Organic or not? And healthy on a budget

This depends on where your priorities are. I tend to be picky about some produce but not others. Greens I always look for organic. Other produce is kind of a toss-up. I admit it is more expensive to eat healthier and  I also know that people need to be realistic and practical.

Just a couple of thoughts:

Wild edibles in your yard! Especially if you don't spray any weed killers or pesticides. Know your plants though--there are many good books out there on this subject or you can ask someone who knows for sure. If you have any doubt about any plant in the yard don't eat it. My favorite is dandelion greens! And plantain and clover, dock, & lambs quarters. And they're free! My favorite price! I must say that most people are trying to get rid of these weeds esp. dandelions and I'm encouraging them to grow. Actually I just take scissors and cut the tops off so they will continue to grow. I bring my colander out with me and load it up with greens and everything's ready to be washed and drained. I've gotten permission from the neighbors to have their wild edibles too! In fact they were thankful to get rid of them!  I grow parsley and mint in my yard along with some basil. Parsley is excellent in green smoothies as is cilantro.

The other thing is to buy in bulk! I love to get my greens at Sam's Club or BJ's wholesale club in the big tub. Sometimes people are lucky enough to have a Whole Foods store with bulk greens that you can bag up yourself. Maybe some friends are willing to go in together and get a case of something at your local wholesalers. In Manchester, NH there is Granite State Fruit. This store is open to the public. It's cheaper but you have to buy the whole case. I also like Shaw's supermarket. They occasionally have ripe fruit that is reduced for quick sale. One time I went in there and they had 3 huge boxes of ripe bananas for 20 cents a pound. I bought an entire box for about $4. I went home and peeled all of them and sliced them into chunks and froze them in ziptop bags. I would have bought all three boxes but I only have so much room in my freezers! Besides, I wanted to leave some for other people. Shaw's is one of the few stores that mark down their produce.

Some people have fruit trees in their yards but don't want to bother picking the fruit. If you notice that this fruit is going to waste and is just going to go on a compost heap anyway, ask the homeowner if they'll let you have the fruit if you're willing to pick it for them.

If you like to go to Farmer's Markets go near closing time. They may be willing to lower their prices just so they don't have to pack it up again. I know one lady that expressed an interest in wild edibles to a farmer and was willing to pay $20 for a big load of nettles, dandelion greens, lambs quarters, miner's lettuce etc. every week.  He was happy to oblige--and other people started asking for them too so he continued to offer them for sale.

I am a huge fan of bulk buying. I buy online in large quantities for certain items. NutsOnline is my friend! They have tons of excellent quality items and they ship it to your home FedEx in one or two days. Tropical Traditions has coconut oil in bulk. Amazon.com has subscribe and save items that they will ship to your house automatically and charge your credit card. The prices are really good and you save on shipping! Shop for produce in season and know your prices. Be on the lookout for good sales on things you use a lot of. Buy locally, and organic when feasible.

Have a garden if possible! I have gardened successfully from five gallon buckets on my deck. I grew tomatoes, kale, dark lettuces, sugar snap peas, & collard greens. We grow patches of strawberries and have 5 blueberry bushes, 2 peach trees, & 1 pear tree in the yard which we all utilize. We like to go out into the yard and "graze". I don't possess a green thumb so I make sure to get hardy starter plants for the tomatoes and good quality seeds from a  reputable source. For the fruit trees we used Stark Brothers and for the blueberry bushes we used Agway. We have a small yard so we looked for self pollinating trees and trees designed for smaller yards.

Just do what you can to bring health into your home--even if it's only a little bit! Apples and bananas tend to always be available and spinach--there's your smoothie! Rotate/vary your greens so that you get more variety.