I recently wrote a piece about how being more environmentally conscious can be great for your heart and health without hurting your pocketbook. Now SmartMoney's Kelli Grant has some great tips for going organic on a budget. Her five tips include setting priorities (buy organic where it really matters), consider your alternatives, buy on sale, buy from local farmers, and try generic brands.

But there's another side to this: One of the main culprits of the obesity epidemic is the wide availability of inexpensive, empty calories. Hostess cupcakes anyone? As former Senator Phil Gramm put it, "Has anyone ever noticed that we live in the only country in the world where all the poor people are fat?"

So buying organic foods, even if it does cost more, might be good for you. It could help you eat less! I would wager that if the average American kept their grocery budget the same but switched to organic foods, our collective waistline would shrink pretty substantially.

So remember: When it comes to food, paying a little more might be better for you.