Eat ORGANIC!

How many of you strive to eat "organic" when possible? If I came to your home and opened your fridge and/or cabinets, would I find things that you should be feeding your family? I've struggled with the issue of eating organic for quite some time now and have finally decided it is in fact the BEST thing for my family. The only reason for my struggle? MONEY. Yes, it costs much more than eating non-organic foodsbut it is totally worth the sacrifice in other areas. So what if we can't splurge on going out to dinner (this is another issue) or always buying what we want, to us it is more important to feed our bodies healthy organic foods rather than nasty processed foods. This blog will try to explain why you and your family should strive to eat organic/non-processed/non-GMO food. I will give you main points I focused on when making the decision to go as organic as I could when food shopping.

1. Watch Food Inc. It is a documentary. I believe the East Greenwich Free Library owns a dvd copy. Watching this made my husband and me realize what we needed to do when eating foods. I was shocked, especially about the meat factories! Now I ONLY buy organic meats, whether it's chicken, beef, or pork.  Whole Foods and Trader Joe's have a good selection. Stop and Shop sells Nature's Promise which is also a good quality to purchase as far as safety, although it is not organic. It kills me to pass up good sales on other brands, but as I said above, it is so worth paying $5.99 a pound for organic ground beef rather than $2.99 a pound for non-organic ground beef.

2. When it comes to produce, I ALWAYS buy organic. Here is a list of the 12 most contaminated non-organic produce items:

• Peaches
• Apples
• Sweet Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Pears
• Grapes (Imported)
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Potatoes

If you can't always buy organic produce, strive to buy organic when it comes to the 12 items listed above if you can.

The 12 least contaminated are:

• Onions
• Avocado
• Sweet Corn (Frozen)
• Pineapples
• Mango
• Asparagus
• Sweet Peas (Frozen)
• Kiwi Fruit
• Bananas
• Cabbage
• Broccoli
• Papaya

I still try to buy organic when it comes to these because to me any pesticides or chemicals are a hazard to your body. But this is good information for you to have. Stop and Shop has a good selection of organic produce and in EG on Main Street is great as well. I can get all of the produce on my list organic from Stop and Shop. I typically buy lettuce, potatoes, bananas, apples, berries, pears, peppers, onions, and broccoli. Another great product Stop and Shop carries are frozen organic vegetables and fruit made by Cascadian Farms. You can find these in the natural food section in the freezer aisle. Stop and Shop also carries Nature's Promise frozen vegetable and fruit which are sometimes labeled organic. A tip: Organic produce goes bad faster, so be sure you are aware of this.

3. Read this to understand why you should go organic:

http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-206 

Organic.org is a great website to gain knowledge...be sure to check it out.  They have a FAQ section that is a quick and easy read that will help you understand things better.

4. Don't let LABELS confuse you!  All-Natural is NOT organic and may not even be healthy! Anything with partially hydrogenated whatever is BAD! Read ingredients when you shop — you'll be shocked. Check out the bread aisle. It's awful! Almost every bread has high fructose corn syrup, another no no! Nature's Promise bread does not, although it's not organic. My in-laws eat EZEKIAL bread and swear by it. It is a different texture than regular bread but extremely healthy. My favorite brand is Vermont Bread Company, which is organic and is sold at Stop and Shop. When looking at an igredient list for a specific item know this: the fewer the ingredients of things you can pronounce and know of, the better! If the list goes on and on with things you can't pronounce, PUT IT DOWN and buy something different!

5. I use olive oil in everthing. My Grandmother sent me this article.  http://www.naturalnews.com/035124_olive_oil_adulterated_canola.html

6. Eating out can be very expensive and very harmful, as many restaurants, especially chains, use poor-quality food that is definitely not organic. Try finding restaurants that support organic and local foods. Here is a list of some Rhode Island ones you can try:

http://www.urbanspoon.com/f/41/37504/Providence/Organic-Restaurants

7. Farmer's Markets ROCK! I love living in East Greenwich. I can walk to Academy Field and Goddard Park. They both offer organic produce and meats, which is great. And everything is LOCAL, which is so important! Support your local farmers. There are also some farmer's markets taking place in the winter. Check out http://www.farmfresh.org/ and see the Rhode Island section. It will tell you everywhere you can find markets.

8. Teach your family WHY eating organic is so important. My children are almost 3 and 17 months and we chat about the importance of food that is good for your body. My almost 3-year-old is always asking me if something has "good" or "bad" sugar in it. 

9. Plant a garden. What a great and fun way to get organic produce! My children loved our garden last year!

10. You might gasp the first few shops at the market because of what you've spent, and for some it might be VERY hard financially to eat organic. But try to make cuts in other areas, like eating out, splurging on expensive clothing for kids (they grow out of it and get it dirty anyways!), splurging on expensive clothing for adults (unless you need it for work or a party), etc. I can think of lots of things the American population can make cuts on. SO many people say they don't have a lot of money yet I see them buying coffee at DD's or, even worse, on cigarettes.  Put this money towards bettering the health of you and your family. You'll be happier and healthier in the long run. It may even SAVE your or someone in your family's life if you eat ORGANIC! Read this http://bestmeal.info/monsanto/facts.shtml

11. Always buy ORGANIC milk for your children! Try to buy organic EGGS and YOGURT as well.

12.  My advice to you is BUY organic when you can. If you can't find what you are looking for try other stores, like the ones mentioned above in this article. If all else fails and you can't find what you are looking for, make something different!  Or course you will not be able to go 100 percent organic. It's almost impossible to do this. But try hard to eat as much organic/non-processed food as you can! I bet you'll feel so much better. I tend to stay away from the middle aisles, except for necessities like mustard, peanut butter, bread, oil, etc. Also, when baking, try to use ingredients that are healthy, like spelt flour or agave nectar. A great cookbook for baking healthy is the Green Market Baking Book. I bought this for my mother in law and made her the Chocolate Beet Cake for her birthday. Don't get discouraged when gaining knowledge about eating healthy: there is a lot to it and so many different views out there. Just try to stay close to the earth when eating — that's my best advice!

If you have any great organic recipes or tips, please share! I'd love to hear what you have to say about eating organic and how it has helped your family. I've noticed my kids are happier when they eat organic and healthy foods — no more getting tired and grumpy!