Buying Organic Food Cheap(er) or with Less Bugs Recipe
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Directions
Organic produce from Gorzynski Ornery Farm
Life is a sum of all your choices. ~Albert Camus
Have you ever found bugs in your organic produce? We've had a couple recent conversations with people that wanted to stop buying organic because of the bugs. That's nuts! Bugs are gross, but we're here to put them in perspective and let you know there's a range of organic food - in price and in bug levels. In general, the less buggy and more prewashed the produce, the more you'll pay. If you live in NYC you get an extra bonus since we'll show you a few of our favorite options.
Personally, MindfulEats loves that bugs will eat our food. It's the food that bugs won't eat that we find scary. If it's not good enough for an insect,…
View Full Recipe at Mindful Eats
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%20on%20the%20food.%20If%20it'll%20kill%20the%20bugs,%20it's%20not%20something%20that%20we%20want%20to%20eat%20or%20give%20to%20our%20loved%20ones.%20(Maybe%20we'd%20give%20it%20to%20our%20enemies%20though).%20Besides,%20it's%20a%20lot%20easier%20to%20get%20rid%20of%20insects%20than%20to%20wash%20out%20all%20the%20chemicals.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EBugs%20are%20icky,%20but%20not%20nearly%20as%20gross%20as%20invisible%20chemicals.%20We've%20even%20found%20a%20bug%20(rarely)%20in%20food%20from%20Whole%20Foods.%20If%20you%20really%20hate%20bugs,%20you%20can%20find%20super%20high-end%20organic%20farmers/retailers%20that%20preclean%20food%20so%20well,%20you'll%20never%20find%20a%20bug.%20If%20you're%20willing%20to%20put%20in%20extra%20work%20(like%20remove%20the%20occasional%20insect),%20then%20you%20can%20find%20cheaper%20organic%20produce.%20[On%20a%20side%20note:%20if%20you%20hate%20bugs%20in%20your%20food,%20you%20will%20probably%20hate%20conventional%20milk%20too,%20because%20it%20usually%20has%20a%20lot%20of%20pus%20in%20it%20(cows%20that%20can't%20move%20and%20eat%20pasture%20are%20usually%20sickly,%20so%20they%20emit%20pus%20in%20their%20milk)].%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWe%20went%20to%20the%20Union%20Square%20Greenmarket%20yesterday%20where%20there%20is%20a%20whole%20range%20of%20organic%20farmers%20and%20prices.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ENorwich%20Meadows%20is%20the%20Rolls%20Royce%20of%20stands.%20Everything%20is%20beautifully%20presented,%20impeccably%20cleaned,%20certified%20organic%20and%20delicious.%20We%20can't%20figure%20out%20how%20they%20find%20the%20time%20to%20clean%20everything%20between%20picking%20the%20food%20and%20getting%20to%20the%20market.%20Nevertheless,%20they%20do.%20They%20are%20a%20favorite%20provider%20for%20Gramercy%20Tavern.%20They%20are%20also%20on%20the%20higher%20end%20of%20the%20price%20scale.%20If%20you%20really%20hate%20bugs,%20pay%20up%20and%20shop%20here.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWe%20don't%20have%20the%20funds%20to%20always%20go%20top%20of%20the%20line,%20so%20we%20are%20more%20than%20happy%20to%20do%20the%20washing%20ourselves%20for%20a%20price%20break.%20We%20just%20inspect%20food%20more%20carefully%20at%20the%20point%20of%20purchase%20to%20get%20rid%20of%20the%20occasional%20insect.%20Here%20are%20some%20more%20moderately%20priced%20organic%20favorites:%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EOak%20Grove%20Plantation%20from%20Hunterdon%20County,%20NJ.%20We%20bought%20succulent%20white%20peaches,%20heirloom%20tomatoes%20and%20corn.%20Bees%20were%20buzzing%20all%20around%20the%20peaches%20-%20that's%20how%20sweet%20they%20are.%20We%20actually%20took%20the%20bees%20as%20a%20good%20sign.%20Oak%20Grove%20used%20to%20be%20certified%20organic,%20but%20they%20stopped%20the%20certification%20since%20it's%20expensive,%20but%20they%20keep%20growing%20the%20same%20way.%20Peaches%20were%20$3.75/lb%20(about%20the%20same%20price%20as%20Whole%20Foods%20except%20those%20peaches%20are%20from%20California%20and%20Mexico),%20and%20they%20were%20$5/lb%20or%20$7/lb%20at%20other%20stands%20in%20the%20market.%20Heirloom%20tomatoes%20were%20$3.95/lb,%20up%20to%20$8/lb%20at%20other%20stands.%20The%20corn%20is%20delicious%20and%20five%20for%20$2.75.%20It%20was%20so%20fresh%20we%20ate%20it%20raw.%20Check%20out%20the%20husks%20for%20tell%20tale%20holes,%20or%20bug%20dust.%20Out%20of%20the%20five%20we%20bought,%20one%20had%20to%20be%20discarded%20-%20but%20we'll%20let%20them%20know%20next%20week,%20and%20we%20bet%20we'll%20get%20one%20back.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EGorzynski%20Ornery%20Farm%20from%20Sullivan%20County,%20NY.%20We%20bought%20huge%20bunches%20of%20kale%20and%20red%20chard.%20A%20slug%20was%20on%20a%20bunch%20of%20kale,%20so%20we%20pointed%20it%20out%20to%20the%20man%20at%20the%20stand.%20He%20nicely%20removed%20it.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ERyder%20Farm%20from%20Putnam%20Country,%20NY.%20Very%20cute%20and%20sweet%20stand.%20Basil%20for%20$2,%20summer%20squash%20for%20$1.75/lb.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIf%20you%20don't%20have%20the%20budget%20for%20organic,%20there%20are%20lots%20of%20great%20stands%20with%20conventionally%20grown%20food.%20The%20great%20thing%20is%20that%20you%20can%20ask%20the%20farmer%20yourself%20how%20the%20food%20is%20grown.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWhat%20to%20do%20-%20Buying%20at%20the%20Farmer's%20Market%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EDecide%20on%20your%20criteria.%20What's%20important%20to%20you%20and%20what's%20your%20budget?%20Do%20you%20want%20organically%20grown%20food?%20Food%20that%20is%20grown%20with%20integrated%20pest%20management?%20The%20most%20expensive,%20prewashed%20items?%20The%20cheapest%20possible%20food?%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWalk%20around%20the%20market%20and%20take%20notes%20(mental%20or%20on%20paper).%20Don't%20buy%20anything%20yet.%20See%20what's%20in%20season%20and%20what%20you%20want%20to%20eat%20for%20the%20upcoming%20week.%20Note%20the%20prices.%20Ask%20the%20farmers%20how%20they%20grow%20their%20food.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EGo%20back%20and%20buy.%20Now%20you%20know%20the%20lay%20of%20the%20land%20-%20revisit%20the%20stands%20that%20you've%20targeted%20and%20pick%20up%20your%20groceries!%20If%20you%20are%20concerned%20about%20bugs,%20look%20over%20the%20greens%20for%20any%20intruders.%20Check%20the%20skin%20of%20fruits%20and%20vegetables%20for%20holes%20(stay%20away%20from%20those%20since%20they're%20usually%20made%20by%20a%20worm).%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWant%20to%20learn%20more?%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWhat%20I%20ate:%20strawberries,%203%20white%20peaches,%2016%20oz.%20vegetable%20juice,%20latte,%20Raw%20Milk%20Cheddar%20NYCheese,%20Mindful%20Mix%20(macadamias,%20almonds,%20walnuts,%20goji%20berries,%20cranberries),%20whole%20wheat%20spaghetti%20+%20Rao's%20Siciliana%20+%20parmesan,%204%20slice%20dried%20mangos,%20small%20original%20Pinkberry%20+%20blueberries%20+%20raspberries%20+%20mango%20+%20chocolate,%20Evolve%20pomegranate%20kefir,%20sauteed%20salmon,%20steamed%20red%20chard,%20brown%20rice,%20Stonyfield%20vanilla%20chai%20ice%20cream,%2040%20oz.%20water%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EExercise:%20Jogged%205%20miles%3C/p%3E){kind=link}