BUY SMART : Part 3 of KNOW YOUR FOOD : 10 Easy Ways to Living Affordably Organic

We’re nearing the end of Week 1 of my 10-week series on 10 Easy Ways to Live Affordably Organic.  (Did you visit your farmers market this week?)  

Quick re-cap... KNOWING your food means understanding:

WHEN to buy your food – Seasonally!

WHERE to buy your food – Locally!

Now… WHAT should you buy?  Does ALL your produce need to be organic?

(drum roll…)

Nope.  Absolutely not.

What?!?! It's true!

Some conventionally grown produce that has little or NO pesticide residue, otherwise known as the The Clean Dozen.  Typically this food may have thicker skin (avocados, sweet corn) or needs much less chemical pest management than other fruits and veggies.

Here’s the list:

The CLEAN Dozen

Asparagus

Avocadoes (less than 10% tested positive)

Cabbage

Eggplant

Kiwis

Mangoes

Onions

Papayas

Pineapples

Sweet corn

Sweet peas

Bananas

Other fruits and veggies are VERY high in pesticides so steer clear and ONLY buy organically. Check it out:

Top fruits to buy organic:

1. Cranberries

2. Nectarines

3. Peaches (96.7% of samples tested positive for pesticides...  Yikes.)

4. Strawberries

5. Pears

6. Apples

7. Cherries

8. Cantaloupe

9. Tomatoes

10. Grapes – especially imported (Watch out for any "imported organics" since other countries' organic standards do not meet the United States Department of Agriculture organic standards.)

Top veggies to buy organic:

1. Green Beans

2. Sweet Bell Peppers (Especially costly at stores. They’re great example of food that’s better to grow yourself! Very easy to grow in pots on your back deck or porch!)

3. Celery

4. Cucumber

5. Potatoes

6. Peas

7. Lettuce & Spinach

8. Broccoli

9. Carrots

Save yourself some cash by buying safe, conventionally grown food (like bananas) instead of buying organic.  Why pay .80/lb for organic bananas when you can buy for .49/lb conventionally? Same with avocados…  A conventionally grown avocado will run you $1.-1.49/each and the organic ones are nearly twice that. Buy smart.

Join me on Wednesday for Week 2 of 10 Easy Ways to Living Affordably Organic!

The topic?  AVOID "READY MADE" and PROCESSED FOODS.  (Just say NO.  Really.)

Organically yours,

-Minde

 We grow some of our tomatoes in pots on the back deck. 

(Those fun lime green planters: upside down step stools from Ikea!)

A pic of last year's Roma tomatoes...  One of our faves...

Get your children in on the tomato-growing action!  They love to get dirty!

Many sources were used for post including The Daily Green, 

The Environmental Working Group 

and The Food Network.