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Babies: 9 - 12 Months
organic or natural foods - how did you educate yourself?
I'm thinking about upping our graocery budget to buy better foods. I've been skimping on food and that is starting to seem silly as it is the fuel for our bodies.
Anyway - I'm trying to think about if I want to go organic or natural or whatever. We buy hormone free milk (not organic though) but otherwise, we buy pretty much the normal cheapest thing foods.
Anyone have good resources for educating myself on this? non-biased resources? I have no problem finding organic promotion websites that will convince me I need it and regular food promotion websites that will say I don't need it. I'm looking more for things that are not biased and look at the health perspectives on it. Woudl help if they had budgets in mind as I don't want to kill our finances with this decision.
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Re: organic or natural foods - how did you educate yourself?
Maybe try reading some green blogs? my SIL has one and it links to a bunch of others. It has really taught me more about being green.?
?
www.greenmamaspad.com?
Depending on how much milk you drink, organic milk can be the better deal because it's shelf life is a LOT longer than normal milk. ?Also, it tastes better. ?Just something to chew on.
I try to follow the dirty dozen:
https://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214
I always buy organic chicken, but am not as good about beef and pork (they are harder to find).
Trader Joes has a lot of organics and better prices than the normal grocery store. ?
GL?
I find organic and natural foods are more affordable at grocery stores that are better stocked for that. i.e. Organic milk cost more at Walmart than at my regular grocery store. Farmer Markets can be a great local resource. Raising Baby Green has a list of five foods that can make a big difference in eating organic. I can't remember what all they are. Milk was one of them.
gb!
I have been told that when buying organic it is best to buy produce/veggies that you actually eat the whole thing (lettuce, tomatoes, and other things like those) and not organic for things that you peel (bananas, pineapple, and other things like those).
I plan on talking to the pedi about milk/eggs/cheese/yogurt.
Good luck!
Hmmm... I'm not sure about some good totally unbiased resources, but here are a few things I've read/listened to online about cutting costs when buying organic that are pretty balanced:
- an article on saving on organics from Body + Soul
- 10 organic foods that are worth the money from RealSimple
- a podcast on what to buy organic on Bon Appetit with Marion Nestle author of What to Eat (You might want to check out her book.)
Also, here's a list of top fruits and veggies to buy organic (because the conventional versions have the highest exposure to pesticides) that I clipped from an issue of Gourmet in 2006 and use as a guideline when shopping:
apples
bell peppers
celery
cherries
imported grapes
nectarines
peaches
pears
potatoes
red raspberries
spinach
strawberries
I also buy hormone-free or organic diary and eggs when I can afford them.
GL!
I'd post on the eco-friendly board, you'll get better responses.
We buy mostly organic for us and baby. Whole Foods is great if you have one near you as our local markets. Green Babies, Sage moms is a good resource for organic and environmentally friendly living and gives you middle of the road options.
YoMama - Are you serious with your siggy?
I find whole foods very overpriced. Our regular supermarket has a whole new organics section that is close to regular prices. Throw a coupon in there and add a sale and that's when I load up on chicken & beef.
IN the summer, we buy our produce for the most part from our farmer's market. I love buying local & saturday mornings are fun. We can walk up! It opens next week and I can't wait! And talk about cheap!
We're thinking of starting to order meat oncea month from a organic farm. Apparently they deliver. We need a new freezer first though.
Canada has different standards in terms of milk & hormones, so its not as scary as the US. But I still get the organic milk about 80% of the time.
I'm reading the Omnivore's Dilemma, and it is REALLY GOOD. There are more than just health benefits to eating organic. Underpriced food will be the US's downfall.
Also, there are lists of fruit and vegetables online that chart which ones are more important to buy organic (the ones that retain more of the pesticides.) That is a good guideline to start with. Cage free eggs and organic milk are very important places to expand your budget. Cheap warehouse eggs are not very nutritious compared to eggs that come from cage free hens. Not to mention you are party to (extreme) animal cruelty!?