Wow I had a busy day…
I went to the regular grocery store and re-stocked some fresh produce.
Organic tofu was on sale for $1.50
3 pounds of organic gala apples were on sale for $2.99 making organic cheaper than conventional. Gotta love in-store buys.
Then I went to Whole Foods where I only buy Vegenasie. Walk in, do not look left, right, or anywhere but to the Vegenaise case and walk right out. Do not browse or get sucked in! They changed the packaging on Vegenaise, too.
I buy everything else at the regular grocery, TJ’s, occasionally farmer’s markets, or order online through iHerb.com Use code AVE630 to save $5 on your order. Everything from nooch to stevia to protein powder is about 30-40% cheaper than retail prices.
But mayo wouldn’t ship so well, so I buy it at WF’s. And I go through quite a bit of it because I am addicted to Vegan Slaw Dressing
I made a fresh batch of Vegan Slaw Dressing, poured it over a salad
And got to work on pressing my tofu for Mango Ginger Maple Tofu
After errand running, grocery shopping, a 3 mile run and 20 minute streamlined at-home workout, it was time to go to paid work. Whew.
From my last post about Flying Away and Happy Places, thanks for the nice comments about our upcoming trip! Yes, it was a totally spontaneous decision and sometimes, that’s a wonderful thing to not overthink, overplan, overanalyze. Rather, just do it! Which is what I did on that trip.
I loved hearing about your happy places and why they make you happy. Such great comments! I love reading those kinds of comments.
My mention of the amount of sleep I get every night (4 to 5 hours) drew quite a few comments. Once upon a time, I used to be a “I have to get 8-9 hours or I am a mess” girl. But life changed and I adapted by sleeping less.
Am I tired? Yes, but not necessarily any more tired than I was on 8 or 9 hours. The human body adapts and one day I will get back to sleeping more, but for now, yoga and working out, a plant-based diet, keeping busy, and having a good attitude about life all keep me naturally energized.
Dessert: Raw Vegan Brownies
1. Have you found any organic is cheaper than conventional deals lately?
Frequently, organic baby carrots, certain organic salad dressings, and organic salad mixes (at TJ’s), are cheaper than conventional.
Much of TJ’s food, too, is organic and by default, is cheap and just happens to be organic, too.
At the regular grocery, organic or “specialty” chips and crackers are frequently marked down or on sale with an in-store promotion so they are nearly as cheap or the same price as regular type crackers or chips.
If your grocery store has one of of those “walled off” organic sections (which I hate because I wish they would just put the organic food on the same shelves next to the regular food. I mean, do I really want to go to the organic section to buy cinnamon if I am in the baking aisle? No! Put the organic cinnamon next to the regular for side by side comparison)…but if you go into the organic “section” and look for things that are marked down, you can often find some great deals. Like $6.99 salad dressing marked down to $2.99 or pricey chips marked down to the same prices as mainstream brands.
All that said, I am not married to organic, at all. I buy whatever is cheapest. May not be your path or choice, it’s mine. I would rather buy 3 pounds of apples for the cheapest price, organic is great, not a requirement.
I’ve posted about my Grocery Saving Tips, including why I don’t always buy organic before.
2. Do you think that grocery stores should mix the organic food in with the regular food, or keep it in it’s own little “section”?
I am all for mixing in. I would be more inclined to purchase organic anything from coffee to crackers to sugar if it’s right next to the conventional so that way I can price compare.
3. Weekend Plans?
I have something amazing that I’m doing on Saturday. I will be sure to blog about it afterward!
Enjoy your day!
Oh my gosh!! You had me at mango ginger tofu! I am obsessed with both mangoes + tofu! AHHHHHH!
Hi Averie,
I’ve been following your blog and love your recipes and information! As a busy mom to 3 kids, I am always looking for healthy snack ideas, also for me too! I finally made your raw vegan brownies…oh my….just ate one and it was delicious. I changed it up slightly buy adding a few more dates and probably only did about 1/3 cup of agave. The 3T of vanilla is a must!!! Love that…The texture was great, more like fudge I think since I used less agave. I also topped it with chocolate sprinkles like you did for your fudge. Thanks so much for the idea.
Jonna
Wow..what great deals!
Whole Foods sucks me in every time. It’s a serious addiction. I make myself feel better by scrounging for every sample. :)
When it comes to organic product, I just try to be sure to go organic with the dirty dozen: celery, peaches, strawberries, apples, carrots, nectarines, bell peppers, kale, cherries, pears, lettuce, and grapes.
Just catching up on your posts now and so happy to hear you’re going away! You deserve it hard workin mama! Send me some sunshine!!!
I buy organic when possible and when I can afford it, otherwise I buy what’s fresh and in my price range!
I have never seen a store with a special organic section, the organic stuff is always mixed in and I very much prefer it that way! But it’s always more expensive, so I guess that’s the downside. I do try and buy the dirty dozen organically, but sometimes the cost is just insane.
I’m going to a Dave Ramsey show tomorrow, hopefully it will be fun. Although it’s over five hours long, so we’ll see if my attention span holds out!
I can’t wait to hear what you are doing Saturday!!!!!! Maybe you are having a wine and cheese party with all the cheese that you won!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oooooooh, I want to know!!!
Organic produce is SO expensive in my city, but I buy it anyway. I’d rather pay now than later with my health.
Sweet score on the tofu. Interesting about Vegenaise, I like it. I buy so much more at Whole Foods, but thingslike Tempeh, organic produce and vegan alternative products are much cheap than in regular grocery stores.
I find I need less sleep now too with a higher raw diet and better workout schedule, guess I’m sleeping more efficiently.
1. Not sure, usually TJ’s is cheaper than WF and occasionally I find a good deal on organic kale at Raley’s, but that’s rare. We have a new farmer’s market store that opened up here this week that’s supposed to be like TJ’s, can’t wait to check it out … and hope it’s less crowded since no one discovered it yet. :-)
2. Yes and no, I hate that regular grocery stores isolate vegan alternative foods in a “health foods” section and some foods into an “ethnic” section and charge way more for it. But it can be nice to have the organic produce seperated from the non-organic stuff.
3. Taking my grandma to lunch for her bday and hopefully gardening – that’s about it.
Hey Averie!
First off Let me say how I religiously keep up on your blog!! I love it. I think your a great inspiration and I adore your recipes!
I had a quick question..Im getting my wisdom teeth out in a few days…and like you I need to stay away from conventional medicine to help with the pain….have you ever gone through a surgery and if so how have you dealt with the after math without all the drugs?!
Thanks so much :)
ow! What a great find on the apples! I like having the organic and regular separated so they’re easier to find. WFs is a money sucker- glad you’re able to just run in for the 1 thing you need. I usually end up with 1 or 2 extras. Weekend plans= big launch day at the gym tomorrow ;), date night with the man & putting together baby furniture
The Safeway here mixes things, and I love it. I never have to guess at what is cheaper. Or try to remember how much something was when I get to the organic section. I rarely buy those organic processed foods anyway. Too expensive.
Apples and even berries have been cheaper organic lately. If I liked apples, that would be cool, but I’ll settle for lettuce and bell peppers. They have been about the same price. I’ll take it.
I am almost ready to try the veganaise after seeing it on your blog 8 bajillion times. Keep posting it, and maybe the 8 bajillion and 1th time is the charm. Seeing how much you love it makes me reconsider my hatred of mayo. ;)
1) I but whatever is cheaper, but if the less expensive one (mostly at TJ’s) looks tired or close to spoiling I will buy the more expensive produce … doesn’t matter if it’s organic or not.
2) I def think store should mix the organic with the non. Why would I want to go to 2 different sections to compare. Maybe they seperate them bc that way you can’t do that easily…?
3) Not sure yet… I think we’re gonna wing it!
I personally like how I know exactly where the organic food is and the healthy food in my grocery store, but they set it aside which makes unhealthy people less willing to wander into that area. I think it would be great if they mixed it in giving unhealthy people the chance to recognize those options if they’re willing to try and change their lifestyle as well :) I mean it makes it more convenient for me, but as a whole for everyone I think it would be better to “integrate” haha.
Wow you found some GREAT deals on your groceries! That tofu is a steal! I’m actually all for the separate section because it my store that means all things natural/organic/health food have a few aisles on their own so I honestly hardly use the rest of the store. I just walk straight over to the section and it makes my shopping a lot easier (PLUS those aisles are usually empty so a lot less hectic! Haha! I get to shop in peace!)
I love that you have the willpower to enter Whole Paycheck and just buy Vegenaise. How in the world do you do that? I need lessons. Probably doesn’t help that I can walk to my local WP (WF) in 7 minutes.
It’s like Christmas to find good deals on produce – organic is a double whammy!