Now let's begin with my goals at the beginning of 2013. My husband and I decided we wanted to lose weight and we chose Weight Watchers as our program. I was so excited when he said he would sign up with me. We learned a lot about portion control and how much we were really eating at every meal. I have to admit that this program really helped us to see how much food we were putting into our bodies. However, it did not teach me what other's were putting into that food (more on this in a later blog). So, after one month on the program we each lost our two pounds a week and we were happy. We continued on this program for the next three months and each lost 25 pounds, but that didn't seem like enough for me. I wanted to learn how to eat healthy, not just lose weight.
Next, my journey led me to start looking at the fresh fruits and vegetables on our table. My daughter was just beginning to eat table food and I wanted to make sure I was feeding her fresh foods and not ones filled with pesticides. I'm sure many of you have heard about the dirty dozen, so I started to research what that consisted of and what we may want to buy organic for our family. I found some great websites, one being the Environmental Working Group. I did not know they rated all of the fruits and vegetables and had not only a dirty dozen plus list, but also the clean fifteen. So, I started looking for more organic options in our local grocery stores.
Well, sadly the local grocery stores just don't have a great selection on organic produce. Maybe it was because we were still in the winter season, but I was very disappointed. Plus, the prices were so much higher than that of the non-organic produce. Remember, I had just started couponing back in October with the goal of learning to save our family some money in our food budget and now I was looking to buy $5 strawberries and squash. I was not excited about the prices, but I was now on a mission to find better ways of buying my produce.
So, my next stop was to a wonderful website called Local Harvest. I spent all day checking out this website and learning about the local farms in my area and what they offered. I was so excited to have some local options straight from the farm. I learned there were different options for obtaining your produce, such as going to the farm yourself, picking up your produce at a local farmers market or meeting point from the farmer or joining a CSA, Community Supported Agriculture. I personally liked the option of having produce delivered straight to my door and being able to opt out for a week if I didn't need anything. So, I narrowed it down to three CSA's and in the end I chose The Produce Box. I liked the flexibility in their options and they have an organic produce box or you can pick from other boxes and local merchants as well. I will talk more about the Produce Box in the future, since I just started receiving boxes from them in April.
While I waited for The Produce Box to begin their season I continued to do my research and look for more organic options. I switched all my daughter's baby food over to organic and found I could still use coupons for a lot of her foods. I was learning how to cook more at home, versus just warming up a frozen lasagna in the oven. I really did like Weight Watchers meals, but I quickly learned that many of their menus were geared towards low fat options. Well, this was another big lesson I learned through my research. Did you know it is best to eat full fat foods, but in moderation of course? I have grown up in a diet/low-fat/fat-free world for so long that I didn't realize what it was doing to me. Next week I will talk more in detail about what I have learned and am still learning about the diet sodas we drink and the low fat foods and what they are doing to our body.
Question: Do you buy organic or local produce and where do you find the best produce for the money?
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