At any given time, we’re challenged with balancing the simple economics of cooking wholesome foods. When you’re working on a budget, you’re charged with prioritizing some choices over others; couple this with the challenge of limited regional availability of some foods. So here’s what to look for and how to prioritize your family’s food choices.
Meats
- Best: Wild game, local grass-finished beef, bison and lamb as well as pasture-raised pork.
- Better: Non-local grass-finished and pasture-raised meats purchased from a reputable company.
- Good: Organic or free-range beef raised without hormones and subtherapeutic use of antibiotics, organic and natural pork raised without ractopamine or subtherapeutic use of antibiotics.
- Limit or Avoid: Meat raised from animals in conventional, confinement operations and that are treated with growth hormones, muscle-promoting drugs, and routine antibiotics.
- Tip: If purchasing the grass-fed and pasture-raised meats stretches your budget, consider purchasing less expensive cuts like neck bones, arm roasts and shanks as well as supplementing with highly nutrient-dense, but inexpensive organ meats.
- Online Resources: You can order a box of grass-finished beef as well as humanely raised pork and chicken online here and have it delivered to your door each month.
Poultry and Eggs
- Best: Wild birds, local pasture-raised poultry and eggs from local, pasture-raised hens purchased directly from the farmer.
- Better:Pasture-raised poultry and eggs from an indirect source like a local or online grocer.
- Good: Organic eggs, omega-3 eggs and meat from “free range” chickens and turkeys.
- Limit or Avoid: Conventionally raised poultry and eggs from farms that disallow free movement in birds or employ battery cages.
- Tip: You can raise your own hens for eggs, or check out the farmers market and local bulletin boards to find someone selling eggs close to home.
Fish and Shellfish
- Best: Sustainably wild-caught fish and fish roe with low mercury levels such as salmon, sardines, and anchovies. Wild-caught shrimp from sustainable fisheries, like spot shrimp, and shellfish like oysters, mussels and clams that are sustainably farmed in clean waters. Cod liver oil from fish caught by hook-and-line in sustainable fisheries.
- Better: Sustainably wild-caught fish with borderline low mercury levels such as skipjack tuna. Sustainably farmed fish.
- Good: Wild-caught fish with moderately high mercury content such as halibut, albacore tuna, and sablefish.
- Limit or Avoid: Fish high in mercury content such as king mackerel, blue fish, orange roughy, grouper, shark and ahi tuna as well as farmed fish (except when sustainably farmed) and farmed shellfish from countries with unjust labor standards.
- Tip: Check out Seafood Watch for guidance on choosing sustainable seafoods and the NRDC for investigating the mercury content of fish and shellfish.
- Online Resources: You can order sustainably wild-caught salmon here, sustainable shellfish here and sustainably produced cod liver oil here.
Fruits and Vegetables
- Best: Fresh locally, organically or biodynamically grown fresh fruits and vegetables.
- Better: Fresh and frozen organically grown fruits and vegetables.
- Good: Fruits and vegetables that aren’t organically grown but that have low pesticide residues. Organically grown vegetables and fruits that are canned in glass jars.
- Limit or Avoid: Fruits and vegetables that aren’t organically grown and have high pesticide levels. Most canned fruits and vegetables.
- Tip: The Environmental Working Group puts together a list every year of fruits and vegetables with the highest and lowest pesticide residue.
Dairy Products
- Best:Raw whole milk, butter, ghee, cream and cultured dairy products from grass-fed cows, goats, sheep and camels.
- Better: Vat-pasteurized, non-homogenized whole milk, butter, ghee, cream and cultured dairy products from grass-fed cows and goats.
- Good: Organic vat-pasteurized, non-homogenized whole milk and organic butter, ghee, cream and cultured dairy products.
- Limit or Avoid: Ultra-high temperature (UHT) pasteurized milk and cream. Dairy products from animals routinely treated with antibiotics and growth hormones.
- Tip: The Cornucopia Institute offers a dairy scorecard that analyzes how well national and some regional dairies treat their animals and how closely they uphold organic standards.
Fats and Oils
- Best: Whole, unrefined fats including raw butter, ghee, suet and tallow from grass-fed cows, bison and lamb, lard from pasture-raised pigs, schmaltz from pasture-raised chickens as well as single-source organic extra virgin olive oil, organic and sustainably farmed palm and coconut oils, as well we organic cold-pressed sesame oil, nut oils and avocado oil and fair-trade, organic cocoa butter.
- Better: Cultured butter made from organic pasteurized milk, conventionally produced extra virgin olive oil, refined coconut oils and avocado oils.
- Good: Butter, Light Olive Oil.
- Limit or Avoid: Margarine, corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil, cottonseed oil, other vegetable oils, shortening and hydrogenated fats.
- Tip: Check out this guide to which fats to use for cooking and which to leave uncooked.
- Online Resources: You can order almost all best-quality fats online, but our favorites include this organic extra virgin olive oil and this grass-fed organic ghee.
Kim says
I have a comment and it is regarding “wild animals” . My concern is WHERE are people getting their wild game from. Getting a hunting licence and filling a freezer with local game might not be the best thing. I live in an area that has a lot of farms that spray pesticides etc. The field grains like wheat, corn and soy are all round up/glyphosate soaked. Those areas of sprayed fields are just the fields that those “wild” animals are eating from. I understand that is a lot to specify in a concise list, but I believe it is an overlooked detail that needs mentioning
Monika says
By the way, are there any options for unflavoured oils to make mayonnaise with? I really don’t like the taste of olive oil in my mayonnaise. I have one option of buying “cold-pressed” sunflower oil, and the other option I’m aware of is organic mayonnaise made with expeller-pressed canola oil, from the health food section at our grocery store. Is either one of those a real option?
Kim says
I make mine from Avacado oil…tastes wonderful
Monika says
Thanks so much for this post, Jenny! There have been a few of this kind on your blog, and I love that you’re not a “must follow the guidelines perfectly or you’re wasting your money/should budget otherwise/don’t care enough about your family”-type of person. I’m actually quite fed up with that attitude on my local wapf board, instead of giving helpful hints like what you just posted here, if you can’t do something that’s in their guidelines, all you get is “well, economise somewhere else” or “you’re wasting your money by buying second-best”. You still have to eat while saving up the money for the expensive stuff, so…
So, again, thanks. It’s much appreciated.
Sandrine Hahn says
Hi Jenny,
Thanks for this list! I will share it — I would just add “soy free” to the best section in the poultry/egg category! http://www.westonaprice.org/blogs/kdaniel/2012/05/27/soy-ling-egg-yolks-hidden-soy-from-animal-feeds/
laura h says
How does one know if ones pastured, raw milk has A2 beta casein or A1?
Tanya says
We’re lucky to have a local rancher walking distance from our home in Bradenton, FL. They do have to label the dairy for pet consumption but at least we can get it:-). Fresh Raw milk, cream, butter. Free living chickens produce our eggs, grass fed beef that live long happy lives, if we want it. Our milk is $4/half gallon, eggs $3/doz. Happy here!
Jen Mc says
Love this – great information!
Alison says
Maybe someone already said this but you might want to add to pasture raised meats/poultry/eggs animals that aren’t fed soy or gmo grains. Even among farms in the WAPF shopping guide I’ve had a hard time finding farmers that don’t feed soy to their animals.
Maria Minno says
Also remember that a lot of the deer stands the hunters put up are baited all year with GMO corn.
Maria Minno says
You have to watch out about wild game. In many areas in the US the deer are very high in radioactive cesium. Wildlife from freshwater wetlands can pick up lead (from shot) pesticides (agriculture) mercury (coal power plants) and other toxins from industrial discharge into the air and water and onto the soil. Remember now that wild caught seafood can come from the Gulf of Mexico, which although it has been declared safe, it is far from it. I am chronically ill from eating wild fish and game. I worked tagging catfish for the California Department of Fish and Game 30 years ago, and ate the free catfish I got for lunch and dinner for the duration of the job. I also consumed a great deal of wild duck for a couple of years. I now am poisoned by mercury, lead, cadmium, DDT, organophosphate pesticides and other petrochemicals, and it doesn’t feel good!
Megan Mountcastle says
Thanks for this list– I like the approach of “best,” “better,” “good,” and “avoid.” You give very clear and easy guidelines to follow!
Jana @ The Summer House says
In California, I pay 8.99 a half gallon for raw whole milk
and 3.99 for low-fat raw milk
soooo I often get the lowfat raw
and supplement with low temp pasteurized organic whole milk that is not homogenized.
Uggh….get with it people. Fix our food system. this is so ridiculous.
We went to Ruth’s Chris steak house and I asked if they had any grass fed beef. The lady looked at me like I was crazy-why would I want grass fed when I could have corn fed? No, she didn’t actually say that but her experssion and tone said it.
Jenny says
Darcy –
Thank you so much for your comment! Grass-finished and pasture-raised meats are such a joy in the kitchen. So deeply nourishing. I actually haven’t been able to come across a beef tongue yet. I remember eating it as a child (we were poor and it was cheap). Do you have a recipe for it you really like?
– Jenny
Darcy says
This is the kick-start I’ve been looking for! I have access to grass finished beef and pasture raised pork. I’m on the lookout for poultry and eggs. One item I haven’t seen on your posts (which I love by the way) is beef tongue. I may have missed it as I am new to the website.
This muscle is low in cost and a very dense protein. It does take some time to cook but it’s well worth it once you taste it. It’s very beefy and (once cooked)very tender. I’m curious to see if you have the nutritional value of it because I would like to keep it on my list.
My thanks to you and your readers for all the helpful advice.
Darcy
Jenny says
Kristin –
I’m so happy you liked the post! It’s important to realize that while optimal may not be achievable on every budget, or accessible in some locations there is always another option. No excuses not to eat well, eh?
Blessings –
Jenny
jpatti says
I completely agree! Doing the best we can is better than doing nothing!
K @ Prudent and Practical says
Thanks for this info! It’s helpful to have second-best options for food when the best option isn’t available. I’m emailing it to my family now.
Rose Bohmann says
What’s the difference between A1 &A2, and how can you tell which is which? The dairy I get my raw milk from has brown swiss cows. Is that A1 or A2? or does it depend on something other than the breed of cow?
Jenny says
That is my understanding too, Jola. Yaks, goats and sheep produce A2 milk so the casein issue one that only centers around cow milk.
Jola says
Regarding dairy products, as far as I know, A1/A2 casein is only a problem in cow milk, not goats or sheep milk. Any raw grass-fed goat or sheep milk would fall under ‘best’ category, is that correct?
betsy says
thanks for this article suggesting a handful of options!
Check out betsy’s last post: Hopefully Wednesday.
The Runaway Lawyer says
Thanks for the info – I may try it out.
Check out The Runaway Lawyer’s last post: ‘Hand of God’ rock being sold on eBay.
The Runaway Lawyer says
Hmmm. Where would one purchase coconut oil? Is this something one can readily come by?
Check out The Runaway Lawyer’s last post: I Missed Earth Day.
Jenny says
You should be able to get it at any health food stores, and many grocery stores carry it too. Choose the unrefined version (it has a subtle coconut flavor that I REALLY like). Alternatively you can get it online from amazon and even nutiva.com. Nutiva is the brand we use – it’s good stuff.
martie says
i got mine on amazon, since it’s great for baking, toothpaste and also diaper cream for cloth babies so i use a lot of it. FYI it goes to liquid at 80 degrees or so and doesn’t go back to soild form so don’t leave it in your car in the heat (learned the hard way!)
Monika says
Actually, it does go back to solid. I “use” my jar as a temperature gauge in the kitchen, if it’s above 24C the oil in it will be liquid, if it goes back down, it goes back to solid 😉
The Runaway Lawyer says
Tell me (or link me – you probably covered this already) why canola is bad and what alternative I should use to bake (cakes, cookies, etc.) with. Please and thank you!
Check out The Runaway Lawyer’s last post: A Cure for Asthma?.
Jenny says
Canola oil is on my no-no list (after years of being on my yes-yes list ;)) for a number of reasons: 1) it’s not a traditional food anywhere considering that it is a modification of rapeseed oil which is naturally toxic that made it edible; 2) it has a very high omega-6 to omega-3 ratio which is unfavorable; 3) it is processed at high temperatures (even expeller pressing can result in high temperatures) which oxidizes the fragile polyunsaturated fatty acids and introduces free radicals into the oil and 3) it has a very, very high chance of being contaminated with GMO. When it comes to baking, we stick with coconut oil which is phenomenal for its culinary properties, subtle flavor and fantastic nutrient profile. Coconut oil is rich in lauric acid (otherwise only really found in good quantities in breastmilk). Lauric acid is an antiviral. So that’s why we no longer use canola oil at all.
martie says
I don’t use oil in baking i use apple sause of any other fruit puree. If it calls for 1 cup of oil or butter i use 1 cup of fruit puree. I also use egg whites and no yolk to couteract this, 2 egg whites =1 whole egg. Sometimes it won’t have the same consitency as you were use to but if you mess around with the eggs (ex it wants 2 eggs i put in 1 whole egg and two egg whites) or add some butter/fat such as coconut oil for 1/2- 1/4 of the oil/butter needed to go with the fruit puree.
Jeanmarie says
Martie, it almost sounds like you’re trying to avoid fat and cholesterol, which is a common mistake. Applesauce adds basically a lot of sugar, and eggs, especially the yolks, are a great source of protein, fat and cholesterol, the nutrients we need to build healthy brains, neurotransmitters, cell walls, hormones, etc. Eggs also provide Vitamins A and D, at least if from pastured chickens. Don’t be afraid of fat and cholesterol. They have been wrongly demonized by people and organizations with an agenda that doesn’t support human health, however well-meaning they may be. Check out some of the articles at http://www.westonaprice.org for details on why naturally saturated animal fats and others like coconut oil are so good for you.
jpatti says
Hey, I’ll trade you… send me your yolks and you can have my whites.
Phil Solman says
Good points and most fish farming is bad, but there are some operations that are learning to farm fish sustainably in enclosed tanks and use waste water to grow crops. It’s early days, but I think some farmed fish may become a better choice that wild in the future. As always, just my opinion.
Jenny says
Good point, Phil, but I think the problems associated with fish farming extend beyond the environmental factors of old-school farming methods; rather, my primary concern is that the fish from farmed operations are not fed a natural diet. Farmed fish are often fed corn and soy which is decidedly unnatural for aquatic species. Like meat from CAFO operations, farmed fish just doesn’t have the nutritional profile of wild-caught fish.
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
Oh, one more thing. You said to avoid shortening, but I sometimes (for pie crusts and the like) will use Spectrum Naturals organic shortening that is made only from palm oil.
Kelly
Check out Kelly the Kitchen Kop’s last post: My Tasty Flop! (More about Homemade Cheese).
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
Jenny, I’m stumbling, and linking to this, too! Also, I tried subscribing via email and it only gives me the RSS form – can you let me know when it’s fixed so I can subscribe? Thanks!
Kelly
Check out Kelly the Kitchen Kop’s last post: My Tasty Flop! (More about Homemade Cheese).
pam says
Great list, so concise. I wish I could find raw milk around here.
Check out pam’s last post: Tolan’s Mom’s Potato Salad – Tyler Florence.
peg says
Thank you for this list. Little by little I am learning so much from so many of you about eating this way. This is becoming one of my passions. I am thankful to have the information.
Check out peg’s last post: Passion: The Beach.
Erica says
I love your list! It’s very succinct.. just the kind you want to print out and take with you shopping!
I don’t know of any place near me that offers pastured fat and lard from good chicken or pork. The most I have found is some rendered goose fat from Whole Foods and I’m not sure what the source is. I think I will stick to coconut oil and EVOO instead.
Check out Erica’s last post: The Best Boiled Eggs in the World!.
Tutti @ Tribal Talk says
What if you can get eggs from local chickens that are free to roam in their coop, but are not feed organic material? Better than organic store bought?
Check out Tutti @ Tribal Talk’s last post: favorite things: kirkland brand (costco) organic all-natural peanut butter.
Haley W. says
Awesome post, Jenny. I love how it is organized and makes use of color to really make your points stand out. This is really practical advice for people who might not be able to afford or find some of the best choices. Just because you can’t have the best doesn’t mean you have to scrap healthy eating altogether!
Check out Haley W.’s last post: Spaghetti with Pancetta and Morels.
bradk says
I’ve been looking for raw milk for a few weeks here in MN, apperently they are pretty strict about selling it, theres a special secret handshake you need to know to get it. Raw goat milk is much easier to find, does anyone know if it has the same health benefits?
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Stephanie says
Where do you live? I can tell you where we get it here in MN. Illegal for them to advertise but they are looking for new customers! Email me if I can help: [email protected]
Meghan at Making Love In The Kitchen says
Great recommendations. I look forward to the day that raw whole milk is legal and available off the black market in Canada. Until then- I stay far far away from our dairy supply.
Check out Meghan at Making Love In The Kitchen’s last post: The Green Smoothie Formula.
amanda says
we get raw milk in CO directly from the farm and IMO it’s not any more expensive than most of the country. the coasts are the most expensive from what i have heard. i guess it depends on what you deem expensive, but we pay $7.50/gallon. the cream and butter are of course quite a bit more.
FoodRenegade says
Great post. We also prioritize our foods this way. One thing I differ slightly on:
Fish.
Here’s my rule of thumb (which also happens to be what Nina Planck argues for): If you’re eating carnivorous fish (like cod, salmon, or tuna), it should be wild. If you’re eating herbivorous fish (like carp, trout, or tilapia), it’s not so bad to eat them farmed (and in some cases, it’s arguably better for the environment).
Cheers,
KristenM
(AKA FoodRenegade)
Check out FoodRenegade’s last post: Do You Eat Illegal Baked Goods?.
Noelle says
We are able to get grass fed beef, pastured chickens and true free range eggs along with tons of organic veggies from our CSA. But milk is a hard one right now because it is SO expensive in CO. So we get local natural whole milk and try to consume a lot of it cultured as in yogurt or kefir. Culturing held grow back some of it’s good bacteria, right?
Check out Noelle’s last post: they grow FAST!!!.
Linda says
If only I could get my hands on some raw milk!
Henriette says
I was speaking about dairy, cows and eggs btw
– and our organic dairy while adly not raw – but at least only low temperature pasterurised and NON homogenised – with nothing added like starch, fillers etc.
Check out Henriette’s last post: Danske journalisters hjernedødhed.
Henriette says
Kind of interesting to read
cause in Denmark organic always means = pastured
and no additives – but I have seen that the American organic produce seem to be a “watered down” product compared to our European products.
Check out Henriette’s last post: Danske journalisters hjernedødhed.