Eating Organic is Possible - and another Giveaway!

I know a lot of people look at eating organic as something only the snobby rich do. Or  maybe people living on a farm, wearing gumboots, and milking cows do. I must admit it's something I have wanted for my own life but have thought to be unattainable because of cost.
Below is a chart with information taken from food news.org that helped me to figure out what to prioritise in terms of what I could afford vs pesticides.

The Dirty Dozen Foods grown with the most pesticides ranked from worst to less bad 1. Peach 2. Apple 3. Bell Pepper / Capsicum 4. Celery 5. Nectarine 6. Strawberries 7. Cherries 8. Kale 9. Lettuce 10. Grapes (imported) 11. Carrot 12. Pear

The Clean Fifteen Foods grown with the least amount of pesticides, ranked from best to not-so-good 1.    Onion 2.    Avocado 3.    Sweet corn 4.    Pineapple 5.    Mango 6.    Asparagus 7.    Sweet peas 8.     Kiwi 9.    Cabbage 10. Eggplant 11. Papaya 12. Watermelon 13. Broccoli 14. Tomato 15. Sweet Potato

 A couple months ago I was telling my friend Nicole about my new juicing endeavours, and wanting to buy organic for that but feeling like it was way over the budget for my small family.
She told me she is part of a Mayfield Co-op called Beanstalk Organic food. I went along one Tuesday afternoon (that's when you pick up your pre-ordered box from the co-op) to see what it was all about.
You can order a box for a very affordable price of $21.00 each week, and then pay for additional fruit and vegetables; not only that  you could also buy honey, eggs, and all the pantry essentials like flour, sea salt, bread, and even popcorn. Unfortunately for me, it wasn't going to fit in well with my schedule,  and I discovered to participate in the co-op I would need to be available for  any number of jobs like set-up, or cashier, or calling farmers from time to time. I think it's fantastic that there is this option for many families to use in Newcastle at such an affordable price so I wanted to mention them.

Soon after that I discovered the Shannonleigh Organic Fruit and Vegatable stall in the Hunter Street Market, run by Bill and his wife Cathie. He tells me that most of the produce comes from his own farm. I was so happy to discover that a lot of his prices were either the same as or even less than the regular produce I was buying from Coles Supermarket. For example, bags of oranges and red Capsicums were $1.00 more a kg at Coles. Beets, Sweet Potatoes, and Bananas were the same price per kg. Kale was double the price at Coles too, and none of it ORGANIC!

Cathie sent me her most current price list.
*Please note this price list is subject to change and seasonal availability

Shannonleigh Organic PRICE LIST

VEGETABLES Asian greens $2.50 / bch Lettuce $3.00 ea. Kale $2.50 (pre pacs & bunches) Herbs $2.00 / bch Beans $8.00 / kg Beetroot (loose) $5.00 /kg  Broccoli $8.00/kg Cabbage green / red $5.00 ea Capsicum [red] $8.00 / kg  [green] $5.00 / kg Carrots $3.00 / kg ; purple $5.00 / kg Celery $5.00 / bch Corn $1.00 / cob (*when we have it) Cucumbers lebanese $6.00 / kg ; apple cucumbers $5.00 / kg Garlic $40.00 / kg Ginger $30.00 / kg Mushrooms $12.00 / kg Onions [brown] $3.00 / kg ; [red] $5.00 / kg Potatoes $5.00 / kg [most of the common varieties] Desiree; Dutch Cream; Nicola; Sebago Pumpkin $2.50 / kg [Jap also known as kent) ;  Butternut; Grey] Silverbeet $3.00 / bch Sweet Potato$4.00 / kg Tomatoes $8.00 / kg Zucchini $5.00 /kg

FRUIT Apples $8.00 / kg Avocadoes $8.00 / kg Bananas cavendish $3.00 / kg Bananas lady fingers; monkey fingers $5.00/kg Bananas (cooking) $6.00 / kg Dates  $20.00 / kg Kiwi Fruit $8.00 / kg Lemons $5.00 / kg Limes $0.60 ea. Oranges (*don't always have them) $5.00 / kg Papaya / Paw Paw $6.00 / kg Pears $8.00 / kg Pineapples $7.00 ea. Rhubarb $5.00 / bch EGGS and HONEY Eggs (12)  $6.00 Eggs (tray - 30) $12.00 Eggs (6) $3.00 Honey kilogram jar $14.00 half kilo jar $7.00 250g approx. $5.00 bring your own jar $12.00 / kg

 To give you an idea of how much you can buy for your dollar, in the first photo below is what I bought from Shannonleigh Organic for $37.70!

They even had Golden Delicious apples, which I don't think I have ever found in Coles.

How fresh is that? My produce came with a snail!

You may have to do a little research into what's going on in your community instead of relying on the big supermarket's to supply you with the well priced organic produce.

Now it's GIVEAWAY time again! Shannonleigh Organic wants to give a lucky winner a $50.00 voucher to spend at their fruit and veggie stall in Newcastle, NSW.

INSTRUCTIONS for this GAME of SKILL:
All you have to do is 'like' Shannonleigh Organic Foods and Peachy Keen Mumma on Facebook
AND tell me in a blog comment below or Facebook comment on my blog wall (as some people are having trouble with leaving comments here), in the most creative way you can, why organic food is better - strictly no more than 30 words per entry.

*****Entrants who have not followed the instructions above will not be considered as valid contenders. *******

This competition is now closed. The winner is Jessica Norris, and has been notified.
Thank you to Paula Miller for being the judge of this giveaway. Paula Miller does not know any of the entrants for this competition and chose the contestant based on skill and following the competition rules. 

*All opinions are my own