Organic Food Question

[mykidsmom]

I have been buying Organic dairy products and produce for my dd, but wondered if it is necessary to buy things organic such as grahm crackers or fig neutons or pasta?

[JElaineB]

I know there are some websites that have info on how to get the best bang for your buck, organic food wise, but I don't have them bookmarked. I know most consider meat and dairy are the first things you should try to buy organic, then fruits and vegetables (certain ones are more likely to have pesticides than others though), then grains and other foods. However, I do try to buy organic crackers and cookies, not so much because I worry about pesticides but because when I buy organic crackers and cookies you can be pretty much assured they do not contain trans fats and they do not contain high fructose corn syrup, two things I really want to try avoid giving DS. For pasta we just buy whole wheat, I personally don't care too much if it is organic or not.

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[kaos127]

I do try to buy as much as I can for my daughter--and my husband and I--that is organic. Part of it is ingredient control, like the other responder, but we are also vegan. Part of it is that I just feel better going that route. And since we are buying less "junk," the cost tends to balance out.

Hope that helps,

Kelly

[kaos127]

I do try to buy as much as I can for my daughter--and my husband and myself--that is organic. Part of it is ingredient control, like the other responder, but we are also vegan. Part of it is that I just feel better going that route. And since we are buying less "junk," the cost tends to balance out.

Hope that helps,

Kelly

[Fairy]

Ok, so for my son, the two things that are always organic or Whole Foods-y are milk and cookies/sweets. So, we get Oberweis milk (it's closer to the house than Whole Foods and just a wee bit cheaper, too. I really believe that the hormones they give the cows are not good for us -- any of us -- and contributes to earlier puberty than might be considered normal. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm right, but it's worth my peace of mind to just get the organic milk. Now, Oberweis says the "ask" their dairy farmers to not give their cows the hormones or antibiotics, but they might still do it. But overall, I'm trusting that it's hormone/antibiotic-free.

Cookies. Most of the cookies that I instinctively wanna give my DS are things like oreos or butter cookies, etc. But alot of these have total garbage in them, especially partially hydrogenated crap and trans-fats. So, I get Earth's Best cookies and cereal bars, and my DS LOVES them. Honestly, the cinnamon raisin cookies are really yummy. I'll also do things like graham crackers, fishy crackers, wheat thins and other stuff that is mostly good ingredients. At daycare, he gets crap like teddy grahams and non-organic milk, but I have to draw a line, so I accept this. Don't like accepting it, but I do.

Baby Food. I gave my DS Earth's Best baby food from beginning to end, and I'm very very glad I did. I liked a few of the Gerber line of organics, too. As for applesauce, I buy only the natural no-sugar added applesauces for my DS.

Meats. The real issue here is nitrates. Whole Foods or organic meats are really REALLY expensive. If I had more $$, I'd definitely do all these meats without nitrates. However, this is another area that I grudgingly don't monitor as closely and just make do.

Prepared Foods. This is where I really have a tough time, and I posed a thread on what we're feeding our toddlers last month for some help. Basically, I do alot of hamburger helper and stuff like that for our dinner, and I don't want him eating that cuz it is full of crap. So, I'm starting to do alot more homemade. Really big challenge. Not doing it organically, really, tho.

Finally, fruits & veggies. I have found that most of the organic fresh fruits and veggies I buy go bad REAL quick. We can't eat them nearly fast enough to make it worth the $$. I just wash my veggies and fruits really really well. There are also veggie wash's you can buy.

I'm not sure if I've made all the right choices or if I am overdoing any of this or not. I have a friend who thinks I'm nuts ("we were raised on oreos and regular milk, and we're FINE!"). But, I dunno, are we fine? Who knows for sure. Certainly not me. So, I'm doing what makes logical sense to me, specifically, and I'm hoping that it's the right decision for us.

Wow, long post! Take care :-)
-- Fairy.