I've been thinking about organic foods and how it relates to making changes to our overall health goals from a couple of perspectives - our diet and our food budgets.

I don't place a lot of value on buying organic varieties of foods with low nutritional value, like sweets, crackers, snacks, quick cereals. Organic is a term that can be used to give a feel-good label to foods that aren't high on the health-o-meter. I do think that choosing organic foods could help us to reform our diet by shifting our food budget away from snack foods to real foods.

Good organic ingredients cost more than conventional. Organic junk foods are still junk foods - non-essential, highly caloric, and nutritional zeros. So what if a choice to move toward organic ingredients could help wean us off of poor food choices, by targeting our food dollars towards whole foods, like fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, whole milk dairy products, nuts and seeds?

Yes, it means some food preparation, cooking and less empty snacking. But a craving is far easier to control when you don't have the foods that aren't part of a healthy diet around the house in the first place. While I realize that cooking takes time, if it is done in advance - say, on a weekend day, or using a crockpot - then it can be both cost-effective and far more healthful. I realize that preparing real food is rarely as quick as nuking a frozen dinner, but it doesn't have to take that much time. A delicious meal of whole wheat pasta with steamed or stir-fried vegetables and meat with a green salad can be on the table in a half an hour.

Ideas for simple, wholesome meals are available at every newstand, on the internet or through meal planning services, like Dinner with Jennette. Cooking classes abound in the metro area, taught by local food educators, including myself, at local coops, grocery stores, through community education and through local cooking schools. I teach classes regularly that focus on simple, family friendly and healthy meals.

I know that everyone can find at least one thing to do per week that will make a shift to organic, low-impact, whole foods eating. A snack of organic fruit plus a piece of cheese or a spoonful of nut butter instead of a handful of chips would be one, simple thing way to start - and it costs no more than a trip to the vending machine.

So that is my thought for the week. Spend less by eating less of the bad stuff, by exchanging it for more of the good stuff. Who knows what could happen if we could all make just that little switch for ourselves and our families? Happiness, fame, fortune? Or maybe the greatest wealth of all - just simply better health.