1. What are the benefits of organic food?
By weight, a baby or small child will eat more, drink more, and even breathe more air than an adult. This means what you feed them has a much greater impact than it would have on you.
Organic foods are grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. For processed foods, organic also means no artificial additives or preservatives too.
There is research that indicates that these “extra ingredients” that end up in our food are not healthy. Eating organic foods eliminates your exposure to these unhealthy ingredients
2. How do we buy organic food?
Reading labels in the right place to start – BUT we all know by now, labels can be misleading….Here are couple things to look for:
- Look for the certified organic label – green circle. This product is 100% Organic”
- The word “Organic” on a label means the food is made with at least 95% organic ingredients;
- A “Made With Organic Ingredients” label means made with a minimum of 70% organic ingredients
- Products with less than 70% organic ingredients may list organically produced ingredients on the side panel of the package, but may not make any claims on the front of the package.
3. Thinking on our budgets, what are some tips or tricks for us to save money when we are buying organic food?
Eat organic at the top of the food chain:
- Purchasing organic dairy, egg and meat products is a great place to begin organic food purchases.
- Even though produce is often associated with organic food, many of the residues on these foods can be eliminated or greatly reduced by properly cleaning and peeling them.
- There is no way to remove or reduce the contaminants in the meat, dairy and egg products.
Buying organic for children’s favorite foods:
- Buy organic foods for
- what your little one is eating the most of at meals.
- Buy what is on sale and clip coupons
- Buy the organic store brand
Buy from the bulk bins:
These items are cheaper than the packaged foods. Bulk foods are the foods in large containers and are priced at a per pound rate. Bulk items are perfect for kitchen staples like pastas, cereals, nuts, and spices.
Know the dirty dozen of produce:
Pesticides levels vary in produce. Foods that take a long time to grow have higher pesticides levels and foods that are high in sugar content tend to attract bugs and insects, and as result are sprayed more frequently.
The Environmental Workers Union identified the dirty dozen, or the top 12 produce items with the highest pesticide residues. Here is the list:
- Apples
- Bell peppers
- Celery
- Cherries
- Grapes (imported)
- Nectarines
- Peaches
- Pears
- Potatoes
- Red Raspberries
- Spinach
- Strawberries
About the Author:
Cheryl Tallman is the co-founder of Fresh Baby, creators of the award-winning So Easy Baby Food Kit, and author of the So Easy Baby Food Basics: Homemade Baby Food in Less Than 30 Minutes Per Week and So Easy Toddler Food: Survival Tips and Simple Recipes for the Toddler Years. Visit Cheryl online at www.FreshBaby.com for more delicious tips.
