"Real food" resources

We've made a lot of changes to the way we eat around here over the past year-and-a-half after doing a lot of reading on health, nutrition and food production. While I've always tried to eat on the healthier side, since becoming a full-time homemaker, I've been able to move towards a more "real food" diet, aka less processed foods and more homemade/whole foods. Don't get me wrong, we eat our fair share of pre-made stuff (Nora and I enjoyed some Costco frozen egg rolls for lunch today...YUM!). But, I've had a few friends ask me about our changes and our food sources, so thought I'd compile the info. in one place.

Some of the major changes we've made:

Skim milk to whole milk (preferably non-homogenized if we can find it) and we're even transitioning to half-and-half

Low-fat dairy to full-fat diary (yogurt, sour cream, cheeses, etc.)

Cooking and baking with vegetable oils (i.e. canola) and shortening to coconut oil and butter

Factory-farm raised eggs to local, free-range eggs (when we can get them)

Factory-farm raised chicken to local, hormone/antibiotic-free, free-range chickens

Conventionally-raised beef to hormone/antibiotic-free, grassfed beef (indeed, this former vegetarian just filled our deep freeze with 1/4 of a cow...I love me some steak!)

White flour to fresh-milled, whole-wheat flour (when I can get it, otherwise, I'll use prepackaged whole wheat flour)

White sugar to honey, Grade B maple syrup and Sucanut (a less-processed sugar)

Ok, reading this list sounds overwhelming even to me. It's been a slow process making these changes, but you'll still find white flour and sugar in our pantry (cause they just work better in some recipes). We're not super strict about this stuff, just trying to eat this way when we can.

Some of the books that influenced my decisions to make these changes (including returning to omnivore status after 16 years as a vegetarian):

The Maker's Diet by Jordan Rubin

Real Food: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck

Real Food for Mother and Baby by Nina Planck

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan

The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice and Sustainability by Lierre Keith

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon (a cookbook, but also packed with nutritional info.)

I quickly realized once we decided to make some of these changes, that finding whole foods is sometimes not as easy (or cheap) as conventional foods. It took a bit of searching around the web and asking friends to find the most frugal sources I could. So, here is what I've found so far:

Unrefined, organic coconut oil at Soaper's Choice - Although this company markets their products for soapmakers, their coconut oil and many other oils are food grade. I can get a 7 lb. bottle for $27.30, the cheapest I've found yet.

Pastured chickens and eggs from Hayden Farm in Mondamin, Iowa. I like to buy 3 or 4 whole chickens several times a year to keep in our deep freeze. And, their eggs are amazing, the yolks are nearly flourescent orange they are so chock-full of Omega-3's! When I asked Mr. Hayden what they eat, he said "oh, you know, bugs, seeds, whatever they find in the pasture" - just like chickens are meant to eat! The Haydens make trips to Omaha about once-a-month, so I call to find out when they'll be coming through and then meet them to pick up my loot. I found this farm through a site called Local Harvest which is a great source for finding local farmers in your area that you can buy directly from.

Hormone/antibiotic-free grassfed beef from Sobotka Farm in Inman, Nebraska. They also make monthly drops in Omaha and often have fresh produce and other products as well. We've only ordered the beef from them, I haven't price checked on their chicken and eggs. I found these folks by word-of-mouth, but another great source for finding grass-fed beef and more natural animal products is a site called Eat Wild.

Natural cheeses, whole grains and other bulk natural foods from Azure Standard. This company is based in Oregon and makes semi-truck deliveries across the country once a month. While some things are cheaper to buy locally, I've been buying 5 lb. packages of raw cheddar cheese and 25 lb. bags of organic oats and black beans from this company and have saved a ton. I shred the cheese and freeze it in smaller portions and keep the grains and beans in big buckets in our basement.

Fresh-milled whole-wheat flour - I was pleasantly surprised to find a grain milling station at my local Hy-Vee (76th & Cass location only). I don't usually shop at this store, but I'll make a special trip when I need to. I put the flour in my freezer as soon as I get home to preserve as much of the nutrients as possible and to keep it from going rancid. In fact, this reminds me I really need to stock up! I aspire someday to have my own grain mill, but boy are those puppies expensive!

I buy the bulk of our weekly groceries from Whole Foods and Costco. We just recently joined Costco and I was super-pleasantly surprised to see a large selection of organic foods - frozen broccolli, salads, milk, butter, bread, etc. We also just recently got a Trader Joe's here in Omaha and I can't wait to check them out as I've heard they are less pricey than Whole Foods.

I hope these resources are helpful! I am always looking for cheaper options to eat healthy...so if you have any suggestions or better resources, send them my way!