This is Expensive!

Today is my nephew Mikey's 3rd birthday, and I will be at his party later (no pizza or cake for me!) I just got back from Whole Foods, and decided to post about it now, because grocery shopping is a HUGE part of the W30. First I have to say that, on the W30, you are not REQUIRED to eat organic. It is recommended if you can, but if not, that's ok. If you can only do some organic, it is recommended that you concentrate on meat, eggs and fish...things you can't wash or peel.

I just spent $181 on groceries...for one person...not even anything for the dogs. True, I did buy extra meat to freeze, enough vegetables to open my own farm stand, a bunch of canned goods, a box of Lara Bars (some varieties are ok...read your labels!), and an organic laundry detergent I wanted to try. I'm hoping that this will get me through at least 2 weeks, and that I can then supplement with things from Shop Rite. My Shop Rite doesn't have a great selection of organic stuff, but Whole Foods is expensive, and about 30 minutes away. I would say my vegetables are about 50/50 organic versus conventional. I basically picked up whatever I saw first, because I didn't really care, and my goal when at a grocery store is to get out as quickly as possible. With my beef, chicken and eggs, I did get antibiotic/hormone free, but I didn't get the grass-fed beef. I had it in my cart, but when I saw how much stuff I was buying, and the $$ started adding up, I exchanged it for non-grass-fed, which was cheaper.

The first time I did a W30, I did ALL organic meats, eggs, fruits and vegetables. I printed out the shopping lists found here, and they were a life-saver! While I love the idea of 100% organic, it is just too expensive. I can't imagine trying to do so if you have children, but I would think the desire to would be even greater in that case. I'm hoping that some day all the food available to us will be "organic" and more affordable. It's sad to have to choose between what's best for you and your family, and what won't leave you broke.

BTW, in case you want to know EXACTLY what I can and can't eat, here is the Whole30 in a nutshell.