In Defense of Home Canning

 

In a perfect world we would all eat 100% live food all of the time.  Everything would be raw and free from bacteria that make us sick.  Fruits and veggies would be abundant every season of the year and wild game (that isn't feeding of off GMO crops) would be right outside of our back door for us to consume whenever we need it.

Obviously, we do not live in a perfect world.  Food-borne illness exists.  Seasons change, making it impossible to grow fruits and veggies at times.  Modernization and industrialization have changed our environment and the way we have to grow and preserve food.

Our ancestors had many different ways to deal with these problems.  Some of them were nomadic and moved with the changing seasons so that fresh fruits and veggies would always be available no matter where they were.  Others stayed put through the harsh winters and relied on traditional methods of preserving food in order to survive through "hibernation".  Most of them, though, resigned to only eating what is in-season and available locally for them.  If that means you only ate apples in the fall or berries in the spring, that's the way it had to be.

Thankfully, through time, new methods of food preservation have evolved and we're not forced to let the season determine our menus.  While the tried and true methods of lacto-fermentation, smoking, and drying food will always be best, they are not always convenient or possible for everyone.  Freezers and canning methods are the solution for those people.  Some will look at these methods of preservation and say that because they are new and not what our ancestors used they are unhealthy, un"primal", or "processed", but I argue that just because it's new, it doesn't necessarily mean it's bad or evil.  Not everything that is "processed" is the equivalent of a Twinkie, and in fact, the processing can make some foods even healthier for us to digest.

Why Preserve Food?

Environmental responsibility is just as important as the food we put into our bodies, mainly because it affects what we put into our bodies in the long-run.  Because there are changing seasons, many areas of the world are unable to grow fresh produce for a large part of the year.  In order to get their required nutrition, people living in these areas need to either preserve foods when they are in season or have fresh foods shipped to them from other parts of the world when they are out of season.  Preserving the food while in season so it can be eaten throughout the year is the more environmentally responsible option.  On top of that, it is better for your local economy, as you're supporting local farmers during their growing seasons by buying their products in bulk instead of supporting farmers overseas throughout the rest of the year.

Frozen or Canned

There are many people who are very anti-canned foods, because they feel canning leaves the food dead and denatured.  These people will, however, rely on freezers to preserve their foods.  While canning does create a sterile, dead food (void of both bad AND good bacteria), it does not mean the food is entirely denatured.  My purpose in this post is to show you how and why.

I would also argue that while freezing is a wonderful method of preservation, it also, technically, creates processed food, and simply isn't practical for the average family to practice for ALL foods.  In my family of six, it can take hundreds of quarts of canned applesauce from apple season in order to provide enough for us to eat just 2-3 times a week during the off-season.  Just the applesauce alone would require an entire chest freezer for preservation.  If you're a family that also buys your local, pastured meat in bulk, preserves many different varieties of foods other than applesauce, or perhaps has a breastfeeding infant that requires pumped milk, freezer space is precious and not readily available for bulk food preservation.  A solution could be to buy multiple freezers, but once again, environmental responsibility is just as important as the food we consume.  Freezers use a lot of energy.

While canning does create a sterile, dead food (void of living bacteria - both good and bad), it does not mean the food is entirely denatured.  We have to make choices about how we preserve food based on the amount of space we have, what the heating process does to the specific food, and what is best for the environment.

What does the canning process do to the nutrients in food?

Studies have shown that there are both good and bad things that happen to the nutrients in foods that are canned.  Vitamin C is lost during the canning process, but what little remains afterwards is stable throughout storage.  The same for many of the B Vitamins.  During the freezing process, on the other hand, very little of these nutrients are lost during blanching, but they are not stable during storage due to oxidation.  Frozen produce consumed within a month is going to be more nutritious than if it was stored in the freezer for six months, whereas the nutrients in canned foods will remain stable throughout the shelf-life of the food.  So a year after preservation, the canned food will usually be more nutrient dense than the frozen food, depending on moisture levels and the temperature of the freezer, of course.

On the other hand, the canning process opens up the cell walls of fruit flesh, making things like Vitamin A and carotenes more readily available.  Very few of these nutrients are lost during the canning process, and in the case of things like tomatoes, the carotenes, like lycopene, will actually increase.  Freezing produce, however, does not cause an increase in nutrients, with the exception of things like peaches where freezing yields 21 times more Vitamin C than fresh (canning yields only four times more than fresh - but the canned peaches have more Vitamin E than both frozen and fresh).

Fiber is another thing to consider when canning.  The high heat does not affect fiber content, but rather makes it more soluble and useful to the body.  Freezing does not do this.

The bottom line is this - both methods of preservation have their pros and cons.  Canning creates a sterile, dead food that in some cases can be lower in nutrients, but it allows for more convenient storage and does not cause long-term nutrient loss.  Freezing means less nutrient loss up front and leaves both good and bad bacteria intact, however it allows for more nutrient loss during the storage process due to oxidation.  It also takes up more room in your freezer, and preservation of the food is dependent on access to electricity.  If you've ever had a full freezer during a long-term power outage or have had a freezer door accidentally left open (like me), then you understand how inconvenient and costly this problem can be!

When to Can and When to Freeze?

Bone Broth

I've posted before about how I can my bone broths.  There are many who think this is an unwise thing to do, as the high heat of the canning process can affect your gelatin.  This is true - not all canned broth will gel afterwards.  But, that doesn't mean that there is no benefit to canned broth.

When buying processed gelatin in the store, you can usually find two types - regular gelatin powder and collagen/gelatin hydrolysate.  Gelatin powder is like the equivalent of uncanned bone broth reduced to a powder.  It will gel and create things like gummy snacks.  Collagen hydrolysate is like the equivalent of canned broth.  It is heated at a higher temperature than regular gelatin powder, which increases the number of amino acids.  While collagen hydrolysate will not gel, much like canned broth, it is better assimilated into the body.  Collagen hydrolysate is actually better for people like me, with Crohn's Disease, as it is easier on digestion.

I see benefit to both freezing and canning bone broth.  It is good to have some fresh off the stove or crockpot, some kept in your fridge for quick use, and some in either the freezer or canned for those times when you need it and don't have it fresh.  Canned broth, since already heated, is perfect for things like soups and stews.  Frozen is good for thawing and warming as a beverage.

Meat

Canning meat is one of the easiest things in the world to do.  You simply take the raw meat, chop it into little pieces, fill the jar with water, and process in the pressure canner.  When you are done you have a preserved jar of canned, pastured meat for those days when you may not have had time to thaw your meat before cooking or you need to take a meal with you somewhere.

Meat, unless you're eating it raw, is going to lose nutrition through preparation regardless of the method.  Canning the meat brings it to a temperature of 240 degrees for a few hours and then allows all nutrients to remain stable throughout storage.  You may end up cooking fresh or frozen meat at the same or higher temperature, losing the same nutrients.  Canning will render the meat sterile, whereas cooked meat can quickly lead to food-borne illness if not handled and preserved properly after it is taken off of the heat.

For some meats, such as fish, the canning process will actually increase nutrition.  The high heat causes bones in fish meat to leach calcium into the meat.

Vegetables

Let's face it, canned veggies often don't taste as good as fresh or frozen.  Green beans, for example, can end up mushy.  And the longer the jars sit in storage, the worse the flavor seems to be.

But some veggies, like leafy greens, actually benefit from the heat.  Spinach that sits in your fridge can lose nearly all of its nutrient content in one week (that doesn't count the 2-3 weeks it can take for it to get to your fridge from the farm during winter).  Cooked spinach increases iron, protein, fiber, zinc, thiamine, and calcium; and has higher amounts of vitamins A and E.  Spinach that is picked ripe and canned immediately will have much more nutrition than store-bought spinach that you bring home and immediately use up, and way more than spinach that sits in your fridge for a week longer.

With any veggies, if you're worried about nutrient loss during the canning process, remember that most of what is lost ends up in the cooking liquid.  Since canned veggies are only really good in cooked foods like stews or soups, it is best to use the liquid from your jars in the soups in order to increase nutrition and make up for what was lost in the veggie itself.


A 2005 Dutch study suggested that canning fruits and vegetables decreases glucosinolate content - a phytochemical that may fight cancer and memory loss.  Glucosinolates are primarily found in cruciferous veggies like cabbage or broccoli. Since broccoli is high in Vitamin C, it is not recommended that you can for preservation.  And cabbage is best preserved through lacto-fermentation as sauerkraut.  To benefit from the protection of glucosinolates, just preserve the foods high in them with other methods and serve them as a side with your home-canned foods that lack them.


Fruits

As is the case with broccoli, it is best not to can fruits that are high in Vitamin C.

Some people have luck canning pumpkin, although I have never tried.  Canned pumpkin has 30 times more vitamin A than raw pumpkin and 20 times more than fresh-cooked.

Other fruits, such as apples, provide fiber as their benefit.  Since the canning process does not affect fiber, and actually enables better digestion, apples are one fruit that is best preserved through canning.  You could argue that it would be best to freeze applesauce, as not to make it a dead food, but the heating process used to create the applesauce itself has already rendered it dead.  Freezing will not make it live again.  Canning will free up freezer space for items that cannot be preserved through canning, such as squash and citrus fruit, and allow you to buy apples in bulk during the growing season.

Fruits such as berries are best when frozen if you're looking to consume them for nutrition, but since they aren't a main source of vitamin C to begin with, canning will not make much of a difference.  It is nice to have some frozen berries to enjoy in things like smoothies for a nutrient punch, with some canned berry jams in the cupboards to use as condiments and for flavor.

As mentioned above, always can your tomatoes instead of freezing, as the process increases the amount of lycopene in the fruit.

Conclusion

All food methods have benefits.  When you're looking at 15 bushels of fresh apples, it would be impossible to freeze it all.  Dehydrate some into chips.  Freeze some for baking.  Can some applesauce.

When you get your full beef you can dehydrate or smoke some for jerky.  Can some for a convenient meal later.  Freeze the rest to enjoy throughout the year.


Unfortunately, we can't always forage and hunt for the freshest of foods.  We have to make sacrifices in order to be able to live in the modern world.  Raw, live foods are rare and when they are plentiful, they are rarely safe when eaten raw.  Even most of the "raw" almonds you find in the store are irradiated and left dead.  It's the unfortunate consequence of desiring almonds when you don't live in almond country.  In order for to food to get to our doors year-round, whenever we're craving them, they have to be made safe for transport.  The same will be true when you're desiring berries in the winter or bananas in the North.

Don't let your fear of eating "dead" foods (in moderation) keep you from enjoying the art of canning your own delicious foods.  Yes, a raw egg is best for you nutritionally, but you will still eat it when it is cooked and dead, won't you?  Just because a food is canned, it doesn't mean it's not good for you.

As with any meal, it's always good to eat more live than dead foods and no one is advocating a diet consisting solely of home-canned foods.  If you decide to have some of your canned applesauce with a meal, make sure that you add some homemade yogurt or large portions of raw veggies to the meal.  If you're eating canned meat, top it with a fermented cruciferous veggie, like homemade sauerkraut.  If you're enjoying some of your homemade unsweetened berry jam with a meal, add raw, local honey to it before serving to "liven" it up.  Balancing dead foods with live ones will create a healthy, nutritious meal that is also environmentally-friendly and supports local farmers year-round.

A jar of in-season, home-canned produce is going to be more nutritious than out of season produce at the grocery store, and also better for the environment.  Period.  You also can't downplay the security in knowing that the organic, local food you worked so hard to preserve will be stable regardless of whatever happens to the power.

Finally, remember that whenever you're canning, always use proper sanitation and hygiene guidelines.  Use lids that are free of BPA and other toxins, and always make sure to dispose of any jars that show signs of seepage or spoilage.

-Jessica


Sources

http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/datastore/234-779.pdf

http://nutrican.fshn.uiuc.edu/studyfinal.html

Preserving Winter Squash

We're nearing the end of my squash preserving frenzy and I thought I would share some tips on how to store it so that you will have plenty of your favorite locally-grown squash to enjoy through the winter and spring months.

Squash Pancakes - Yum!

Winter squash is high in carotenoids and antioxidants, and has anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and insulin-regulating properties.  It's packed with Vitamin A and research is showing that it may play a role in cancer prevention.

It is extremely important that you only consume organic winter squash because it can pull contaminants out of the soil.  If you find a good source for locally-grown organic squash, make sure to stock up on it and start preserving.

The wonderful thing about squash is that it can last 3-6 months before rotting if stored properly (temperature controlled).  If you plan to keep your squash whole after harvest, make sure not to consume any that may end up bruised during storage, because once bruised they are susceptible to rot and bacterial growth.

Canning squash in chunks is possible with a pressure canner, but you are not supposed to can the puree due to its density.  Of course, it is possible to can the puree, since it is sold that way in stores, but it is not something I would advise messing with at home, as the chance for food-borne illness is higher with dense foods like pumpkin.

If you have the freezer space, the best way to preserve squash is in puree form.  It's extremely easy!

First, cook your squash.  I prefer to just throw it whole into a stockpot full of water and let it simmer until cooked.  If you want to soak and consume the seeds, you'll need to slice and scoop them out before cooking, as the heat will make them unsproutable.  Then you can steam or bake your sliced squash.

Once cooked, slice the squash, scoop and toss the guts, and then throw the meat into your food processor, blending until it is the desired texture.  Pureed squash is a wonderful staple to have on hand in your fridge, as it can be added to soups, grain-free baked goods, and casseroles for an added vitamin punch.

Use a dry-erase marker on your jars for labeling

I prefer to freeze my squash in ice cube trays.  One cube equals approximately two tablespoons, making it easy to add the desired amount of squash to recipes.  If you were to freeze it in a large solid chunk, you would have to thaw and measure for future use.  The ice cubes also make convenient baby food serving sizes.  Just pull out 1-2 cubes the night before and in the morning you'll have thawed baby food ready to go.  You can even throw them in a mesh feeder to give your teething baby some relief and nutrition at the same time.

Once your cubes freeze, transfer them to plastic baggies or whatever glass freezer storage system you like to use.  It will last about a year in the freezer.

Squash seeds, if you are able to eat them, are a really nutrient-dense snack.  They are high in unsaturated fat and protein, zinc, diverse forms of Vitamin E, and other anti-oxidants.  Remember, if you are planning to consume any seeds, you must first soak them to break down the enzyme inhibitors and phytates that make them hard to digest.  Just place your seeds in a container of water, add salt, and let it sit for at least seven hours before draining and dehydrating/cooking. 

If you would like to sprout your pumpkin seeds to add even more nutrients to this already nutrient-dense food, drain them after the initial soaking, let them sit and then rinse/drain again every 8 hours until you see the sprouts forming.  They will look like little white tails.

I prefer to dehydrate my pumpkin seeds in the oven.  I lightly salt them and place them on a cookie sheet on the lowest setting my oven provides (170) for a few hours or until they are crispy.

These goodies never last long around here!

So stop decorating with those delicious pumpkins, gourds and squash, and start eating and preserving them.  Winter is just around the corner!

-Jessica

Preserving Apples

It's that time of year again!  Pretty soon beautiful bushels of fresh, locally-grown apples will start filling every corner of my house, just waiting to be preserved.

Apple season is usually extremely busy in our household.  I spend approximately two whole weeks in the kitchen washing, peeling, coring, and preserving them because they are some of my family's favorite treats.

Did you know that even the organic apples and pears sold in the grocery store are sprayed with antibiotics?  Apples and pears are the only two foods in the United States that are allowed to be full of antibiotics and still display the organic label.  This is a huge problem that is being widely debated and the hope is that by 2016 it will no longer be allowed.  These antibiotics play a role in gut health and antibiotic resistance, so it is really important that we stop this practice, especially among organic growers.

Since apples and pears are so vulnerable to bacteria and infections that can kill the trees, it is almost impossible to grow them without spraying.  There are alternatives, but they are too costly for the average farmer.

Because of this, whenever I get my apples, regardless of the organic-labelling or not, I do a thorough washing in vinegar.  Water alone is not enough.  The vinegar will kill 98% of bacteria, pesticide residue, and anything else that may be on the peels.  Just fill your sink (sanitized with vinegar) with the apples, cover with water, and add two cups of vinegar.  Let them soak for about ten minutes (apples obviously want to float, so just make sure that you push them under and mix them around every few minutes), drain the sink, and then rinse them before eating or preserving.

Here are my essential tools for apple preservation:

Apple Peeler

Apple Corer

Large Stockpot

Large Wooden Spoon

Food Processor*

Canning Supplies (water bath canner, mason jars/lids, tongs)

Juicer

candy thermometer

Dehydrator

Freezer Bags/Containers

*some people prefer to throw their apple in with the peels and then use a food mill when they cook down.  I prefer the consistency of the applesauce when I peel them first and then puree with a food processor after they have cooked.

To can my applesauce I use my peeler to peel and core, and then throw the apples into my stockpot with a small amount of filtered water to prevent sticking.  Once the apples have cooked down a little and have softened, I run them through the food processor until they are completely pureed.  My children prefer a very smooth applesauce and this method seems to work best for obtaining the desired texture.  After it is pureed it goes back into the stockpot until it reaches a boil.  Then I fill my jars with 1/2 inch headspace and process them for twenty minutes in the water bath.

Toward the end of my preserving marathon I sometimes get lazy and stop peeling apples.  I will simply cut the apples using my corer and throw them, peels and all, into the stockpot to cook down (make sure you used the vinegar wash if you're going to do this).  When you put the apples into the food processor they will still blend down to a nice puree, but it won't be as smooth as without the peels and you will see little slices of peel in the jars.  My kids don't really notice a difference, but I definitely prefer the sauce without the peels.  We can go through 2-3 quarts of sauce each week (100+ each year), so when you're canning in those quantities you sometimes have to cut corners to get it all done!

 

Apple Juice is another favorite of mine.  When I get to the end of my canning session it's a really easy way to use up apples and preserve them.  I just throw my halved apples straight into our juicer (we have the Jack LaLanne) and then heat the juice that comes out to 190 degrees (I use a candy thermometer to check).  You are not supposed to boil the juice.  Once it reaches the temperature I ladle it into my jars with 1/4 inch headspace and process for ten minutes in the water bath.

If you don't have a juicer you can do it the old-fashioned way - throw your chopped apples into the stockpot with water (1 quart filtered water per 12 pounds apples) and once they have cooked down you can strain them through something like cheesecloth to get the juice.

Freezing is a wonderful way to preserve your apples.  Most canning books will tell you to treat your apples with a produce protector before freezing to prevent darkening, but I've never done it and haven't had a problem.  The frozen apples do discolor a little bit, but since you're usually using the frozen apples for things like pies and cobblers, the discoloration doesn't really matter.  My favorite use for frozen apples is in stove-top potpourri.  I throw a cup of the apple slices in a pot with some water, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and dehydrated mint, and put it on simmer.  The smell is amazing and a great alternative to chemical-filled candles and air-fresheners.

Dehydrating apple rings is another great way to preserve apples.  If sliced thinly enough they will turn crispy like a chip - a favorite for my children.  If the slices are a little thicker they will be somewhat chewy, but still tasty.

The best way to ensure thin slices is to use an apple peeler.  When you're done you get nice apple rings that are uniform in size and fit nicely on your dehydrator tray.  I usually fill my dehydrator in the morning and by dinner they are ready (every dehydrator is different).

I've made my apple chips both with the peels and without and they are both equally delicious.

I hope you have a wonderful apple preserving season!  There is so much you can do with this delicious fruit to ensure that you will enjoy it all through the winter months.  If you are interested in recipes for things like apple butter, apple pie filling, or other sugary treats, I've always had good luck with the Ball Blue Book.  I like to use tried and true recipes to ensure that what I make will be preserved safely.

Happy (almost) autumn everyone!  And remember - an apple a day keeps the doctor away!

-Jessica

How To Make Your Own Compost Bin

First, you may be wondering why I am talking about composting on my wellness blog.  Well, gardening is the easiest and cheapest way to ensure you are getting local, in-season, organic produce.  I'm a novice gardener and am learning as I go, so I thought I would share my journey with you guys. 

Composting is something I have always wanted to do, but have never really known where to start.  You can find a ton of information on the Internet about the topic, and everyone seems to have their own method for doing it.  After doing a little research, I decided that you can't really mess it up too badly, so I'd just do whatever seemed right for us.

Adam and I are currently planning our garden for the year and as we were seed shopping we saw some nice compost bins for sale (for over $100).  But as I looked at them I told Adam that we could make something similar out of a Rubbermaid bin for free at home.

My first idea was to use a regular Rubbermaid bin, but then I realized that we had some of the larger ones on wheels that would be easier to drag around the yard once the compost is finished.

Here is what I used.

I had Adam drill some holes in the bottom that would be big enough to let worms and other creepy-crawlies in, and also drain the excess water out.

A compost bin needs to allow air to escape, because methane can build up and cause an explosion inside the bin.  Luckily, the handles of this bin have some air holes (you can see them on the above picture on the left side), but I also had Adam drill some small holes on the lid.

Now my container was ready to fill.

I filled it 2/3 of the way full with dry, "brown" materials - shredded paper, leaves, wood chips, dried stuff from my landscaping, etc.  You can also include sawdust, straw, cardboard, newspaper and other similar items in this layer. 

Unfortunately, the only tree we have on our property (besides evergreens) is an oak tree, and their leaves aren't supposed to be the best for composting.  They will work, but are pretty acidic and will take longer to compost.  But, I went ahead and tried it with them.

Once I filled the bin, I covered it with water until everything was saturated well, but not swimming.

I created a "wet" container that will live at the edge of my back patio.  At the end of every day, I will dump the contents of the glass container in my kitchen where I will keep my "green" materials into this bin.

Items that are considered "green" materials include - food scraps (anything but animal-byproducts and processed foods), coffee grinds/filters, tea bags, hair (animal and human), egg shells, grass clippings, etc.

A few months ago, I found a box of cabbage in my garage that I had forgotten about.  It was obviously rotten, but I knew I was going to compost this year, so I kept it in a sealed container in the garage (gross, I know).  This rotten cabbage, along with some coffee grinds, food scraps, and a generous helping of Max the dog's hair, became our first wet contribution to the compost bin.

I put it in the compost bin and watered it down again.

Yum, right?!

Finally, I added a thin layer of garden soil to top it off and watered again.

It has been covered and now has a home in the back of the house, right next to a water source.

See the pitch fork in the corner?  That is the only tool I'll need from now on.  Once a week I will open my bin and "turn" the contents by basically stirring them with the pitch fork.  Every 5-6 weeks, I will add another layer of "brown" materials from the yard, "green" materials from my wet bin, and soil from the garden to keep it going.

Hopefully, in 2-6 months we'll have some lovely compost.  The microbes and other fun things that live in the soil will feast on my "stew" and increase the temperature of my bin.  This will cause everything to decay and create a lovely product for my garden beds.  The more often I "turn" my compost, the faster this should happen.

Not only does this save me money and decrease the amount of waste I am sending to the dump, but it guarantees me organic compost and will help me provide healthy, nutritious produce for my family this year!

-Jess

Q&A: 10 Steps To Save Money On Organic Food

I was curious about buying organic. I'm assuming you do. If so, could you write a post about it? I looked but didn't find one. I do want to eat organically, but it's so expensive, and where I live it's about a 30 minute drive to find organic foods.

I love this question! I get asked this quite often. Here is a list I created to help answer it:

Ten Steps To Save Money On Organic Food

Step One: Analyze Your Budget

Take a month and track everything you spend money on - I mean EVERYTHING down to the soda from the vending machine to the bottled water at the gas station. At the end of the month, take a look at your expenditures and categorize them into the following areas: bills, groceries, gas, entertainment, other food, and miscellaneous.

Doing this is eye-opening for the average American. If you are anything like I was when I did this last year, you will notice that you spend way more than you thought you did on random food outside of the home (my biggest expenses were drinks from the vending machine at work and tea at the local coffee shop).

Take an honest look at your budget and ask yourself, "Is eating organic food really important to me?" If it is, then ask yourself what you are willing to do without in order to afford the added expense. Our family does without cable and expensive cell phone plans. We haven't gone out to eat at a restaurant in almost two years and we do not go on expensive vacations. These are things that we do in order to eat the way we do. Our health is just a huge priority for us.

Step Two: Prioritize

Now that you have squeezed some extra room into your budget for organic foods, you need to decide what is most important for you.

For many people it is produce - most people try to avoid the Dirty Dozen (peaches, apples, bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, grapes, spinach, lettuce, and potatoes) and only buy them when they are organic. This is because these foods tend to have the highest levels of contamination from pesticides.

The Clean Fifteen (onion, avocado, sweet corn, pineapple, mango, asparagus, sweet peas, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, papaya, watermelon, broccoli, tomato, and sweet potato) have the lowest levels of contamination, so you can get away with not buying organic.

Here is a full list of contamination levels of common fruits and veggies.

Other people prefer to spend their limited budget on pastured meat or eggs, or dairy products that do not contain antibiotics or hormones. You have to decide what is most important for you and focus on trying to find the best deals on those foods.

Our family tries to avoid the dirty dozen and will only eat pastured meat and eggs. We prefer raw milk, but when I run out and have to buy at the grocery store, I refuse to spend $5 on a carton of ultra-pasteurized, organic milk. I prefer to buy the non-organic milk that says it is free of hormones and antibiotics, and isn't ultra-pasteurized. It costs half as much and tastes much better to me.

Step Three: Try To Grow Your Own

Obviously, not everyone lives on a farm and is able to raise their own animals or milk their own cows, but we can take the foods that are most expensive in the store or that we like to eat the most and try to cut costs by growing them ourselves.

I posted last year about a family who lives in the middle of Los Angeles and created their own urban homestead. If they are able to love almost entirely off of 1/4 acre in the middle of the city, just imagine what some of us could do who have even more land!

If you live in a neighborhood that has strict laws about growing gardens or having animals, you may want to look into edible landscaping. You could remove all of your decorative flowerbeds and instead plant fresh herbs, edible flowers, fruit trees, berry bushes, etc. in place of them. You could also plant vegetables in pots and place them on your back deck or near a window inside of your home.

Some neighborhoods will even allow you to have backyard chickens as pets, so long as you don't have any roosters (they are a bit too loud).

The more you grow yourself, the more money you save.

Step Four: Stop Buying Processed Foods

Processed organic foods are a joke. Do we really need organic brownies? Organic cookies? Organic frozen burritos? Just because they say "organic" it doesn't make them healthy.

I will admit that if given a choice between a regular frozen burrito or an organic one, I would probably choose the organic one because I can usually pronounce all of the ingredients. But when you buy processed foods you are paying for convenience.

If you are going to buy processed organics, you can find some coupons here.

These organic processed foods cost nearly twice as much, sometimes more, than their non-organic equivalents. For example, there are some very popular brands of organic salad dressings that you can buy at major grocery chains for around $5 per bottle. Their non-organic equivalents are less than half that. But even the non-organic brand is too expensive when you consider how little it would cost to make it yourself, which brings me to...

Step Five: Start making food from scratch

I used to be obsessed with Amy's brand organic soups until one day I realized that for the amount of money I spent on one $4 can of lentil soup I could buy enough bulk lentils to make soup for our entire family.

Now I pretty much make everything from scratch - soups, noodles, burritos, breads - you name it. It saves so much money - of course, you have to factor in the amount of time spent cooking and decide whether or not it is worth the money saved.

But this goes hand-in-hand with step two - what are your priorities? Take a look at how you spend your free time and see if there are ways you could squeeze out an extra half an hour a day to make some homemade crackers or to juice your own apples. You'd be amazed at how much free time you have in a day - you just have to decide how you want to spend it.

You could also ask for some labor-saving appliances as gifts on your next holiday. A bread-maker will do everything for you - mix, knead, bake - and it will only take you five minutes to throw your fresh, organic ingredients into it each morning. Other items like juicers, dehydrators, canning supplies, food processors, gardening tools, etc. will help you save time.

Step Six: Start going directly to the source

The closest Whole Foods or Trader Joe's to where I live is almost an hour away. Not only would I spend a fortune in gas driving there to shop every week, but the food there is ridiculously overpriced.

But my other option where I live (in the middle of nowhere) is a small health food store that also has very high prices. I used to go to that store to buy my meat and then one day I noticed that the name on the package was local. Why not just drive to the farm and save some money?

So that's what I started doing. We now get our raw milk, eggs, meat and a majority of our produce from farmers in our area. There are so many benefits to doing this - you save money, you get to see the health of the animals, you get to learn about how the farm operates and whether or not it truly is organic, you get to keep your money in your community, etc.

Many people feel lost and don't know where to start looking for local sources of organic foods. Here is what I suggest - first, start going to your local farmer's market. If you're not sure when and where it is, contact your city (township, village, etc.) officials and ask who you need to speak with. The person in charge of the farmer's market may even be able to give you the names of some of the vendors to start your search.

Next, ask around at your local health food store (or other places that healthy people seem to be). Ask the owners where they get their meat, eggs, or milk from. My local store even has bulletin boards with information available about local sources for many foods.

You can also get involved in community supported agriculture and find a co-op near you. This way you can get cheap, fresh, organic produce practically delivered to your front door every week.

Finally, start attending your local chapter meetings of the Weston A. Price foundation. This organization has so much information to give to you and many times they hold mini-farmer's markets at the meetings so you can purchase organic foods at a good price. This is an excellent source for raw milk products.

Step Seven: Buy In-Season

I posted about the benefits of eating in-season produce last year. If I need to buy a food that is out of season and I have a choice between frozen and fresh, I generally buy frozen, because I know it was probably picked when it was riper (and it costs much less).

There is a reason why those organic mangoes cost so much in Ohio in the middle of February - they don't grow anywhere near here in this climate. When you buy out of season not only are you sacrificing the nutrient content of your produce, but you are basically paying extra to have the food shipped to the store. Instead, start purchasing only the foods that are in-season (do a google search to find out which seasonal foods grow near you).

Buy as much produce as you can when it is in season and then learn how to preserve it for the winter months, which brings me to...

Step Eight: Learn how to preserve your food

When something is on sale, buy a bunch and either can it, freeze it, or dehydrate it. This will cut down on your winter grocery bills and is also the only way you can guarantee that the produce you are eating in the winter was picked fresh and is local.

Frozen fruits don't taste very good once they are thawed if you are going to eat them plain, but they are wonderful in smoothies, desserts, and as purees/sauces.

We like to use a dehydrator to dry out all of our fresh herbs and save them for later use. You can also make your own homemade fruit leather with the dehydrator.

Step Nine: Buy in bulk

It's always cheaper when you buy more. At my farmer's market, many vendors offer deals when you buy in bulk (buy your apples by the bushel and they cost less than by the pound, etc.).

I have found that buying my meat in "bulk" makes it much cheaper. We purchase a half-beef every 9 months or so and we have calculated that it works out to be around $18/week for our pastured, all organic-meat (2 adults/2 children eating beef 3 times per week). That is comparable to what we would spend on non-organic beef in the grocery store if we bought on a weekly basis.

There are also farms out there, like this one, that offer organic foods in bulk at very reasonable prices. I used to order from this company, with a group of people, and get all of my dry goods for very cheap. We did it in a group because there are minimum amounts required for delivery. Once a month our group would place orders and one of the group members would pick up our orders and be responsible for separating them out. It was work for the person in charge, but it saved a lot of money.

Step Ten: Eat less/Waste less

According to this source, Americans throw out an average of 1400 calories per person every single day. Think about how many times you let that bag of lettuce go bad before you toss it, or let the milk spoil before anyone drinks it. If you factor the amount of money you spend on food that gets thrown away every month, I bet you could put a small dent in your organic grocery bill.

Instead of throwing things away, learn to preserve your produce before it gets a chance to go bad. If you buy more apples than you plan on using in a week, try making some applesauce with the rest. If your milk is spoiled, learn to make cheeses and other dairy products from it. If you make too much food and have leftovers, instead of letting them sit in the fridge for a few days and go bad, try freezing them for later use.

Learn to use everything so that you don't have to waste it. For example, when you buy a large broiler chicken, don't discard the carcass and drippings after you cut away the meat. The drippings can be frozen and used for gravies at a later date. Place the carcass in a crock pot or oven with some water and make your own homemade broth that can be used for a soup. I've seen organic, free-range chicken broth for $4 in the grocery store. Why would you pay that when you could get it for free from one dinner's worth of "waste"?

So there you have it. If you learn to do these things, you can significantly reduce your organic grocery bill. I'm not going to lie, eating organic for cheap is A LOT more work, but remember, buying processed foods is expensive because it is convenient. I have found that once I moved into an organic "mindset" I started taking pleasure in the work - the preserving, the cooking, and now the gardening. What used to be a chore has now become a hobby in which I can even involve my children.

It is also important to remember that every little bit counts. It would be nearly impossible to eliminate every single but of exposure to pesticides and toxins in your environment. We all try to do the best we can. Find what foods are most important for you and start with those. Eventually you will find ways to cut back your bills so you can afford other foods.

When my family started eating this way we were spending over a thousand dollars EACH MONTH on our grocery bills. I am happy to say that I now spend an average of $600 per month (we eat every meal at home) on a family of four on a diet that is almost completely organic and the extra work has become such a part of my routine that I don't feel like I am missing out on anything by putting forth the extra energy.

Good luck on your organic adventure!

-Jessica

Ways To Increase Your Veggie Intake Without Tasting Them

With a two-year-old in the house and a husband who likes his dinners consisting of at least 60-70% vegetables, meal-planning can get somewhat difficult. Like many toddlers, my son does not enjoy anything green on his plate, so we have to get sneaky with our cooking.

Add greens to your foods.

Leafy greens, especially spinach and collard greens, have become a staple in this house for many reasons. They are one of my superfoods, because they are high in so many essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium. Since Gabriel is allergic to milk, we have to make sure he is getting enough calcium through the foods he eats.

Greens are also very easy to hide in our food. We hide them in our noodles and just about any dish we make with ground meat, like meatballs, meatloaf, tacos, spaghetti, etc. You can't really taste the greens in the food, which is why Gabe will gobble these dishes up without caring that there is something green on his plate.

Add pureed veggies to your dishes.

Another method for hiding veggies in your food is to include pureed versions in your dishes. Over the summer I bought extra produce at the Farmer's Market and made/froze homemade baby food for David, but later decided not to introduce solid foods until after he was 9 months old. By the time he was eating solids he wasn't very interested in the pureed versions and went straight to finger foods. This left me with gallons of frozen squash, apples, pumpkin and pears in my freezer.

The baby food is made by softening the veggies (I prefer to steam them to maintain more of the vitamin content) and then blending them in the food processor. Then I spoon the puree into ice cube trays and freeze them. Once they are frozen you can break the cubes apart and store them in freezer bags.



When preparing your dinner, just throw a few cubes into the dish (each cube is approximately 2 tablespoons).



They will melt down and you will barely taste them in your meal.

You may not have a picky toddler in your house, but perhaps you have a spouse that doesn't like to eat veggies. Maybe you have extra produce that will go bad soon and you don't know what to do with it. Or perhaps you are just looking for ways to increase your vegetable intake without having to eat salads at every meal. Pureeing, freezing and sneaking them into your food is a perfect solution!

As always, make sure your produce is locally grown, organic, and in-season.

-Jessica

Recipe for the meal shown above:
Brown one pound of free range turkey with baby spinach, carrots, celery, fresh parsley, 2 cloves of garlic, 5 cubes of squash, sea salt, and some pure olive oil (make sure it is regular olive oil, not virgin or extra virgin).

Deciphering Food Labels

Over the past few years it seems like the labeling of "natural" foods has gotten more and more confusing. As it has become cool to be "green", corporations are spending more and more money marketing their products as "green" and "pure", when in reality there is nothing natural about the products.

The words "organic" and "natural" as they apply to food have basically become a joke. There is little regulation by the FDA concerning the labeling and evaluation of products and many laws exist that prohibit truthful labeling by farmers.

My intent in this post is to break down some of the common food labels so that you can make better, more informed decisions at the grocery store, and not fall prey to this marketing game.

Natural/All-Natural - According to the USDA, this means that the item does not contain synthetic or artificial ingredients/preservatives and is minimally processed. There is no regulation concerning the use of antibiotics, hormones, and chemicals. There isn't a certification process for labeling, so essentially this label means nothing and the FDA currently does not have plans to establish a clear definition or monitor the usage of these terms in food labeling.

Organic - There are four separate categories in organic food labeling:

• 100% Organic - refers to single ingredient foods, like produce and dairy products. May bear the USDA seal.
• Organic - refers to foods containing more than one ingredient. 95-100% of those ingredients must be organic. May bear the USDA seal.
• Made with organic ingredients - refers to foods containing more than one ingredient. 70% of those ingredients must be organic. May not bear the USDA seal.
• Contains organic ingredients - Foods with less than 70% organic ingredients. May not bear the USDA seal.

Look for this seal on "100% Organic" and "Organic" foods:

Grass-Fed - This label means the animal was raised primarily on a pasture. There is no regulation concerning where and how long they are allowed to graze.

Eggs - The labels on eggs bought in the grocery store can be very confusing, because there are so many words used to describe the living conditions of the birds, as well as their diets.

• Certified Organic - The chickens are required to have outdoor access, but there is no regulation concerning the length of time and conditions. The birds must be fed a vegetarian diet, without pesticides and hormones. A third party verifies compliance.
• Free Range - This usually means the birds are kept in a barn or warehouse uncaged and have some outdoor access. This label tells you nothing about the diet of the bird. There is no USDA standard, therefore a third party does not verify compliance.
• Cage-Free/Free-Roaming - The same as free range, except the chickens usually do not have outdoor access.
• Vegetarian-Fed - The chickens are fed a vegetarian diet, not necessarily organic. There are no restrictions on the living conditions of the bird.
• Natural - Essentially, this means nothing.
• Fertile - The hens lived with roosters. This label tells you nothing about the diet of the birds.
• Omega-3 Enriched - The birds are fed a diet enriched with things like flaxseed and algae.

Non-GMO - Non-organic food products are not required to be labeled as made with genetically modified ingredients in the United States. In Europe, Australia and Asia, there are restrictions on labeling and some countries have gone so far as to prohibit the sale of GMO foods. There are no set standards for labeling and auditing products that contain the words non-GMO in the United States at this time.

Milk

• rbGH-free - Milk that does not contain the recombinant bovine growth hormone. In Ohio it is illegal to label milk as "rbGH-free". It must instead be labeled "from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones" and must also contain a disclaimer stating that milk from cows injected with hormones is the same as milk without the hormones, even though it is not true.
• Pasteurized - This means the milk is heated to kill all bacteria.
• Ultra-pasteurized - The milk was heated to 280 degrees Fahrenheit for several seconds.
• Homogenized - Milk that has gone through a process to keep the fat from separating.
• Raw - Milk that is neither pasteurized nor homogenized.

Produce

• Stickers beginning with the numbers 3 and 4 - conventional produce. This is produce that is grown using pesticides, fertilizers and other chemicals.
• Stickers beginning with the number 8 - genetically modified produce.
• Stickers beginning with the number 9 - organic produce. This does not mean the produce is 100% free of pesticide residue, but does mean that the levels are significantly lower than conventional produce.

What does all of this mean to my family?

We try to purchase most of our produce, meat, milk and eggs from local farmers, so we know for a fact where it is coming from, the living conditions of any animals, the diets of the animals, and whether or not the food it truly organic. It seems to be the only way you can really know for sure, since food labeling can be very deceptive.

When shopping at the grocery store I tend to ignore all labels and focus more on the ingredients. If I pick up a processed food that says "organic", I know that up to 5% of the ingredients can be non-organic. You can usually spot them, as they are labeled as "natural flavors" or something similar. Those natural ingredients can be anything from MSG to GMO-soy, so I try to avoid products that contain them. I buy products that contain ingredients I can pronounce and that I know are good for me.

I also pay attention to the labelling of non-organic products. For example, most brands of organic milk are ultra-pasteurized. I refuse to drink ultra-pasteurized milk and usually drink raw milk from a friend's cow. But when we run out of raw milk and need something in a pinch, the milk from a local dairy farm that our grocery store sells is simply pasteurized, and the label also says that it does not contain any antibiotics or hormones. So, I prefer to purchase the non-organic milk (which also costs half as much as the organic).

The point is - read your labels. Don't just trust the front of a box or a TV commercial to tell you whether or not a product is good for you. Read the ingredients and research the companies from which you buy your food.

-Jessica

Sources:

"A Brief Guide to Egg Carton Labels and Their Relevance to Animal Welfare ." The Humane Society of the United States. Web. 20 Sept. 2009.

"Food labels what do the numbers mean? Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients Find Articles at BNET." Find Articles at BNET News Articles, Magazine Back Issues & Reference Articles on All Topics. Web. 20 Sept. 2009.

"Organic Food Labels: What does it all mean?" Seattlepi.com Blogs. Web. 20 Sept. 2009.

"What do food labels really mean? GreenCityBlueLake." GreenCityBlueLake Advancing sustainability in Northeast Ohio. Web. 20 Sept. 2009.

Local, In-Season Produce

There are many benefits to buying local produce. You are supporting local farmers, helping the environment by buying items that didn't use large amounts of energy to be transported before sold, and saving yourself a ton of money. Most items at the farmer's market cost much less than "fresh" fruit at the grocery store.

The main reason I enjoy buying local produce, however, is the nutritional benefit. You may wonder, what's the difference between an apple bought at the store and an apple bought locally?

Well, most store-bought apples were picked before they were ripe, making them less nutritious. They are then transported from where they were grown (many times in places like Mexico, Florida and California) causing the vitamins to slowly deteriorate due to exposure to air, light and temperature changes. Sometimes the fruit will be gassed with an ethylene gas (a naturally occurring ripening agent) in order to improve color or to ripen the fruit before it goes on the grocery store shelf.

Most local produce you find at the farmer's market, however, is picked the day of sale, at it's ripest point, and sold just hours later.

A great way to save money while purchasing produce is to get involved in CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), which will allow you to buy a "share" in a farmer's crop and receive a weekly selection of what has been harvested. For more information and to find a CSA near you, click here.

Something to also remember while you are shopping in the summer is to buy double so that you can freeze, can or dehydrate fruits and veggies for use during the winter months.

If you do need to buy produce at the grocery store during the winter, try to buy frozen. The produce that is used in the frozen foods section was generally picked when it was riper than the "fresh" fruit. Canned produce from the grocery store should be avoided because the lining of the cans is full of a chemical called Bisphenol A (BPA).

Also, if you are purchasing from an unknown vendor at the farmer's market, make sure you ask them where their produce is grown. There are many vendors out there that scam unsuspecting shoppers by purchasing produce from the same places the grocery stores get theirs and pass it off as local.

And as always, make sure your fruits and veggies are free from pesticides and other chemicals, and are not hybridized or genetically modified.

-Jessica