Praise for Whole Foods & Trader Joe's (Even on a Budget)

The second article I've seen recently on studies concluding that pesticides lead to ADHD came out a couple weeks ago.  I've bought into the organic movement ever since reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan - perhaps the book that's influenced me most in recent years.

It's always been expensive and hard to find many organic products, but that's changing.  When we moved to DC, we moved to the wonderful land of Whole Foods & Trader Joe's.  I know love at first site exists because that perfectly describes my first trip to a Whole Foods.  My weekly grocery trip now takes me to Tysons Station where I can get Trader Joe's on one side of the street and Whole Foods on the other.

So, how do I afford it?  I've come up with a simple strategy that brought my weekly budget down by $25/week compared to shopping at a normal grocery store like Giant.

1. I make a list based on dinner plans for the week and try to stick to the list.  I find thinking about an impulse purchase for 10 seconds before putting it in my cart really helps me cut back on extras.
2. I go to the Whole Foods website and print only the coupons for items that I already have on my list (this helps me avoid buying something I don't need just because there's a coupon).
3. I go to Trader Joe's first and buy as much as I can there.  Trader Joe's is cheap and has great stuff.  I am avoiding doing more research on how this could be because I'm sure at these prices there has to be some sort of unethical behavior behind it all.  I know that organic milk and most kinds of meat are cheaper at Whole Foods, so I buy those there.

That's it!  That's all I've been doing and I usually spend less than $100 when it used to cost a lot more.  Oh, and we're also feeding 1.5 extra people nowadays since my mom cares for Alison while we work and Alison eats like a champ.

I could certainly save money by shopping at Walmart, but who wants to do that?

Avoid Pesticides & ADHD at the Farmer's Market

I have my own unscientific theories of where the spike in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) comes from (too much TV and not enough nature!), but here's one with some actual scientific backing that showed up today on www.msnbc.com:

Pesticides in Kids Linked to ADHD

You know how I feel about natural foods if you read this post from April on the natural food movement.  In my favorite book, In Defense of Food, Micheal Pollan points out that pesticides are really nothing more than poisons.  Poisons, we hope, that only affect insects, but poisons none-the-less.

The article's main take-away for parents is to "buy organic as much as possible".  I'm finding this is easier to do all the time.  Most grocery stores carry some organic products, especially milk and eggs, and there are lots of organic specialty stores like Whole Foods where you can get some fantastic things. 

However, why not get your organic food locally from your Farmer's Market?  I think Farmer's Markets are the BEST places to find a variety of organic products.   It's not only less expensive in many cases, but when you cut down on how far your food travels, you get fresher, more nutritious food served with a personal touch as well!

Check your local community website for information on Farmer's Markets near you or you can search on sites like localharvest.org who list farmer's markets and co-ops all over the country. 

...And for heaven's sake, if you are anywhere near Madison, WI on a summer Saturday morning, get yourself to Capital Square for the best Farmer's Market in the country.  (Then go have some Babcock Hall Ice Cream - or your freshly-picked fruits and veggies - on the Memorial Union Terrace and enjoy the view.)

Madison, WI / Photo Credits: thrivehere.org