Organic on a Budget? Part 4

Well, we finished yet another week.

The total for two adults was $229. $40 of which was for a 3 liter container of extra virgin olive oil. Foodies love their fine oils. $25 was spend on baby.

Everything was organic except the the free-range chicken my partner loves.

I do believe that when looking at ones budget it is important to take into consideration medical bills. Healthier people are know for fewer illnesses: including colds.

I stuff my baby full of spinach, garlic, onions, sweet potatoes, raviolis, whole grain cereal, tomatoes, berries and the list goes on. It also includes a variety of ethnic foods whether Indian, Chinese, Italian or Mexican. We just make sure it is mush-able. That is my favorite part...watching baby sit at the table eating away trying to copy me. Even sticking chubby fingers in my plate to my dismay. But I can't complain.

I think the healthy food is paying off. The average kid can experience 6-9 colds their first year. We have 3 more months. If she makes it to her birthday free and clear that means ZERO colds for the first year. Considering how much she likes to "mouth" everything and one in sight, she is doing pretty well. And she is still building on her immune system by being exposed to the common everyday germs.

Organic on a Budget? Part 2

A week ago I posted about buying organic on a budget. Kiwi magazine helped one woman stay under a $100 per week and still managed to have 25% of the foods organic. And they were able to feed two adults and two children.

This past week we attempted to lower our household food budget to as far as we could get it. Considering we were out of a lot of products and had plenty of other items, the first week would not be representative of a practical budget. So, I will work on this budget idea for 4 weeks and take the average.

Our total for two adults on a 90% organic diet was $193.43. Mind you I am a vegetarian and my partner is a meat eater. The meat he purchased was grass feed & free range as always.

I also was able to buy bulk products for, made from scratch, oatmeal bread and 2 dozen fluffy biscuits. We made stir fry, soup, tacos, baritos, pasta, and roasted root stew. And still have left over ingredients for week 2.

The example family in Kiwi had two little kids also. We have one baby. So there is not much of a comparison there. But we are tracking baby's expenses.

Baby has a milk allergy so baby is on soy products. Baby also eats mostly homemade food and some jarred. We spent a rough estimate of $24.00-28.00 for the week.

The grand total is $221.43...

I think as I get back into the swing of baking more often This will lower the cost of baked goods. And now that our pantry is restocked those products will be used throughout the month.

I believe winter will be an issue when it comes to lower cost vegetables and fruits. Though, we are buying dried fruits again. I have also been leaning towards introducing more "root" foods into our diet like parsnips, turnips, beets...etc. These are winter friendly veggies.

Originally I think we were spending close to 250-300 per week at times.

I believe the adult allotment can be lowered by at least another $20.00. We will see. $195 may be right where we should be spending and still maintaining a wide variety and 90% organic diet.