Best Foods to Buy Organic
Sorry to be MIA for a bit folks — I had a weird autumn illness this weekend. Now I’m feeling somewhat better and should be back to normal posting. Also, I had some great nature family photos sent to me by Kate over at Babylune so watch for those soon.
Now about organic foods. My basic take on food in general is that if it spent too much time in a laboratory it probably does not belong on your plate. If you can limit the mass produced foods you eat and stick to things that actually grow naturally your health will fare much better.
But no family is perfect (well, maybe some but I know mine isn’t). However we do try very hard to stick to eating items that haven’t been messed with too much.
Pesticides on food not only pollutes your family’s bodies but also pollutes the air, water, and land. There are far too many issues related to pesticides and toxins to discuss in one post so today a nice simple list…
The absolute best thing would be to buy everything organic but because organic food can be expensive you might have to pick and choose which foods you buy organic and which you buy conventional.
Over the years I’ve read and researched organic versus conventional and the story often changes. However, there are some food items that research continually reports is better to buy organic than conventional because more pesticides and other toxins have been found in these items than in other items.
If you want to go organic than here are some items you should consider before others.
Dry Goods:
- Cereal
- Granola
- Dried apricots
- Raisins
- Rice (all varieties)
- Crackers
- Taco shells & taco chips (corn chips)
- Soy flour
- Oats
Bottled & Canned Items:
- Ketchup
- Applesauce
- Mixed fruit
- Jams and jelly
- Peanut butter
- Chicken broth
Cold & Frozen Food Items:
- Cheese
- Milk (including soy)
- Butter
- Yogurt
- Eggs
- Tofu
Veggies & Fruits — in any form (canned, jarred, fresh, frozen)
If you only buy two produce items organic go with potatoes and apples. Both are big bads when it comes to pesticides.
Edamame (soy beans)- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Potatoes — all colors and varieties (including frozen like tator tots).
- All types of apples
- Celery
- Grapes (imported)
- Pears
- Peaches
- Nectarines
- Green beans
- Any color bell peppers
- Spinach
- Lemons and lime when used for zest
- Tangerines
Beverages:
- Soda
- Yogurt smoothies
- Apple juice
- Grape juice
Meat, seafood, and other protein (meat-like) items:
Meats are touchy because honestly most meats have an excess of not ok pesticides, toxins, and other icky chemicals in them still buying organic can cut down on the bad and increase the good for meat eaters. Here are some biggies:
- Pork — if you buy one food organic buy this one. Ham, bacon, and other pig products come up time and time again as some of the most toxic food items around. Spending all your organic money on this would be smart.
- Chicken
- Turkey
- TVP (Texturized Vegetable Protein)
Notice beef and seafoods don’t make the list — while both are better natural and organic they don’t come up as often on the big bad lists.
This is a good general list to get you started with organic eating. Keep in mind that everyone’s idea of what’s bad and what’s less healthy is different. The items above are the ones I see over and over listed as “better in organic version.” However, these are not the only things I buy organic and I know some people who buy conventional versions of the items above and organic in others so it helps to do your own research.
To learn more about organic foods take a look at The Organic Consumers Association and here’s a great article with 17 ways to eat organic for cheap (or at least for less).
For the littles:
Kids can find organic games, coloring pages, learn all kinds of cool nature facts, print stickers, and more at the EnviroKidz website.
They also make good organic cereal. It’s not bulk so there’s packaging to contend with but it’s much better than conventional.
Tags: best-foods-to-buy-organic, chemicals-in-foods, eat-organic, Organic Kids, organic-foods, organic-veggies, pesticides, toxins-in-foods, tree hugging familyRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Grow Green Kids, Health & Wellness, Organic Food & Drink, Shop Green
3 opinions for Best Foods to Buy Organic
Inhabitots » HOW TO: Delight Tiny Tastebuds with Homemade Baby Food
Nov 23, 2008 at 8:01 am
[...] worried that buying organic food for your baby is too expensive, don’t panic. Review which organic food items are worth the cost and learn 11 ways to save money on organic [...]
Cheaper Breakfast Eats - Save Money On Food : Thrifty Mommy
Mar 16, 2009 at 7:54 am
[...] Skip the meat. To be healthy, you really should only be buying organic meats. Typical conventional meat is stuffed with pesticides and other contaminates. However, organic meat can be costly. Make breakfast your veggie meal of the day. See which foods you should be buying organic. [...]
Five ways to save money without coupons : Thrifty Mommy
Apr 7, 2009 at 3:50 pm
[...] We don’t eat any red meat or pork (meat’s expensive) and the foods we buy organic are the big baddies, not items like bread and cereal (low on pesticides). We cook a lot from scratch vs. packaged [...]
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