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Frugal Living: Deals & Tips

Go Organic! How to Eat Organically on a Budget

March 31, 2014 by Jess Leave a Comment

Go Organic! How to Eat Organically on a Budget

With all the information out there now, it’s no surprise that Organic and non GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) food are better for us, but what is really stopping so many people from eating the better foods? Usually it tends to be price. For example, if you see some organic apples with a price tag of $2.99 a pound and they are sitting next to some identical (but non organic) apples for $1.99 a pound, which are you likely to go for? Hopefully after reading up on the benefits of eating organic and reading the dangers of non organic foods, will change your mind and make you reach for that organic apple every time.

For fruits and veggies I try to follow the “Dirty Dozen”  which means that I stay away from all the most contaminated produce and only buy those when I can find organic ones. There are so many more options popping up in a variety of stores by the day now, it really is making it much easier to eat healthy.

Here are some other tips that I have found make it much easier to eat organically and on a budget! It can be done!

– Only buy what you need for the week or less, depending on how often you can get to the store. I have learned not to over buy now as I hate wasting food. We now buy just what we know we will be able to eat before the food goes bad. (but with a pig in the house, we rarely have any food to waste anyway!)

– Take a walk through the bakery area and see what catches your eye. Some delicious lemon bars recently caught mine in Whole Foods but at $4 a slice, no thanks. Instead I bought organic flour, organic lemons, organic blue agave syrup, etc and made an entire batch of them for less than the cost of one slice! And homemade are always yummier too πŸ™‚ I love baking and I love knowing exactly what is going into all my baked goods.

– If you shop at Whole Foods, pick up their free publications when you walk into the store. “The Whole Deal” is full of great recipes and valuable coupons to use. I also found a “Better Yummies for Little Tummies” pamphlet there that has lots of great tips and menu ideas for kids.

– Most major grocery store chains are now featuring a healthy eating aisle and many have their own lines of organic items. Jewel Osco/Alberson’s has the Organic Harvest line, Dominicks/Vons/ Safeway has O Organics, Meijer has their own Meijer Organics, Whole Foods has the Organic 365 line and Target has some organic items in their Simply Balanced line. I have found the pricing on these organic lines are very reasonable and in my opinion, fully worth buying.

– Whole Foods has a bulk discount – any items can be bought in a “case” which will get you an automatic 10% off. To find out how many are in a case, look at the barcode on the shelf sticker. There should be a /6 or /12, etc at the end. Just ask any of the associates if you have trouble finding the case amount. They also stack discounts, so if Veggie Puffs (regularly $2.99) are on sale for $1 each and you buy 12 (a case amount) then you end up getting the Veggie Puffs for 0.90 each!! I know this as I have recently gotten this amazing sale. And Veggie Puffs are delicious by the way!

– Trader Joes, Walmart and Target also have some organic items and I’ve been noticing that they are getting more and more  in.

– Costco is GREAT for shopping for organics. They also are getting more organic stuff each time I visit – it’s fabulous! Some of my favorite ORGANIC things to get there are : frozen broccoli, frozen raspberries, carrots, spinach, bananas, agave syrup, ground flax meal, yogurt, cheese strings, cheese slices, eggs, crackers, fruit pouches (toddlers), quinoa, guacamole and hummus. They have changed things recently as they have so much more organic stuff than they used to, and now they have a green sign for all organic items whereas the regular stuff has a white sign. It makes it super easy to spot the organics if that’s what you are looking for (which I am when I am there!).

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for example, here is a picture of one of the shelves at Costco showing both a green “organic” label and a regular white label.

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all those aisle displays were organic! I was in heaven!

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– Both Costco and Trader Joes has the best price I’ve seen for organic chicken. It’s all I will buy now, organic meat or nothing. Not only is it healthier but I make sure it comes from a company that practices humane treatment of their animals. That is HUGE.

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Here is the chicken from Trader Joes, I had already opened it and taken the legs out before remembering to grab a photo!

– Most stores now sell organic eggs and they are not much more than the others. Please buy organic/cage free eggs. The treatment of chickens in non cage-free settings is atrocious. Chickens may just be chickens, but they feel pain and all that too. They can be affectionate in their own ways and they have their own little unique personalities. Since we have had pet chickens the last year, I have learned a lot, and I can’t imagine the horrors that people put chickens through, disgusting. I will never support any of those companies again. We have been fortunate in that I think I’ve had to buy eggs once or twice in the last year. Our chickens keep us regularly supplies with big fresh eggs on a daily basis. We even have enough to give to some of our other animals. Our pig, coati, raccoon and hedgehogs all love scrambled eggs πŸ™‚

– Another great place to stock up on organic produce is local Farmer’s Markets. They should start popping up around here in the next coupe months so I’m looking forward to that.

Basically, it is much much easier to get ahold of good organic food at an affordable price now than it used to be. Hopefully it will continue this way as more people choose these options πŸ™‚

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Filed Under: Frugal Living: Deals & Tips, Kids/ Babies, Recipes

Thrifty Thursday – Great Finds

February 20, 2014 by Jess Leave a Comment

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We have found some incredible deals at thrift stores so I wanted to share some of our best finds as of recently. When I lived in California, the area I was in did not have many thrift stores at all and the ones it did have were a big disappointment. So while I was living there I gave up on thrifting. Sad. So it really does depend on the quality and abundance of thrift stores in your area. We have a few that we really enjoy going to, and then there are several that we won’t step in ever again. Thrift stores, resale stores, kids consignment stores – these are where we have found some great deals. We tend to go looking for stuff we can use for the animals such as new crates, cages, bowls, etc. One time we found a giant parrot cage that was brand new Β – for $60 (regular price of the exact one is $400+) so you better believe we snatched that up pretty quick. But we have found some wonderful other treasures as well!

Here are our most recent “Great Finds”

“Toot” the Train

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This one was a few months ago but it’s still one of our favorite additions to our home. It’s a Fisher Price train set “Toot the Train” – complete set and it is fully working as well. It’s in excellent condition and was all neatly packaged together when I found it. Guess how much? $4. I found the exact one, also used of course since it’s from the late 90’s, for $100 online. So for $4, it was an INCREDIBLE deal. Even better though, we set it up Christmas Eve in front of our Christmas tree, and all of us adults (my parents, Steve and myself) were just enthralled with it. I have always wanted a train set to put around our tree, or in front of it. This train added a whole new level of magic to our Holiday. Ava loves it as well and knows how to turn him on and everything. We have all spent lots of time playing with Toot!

 

“Elmo” Wilton Cake Pan

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When I saw this cake pan I knew I had to get it to put away for future use. Even though at the time Ava didn’t have a clue who Elmo was, she has very quickly learned who he is just within the last few days. She is now obsessed with everything “Elmo”. So glad I listened to my inner voice and bought this cake pan a couple months ago! It’s brand new and was only $3. Score!!

 

Glass Cake Dome & Plate

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I love this so much and was so happy when I found it. It is really quite heavy and beautiful in person. A glass cake plate with dome and for the set it was $4. Amazing. I washed it as soon as we got home and left it to dry in the dish rack, so anxious to use it. I had baked muffins that day and my wonderful husband saw it in the rack, dried it and put all the muffins in it. It looked great on the counter, and he even said to me “this was really a great find! I’m glad you found it”. Yes, I’m glad too.

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DVDs

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Thrift stores are a great place to pick up some cheap DVDs but I always open the box and examine the DVD before I get it. If there are any scratches at all, it goes back. We have been fortunate though in finding several brand new and sealed DVDs even. Most recently I picked up some kids DVD’s for the future when Ava might be interested in them. I’ll be honest and say that the Berenstein bears one is more for me, haha. That was always my favorite series when I was a kid, and it was a special treat when the cartoons came on TV. Now those same cartoons from the 80’s are on DVD’s and I think I own almost all of them now. I keep telling myself that Ava will like them one day. DVD’s were all $1.99 each.

 

Books

Ava LOVES books, a girl after my own heart. She has quite the library already and Β she literally spends hours everyday looking at books, bringing them to us to read to her, and scattering them all over the house.

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The first thing I do at any thrift or consignment store is to check out their book section. I’ve managed to find some excellent books (Where the Wild Things Are, Courderoy, Berenstein Bears, Board Books) in almost new condition for anywhere from 0.50 cents to $1 or $2 each. Most are around $1 or cheaper. I try to be picky with the books we get though since she has such a great library already, but there are just some I cannot pass up.

Also in the book section, Steve goes nuts here. He always comes home with at least a couple new books – usually the “do-it-yourself” type books. Oh or Star Wars. Actually anything Star Wars related that we find usually ends up coming home with us.

 

“Farley” the Singing Frog

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This frog is quite hilarious and since Ava loves stuffed animals that sing or dance, this was a must have. It is a Gund and still had all original tags on it (and original price tag of $35) and was clearly brand new. However he barely made a peep so I figured his batteries had died and just needed some new ones. For $4 he was a great deal! Yes he is wearing a graduation cap and is holding a diploma but that doesn’t bother Ava. He sings “Shout” and waves his arms around while his mouth opens and closes as he sings. It’s actually not nearly as annoying as some of her other toys, which is good since we have to listen to him sing “Shout” about 20 times while she is eating dinner. She actually has 4 of these critters now that sit on our table and they provide her with entertainment while she dines. What a lucky kid, Dinner and a Show every night! πŸ™‚

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Ava’s Dinner Entertainment Group.

Pottery Barn Kids Clock

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I found this a few months ago as well and it made a very nice addition to Ava’s room. It’s in perfect condition and was only $5!

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Baby Shoes

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We have this wonderful Kids Consignment Store nearby and they have a great selection of little shoes. Often I’ve been able to find good quality shoes that are almost new. Recently I found this pair of Skechers and a pair of Puma shoes too – both were $2 a pair and look like they’ve barely been worn. I’ve found many Stride Rite’s, Keen’s, Skechers, Merrill’s and Crocs at this store too. Ava officially has more shoes than I do now.

Bee Bop Band

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I was really excited to find this as all pieces are here including a couple wooden Melissa & Doug pieces! All for $6! I really like these toys by B. I’ve eyed this set many times at Target and Ava has a few other toys from this company which she really likes. I washed everything as soon as we got home and Ava has enjoyed playing with her new stuff.

Thrifting is so much fun – and addicting! What are your favorite thrifty finds?

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Filed Under: Daily Life, Frugal Living: Deals & Tips

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