A BIG part of the Organic Beauty philosophy of looking and feeling great is the quality of the food we put in our bodies.  I’ll go into this in more detail in my forthcoming installation of the 5 Steps series, but suffice it to say that eating organic food is of great importance to the health of our bodies.  Eliminating pesticides, hormones and chemicals from the meat and produce we eat is paramount to maintaining great health (and beauty!), and the best way to do this is to limit our intake to foods that are certified organic.

I understand that cost of organic food can be prohibitive to many people.  When faced with the choice of purchasing a 5 conventional avocados for $3, versus one organic avocado for 99 cents, it can be difficult to justify the cost.  BUT, you’ll be happy to know that there is a way around this issue!  A way to eat healthy, unprocessed, locally grown food that comes from small, often family owned farms.  This food may not be certified organic (due to the hoops the USDA makes small farms jump through to get certification), but it is almost always grown without pesticides, hormones, and additives.  And the best part?  Someone from the farm is right there in front of you, available to answer whatever questions you may have about their growing or feeding practices!

Where is this magical, wondrous place, you might ask?  Your local farmer’s market!  If you don’t live in New York City, California, or Madison, Wisconsin, where farmer’s markets can be found wherever you look, you can use the search function on Local Harvest‘s site to find farmer’s markets, CSAs, farms, co-ops, and retailers that sell local, organic produce near you.  Stuck in Skokie, Illinois?  Boom.  Find all the details for the Skokie Farmer’s Market.  Road-tripping through Denton, Texas?  There may not be a farmer’s market, but there are two great co-ops that sell local, organic food.

Nearly wherever you are in the country, you have options for eating well beyond the crazy price tags of Whole Foods.  Farmer’s markets have amazing bargains on organic and local foods, and you always have the option of negotiating with the purveyor!  Try getting away with that at Whole Foods!

The bottom line is that cost is no longer a reason to not eat healthy.  Your longevity, health, and physique are worth finding where and how to put the right things into your body.  Make it happen!