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Going organic doesn't have to break the piggy bank
The last article posted started a discussion about organic food. It answered many of the questions that people have in regards to organic food and what all the jargon means. Today’s article will discuss some of the ways to go organic on a budget. Since we are in such hard financial times, some find going organic to be financially difficult but with 5 simple steps going organic is easy.
1) Start Simple: Instead of jumping into eating organic all at once, make small changes and gradually become the organic eater you want to be. Starting simple is a great way of saving money and knowing just how much you will be spending when it shopping organic. Try to purchase your staples first and then your other foods. Buy organic milk, organic cheese and organic juices. Buying these items first will give you a feel for how much money you will be spending each month on organic food.
2) Shop and Compare: Do some research. Instead of buying the first organic food product you see make sure you know how much it will be at a different store. This could be the difference of 10 cents but in the long run could save you a fist full of dollars. When comparison shopping you will have a better feel for what stores have cheaper items and will make buying organic products easier.
3) Cook at home: Instead of going to restaurants that specialize in organic food, take the time to prepare your own organic meals. Creating your own organic dishes is fun and will save you lots of money. Even prepackaged organic meals are more expensive so copy their recipes and try making it own your own. Cooking more allows you to save money and be organic at the same time. If there are organic restaurants that you just cannot live without try going there once every two weeks or so and see how much money you save!
4) Buy in bulk: Once you have established yourself as a full-fledged organic eater, start to buy in bulk. Buying in bulk can save money and cuts down on making several trips to the market. By purchasing items such as organic flour, organic nuts and organic beans in bulk you are more likely to stay committed to eating mostly, if not all, organic.
5) Organic dinner parties: Gather some like-minded friends and have a dinner party! This is a great way to save money and learn great new recipes. If you have a favorite dish share it with others and they will be able to offer other organic dishes for you to try. It’s like the green drinks of eating. So, next time you are struggling to think of something new to make or haven’t gone to the market in a while gather some friends for good food and good conversations.
If you are still exploring eating organic, make sure to find grocery stores that have organic options. This is a great way to ease into the organic lifestyle. Also, be sure to find farmer markets that take place in or around your area.
Guffly is a one product per day online store and community featuring eco friendly products and fair trade lifestyle goods like home, pet, clothing, office and personal accessories. We know that people aren’t interested in ugly stuff, so you can bet Guffly’s green products are stylish, fun and attractive – eco stylish if you will. Shop the Daily Guff at http://www.guffly.com
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Mmm...organic salad!
Confused about what is organic and what is not? No worries, there is a lot of information and classifications that makes it a bit confusing to know what is truly organic. There are many lingering questions when it comes to organic food like, what makes it organic and is it safer than conventional foods? These unanswered questions are some of the reason why people are still purchasing conventionally produced foods instead or organic foods. Here are the answers to some of these lingering questions.
What makes a food organic? When a product is organic, it is referring to the way in which it was produced. With organic food, farmers do not use conventional methods of fertilization or preventing livestock disease. Instead of using weed killers, organic farmers may use manure or other natural fertilizers to hinder weed growth. Using such methods reduces pollution and conserves water and soil.
How do I know if my food is organic? When at the market the only way to know that your food is organic is by a label produced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). When the USDA sticker appears on your food you can rest assure that is has past governmental standards and is certified organic. So, if you go to purchase food that claims to be organic, if it does not have the USDA sticker you can be sure they are green washing. (See our post on Decoding Greenwashing) The USDA sticker provides consumers with the comfort of knowing that the food was produced and processed according the USDA standards and is at least 95% of the food’s ingredients are organically produced.
100% organic vs. organic vs. made with organic ingredients? This is where many people get confused about how organic their food is. When products say they are 100% organic this means that the product is completely organic or made of all organic ingredients. When it simply says organic, this means that the product is at least 95% organic. When a product says, made with organic ingredients, it means that 70% of the ingredients are organic. These products cannot bare the organic seal.
My product says ‘All-Natural’, does this mean it’s organic? When a product says it is all-natural it means that less than 70% of the product is organic. They cannot use the words organic on the product label so words like “all-natural” and “hormone-free” are used instead.
Is organic food better for me? It is hard to answer this question because it is still be debated. There are some out there that say because there are no pesticides being used it is safer, less pesticides being used on food the less there are going into the body. However, some say that there are natural toxins making its way into organic foods. There is still a lot of research needed in order to conclude which is better when it comes to pesticides and natural toxins. In terms of nutrients, some claim that organic foods contain higher levels of vitamin C, certain minerals and antioxidants. These are small increases and up to the consumer to decide if, these small differences will make a larger impact on their overall health.
Guffly is a one product per day online store and community featuring eco friendly products and fair trade lifestyle goods like home, pet, clothing, office and personal accessories. We know that people aren’t interested in ugly stuff, so you can bet Guffly’s green products are stylish, fun and attractive – eco stylish if you will. Shop the Daily Guff at http://www.guffly.com
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Would you put on this Organic Women’s Hat?
What do you think of hats like this one? We see a lot of organic cotton hats with various styles. We think this one is pretty modern but not overly trendy. What do you think? Please help us pick products to feature on our website by rating this product on a scale of 1-5, with 5 as the best.
The facts:
- made from 100% Organic Cotton
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Healthy Fruit Snacks are a Guffly Choice for Natural Snacks
I have always loved fruit snacks but lately I’ve been wearly of what the hell they are actually made of. Scary. Even some products that are called healthy fruit snacks aren’t exactly natural, though their packaging may lead you to believe otherwise. However, my fears have subsided since discovering Annie’s brand new Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks. Those little things are super fruity in taste, made with real fruit juice, certified organic, and have no artificial anything – even colors. The Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks are available in two flavors: Berry Patch (a combo pack of natural strawberry fruit snacks, as well as cherry and raspberry flavors) and Tropical Treat (mango-peach, tropical punch and orange). These healthy fruit snacks are vegan, gelatin free and contain 100% of your daily value of Vitamin C. I highly reccommended these for the kid in all of us.
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What area of your body needs the most organic love? Yes, the good ol’ goodies. In fact, I can’t think of any part that I’d want to keep further away from pesticides and chemicals. That’s why I began searching for good looking organic undies. I came across a brand you should know about. They are called Green Knickers, and they are based in the UK. I like Green Knickers because they are really cute, and most of their pairs are 100% organic, and 100% fair trade. 
Unless you want to pay for international shipping, you can find Green Knickers on the Green Leaves portion of Figleaves.com (a webstore with all intimates). Green Knickers’ various styles retail for around $28 on Fig Leaves, plus $4.50 for shipping.
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Rich Hippie’s organic fragrances make great green gifts
Do you smell organic?
Wait. Actually, I’m not sure if that would be a good thing. Organic-lovers have hard enough time overcoming the hemp-sack wearing, dirty-hippie stereotype. Nonetheless, smelling organic is actually a really good thing – especially if you smell like the organic scents over at Rich Hippie. Unlike your average fragrance, Rich Hippie is free from icky synthetic chemicals. Instead, their products are made only with organic natural ingredients like wine spirits and plant & flower extracts. 
The company has various perfumes as well as unisex fragrances. A 1/8 ounce roll-on is $45, which is undoubtedly more expensive than your average perfume when you consider the size of the bottle. When ordering directly from Rich Hippie, shipping costs start at $14. However, one retailer who carries the product,
Kaia House, sells the fragrances for the same prices and has shipping for only $7.
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Do you choose organic or natural when buying lip balm?
I admit it, I’m a lipbalmoholic. Sometimes I apply the lip balm, wipe it off, and re-apply for no reason at all. Don’t hate…I know some of you do it, too.
Yesterday I ran into the drugstore and picked up a fresh new tube of Burt’s Bees, my usual. Burt’s Bees is a very well known line of natural personal care products, and can be found at just about any drugstore – on or offline. My favorite product is their Honey Lip Balm (simplicity is genius, after all). The .15 ounce tube is usually about $3-4, and is 98% all natural.
Although I’m a completely happy customer, I figured I’d check to see if there are any other balms worth trying. That’s when I found Eco Lips.
Eco Lips has several scents/flavors(depending on how you choose to enjoy your balm) – grape, kiwi strawberry, and coconut, as well as a color tinted, medicinal, and hemp based balms. Their products are competitively priced. The simple flavors are only $2, and orders over $15 qualify for free shipping. Best of all, the website gives a run down of exactly what’s inside those little tubes and your lips will be happy knowing that each balm is made of 87-99% certified organic ingredients (depending on the product).
There is one other balm you must know about, because it is a life or death matter, after all. All the Better to Kiss You With by the Baby Bear Shop is so good I had to steal it from my sister – don’t tell. Five bucks is a small price to pay for these creatively flavored, USDA certified organic lip balms that come in recyclable vintage tins.
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Even your breath can be organic with BreathTonic Organic Herbal Breath Spray
During my workout a few days ago, this big dude-with arms as big as tree trunks–asked me if I’d give him a spot while he bench-presses. I was between sets, so I didn’t have a problem with it. So as this guy begins to push the weighted bar off his chest(much like the guy in the picture above), he exhales a huge, typhoon-like breath right in my face. It smelled like the crack of a dead rhinoceros’s ass. Not that I’ve ever smelled one; I can just imagine how repugnant the crack of a dead rhinoceros’s ass would smell.
All kidding aside, this guy has to have the worst breath I’ve ever smelled. I got the gag-reflex almost to the point where I had to walk away. I was kind of offended. I mean, here I was taking time out of my workout to give this lonely guy a spot; and the dude blows a huge breath of decomposition straight up my nostrils. How rude! 10 repetitions couldn’t have come soon enough.
That day, I couldn’t get the thought of old “hot-breath” out of my head; which got me to thinking: “I need to find a great organic breath freshener.” I guess I just needed to get some freshness back into my life. So I began my search and I found a pretty great product.
It’s called Breath Tonic and it’s made by Herb Pharm, an organic herb farm in Oregon. There’s three main reasons I think Breath Tonic is guffly:
1.) It’s made from organic herbs: Breath Tonic is made from Cinnamon, Peppermint, Clove, and Ginger. All four have natural antiseptics that kill bacteria that causes bad breath (Health 911 and The Weekly Newsmagazine of Science go deeper into this); instead of just temporarily covering up the odor like some other breath fresheners.
2.) The farm that grows these herbs–Herb Pharm–is eco-conscious: The farm makes monetary contributions, or volunteer services to organizations that are on missions to preserve our environment. Click here for a complete list of these organizations. The Herb Pharm also researches and develops organic cultivation techniques for threatened wild herbs; and cultivate many such as Goldenseal, Echinacea, Black Cohosh, Bloodroot, Wild Yam, and many more. This assists with the survival of each species.
3.) It’s cheap and easy to integrate into my life: A .50 oz. bottle of Breath Tonic retails for $4.91 at Amazon. A simple checkout and you’re on your way.
Having found all of this out, I decided to buy a bottle. I haven’t received it in the mail yet, but I’ll be sure to write back and let you know how it works. However, I’m pretty confident that my oral hygiene isn’t suffering in any way; so that might be a problem.
Anyone know any guinea pigs?
