Everything you need to know about buying organic on a budget

Mandy Sacher

Child nutrition expert and mother of two, Mandy Sacher, is a Paediatric Nutritionist and SOS Feeding Consultant. Her private practice focuses on prenatal and childhood nutrition, helping parents and mums-to-be feed their children healthy, nourishing foods right from the start. Mandy’s philosophy is simple: train children’s taste buds to enjoy nourishing, nutritionally beneficial foods early as possible to ensure optimal development and establishment of lifelong healthy eating behaviours. After the birth of her first child in 2010, Mandy became increasingly aware of the lack of nutritionally sound information available to first-time parents. She was alarmed at the amount of baby and toddler foods marketed as ‘healthy’ when the sugar, salt and preservative contents were overly high. Mandy realised the journey to junk food can begin with the squeezie yoghurts we are fed or the teething rusks given to us. Mandy’s career in children’s health spans more than a decade – in 2006, she, along with other paediatric experts, founded the MEND Programme, an independent, not-for-profit organisation established to research and prevent obesity in children. Mandy and her colleagues at MEND developed one of the world’s only proven weight-loss treatments for obese children, now based on ten years of research and clinical trials. For the past five years Mandy has consulted to daycares on implementing more nutritious whole food menu plans and also privately to parents with children of all ages. Wholesome Child’s nutritional workshops are held at preschools, mother’s groups, non-profit organisations and medical practices.

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Updated on Jun 14, 2024 · 2 mins read

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Everything you need to know about buying organic on a budget

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Buying organic is the best way to ensure that the food you are feeding your family is non-toxic, non-genetically modified and nutrient-rich. But for some, we know that it isn’t always an option to load your trolley up with all organic ingredients. If this is the case due to your budget, don’t be disheartened; there are still ways that you can save money whilst protecting the environment and your health.

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Commit to buying your family’s favourites

If you can’t afford to eat a diet that’s made up of all organic, you can at least start by focusing on your family’s staples. Switching to organic versions of the foods you most commonly eat will greatly reduce your family’s exposure to hormones and antibiotics.

For example, if you have a little carnivore who is not keen on cheese, choose grass-fed organic meat but buy conventionally produced cheese.

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Use a grocery list

Buying only what you need will always save you money, so never hit the shops without a shopping list and a game plan.

Plan all of your meals for the week, list your ingredients and only buy those products. And flag the ones that are your organic non-negotiables.

Tip: Shop online! This helps you see it all clearly planned out before you so you save money only buying the things you need – and not the things that catch your eye as you walk past.

16Weeks baby

15Weeks baby

20Weeks baby

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Know where organic counts

Red meat, pork, chicken and dairy are the most important proteins to choose organic. You can also refer to the’ Dirty Dozen’ & the ‘Clean 15’ list to better understand where organic counts most.

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The ‘Dirty Dozen‘

These are the foods known to have the highest level of toxic insecticides. We recommended that these are always bought organic, where possible.

Strawberries
Spinach
Kale
Nectarines
Apples
Grapes
Peaches
Cherries
Pears
Tomatoes
Celery
Potatoes

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The ‘Clean 15’

These are the foods that have the lowest levels of pesticides.

Avocados
Sweet corn
Pineapples
Frozen sweet peas
Onions
Papayas
Eggplants
Asparagus
Kiwis
Cabbages
Cauliflower
Cantaloupes
Broccoli
Mushrooms
Honeydew melons

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Other tips for savvy shopping organic…

Thankfully these days there is more access to organic options than ever before, don’t forget to:

Shop around
Check for what’s on special
Buy in bulk

As parents, we just want to know that we are giving our little ones the best possible start in life. Keeping the family grocery shop costs down are hard at the best of times, and factoring organic in isn’t always easy. However, being prepared and a little bit savvy can go a long way in making sure your family is eating healthy without blowing the budget.