anything I bought. Chicken and likely other meats too, contain extra added water to the cuts just to increase their weight. And we’re thinking that we buy more for our money!
I suspected this feature because when roasting almost any meats, I’ve been noticing so much watery juices in the pan—the added water in them explains it all too well.
I started to compare the prices and here are some examples:
Chicken (prices are in dollars per pound):
- breast value pack $6.99 vs 8.99 for the organic value pack
- prepped to cook $8.49 vs 10.99 for organic
- thighs $4.49 to 5.49 vs 7.99 organic
- drumsticks $2.49 vs 3.49 organic
- chicken legs 3.99 vs 4.99 organic
Vegetables:
- green beans $3.99/lb vs $5.99 organic (or 2 lbs for $8)
- broccoli— 4 crowns for $5 vs 2 for $6 for organic
- yams $2.99/lb vs 3.49
- tomatoes $3.99 for 16 oz vs 4.99 organic, but another brand of organic tomatoes were on sale for $2.99 for 16 oz
- lettuce—2 heads for $3 vs 2 for $5 for organic
Just as we’re looking weekly specials in the stores and markets, the better quality products have sales too. And there is a lot of research showing that healthy grown foods are more nutritious and we don’t get hungry as often. Subsequently, we don’t eat that much and save money this way.
My son, on a short vacation from college, noticed the same thing and asked: “Why do I get more hungry when I’m eating in the cafeteria as opposed to when eating home? The cafeteria food is acceptable, I eat enough to be satisfied, yet I feel hungry again in a few hours, while when home I almost don’t get hungry in between the meals.” The answer lies in the quality of the food items we buy for home cooking.
The additives, preservatives, and emulsifiers in more or less processed foods make me angry when I look at some food packaging. And I’m not referring to sweets and treats.
Unfortunately, the processed foods include “healthy” fruit and nut bars, yogurts with fruits on the bottom (made with processed fruit jam), salad dressing, breads, sports drinks, and many others that we think of as healthy options. Drinking gatorade it’s not in this category in my opinion, and I’m not the only one believing this.
Surprisingly, at the entrance organic strawberries were $3.99 for a 16 oz box while nearby all kinds of snacks (doritos, tostitos, potatoe chips) were $4.29 per 8 oz. A lot of people walked straight to these, ignoring the fruits.
With home cooking, the main issue becomes the extra time required for this, but I found simplified ways for doing it with tasty results. Washing, seasoning and putting everything in the oven saves a lot of time needed for other, more sophisticated ways of preparing our foods.
