What are your "must have" organics?

[Emmas Mom]

We're trying to really watch what we're consuming. It's hard to know where to start. I'm not sure what organic (or hormone free) foods are of most importance. I thought I'd ask here since I know there are quite a few of you who are much more educated on this than I am. What do you always buy organic & why? Milk? Eggs? Cheese? Fruits? Veggies? I went to Whole Foods the other day & some of the products are 2-3x more than what we buy now....that's hard on our budget. Costco is much better from what I've seen, but also more limited. I still haven't checked out Trader Joes. What should we start with?

[cdlamis]

Hi Kristine,
Its all overwhelming isn't it? For me, I always buy organic dairy, ground beef, and frozen fruits and veggies. Trader Joe's has the best prices on frozen, organic produce- even better than some non-organic brands.

I try to buy fresh organic fruits/veggies but as you know, finding inexpensive, local organic stuff in AZ is tough.

With that said, I use this wallet size guide for the "Dirty Dozen" items- those that definitely should be organic and those that are not as important.

www.foodnews.org/pdf/EWG_pesticide.pdf

HTH!
Daniella

[mom2ethan]

The Environmental Working Group has a guide that ranks fruits and vegetables according to the amounts of pesticides they contain. Their "dirty dozen" that they say you should always try to buy organic:

Peaches
Apples
Sweet Bell Peppers
Celery
Nectarines
Strawberries
Cherries
Lettuce
Grapes - Imported
Pears
Spinach
Potatoes

http://www.foodnews.org/

Our Trader Joe's has a good amount of organic produce (and other organic products) at reasonable prices. Last week the organic strawberries were nearly the same price as non-organic.

Susan

[mom2ethan]

I must have been writing my post when Daniella replied!

[elaineandmichaelsmommy]

I know what you mean about the budget. For us the big one is eggs. since we can get them at the local farmers market free range it's wonderful. I'd like to switch to none growth hormone dairy products soon but since we can sometimes go through 2 lbs of cheese a week it can be a little pricy.

That said, You might try just doing without things like hydrogenated fats and high fructose corn syrup to begin with and then move to more organic items when your budget allows for more. If you're really gung ho to do organic then I'd listen to the pp. Focusing mostly on fresh fruits and veggies makes sense to me. I do buy organic frozen veggies at tj's, organic yogurt there since it's cheaper than the all natural yoplait/dannon at the grocery. Good luck in your search.

[Emmas Mom]

Thanks ladies, this is good. I definitely need to hit up TJ's & check them out for produce. We buy wheat bread at Costco. Their Kirkland brand has no high fructose corn syrup in it. They also have free range eggs that are only a couple dollars more than the regular ones. That's not too bad, so I think that will be our next switch. This is a good place to start. :)

Daniella, have you checked out the Sprouts off Val Vista between Pecos & Williams Field?? I went there a few times before we moved. I really liked their selection....though I wasn't really shopping organic then. There's another one off of Higley & the 60 too.

[ahrimie]

i usually do at least organic dairy: milk and eggs. we get those at costco--it seems cheapest there.

for fruits and vegetables, i buy mostly regular ones unless the organic ones are on sale. i use a fruit/veggie wash though and try to thoroughly clean them--especially apples. i think they're the worst but i love apples :) i've seen the difference of the wash when eating apples: when i don't get as much on there, a waxy film starts to come off the peel as i eat it; when i thoroughly scrub it with the wash, it doesn't do that. i also have an enviro-friendly dish wash soap. if i don't have the fruit/veggie wash, i put a drop or two in a bowl of water to wash the fruits and veggies too.

[Ceepa]

I believe folks have suggested to you before starting with the Dirty Dozen. That's a list I always keep in mind at the grocery store.

[JMS]

In addition to the dirty dozen, anything with ANIMAL FAT! Either meat/chicken itself or an animal byproduct that contains fat (eggs and dairy).

[egoldber]

I focus my organics on things that the kids eat a lot of. So for me that means:

milk
eggs
apples
pears
grapes
strawberries

My kids generally don't eat a lot of meat so I don't worry about it. When I buy ground beef (Amy does love meatloaf and meatballs) I try to buy Laura's Lean Beef.

I also buy organic lettuce and spinach because I don't feel like I can wash it well enough.

[brittone2]

Meat, eggs, and dairy have fat and that's where the contaminants will build up in the highest amounts. While those are the most expensive (compared to most fruits/ veggies) to buy organic, they also give you the most bang for your buck.

After I got those prioritized, I'd also eliminate buying off the dirty dozen list.

With some research, there are some decent not-certified-organic but very good alternatives (IMO, Tillamook cheese from Costco...no added hormones and cattle are grazed on grass year round, which usually means healthier animals and a good concentration of CLA which is a tumor fighter and beneficial to blood sugar levels, etc.) I

[Emmas Mom]

My kids generally don't eat a lot of meat so I don't worry about it. When I buy ground beef (Amy does love meatloaf and meatballs) I try to buy Laura's Lean Beef.

I also buy organic lettuce and spinach because I don't feel like I can wash it well enough.

Good point about the lettuce & spinach. Where do you find Laura's Lean Beef? Regular grocery or specialty?

[Emmas Mom]

With some research, there are some decent not-certified-organic but very good alternatives (IMO, Tillamook cheese from Costco...no added hormones and cattle are grazed on grass year round, which usually means healthier animals and a good concentration of CLA which is a tumor fighter and beneficial to blood sugar levels, etc.) I

I picked up some of the Tillamook sharp cheddar this week. It was only $6 something for 2lbs, which was pretty reasonable I thought. We're almost done with the old cheese so we'll be trying that pretty soon here. I'm going back to Costco again today cause we're out of eggs so I'm getting the free range ones, assuming they're in stock.

I have to say I'm pretty excited about this. We may not physically SEE the benefits but I really feel like I'm doing something healthy for our family. And since we're considering #3 in the not so distance future it's probably a good thing for me too. :)

[egoldber]

My local grocery store carries the Laura's Lean Beef, but its generally cheaper at Trader Joe. Sometimes its on sale at the grocery store and then I will stock up and freeze it.

[daisymommy]

I know this is a really old thread (well, 3 pages back), but I thought you might like to know a few helpful money saving things!

I recently spoke to someone at the Whole Foods headquarters (via phone) about some things, and here is what I learned:
The non-certified organic DAIRY (milk, cheese, butter, sour cream, etc.) items at Whole Foods, that have their 365 label are from cows that are:

-not given artifiical hormones
-not given antibiotics
-Must be pasture grazed 50% or more of the time
-When given grain, the goal is pesticide free whenever possible, and when not, then under a certain level.
-Cows must be humanely cared for (there is a list of what this means on their website, and I think it's personally pretty impressive!)

So, just buying their private label dairy items will save you a bundle.

I also buy all my meat/pork/poultry there, as it "nearly" meets all organic standards as well, without the ultra-high price tag. The beef is raised by Coleman, the chicken is Bell and Evans. Sure, it does cost more that at the regular grocery store, but not by much. If you buy Family Packs on sale, it is usually pretty affordable. The ground beef is $2.99 on sale at W.F., versus $1.99 at my reg. store. The chicken is $1.99 per lb. for a whole chicken, which is about $8 for a big roasting chicken, that we can get 2 meals out of.

Hope that helps!

[TahliasMom]

thanks! i always wondered about the 365 brand at whole foods but i mostly shop at TJ's. Nice to know I have alternatives.