Organic Food is Cheaper Than You Think

For eight years now my partner and I have been living on a full organic diet. When shopping for fruit and veg and dry foods we buy organic food only. There is the odd exception when we go away or eat out as there is not really any fully organic café or restaurant in Australia and when I go to India it is hard to eat 100% organic. However on a daily basis we buy organic food and when travelling in our van for five weeks late last year we only bought one grocery item that wasn’t organic.

As this has been our way of life for a good long time I have never really understood when people tell me they can’t afford to buy organic food as I had no idea of price comparison. So last week I decided to do some investigating and was pleasantly surprised. If you stick to buying organic fruit and veg and unprocessed foods, organic food is not that more expensive than non organic food and in comparison with our local independent store it is actually cheaper to buy organic food than non organic food.

I visited the farmers market here in Mullumbimby and Santos wholefoods also in Mullum and did a full shop for my partner and I for one week’s supply of food. Then I did a price check at our local independent supermarket and then looked online for the local Woolworths prices.

Here are the findings

The organic veggies I bought at the farmers market and Santos totalled $112.97 minus 5 % loyalty customer discount $107.33
In the independent supermarket the non-organic veggies totalled $117.53.
In the Woolworths supermarket the non-organic veggies totalled $85.55

Then the dry goods and a few fridge items

Organic at Santos $39.46 minus loyalty discount $37.49
Independent supermarket non organic $40.19
Woolworths supermarket non organic $37.33
For non organic dry and fridge goods at Woolworths it is only 16 cents cheaper than shopping organic at Santos Wholefoods.
For the fruit and veg it was $21.78 more expensive to shop organic than it was for non organic in Woolworths. Between two people this really is not a lot more money.

Summary

If you buy a lot of processed foods then yes, it is more expensive to buy organic foods than non-organic. For example a packet of organic gluten free pasta was $5.95 in Santos and non-organic gluten free pasta was $2.95 in Woolworths. However if you buy the bulk gluten free pasta from Santos it is slightly cheaper than a packet of gluten free non-organic pasta in Woolworths.

So I feel from the result of my findings; why not treat yourself to organic food and stick to unprocessed, unpackaged food. I feel it’s worth it for my health and peace of mind and I get to support a small local business (and in our case Santos Wholefoods is a not-for-profit business).

DOWNLOAD the full shopping list and price comparison.

Steamed Veg with Tahini Sauce

This week it is a simple recipe that I share with you as I am in the middle of packing my bag to go visit my parents in Perth, tidying up the house and tidying up my business before I head off.

However to be honest steamed veg and tahini sauce is my all time favourite meal and I am not making this up. Ask anyone who knows me well.

Veg of your choice

I choose for my veg

Broccoli

Carrot

Zucchini

Spinach

Sweet potato

A few tips on steaming veg.

Place the hard veggies like sweet potato and carrot in the steamer basket and let the water come to the boil, then when the water is boiling put the green veg in(this way the veg stays green.

Steam the veg for 5 minutes or longer depending on how al dente you like your steamed veg.

Put the spinach in the steamer basket in the last 2 minutes of steaming.

And a tip I just learned from Chanda (who attended the last vegan foundation course) cut the broccoli in half and steam in 2 pieces – it looks so good like this and cooks so much better than when you cut the broccoli up into smaller pieces. Serve the large pieces and cut them how you like at the table.

Tahini sauce

¼ cup tahini

¼ cup water (more or less depending on how thin you like tahini sauce)

Juice of half a lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Place the tahini in a bowl and mix in the water. Decide if you need to thin it with more water, add the lemon juice and salt and pepper. If it is still too thick add more water, if too thin add a little bit more tahini.

Tahini sauce variations

~ Add 1 tbsp of harrisa

~ Add ½ tsp turmeric

~ Add some powdered cumin

~ Add some coriander or parsley

May Vegan Foundation Cooking Course

There are still three places left for the Vegan Foundation Cooking Course. We just ran the April one and it was so wonderful to be back in the kitchen helping people learn fabulous vegan recipes and pick up great kitchen tips. Don’t miss out on this next course as if you are thinking of doing further modules in September this is the one to do. The course runs from the 23rd to 25th May.

Have a great week everyone.

Love Veet

Categories:Sauce/Dips Snacks/Sides

Tags:broccoli Organic sweet potato carrots tahini