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Cooking Organic

Cooking Organic Food from Scratch: Not Hard, Not Expensive

About two years ago, I started the Cook for Good experiment as a response to the Food Stamp Challenges so popular that summer. Good people working to end hunger and strengthen sustainable food systems were trying to eat on a dollar a meal … and failing miserably. One congressman in particular formed the chorus for this song. He approached the Food Stamp Challenge in a slap-dash, center-aisle way, with his aides throwing in two-ounce bags of coffee into his cart. When airport security seized his stash of peanut butter and jelly, he was looking at thirty-six hours with nothing but corn meal. He wound up cheating by eating bags of airline peanuts.

Nonsense, I kept thinking. These people must not be cooks. A dollar a meal is tight, but it doesn’t mean you have to pick Cheetoes over carrots. The goal should not be maximum calories but maximum nutrition. But could I really get by on a dollar a meal? Could I enjoy it? One night at dinner, I broached the idea to my husband. Bruce looked only mildly horrified. “You can eat extra if you want,” I said. “I’ll just cook for both of us to that budget.” “No, I’ll do it with you. Might as well see just how hungry we get.” (You can see why I love him.) “Well, at least we’ll lose some weight.”

The Results: Saving Money Leads to other Savings

We did lose weight – about 10 pounds each over a three-month period. But except for the first day, we were never hungry or felt deprived. In fact, we were surprised to find that not only was it possible, but that other good things happened when we did eat so cheaply. We started feeling more energetic after only a week. Our moods improved. Our recycling and trash went down to almost nothing. I learned skills that will help me get through the panic if I ever do have serious money trouble.

The first week was so good that we revised the experiment and continued on for three more months, beginning and ending with a week of $1 meals. For two months we kept under the actual food-stamp allowance in North Carolina, then $1.53 a meal. The final month, we followed the thrifty menu from the previous month but ate nearly all organic, sustainably raised, locally grown foods. Amazingly, those “green” meals averaged just under $2 per person.

I was so excited by the great food, my new-found energy, and my nearly empty recycling bin that I knew I had to share this way of shopping and cooking with others. After another year of cooking, tracking prices, and planning menus, I had it: the Cook for Good plan. It provides menus, recipes, and shopping lists with current prices to help anyone eat well on a budget. Folks at DrGreene.com will be most interested in the mostly organic green option, of course.
In June, 2009, the average green Cook for Good meal costs just $1.57 per person. That’s 42 cents less than the food-stamp allowance in North Carolina, where I gather the prices. Even the “cart cost” for the green ingredients comes out to just $1.87 a meal, 11 cents less per meal than the food-stamp allowance in North Carolina. The cart cost shows how much you’d actually have to spend at the grocery store buying everything on the shopping lists, even though you will have some ingredients left over, such as part of a bottle of oil. The regular plan, using conventionally raised food, costs even less at just $1.15 a meal.

Tomorrow, I’ll tell you about a cheap, tasty food that appears in some form nearly every day on the Cook for Good menus and give you an easy recipe too.

Today, let’s talk about what your favorite tip is for cooking healthy food while keeping your budget on a diet. Are you cutting back on meat? Cooking from scratch? Visit us at http://blogs.drgreene.com/perspectives/2009/07/20/cooking-organic-food-from-scratch-not-hard-not-expensive/

If the chicken is organic MUST it be cooked to an internal temperature of 165ish?

Could I get away with 150? Has anyone ever actually tried this? I know what the FDA would say, shame on me. But if it’s an organic chicken, say one you’ve raised yourself. No risk of cross contamination. What is the lowest possible temp you could cook it to?
I’m not a level two but I wanted to vote for Greenthumb.

First of all, according to Marion Nestle in her book, ‘Food Politics’, the minimum temperature was supposed to be 155f and the FDA decided to up it 10 just because. Typical of our government, rather than deal with the problem at the source, bad farming, over-worked underpaid workers, little restrictions/inspections of packing plants, they toss the responsibility to the people. When people fall ill, they like to blame ‘sloppy handling in the kitchen. If they did their job properly before the meat got to the kitchen, it would be a NON-ISSUE.
I never check temperature of chicken meat (you didn’t say what cut it is). Most contamination, when it occurs, is on the surface. It is not inside the meat. This is why ground beef/chicken/turkey is most dangerous. It renders all the parts used as a surface.
Read Marion Nestle. You will understand the answer to your question better.

Greens Restaurant’s Annie Somerville cooking organic beets

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Presto 04820 PopLite hot air popper $29.99 Plug in Prestos PopLite and the party begins. In less than 2.5 minutes you will have up to 18 cups which is equal to two large bowlfuls of fluffy popcorn with virtually no unpopped kernels. And because the machine uses hot air instead of oil the resulting snack is healthier and lower in calories. Thats not to say you can nott add butter in fact the half cup measuring cup on top of the popper doubl…

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Flip & Tumble Reusable Produce Bags, Set of 5 Flip & Tumble’s reusable produce bags are draw-string polyester bags which resist staining and shrinking better than natural fiber bags. Plus, the fine mesh produce bags allow you to use them for smaller bulk items. Breathable, durable polyester; See-through mesh produce bags for easy checkout; Smart alternative to plastic produce bags; Compact & lightweight with drawstring closure; Saves time at …

Preparing Live Foods with Gary Null & Roberta Atti $8.99 Shows how to prepare and eat a natural “living foods” diet…

Organic Carrot Seeds Carnival Blend 1000 Seeds $2.98 Want to get your kids to eat their carrots? Plant this quick growing vegetable and have them pull them up with a color surprise. The packet contains red, purple, white and yellow carrots. Enough seeds for a 12 foot row….

Stevia Certified Organic Seeds $3.49 Although this is a perennial in tropical climates, it will not survive any frost….

Common Sorrel Rumex Acetosa Seeds 450 Seeds $1.54 This perennial is hardy to ten degrees. Once you have tasted sorrel you will find it hard to live without. Since it is so easy to grow you won’t have to find out….

Vegetable Bounty $1.99 …

Emeril Green: Collection One (Episodes 1-10) $24.88 Emeril Green is a fun, new series starring Chef Emeril Lagasse that unleashes all the information you’ve ever wanted to know about Whole Foods Markets and green cooking! Picture an ultimate foodie fantasy store, then drop in some real people who have real culinary challenges and watch as America’s most beloved chef comes to their rescue, offering educational information on how everyday cooking can…

Episode Twelve $1.99 …