Tips for Choosing and Using Organic Groceries

Our year-round sunny Florida weather has my family enjoying all of the natural vitamin D (aka sunshine) we can get! My favorite warm weather activity to do with my daughter is picnicking, and since Payton would live outside if she could, we do it often! In honor of that, I thought I would share some of our handy produce tips that I’ve learned over the past 2 years during my new adventure into mommyhood and healthy living!

Payton loves when I pack an assortment of fruits and veggies for our impromptu yard picnics. Most of our vegetables come off of our Tower Garden, but for our store bought produce I’ve really started doing my homework. How can I offer my 15 month old a variety of foods to try when I’m so limited by the small selection of organics?

When choosing our groceries I often turn to the Clean 15 List courtesy of The Environmental Working Group’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides. Here is the list of produce LESS likely to be contaminated with pesticides:

1. Avocados

2. Sweet Corn (Beware of GMOS)

3. Pineapples

4. Cabbage

5. Sweet Peas (Frozen)

6. Onions

7. Asparagus

8. Mangos

9. Papayas

10. Kiwi

11. Eggplant

12. Honeydew Melon

13. Grapefruit

14. Cantaloupe

15. Cauliflower

Our favorite place to buy local corn is Long and Scott Farms
in Mount Dora, Florida.

There is also the Dirty Dozen list which I find is a great reference for foods to specifically buy organic. This is a list of foods MORE likely to be contaminated with pesticides:

1. Strawberries

2. Apples

3. Nectarines

4. Peaches

5. Celery

6. Grapes

7. Cherries

8. Spinach

9. Tomatoes

10. Sweet Bell Peppers

11. Cherry Tomatoes

12. Cucumbers

When in season, my family loves to pick organic peaches locally at the Uncle Matts Organic groves in Clermont, Florida.

As a fun variation on eating steamed or raw fruits and vegetables, you can also dehydrate them for a sweet, preservative free snack that is quick, easy, and a lot less messy. Dehydrated foods maintain their nutritional value, including vitamins and minerals so you can feel good about giving them to your family!

Have produce that is getting too ripe? As an alternative to dehydrating, you can chop up excess pieces and freeze them, making it super easy to grab exactly what you need! Blending up refreshing summertime smoothies has become a favorite activity in my household lately!

Oh and another tip I’ve learned is to check out produce labels! We were at a popular grocery store the other day and I noticed that the “organic mangos” on display were not all organic. In fact, I really had to dig around for the ones we were looking for! My guess is that they wanted to fill the display, but if I hadn’t looked at the labels we may have gone home with conventional mangos instead of the organic ones I THOUGHT we were buying. A good thing to note is that stickers beginning with the number 9 are organic. Numbers beginning with 3 or 4 are conventional. These are likely sprayed with pesticides. The clean fifteen/dirty dozen lists can really come in handy here!

I use the “Dirty Dozen” app on my phone for quick referencing while grocery shopping. Finally, and I recently found out about this one, produce stickers that begin with the number 8 are GMOs. If you aren’t familiar with genetically modified organisms, they are essentially created by a person or machine as opposed to Mother Nature. They have been linked to cancer, birth defects, obesity, digestive issues, food sensitivities, heart disease, and developmental disabilities. Personally, we steer clear of these.

Eating clean doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Especially if you are just starting out, it can be really helpful to eliminate the more toxic items and work your way down! Growing your own fruits and vegetables is the safest and most cost efficient way to “shop” but if that isn’t an option, I encourage you to shop local when possible.

Farmer’s Markets (like the Farmers Market in Historic Downtown Clermont)
can be a wonderful adventure for the whole family!

Happy Natural & Healthy Eating My Friends!

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Shawna Martell, Natural Parenting Mami & First-Time Motherhood Contributing Columnist

“Natural Parenting Mami with Shawna Martell” is a healthy living and attachment parenting contribution. She is also the First-Time Motherhood Contributing Columnist. Shawna offers advice, tips, and resources on a range of topics including breastfeeding, babywearing, organic gardening, and other family-friendly topics through honest and reflective insight into her new journey. Connect with Shawna as a Tower Garden Team Member: shawnamartell.towergarden.com Twitter: @Shawna_Martell Questions? Ask Shawna at shawna@mamiofmultiples.com

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