A woman cooking up a nice pot of pasta.
Over the past few years, rising supermarket prices have forced many families to make compromises on ingredient quality when shopping for meals. A recent study published by Supermarket News found that 41% of families with children were more likely to switch to lower-quality groceries to deal with inflation.
By comparison, 29% of people without children have switched to lower-quality groceries to cope with rising prices.
Despite the current rising costs of groceries, O Organics has enabled families to consistently enjoy high-quality, organic meals at affordable prices for nearly two decades. With a focus on great taste and health, O Organics offers an extensive range of options for budget-conscious consumers.
O Organics launched in 2005 with 150 USDA Certified Organic products but now offers over 1,500 items, from organic fresh fruits and vegetables to organic dairy and meats, organic cage-free certified eggs, organic snacks, organic baby food and more. This gives families the ability to make a broader range of recipes featuring organic ingredients than ever before.
“We believe every customer should have access to affordable, organic options that support healthy lifestyles and diverse shopping preferences,” shared Jennifer Saenz, EVP and Chief Merchandising Officer at Albertsons, one of many stores where you can find O Organics products. “Over the years, we have made organic foods more accessible by expanding O Organics to every aisle across our stores, making it possible for health and budget-conscious families to incorporate organic food into every meal.”
With some help from our friends at O Organics, Upworthy looked at the vast array of products available at our local store and created some tasty, affordable and healthy meals.
Here are 3 meals for a family of 4 that cost $7 and under, per serving. (Note: prices may vary by location and are calculated before sales tax.)
O Organic’s Tacos and Refried Beans ($6.41 Per Serving)
Few dishes can make a family rush to the dinner table quite like tacos. Here’s a healthy and affordable way to spice up your family’s Taco Tuesdays.
Prep time: 2 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 22 minutes
Ingredients:
1 lb of O Organics Grass Fed Ground Beef ($7.99)
1 packet O Organics Taco Seasoning ($2.29)
O Organics Mexican-Style Cheese Blend Cheese ($4.79)
O Organics Chunky Salsa ($3.99)
O Organics Taco Shells ($4.29)
1 can of O Organics Refried Beans ($2.29)
Instructions:
1. Cook the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat until thoroughly browned; remove any excess grease.
2. Add 1 packet of taco seasoning to beef along with water [and cook as directed].
3. Add taco meat to the shell, top with cheese and salsa as desired.
4. Heat refried beans in a saucepan until cooked through, serve alongside tacos, top with cheese.
O Organics Mexican-style blend cheese.via O Organics
O Organics Hamburger Stew ($4.53 Per Serving)
Busy parents will love this recipe that allows them to prep in the morning and then serve a delicious, slow-cooked stew after work.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 7 hours
Total time: 7 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
1 lb of O Organics Grass Fed Ground Beef ($7.99)
1 ½ lbs O Organics Gold Potatoes ($4.49)
3 O Organics Carrots ($2.89)
1 tsp onion powder
I can O Organics Tomato Paste ($1.25)
2 cups water
1 yellow onion diced ($1.00)
1 clove garlic ($.50)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp Italian seasoning or oregano
Instructions:
1. Cook the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat until thoroughly browned; remove any excess grease.
2. Transfer the cooked beef to a slow cooker with the potatoes, onions, carrots and garlic.
3. Mix the tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, onion powder and Italian seasoning in a separate bowl.
4. Drizzle the mixed sauce over the ingredients in the slow cooker and mix thoroughly.
5. Cover the slow cooker with its lid and set it on low for 7 to 8 hours, or until the potatoes are soft. Dish out into bowls and enjoy!
O Organics baby gold potatoes.via O Organics
O Organics Ground Beef and Pasta Skillet ($4.32 Per Serving)
This one-pan dish is for all Italian lovers who are looking for a saucy, cheesy, and full-flavored comfort dish that takes less than 30 minutes to prepare.
Prep time: 2 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 27 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
1 lb of O Organics Grass Fed Ground Beef ($7.99)
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 can O Organics Diced Tomatoes ($2.00)
1 can O Organics Tomato Sauce ($2.29)
1 tbsp O Organics Tomato Paste ($1.25)
2 1/4 cups water
2 cups O Organics Rotini Pasta ($3.29)
1 cup O Organics Mozzarella cheese ($4.79)
Instructions:
1. Brown ground beef in a skillet, breaking it up as it cooks.
2. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder
3. Add tomato paste, sauce and diced tomatoes to the skillet. Stir in water and bring to a light boil.
4. Add pasta to the skillet, ensuring it is well coated. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Remove the lid, sprinkle with cheese and allow it to cool.
O Organics tomato basil pasta sauce and extra virgin olive oil.via O Organics
Madalyn shared with her colleagues about her own mental health.
Madalyn Parker wanted to take a couple days off work. She didn't have the flu, nor did she have plans to be on a beach somewhere, sipping mojitos under a palm tree.
Parker lives with depression. And, she says, staying on top of her mental health is absolutely crucial.
"The bottom line is that mental health is health," she says over email. "My depression stops me from being productive at my job the same way a broken hand would slow me down since I wouldn't be able to type very well."
Madalyn Parker was honest with her colleagues about her situation.
Photo courtesy Madalyn Parker.
"Hopefully," she wrote to them, "I'll be back next week refreshed and back to 100%."
Soon after the message was sent, the CEO of Parker's company wrote back:
"Hey Madalyn,
I just wanted to personally thank you for sending emails like this. Every time you do, I use it as a reminder of the importance of using sick days for mental health — I can't believe this is not standard practice at all organizations. You are an example to us all, and help cut through the stigma so we can all bring our whole selves to work."
The tweet, published on June 30, 2017, has since gone viral, amassing 45,000 likes and 16,000 retweets.
"It's nice to see some warm, fuzzy feelings pass around the internet for once," Parker says of the response to her tweet. "I've been absolutely blown away by the magnitude though. I didn't expect so much attention!"
Even more impressive than the tweet's reach, however, were the heartfelt responses it got.
"Thanks for giving me hope that I can find a job as I am," wrote one person, who opened up about living with panic attacks. "That is bloody incredible," chimed in another. "What a fantastic CEO you have."
That ignores an important distinction, Parker said — both in how we perceive sick days and vacation days and in how that time away from work is actually being spent.
"I took an entire month off to do partial hospitalization last summer and that was sick leave," she wrote back. "I still felt like I could use vacation time because I didn't use it and it's a separate concept."
They were even more surprised that the CEO thanked her for sharing her personal experience with caring for her mental health.
After all, there's still a great amount of stigma associated with mental illness in the workplace, which keeps many of us from speaking up to our colleagues when we need help or need a break to focus on ourselves. We fear being seen as "weak" or less committed to our work. We might even fear losing our job.
In a blog post on Medium, Congleton wrote about the need for more business leaders to prioritize paid sick leave, fight to curb the stigma surrounding mental illness in the workplace, and see their employees as people first.
"It's 2017. We are in a knowledge economy. Our jobs require us to execute at peak mental performance," Congleton wrote. "When an athlete is injured, they sit on the bench and recover. Let's get rid of the idea that somehow the brain is different."
This article originally appeared on 07.11.17
Luckily, this story has a happy ending.
Even for those who love the thrill of making vacation itineraries…it’s work. And obviously when the planning has to be done for an entire family, there’s even more effort needed to be put in. Imagine going through all the rigamarole of booking flights, hotels, rental cars, restaurant reservations, entertainment venues, last minute store runs for toiletries…without getting so much as a “thank you.”
Odds are you’d be a little miffed, even if planning is your thing.
This was the scenario that a mom Alexis Scott found herself in after planning a summer vacation for her husband and two teen children. Thankfully, the now-viral TikTok post venting her frustrations inspired several folks to give her some much deserved support.In the video, Scott began, “I'm on a family vacation right now with my two teenagers and my husband. We flew in late last night. We think we got in at like 12:15 a.m. and headed to get a rental car and then got to our Airbnb. And I am frustrated.”
Scott had tried and tried to get any input from her family about what they might want to do, and each time got the same reply: “‘Whatever you want, mom. I don't care. Okay. I don't care.’”
“Great. Glad I'm planning this vacation for everybody to not care,” Scott lamented.
Still, she did the planning—cause someone had to do it. But as soon as the vacation started, all her decisions were met with complaints. From being called “cheap” for getting too small of an SUV rental car to being told “Mom is never going to be in charge of booking the Airbnb again. She can't even this, that and the other,’” after the family found out their AirBnb was three stories with quite a few stairs.
@a.millennialmama Gratitude goes a long way - especially on family vacation! #momsoftiktok #millennialmom #millennial #familyvacation #familyvacay #sos ♬ original sound - a.millennialmama
“Then this morning, we wake up and it's an urban setting. We live in a very quiet suburban setting and my husband's saying how he barely slept and this and that. And I'm just like, enough!” she said.
All of this happened within the first 24 hours of the trip. It’s easy to see why Scott needed to vent.
Her video concluded with:
I have been the only one to put in all the effort in planning this trip. And I know there's videos on mental load, but this is prime time example of me. I'm shouldering the mental load for my entire family and everybody has something to say about it. So, yeah, I'm frustrated. Please pray for me that we can all turn our attitudes around and have a great day.”
Down in the comments, viewers could totally empathize with Scott for feeling burnt out and disappointed.
“Oh gosh the mental load of planning every detail and then knowing is something goes wrong or isn't’ perfect it’s all on you. Been there,” one person shared.
Another added, “I tell my husband that I haven’t been on vacation since I was a child and he’s alway confused bc to him, ‘we’ go on vacation every year. Only other moms would understand what I mean.”
Many suggested that she do something for herself instead.
“Just Irish goodbye one morning, go to brunch alone, hit the spa or a pool and come home after dinner,” one person wrote.
“Go and do whatever you want to do!! Spa day sounds perfect and take yourself out for fabulous meals!!” echoed another.
On a positive note: this story does have a happy ending. In a follow-up video, Scott shared how she showed her family the TikTok video she made, and it did turn things around.
@a.millennialmama Replying to @thisisntaboutme 🍉🍉🍉 absolutelt no apology video… but they listened to my feelings and we have had a good day so far ❤️🙏🏼 #momsoftiktok #grateful #teenagers #millennial #millennialmom #vacation #travel ♬ original sound - a.millennialmama
“We have actually had a really, really great day today,” she said. “Everyone has had positive attitudes. I've heard a lot of thank yous and my kids have been buying their little side purchases with their own money and not even asking me to pay for it... but they have been really self-sufficient in that space.”
All in all, Scott recognizes that her family is “human,” and a big part of being human is apologizing when a mistake is made and moving forward.
“We love each other. This was a learning experience.”
By the way, Scott's entire TikTok is dedicated to relatable mom content. You can follow along here.
