Biodiversity On A Budget

...my goals when it comes to eating is to buy as much or all organic food as humanly possible. Aside from all of the health concern reasons, I feel that buying in smaller quantities will help in reducing portion sizes over time as well as limit or possibly eliminate waste. Buying one's own groceries causes one to reconsider what it means overall to throw what should have been perfectly good food into the trash unnecessarily. More important for many though is shopping organic on a budget.

When Whole Foods was essentially the only game in town, people with limited spending couldn't really shop there. They could certainly buy a few things here and there, but doing the entirety of grocery shopping there was not really possible. Now, almost every store carries at least a negligible amount of items labeled organic. Most bigger grocers have their own private label organics that tend to run a bit cheaper and go on sale more often.

As one who does his shopping on a budget of sorts, I don't often pay full retail for everything. If an item is not on sale or its something I can live without for another week, I move on. Even then, I usually end up making a second stop at a different store because of a good deal. In my estimation, Target is the best store to not only have a large selection of organics, but also the prices are fair, on sale and sometimes on clearance. Still, I find myself making a second stop to save money. Now, there is a known affordable grocer carrying organics - Aldi.

Aldi is now stocking not only organic produce, but they have their own line of items with the certification. Since I was young, Aldi was mostly known as discount food. Not necessarily a bad thing, but they sort of carry the stigma that their products are second-rate. Seeing as though they are rolling out their own organic cereals, soy/almond milk, vegetables, etc., I am highly curious to see if they measure up.

By looking online, their prices on private label organics are absolutely more affordable. And from what I can see, their product carry the USDA Organic label. I am becoming increasingly intrigued so I checked Google to see if I can find some consumer blogs or articles that reviews Aldi's organic items. More often than not, people seem to be pretty high on these items. Bloggers and reviewers seem mostly enthused with the quality and taste, comparing them to better known items while carrying a lower price.

I am all for switching to all organic and minimally processed foods, but I am always looking for value. I know quite a few others seeking to do exactly the same. In this age where healthcare costs are dizzying, quality food is one's best defense. I plan to investigate Aldi in the near future. I will post my findings then.

Information: It's What's For Dinner

...Food Inc. has been akin to Cannibal Holocaust to me in some ways. I have had the documentary bookmarked for a long while now. I have been making a serious effort to eat as much or all organic now for a while. I read labels every time I go shopping. I cheat here and there with some sweets, but I have been scaling back. All told, I still felt that I should watch Food Inc. based on what people have told me. New information is good ammunition when deciding what to buy and eat. Still, I was uneasy about what I could see and learn that would burst my self-inflated bubble.

I can say that a good portion of what I saw in the film was not entirely new to me. I am no expert by any means and I constantly read new information. A good portion was reinforced knowledge with maybe some new means of interpreting it. There were also some segments that focused on things that dealt with the business side of food sales and distribution. All of these sections were meant to offer a balanced perspective on how meat and grains are produced, how business practices not only hurt the labor force but also the consumer and what the true cost of eating can be.

When Food Inc. was finished, I had to admit that despite a few truly shocking segments of slaughterhouse footage and even one at a local family farm (a place that produces food the proper way), I had built up this horrifying documentary in my head that was not quite as bad as expected. The hidden camera and shot footage of what I expected to be gratuitous was shocking, but doled out in a measured sense. Rather, it was some of the far less gratuitous scenes that were disturbing. It is bad enough to even be faintly aware of the chemical composition of our food supply. It is worse to see it in real time and listen to the profiteers describe the process with a smile.

If nothing else, Food Inc. served as a brace for my desire to shop with a more natural & organic mindset. I can admit that I am not the most athletically-inclined person alive. I do not know if I ever will be that person. What I do know is that if I were to continue to regularly eat highly processed foods with laundry lists of ingredients that sound like anything but food, I stand no chance of getting my being to last for the long haul. Food Inc. was a reinforcement that buying smaller portions, natural & organic food items, reading ingredients lists and finding creative ways to incorporate more fresh fruits & vegetables into one's cart is the path to walk.

This Is Honestly Good....Honest

...I cannot really explain why succinctly, but I really enjoy grocery shopping. In a Larry Dallas fever dream, it is said that it is a perfect way to meet women. In my experience, this has been anything but as I often find myself trying to squeeze past sweatpants-adorned haggard mom's with "Hot Stuff" written across the butt while they stare blank at differently-branded-but-nutritionally-similar can of green beans. If these trailblazers of shopping zombies aren't with child or children in tow, the econo-sized package of diapers is a dead giveaway that they are unlikely to be seeking their Prince Charming in the cereal aisle, let alone having that Prince be me.

When I shop these days, I make a fairly strong effort to steer most or all of my purchases towards natural, organic and non-GMO selections. In the past few months, I have been fairly successful at keeping my entire receipt full of these types of items. As some might say the jury is still out on GMO's, most health experts agree that the more ingredients contained therein, the worse the foods are for human consumption.

In my weekly excursions through the adventurous aisles of food and beverage, I am noticing more and more items from well-known multinational food corporations carrying claims of "All Natural" and "Real Ingredients". The obvious is that this benefits more people because as this trend continues, these higher end items will likely became more affordable to more consumers. This is obviously a good thing. For as punk rock as it might be to want to only buy from small food manufacturers, the necessity of food does not always allow.

The part that cracks me up is precisely those labels which I still believe broadens the issue of the importance of what is in our food. When I see "Real Ingredients" on a jar of Jif Peanut Butter or a Lean Cuisine meal, I am tempted to ask what that means for their cheaper options or earlier iterations of these products. It feels very much like an admission of guilt of once having rounded out the ingredients list with unclear chemical surnames that are actually just raccoon pelt shavings and grass bag dust.

Hail The Pure Leaf

...I have been experiencing a minor dilemma of late. Since what turned out to be (mostly) a bout with very bad indigestion, I have been working daily to shift my eating habits in a more positive direction. I was already making an effort to eat more natural and organic foods but since the event, I have been making even greater strides to rid my food choices of things that are no friend to anyone's waistline or heart valves.

One of the areas that I am particularly proud of is soda (or pop...whatever). Prior to said incident, I would never think a second thought on drinking multiple cans of Coca Cola in a day. Wednesday nights consisted of late night stops at Wendy's and no matter what bag of grease I ordered, I almost always had the same beverage - Diet Coke, no ice. Mind you that I was doing this while being well aware of the concerns of Aspartame and High Fructose Corn Syrup, the latter I was avoiding as much as possible in other foods.

In the past three-plus months, I have not had a drop of Pepsi or Coca Cola of any variety. No diet, no Zero, no regular, no Max, no nothing. Every morning when I come face to face with my bad example of a torso region, I am reminded that it was probably those cheap sodas that played a part in my physicality's current sad state of affairs. Being an admitted soda addict, it was going to be a near impossibility for me to go without. Thankfully, while fully acknowledging that they are not exactly healthy, Zevia and Dr. Hansen's Natural Soda products are filling the void beautifully. One can a day, no exceptions. I can feel a difference already.

To fill out the rest of the day can be a tad trickier. I do drink a lot of water, especially at work. However, I crave a bit more flavor during meals. As such, I've been expanding my beverage options beyond various lemonade incarnations. A previous enemy of mine, I have taken to iced tea. Specifically, natural and organic flavored teas.

I have tried some of the organic green & black teas to varying degrees of enjoyability. Trying to shop organic and higher-end can be tricky on a budget. It is more cost effective to buy a half-gallon of any beverage for $2 than it is to buy a 16 oz. for $1.25. Even at $3 or $4, it still makes better sense to buy a 64 oz. size. The object is to differentiate the processed iced teas and teas from concentrate from the pure brewed alternatives while not spending a ton. Enter Pure Leaf.

Yes, it is definitely a Pepsi Co. product which instantly makes it suspect. While they likely have some organic food companies in their portfolio, they aren't specifically known for having sustainability in mind. That said, a bit of Google searching on Pure Leaf Iced Tea turns up more glowing general health results than bad. And I'll be honest, it is unholy how good it is.

Unfortunately, I cannot find any information verifying whether or not Pure Leaf is Non-GMO or not. One person on Facebook asked them direct and received no response. Meanwhile, the Pure Leaf social media person(s) have responded to general posts and praise. I admit that it makes me nervous. That said, they are donating a lot of money to Wholesome Wave, a non-profit that is working on sustainable food growth and GMO labeling.

I am a bit torn. Currently, not nearly enough to stop drinking Pure Leaf (I bought another giant bottle today). My hope is that at some point down the road, Pure Leaf will either get Non-GMO or Organic certification or announce their intention to do so in short order.