What To Buy And Not Buy When Going Organic!! Save Money With These Tips!

I will be the first to admit that I love to spend money. I love to shop and buying healthy organic food is no exception (who knew grocery shopping could be so fun-but hey it IS shopping). Unfortunately, I have to be on a budget in all areas and this includes my organic food choices. I looked around and found some helpful information on which are the top foods to buy organic if you are like me and on a budget ( I hate the word budget). Here we go-

Top Foods To Buy Organic-Worth The Money

**Peaches-In some studies, they’ve had up to 10 times as much pesticide on them as other fruits and vegetables.

**Apples-Apples may contain methyl parathion. Both fresh apples and baby food applesauce can also contain chlorpyrifos, an OP which has caused large bird kills. Doesn't sound good.

**Strawberries-Strawberries receive a dose of up to 500 pounds of pesticides per acre.Straw-berries and other produce bought out-of-season are the most likely to have been imported, possibly from a country with less-stringent pesticide regulations.

**Milk-While milk is a natural product, all the antibiotics and hormones that go into high-yield cows most certainly aren’t. Some studies on supplements like recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) used in conventional milk production have suggested links to early puberty and other hormonal abnormalities. Danish studies have shown that not only does organic milk have less of the bad stuff, it has more of the good stuff. Specifically, organic milk has higher levels of vitamin E, omega-3 essential fatty acids and antioxidants. Did you know that Europe has banned U.S. Milk? I also make sure to buy organic cheese, yogurt and all dairy products when possible.

**Meat-. Contrary to a widely reported "fact," meat typically contains less pesticide residue than plant-based foods, according to Debra Edwards, the director of EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs. That said, raising animals with conventional modern methods often means using hormones to speed up growth, antibiotics to resist disease and pesticides to grow the grain fed to the animals (plus I think modern methods promote cruelty to animals-had to get that in there). As the EPA puts it in an Ag 101 feature, "Antibiotics, pesticides, and hormones are organic compounds which are used in animal feeding operations and may pose risks if they enter the environment." Consumers looking to avoid meats raised with these substances can seek out certified organic meat. To meet USDA standards, this meat can come only from animals fed organic feed and given no hormones or antibiotics.

**Coffee-Many of the beans you buy are grown in countries where pesticides and chemicals are not regulated. Look for the fair trade certified organic label on your coffee for assurance.

**Eggs-Though they are a terrific source of protein, most eggs are produced using a range of antibiotics and hormones on the chickens that bear them. Given this, the health gains of eating organic eggs are similar to those of drinking organic milk. Essentially, organic eggs mean fewer hormones in the chicken and fewer foreign hormones (or chemicals acting as hormones) in your body.

**Celery, Grapes and Sweet Bell Peppers-Peppers and grapes have thin skins and celery none which creates little and no barrier to pesticides.

**Potatoes-Chlorothalonil, often used on potatoes, can be particularly harmful to children. In Canada, potatoes have been linked to high rates of asthma and asthma-related deaths in farming communities.

Spinach-Leafy greens are often contaminated with what are considered the most potent pesticides used on food.

Save Some Money And Probably Don't Need To Buy These Foods Organic-

**Broccoli,
**Bananas
**Frozen sweet peas
**Frozen corn
**Asparagus
**Avocados
**Onions:
Levels of pesticides are low even in conventional versions of these.
Now you are armed and ready to save money and go do some organic shopping!

20 comments:

  1. Thanks for the tips, Heidi. It's been a while since I've seen you over at Out of My Hat. Drop by and say hi sometime.

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  2. Oh, thank you Heidi for this list! Will surely help me with my budget! : )

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  3. Great list Heidi...I find it interesting the foods foods that have low levels.

    Cheers

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  4. Great tips Heidi. I have found Trader Joe's to be very reasonable on their organics. But the cheapest way to get some awesome, organic veggies is to grow your own! Inexpensive, chemical free and delicious!!!

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  5. superb information thanks miss heidi!

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  6. Thanks for this wonderful list, Heidi. As always you arm us with some powerful information regarding eating and staying healthy. I sure wish I had time to grow my own. In the meantime, I'm going to keep shopping at small farms in my area.

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  7. This is really good information! I try to always at least compare prices between the organic and the regular when I'm grocery shopping. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised to find the organic on sale for cheaper than the regular.

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  8. Hi Hedi i agree with everybody you always have great information here. Most of the items you say not buy i dont like anyway.

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  9. Thanks for the great tips Heidi! :-)

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  10. Hi Heidi, Nice post.You've got the vibe!Not heard from you after our discussion.

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  11. Heidi:

    I only have a little hair left and you've gone and made it all turn white. Scary stuff.

    You are absolutely right about the pesticides, but what can we really do about them?

    Happy trails.

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  12. Organic food has its health benefits but it is more costly than the normal vegetables. :(

    Not many people can afford it.

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  13. That is a great list, Heidi. I am not too familiar with organics but I'm learning. Thanks for the tips!

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  14. Talking of organic - I am trying to incorporate more and more organic items in my weekly shop. You can imagine the surprise I had this week to discover there was a special offer on organic cheddar cheese - over one pound in weight was only £2.00 in money - this is less than half the price of standard none organic cheddar. The difference in the cheese was unbelievable - the organic was so smooth and creamy - entirely different to the pallet ........ I would recommend it to anyone.

    I was also pleasantly surprised by the difference in the flavour of organic butternut squash compared to the none organic. I was preparing it and found myself eating as much raw as I was chopping up for the pot!!

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  15. great tips again, Heidi. Oh, I so love bananas and avocados, reminds me of buying them since we're running out.

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  16. Heidi this is terrific list. Sometimes it's difficult to determine what to buy and not to buy organic. If you look around, the prices on organic foods has dropped in the last few years. That makes it easier to make the switch Thanks

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  17. I can't help but be skeptical about organic food. Penn and Teller did a Show about it recently, and it seems its actually harder on the environment to farm organically because it's not as efficient.

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  18. This is helpful, thanks for sharing. I'm reading your post about cold sores. :)

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