While households across Australia continue to take a hit from the current economic slowdown the popularity of organic food is continuing to rise.

According to Scott Butler, founder of Melbourne’s leading organic home delivery service, Organic Angels, busy mums and dads aware of the benefits of feeding children organic food are proving that organics can be done on a budget.
“Parents are telling us that a commitment to organic food requires the acceptance of a slightly higher food bill but that the peace of mind that comes with healthy eating outweighs the additional costs,” Scott said.
While many households continue to tighten their belts, Scott said there are ways to feed a family organic food by making simple changes to lifestyles and household expenditures.

Among his suggestions for doing organics on a budget are:

1) Accept that organic food costs are higher but the benefits of feeding children toxin-free food has long-term benefits.
2) Reduce junk food and take-away.
3) Eat out less.
4) Enjoy the experience of eating out. You can free-up extra dollars by preparing more meals at home and dining al fresco in parks, beaches etc.
5) Buy organic food in bulk from a box scheme ensuring that you get good quality produce that is in season.
6) Cook and freeze any excess for future use.
7) Produce at its peak and in season always costs less.

Andre Leu, chair of the Organic Federation of Australia said there are a number of good scientific studies which show that organic food is healthier for children and adults.
“One of the most recent studies out of the Washington State University compared 11 key nutrients and found that organic food, on average, had 25 per cent higher concentrations of nutrients.” Andre said.
Given that fruit and vegetables are usually the first foods introduced to baby, using organic fruit and vegetables is the best way to avoid pesticide residues.

Another reason to buy fruit and vegetables that are organically grown is the higher levels of antioxidants, vitamins and nutrients present when compared to non-organically grown produce.
Husband and wife team, Scott and Sarah Butler started Organic Angels in 2006 after failing to find an organic home delivery service that met their expectations in terms of great customer service and good quality produce.
The couple became advocates of organic food after their son, Charlie, started eating solids and they became more aware of what they were really feeding him.
“After reading into the many benefits of eating organic and reading the statistics on the high amount of pesticides and artificial hormones in food today, we slowly made the conversion to organic,” Scott said.

The business now provides organic fruit and vegetables to homes and offices across Melbourne after they visit the organic market and handpicking the produce on the mornings of the delivery days.
Scott and Sarah buy Australian-only produce and, where possible, from Victoria to reduce the road miles of the food.

They also provide organic groceries, including fresh bread, eggs, fair-trade tea and coffee and healthy children’s snacks.
Visit www.organicangels.com.au for more information.

As organic fruit is often sold soon after it is picked (unlike supermarket produce that was most likely picked a few weeks previously) it will sometimes get to you unripe. Here are some tips to ripen your fruit quicker:

To ripen Bananas (if a little too green) store at room temperature in a warm dark cupboard or try wrapping in a plastic bag and store in cupboard.

Avocados can be kept in paper bag until ripe, then store in fridge.

To ripen Tomatoes, place on warm window seal (if a very sunny window seal, keep tomatoes in paper bag so they don’t be sunburnt!)

Ripen Stone Fruit at room temperature then store in a plastic bag in the fridge.

We give this advice to our customers but I thought it would be very relevant to post here: 

All modern fridges come with a crisper compartment for vegetables. But you may notice that if you place your vegetables straight in there, your lovely crisp veggies shrivel and flop fast. This is not because organic produce doesn’t last, it does! And it definitely isn’t because the produce isn’t fresh, it is!

Most vegetables won’t last because the fridge air is too cold. It’s best to keep the fridge temp as is, so don’t go changing it, but what your veggies would love is a little protection from the cold. Here are some tips:

• - Put all vegetables in a sealed container (can’t go wrong with Tupperware Fridgesmarts) or store in a plastic bag.
  Do not store in paper bags (expect mushrooms) in the fridge, transfer to plastic bag or container. Tip: Have some plastic bags that you can reuse and bag up several veggies together.
• - Ideally salad mix, lettuce & spinach should be washed, spun dry and stored in a container or plastic bag ASAP. If that is too organised, keep in bag or container until ready to use. Best stored away from top shelf and back of the fridge as they can freeze up!
• - Potatoes are best kept in a dark cool cupboard. Keep away from onions to prevent sprouting. Sprouting is a normal thing for potatoes and does not always mean they are not fresh and some varieties sprout easily than others.

Related Posts

• Growing your own Organic Veggies
• Australian Seasonality List

You may be buying your loved one a bouquet of roses for this Valentine’s Day to express your love, but thinking about where they came from may kill the romance.

If you are living in a western country your roses have most likely come from South America, Southern Africa or India. Flowers from these areas are most likely grown by poorly paid workers using poisonous pesticides, thus exposing them to immediate and long term health problems. Then there is the huge amount of pollution from planes used to export the flowers across the world.

Governments, especially those in Europe have been made aware of these problems. And in Germany, for instance, a fair trade policy has been put in place for all imported flowers. From reading around on the subject nothing appears to be happening in the USA or Australia.

Organic Roses don’t seem to be widely available, but have a search around on the Internet to see what you can find. One website I found for US readers is Organic Bouquet.

For those of you new to this blog here are some popular posts from the archive:

Growing your own Organic Veggies - Lots of info on how to start your own organic veggie garden, big or small

Going Organic in 10 Easy Steps - Want to go organic but think it’s too expensive then this post is for you.

Supermarket Apples - Research has found that supermarket apples could be up to 10 months old!

Organic is Healthier - Get the details of this $12m independent study

Organic vs Conventional Meat - What’s the difference in production between organic and conventional meats?

I have discovered this great video on youtube which explains in a simple (and humourous) way why you should be buying organic food, even in an economic downturn. This is also a good video to share with your friends who are not yet convinced on the benefits of buying organic produce.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWqq0Zga2AE

Right now, it seems like everyone is looking for the secret to weight loss. The truth is, whatever anyone tells you, there is no quick-fix that will help you take off lots of weight overnight, but there are things that can give you that extra boost to finally take the weight off once and for all. One great ‘extra boost’ is organic fruit and vegetables. Eating organic food as part of a healthy diet can help you finally take off excess weight naturally.

When you eat natural organic foods your body is able to digest them quickly and efficiently. When it does not have to deal with extra chemicals that is contained in conventional produce, your metabolism increases (which is essential to weight loss), and you are also able to gain the full energy potential of your food.

In addition to this since eating organic food I have found myself with more energy which gives me the incentive to get down to the gym or go for a jog and burn off those extra calories.

For those of us that are time concious and still want to eat healthy organic produce, Healthy Menu Mailer is a great service to use. Each week you are sent 7 healthy dinner recipes and a grocery list to assist with your weekly shopping trip. You also have access to a range of different healthy recipes.

Click Here for more information

Dr. Alan Greene, a pediatrician and author in Danville, California decided to go on a 100% organic diet for three years. He said the experimEnt has iven him more energy and wakes up earlier. You can read more of his observations in the International Herald Tribune.