We are actually still alive. Can't believe it's been a month since my last post. Spring is my busy time of year with work and other life events, and as a result my blog has been neglected. We are still here though and moving forward with our organic way of life. In the beginning, my goal was to add new foods every month, in a very structured way (haha)-however, things have not completely gone as planned. The first month we switched to all organic dairy and are still going strong with that. The second month we switched to all organic or grass fed meat and are still good there. The third month (March), we decided to gradually start bringing in new fruits and vegetables since produce is the most vast food group to make the change (and the most expensive overall change!). We have kept up with that commitment, but the biggest incentive for new foods is that Carter (my 13-month old) is all about trying food that is on my plate, but not necessarily if it is on his! So...my plate needs to contain "Carter-appropriate" food almost at all times-at least for the meals where we are in the same room! That has caused us to make more of a change with different foods that weren't part of the regimented plan I originally came up with :)   After all, if I am not comfortable giving him the food that I am eating, why on earth am I eating it!?!!? Just one of the beautiful things about being a parent.

I promised to send out the list of the produce that doesn't need to be organic (and why), so I commit to getting that info out by the end of the week. My apologies for letting life distract me for so long.

The other new thing I am going to do is start strictly tracking exactly how much money we are spending on our groceries this month. Starting Sunday (May 1st), I'll collect my receipts all month and report to you at the end how much we spent and update you throughout the month on good buys, etc. In the past, I've had difficulty coming up with a true grocery total since I often pick up household supplies when I get my groceries; however, this time, I will dissect the receipts and give you the true amount spent on food items. I am setting a goal of $500 for the month (we are a family of 3) and hope I come close to it. Prior to going organic, I would estimate that we would spend around $500 a month, so I want to try and do the same with organic food. Generally speaking, majority of our food comes from Costco, Trader Joe's and Earthfare (with a few items here and there from Harris Teeter, Food Lion & Wal-Mart). Watch out though because Charlotte is getting a Whole Foods and I couldn't be more excited!!

I look forward to keeping you posted on how the month is going and giving you a lowdown on the food I buy...if I get really crazy, I may even take pictures of my grocery buys with the total amount spent! We'll just have to see about that :)

Have a wonderful evening!