Feeling fruity? Before you head to the grocery store, you might want to look over this list of the 12 most important fruits and veggies to buy organic versions of. One of the biggest myths out there about organic is that it's automatically more expensive; however, in some cases, cost can be prohibitive for some families, so it's always good to be able to make an educated decision about where to focus your greenbacks if you'd like to at least get a little greener at the grocery store. I recently shared Dr. Alan Greene's list of products to buy organic with you. This list is a bit different: it's only for the produce section. If you're eating a lot of fruit and salads and want to keep your primary focus on eliminating pesticides and waxes from produce, this is the spot to start according to the Environmental Working Group. (Keep in mind that you can often find produce at farmers markets that is technically grown using organic methods, even if the farm isn't "certified organic". Many small, local growers use age-old practices that shy away from chemicals and genetic modification - just ask them about it!)
Here's the "Dirty Dozen" of the produce section:
- Peaches
- Apples
- Sweet bell peppers
- Celery
- Nectarines
- Strawberries
- Cherries
- Pears
- Grapes (imported)
- Spinach
- Lettuce
- Potatoes
You may have noticed, as I did, that many of these are thin-skinned items that we frequently eat unpeeled. I'm sure you can deduce why they'd be more pesticide packed versus things like citrus fruits that have a thicker skin that may not absorb quite as much of the "ick", as my daughter calls it!
One more tip: if produce isn't clearly marked with signage proclaiming it to be organic (though more grocers are learning that it's worth it, with the growth of sales in the organic realm), just check the sticker. That's right, the little sticker on the fruit that tells the checker how to ring up the item also clues you in to whether it's organic or not. Organic produce is assigned a five-digit stock number beginning with "9". So if a regular apple is "4455", an organic one would be "94455". Quick and easy, eh? Happy organic shopping (and eating)!
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