Healthy, nutritious, organic foods don’t need to be extraordinarily expensive. Most grocery chains have organic or natural foods, but they are generally above everyday budgets. 
Instead, try alternate sources for lower cost, natural foods that are packed with vitamins and minerals—and taste.
Common Organic Sources
If you can wrench yourself from the habit of going to the corner store for every food item, you might find that organic foods don’t always cost a third more than processed fare. A few alternate possibilities include: farmer’s markets, organic co-ops, agricultural programs, certain delicatessens, vegetable and fruit stands, or growing your own.
Commonly available and inexpensive organic foods include carrots, cabbage, kale, bananas, apples, onions, beans, pumpkin or sunflower seeds, brown rice, peanut butter, organically fed beef, olive oil, chicken fryers, yogurt, eggs, and nuts. While nuts can be more expensive per pound than other foods, storing them in the freezer and using them only as needed can stretch that grocery dollar a long way.
Often, thankfully, the price tag is easier to manage, as well. Make no mistake: Most organic food will cost a bit more than standard, processed foods, but there’s no need to spend an arm and both legs for it. If certified organic foods aren’t readily available on a budget, try non-certified organic foods. Many farmers use organic growing methods but abstain from undergoing the elongated and often expensive certification process. Farmer’s markets and co-ops are great information sources.
Organic Cooking in Green Mode
Now that you have some organic food source ideas, how can you cook organically? The full list is quite extensive and, bearing in mind a few principles, limited by only your own imagination, creativity, and budget. A few organic cooking methods may include steaming in lieu of boiling, of course, and using alternate cooking methods, such as:
- Solar Cookers: Three types of solar cookers channel or use the sun’s energy differently; most solar cookers and methods incorporate all three to varying degrees. They use no fuel but the sun, so it will cost nothing to cook a hot, healthy meal. The two disadvantages are that they need the sun, and you have to experiment with start times and durations to have your meal ready when you want it. Cast iron cookware releases heat very slowly, so it can keep foods hotter longer if need be.
- Vacuum Flask Cookers: While not as ‘green’ as a solar cooker, vacuum flasks reduce the amount of fossil fuel used and pollutants released. Food is brought to cooking temperature in the removable pot, then the food and pot are sealed in a vacuum flask that holds the cooking temperature for long periods of time, allowing the food to continue cooking without additional energy use. A vacuum flask cooker is similar in concept to a slow-cooker, but instead of constantly providing heat to counter what is lost in a poorly insulated crock pot, the heat is locked in, allowing the food to continue simmering without additional heat.
- Hayboxes: Hayboxes or hay boxes are exactly that: wooden boxes in which hay surrounds the cooking pot to insulate and allow slow cooking. Hayboxes are the low cost equivalent to and the ancestor of vacuum flask cookers. Cast iron pots work extremely well in hayboxes, as they do in solar cookers. Again, no fossil fuels are needed continuously, reducing carbon footprints and energy bills.
Summary
Incorporating more organic foods into your diet may cost a few pennies more for the additional health factor, but health considerations are worth it. However, when combined with green cooking methods, healthy diets can actually save money, improve health, and enhance the quality of life for your family, for you, and for the planet.
About the Author
JC Ryan is a freelance writer for MyCollegesandCareers.com. My Colleges and Careers helps people determine if an online education is right for them and helps them search for online degrees that can help them reach their goals.