Hey Isn't being frugal being unhealthy

**McCathy** · 08-20-2010, 01:33 PM

Im new here, I usually use Amazon for Organic Recipe Books, because I figured, it's better to eat healthy than to eat cheap and unhealthy? What do you guys think? Can you guys help me with finding ORGANIC FRUGAL RECIPES lol, the only place i have found ideas is on amazon and its gettin pretty expensive to ship books i just use kindle and make do with what i can find i have a really fast paced life and i dont have time to cook much at home
Im a doctor by the way.

**dcompton** · 08-20-2010, 01:45 PM

I don't have any recipes to offer, but I would say that organic isn't necessarily unfrugal, because frugal isn't quite the same as cheap. Frugalitiy is spending money wisely. Everyone allots priorities among the categories of spending in ways that best match their goals and lifestyles. For you buying organic is an investment in health. For me, keeping my apartment very "unfrugally" cold during the summer is too, because I simply can't function if I'm hot, or even too warm. These are all individual choices. If you are spending more in one area, you can be cut back in another to balance it.

You'll find that quite a few people here do buy organic.

**andrew's mom** · 08-20-2010, 01:48 PM

I have gotten a booklet on organic recipes from my Ayurvedic doctor but unfortunately I can't share it due to copyright restraints. However, what I have been doing is cooking small batches (2 meals) with a lot of veggies and rice. I like Basmati rice the best since it tastes delicious. I buy organic produce and it lasts 3 weeks or longer. Cabbage (green and red) lasts the longest and so does cauliflower, broccoli and carrots. I chop up 2 to 3 times of veggies, toss them up with organic butter, spices and soma salt and combine with rice. I add fresh squeezed lime juice on top and voila, pretty cheap organic meal. I do use organic chicken and also a lot of small beans that last a while like mung beans, pink and green lentils and also quinoa, amaranth and brown basmati for grains. For breakfast I soak organic rolled oats in water overnight, add some butter, dried organic fruit and cinnamon and heat up in the morning. It's delicious.
I hope this helps.
Mea :-).

**Momto5RN** · 08-20-2010, 02:15 PM

womans world magazine at one time had a great article on eating organically frugally .

there are ways to do anything frugally if you decide that is what is important to you enough to spend money on it you give up other things to do that .

let me see if i have a scan of that article still in one of my photobucket albums

**Momto5RN** · 08-20-2010, 02:40 PM

this is a link to a scan of that article you may have to increase the size to view it - hopefully it works

[ame]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v149/Bargain2me/articleonorganic.jpg[/ame]

this is another article
Money Saving Tips for Organic Food- WomansDay.com Money Saving

the MYTH that if one eats frugally all they eat is crap is sometimes perpetuated by the TV shows that show super coupon queens with tons of processed stuff but that is really not how the majority of frugal people i know eat .

its not so much for me having frugal recipes its finding ways to get the ingredients for our fav recipes as frugally as possible.

**Momto5RN** · 08-20-2010, 02:42 PM

its not a video ugh if you click on the word that says photobucket it will show the article you may have to save it to your own file and then enlarge it yourself on your own computer to read it

**lparker** · 08-20-2010, 08:00 PM

"help me with finding ORGANIC FRUGAL RECIPES"

Most recipes are frugal if you make them yourself.

I'm not 100% positive because I'm not a fan of buying overpriced produce and meat, but

>>Use organic ingredients in your regular recipes.

>>Don't waste your money on specialty recipes.

>>Do some research on once-a-month-cooking here and other places.

>>When you do buy organic, buy just enough at one time...if you toss any out, your per serving price goes up.

AND don't forget to come back here and tell us how you are doing!

**NikoSan999** · 08-20-2010, 08:46 PM

Here's a link

Organic Kitchen - Cooking

It looks to be a good site. I'm not into organic. To be honest I think it's a bunch of hype and no you don't have to be unhealthy to be frugal. I wouldn't pay the price for the organic myself but each their own.

**Luckybustert** · 08-21-2010, 09:50 PM

I agree there's a big difference between frugal and cheap, and to some extent I also agree that "organic" has become marketing hype. By eliminating the highly processed convenience foods, you can eat more healthily, and will feel more satisfied with smaller portions because you're eating REAL food instead of a box of chemicals that leaves you hungry.

**frugalwarrior2** · 08-21-2010, 11:48 PM

Please don't include eating junk w/ being frugal. Many people here grow gardens (organically) and thats certainly frugal. People shop at fruit markets for healthier produce that frugal. People shop in-season to get the best deals. People here garden swap and trade. Do know the definition of frugal??

**pollypurebred39** · 08-22-2010, 12:30 AM

Here you go

Recipes

This is a local whole foods store that has incredible foods. Their owl cookies are beyond yummy, I wish they'd have a recipe for those! This link has some really good recipes that you may be interested in.

Another store

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/

Happy Organic Cooking!

**happymomof4** · 08-22-2010, 09:24 AM

We eat very healthy and very frugal. I buy all my vegetables locally and organic and it isn't as expensive as you thing. We grow somethings at our house. I could have a huge garden but don't because of the time it takes to keep it up.

Eating unhealthy is not frugal either. Have you seen how much prepacked food cost..

**2busymom2six** · 09-07-2010, 07:05 PM

Being frugal doesn't mean you are cheap. You are just wise with your choices of resources and do not waste what you do purchase with them. If you purchase something that is "cheap" to save a buck and no one in your family enjoys it or eats it and it ends up getting tossed, or if it breaks and falls apart quickly, that is stupid and definitely NOT frugal. If I can get the same quality for less then I do, but if the quality goes down, then it makes more sense to move onto the better quality and perhaps pay a bit more so as not to waste or have premature wear of my purchases. Same can be said for watching that you are not making purchase based on brand name or costing more because of the brand name for anything you purchase. Don't fall into the hype of advertising and make choices based on real value, not perceived value.

**shortstack** · 09-08-2010, 08:23 AM

Have you read Omnivore's Dilemma? It will explain how just because something is stamped "certified organic" does not necessarily mean that the product you are purchasing is chemical free, truly free range, not raised in a feedlot etc... The only real way to know what you are eating is to either grow it yourself or purchase it locally which are both cheaper then buying anything in the store.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Omnivores-Dilemma-Natural-History-Meals/dp/1594200823/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283948343&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (9781594200823): Michael Pollan: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41kG-lFsWVL.@@AMEPARAM@@41kG-lFsWVL[/ame]