How to eat healthy, non gmo, on a budget

So I've been spending an alarming amount of money on food because I was always buying all organic, non gmo Milk, meat, and fresh produce.... it adds up. It's expensive to eat like that. I've put myself on a reasonable budget and still buy the organic milk for my daughter and organic meat for the family. I've reduced my produce purchases to the bare minimum. I'm adding in potatoes and rice to try and fill us up on less food. Now the spouse wants us to loose weight. I hate planning meals and buying groceries. I absolutely loathe it. I hate counting calories even more. So here's my question. Any tips on how to buy healthy food that's not too expensive and not full of gmo's? F*&^% Monsanto, I don't want to support them at the registers if I can avoid it.

reply to post by Under Water


Yeah, stop believing everything you read and eat a healthy diet...

reply to post by Under Water


Have you tried your local farmer's market? It's a great place to go to load up on bulk items like beans that you could freeze. The quality of the produce is much better than what you would find at the supermarket.. Is there an organic grocery store/coop in your area? We have one here that has really good member's only specials and the membership is only $25 a year. Check out what's in your area...

Or you could maybe plant a small garden??

Just a few thoughts

You could do some foraging. We eat a lot of wild foods when they are in season. You could also start a garden. You will get some good exercise while you are at it.

I don't live in USA but just buy organic that you eat all the fruit and vegetable including the skin. So apples=organic but oranges wash and don't use skin. Salad items would be organic.
Don't buy anything with aspartame in it. And take vitamin C and baking soda, those two will cover all the ills of a suspect diet.

We are putting in a veg and fruit garden and we have enjoyed ourselves immensely. I used to have a garden several years ago but then Aspartame started to kill me, till I found out it was a poison. My adrenals are in a poor state but the gardening is helping.
Good luck

We have a small garden this year. Mostly herbs but also some bell peppers. We don't have a farmer's market here that I can shop at weekly. We have a farmer's market festival type thing that comes through town twice a year, that's it. I've called some of the local cattle farms and none of them are grass fed. I'm trying to feed my family the best food I can, but it's difficult when your on a tight budget and only have a walmart to shop at. Trying to come up with simple recipes that are easy to make, require cheep ingredients, and is healthy for the family.

reply to post by Under Water


Amazon.com sells many organic dry goods such as soup mixes, breads, pasta, granola bars...you can purchase these items in bulk for a discount. Try looking there or another online organic grocer to get your basic items. As far as meat, I have no good suggestions as I am vegetarian (almost vegan).

Oh, thanks! Gonna try that!

I applaud you for being aware of the issues of today's food industry and for looking after your own and your family's health!

For not spending alarming amounts on the food, I would definitely recommend you try the local Farmer's Market.

You could also, if you haven't already, start your own organic garden and grow veggies, herbs and fruits. It is simple, cheap and very rewarding.

Ok, I just noticed you had already done what I suggested! Apologies for being so hasty.

I believe I understand your situation, I used to live in a small town and I remember it was incredibly difficult to get real food for a reasonable price.

Have you tried to get some people together who are also using organic? You could all order your foods straight from the producer - usually from the closest organic farm or homestead. This is very common here in Australia, many people do that so they don't have to pay extra for the supermarkets.

I don't know anyone here who has concerns for the food they eat. This is a very poor community, and they are all perfectly happy buying their processed foods. Most people here thing people like me are crazy, and think organic is just a scheme. It's ridiculous the amount of ignorance here. I think we will just start with raising chickens for the eggs, and expand our garden and try our best to buy organic from walmart. At least they have some organic. Eventually, we just need to move out of here.

Originally posted by Under Water
I think we will just start with raising chickens for the eggs, and expand our garden and try our best to buy organic from walmart. At least they have some organic.

One thing I've noticed about Walmart's organic selection is that it varies from store to store. What one Walmart has for organic- a different Walmart even 4 miles away won't have -- and then a Walmart 20 miles away will have a bigger organic selection than the other two.

Walmart bases their organic offerings on income-per-area. That is to say that if the Walmart is located in a middle-class to upper-middle class neighborhood, they will have a much larger selection of organic than a Walmart located in a poor neighborhood.

If you say that you live in a poor neighborhood where no one else cares about the quality of the food they buy-- then drive to a wealthy neighborhood to go grocery shopping. Sometimes I've been known to drive 30 miles to a grocery store just to get the vast organic selection that I want to choose from. Most of them will offer you "courtesy ice" to keep your food cold on the way home.

So try driving to a Walmart in middle-class to upper-middle class neighborhood for a better organic selection. Or drive to some of the wealthy neighborhoods that might have Sprouts (grocery), AJ's (grocery), Trader Joe's, or Whole Foods Market. Whole Foods Market by-far has the largest organic selection. And there's also different sizes/selection of Whole Foods depending on their location. If it's a Whole Foods in a middle class neighborhood...it's a smaller store. Whole Foods located in the wealthy areas are usually 3 times the size with a gigantic organic selection. And the costs are the same whether it be a middle class neighborhood or a wealthy neighborhood.

I've even seen a different selection at one Fry's. There's this one Fry's located in the Biltmore area with a huge organic selection. They'll even make cashew-butter for you at the counter. They don't do that at other Fry's.

So drive to a wealthy area...and see how they get more organic choices than a poor neighborhood.