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It seems like every other day someone mentions to me how they would like to buy organic but it's so expensive. And I completely sympathize. Our food economy has yet to catch up to our food ideals in this country, which means most of the time people need to make difficult choices between what they would like and what they can afford.

Courtesy of Stonyfield Farm

Courtesy of Stonyfield Farm

Lemon flavored and honey sweetened, this healthful salad is spring picnic perfection.

Makes: 6 servings

Courtesy of Stonyfield Farm
With tastes of the east, this edamame, garbanzo and green bean salad is a nutritious, vegetarian delight.

Makes: 8 servings

Courtesy of Stonyfield Farm

Whether you serve it cold at a picnic or warm on your kitchen table, this herbed pasta is simply delicious.
Makes: 6 servings

You know what’s wrong with nutritionists recommending you to boost your intake of fruits and vegetables for a better health? They don’t tell you to make sure that it’s organic.
 

The new report from the Presidential Cancer Panel and a study linking pesticide exposures with increased risk of ADHD are sending shoppers rushing to the organic aisles in the grocery stores. And when it comes to demanding organic, buying certified organic fruits and vegetables is a quick and easy way to make a difference.

What is amazing is that I wasn't the one to tell him this, nor was the first lady (although she quite likely already has). It was the President's Cancer Panel, working under the auspices of the National Cancer Institution. But, they were not just telling him to eat organic foods, they are recommending all of us "to choose, to the extent possible, food grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers." This is not the Coalition for Alternative to Pesticides talking, but the President's Cancer Panel! (Be still my beating heart!)

So you’re convinced of the benefits of eating organic, but the price tag has got you down. The good news is that with a little creativity and perhaps a change in routine, it is possible to eat a mostly organic diet within the confines of your existing grocery budget. Try some of these ideas that have worked for my family.

Farmer’s Markets

Well, it turns out that there are a lot of articles published about the nutrient content of organic foods. It also turns out that all organic foods are not the same. Take tomatoes, for example. There are numerous studies on the nutrient content of organic tomatoes as compared to commercially raised tomatoes. Some of these studies showed that organic tomatoes had higher quantities of certain nutritional compounds; other studies did not. The key in unraveling these studies was in noting how long the plots of land had been under organic farming methods.