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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It is good to know these two lists! I have a dehydrator but hardly ever use it as it takes so much electricity. Last year I chopped and froze fruits like pears, and used them for smoothies over the winter. Nice!
Pears are a great idea! I would love to add some of those in our smoothies!
Great lists! I have a general rules when it comes to organic budget buying to focus on organic for the things that I eat the outside of it…so, for example, I’ll go conventional for bananas and organic for strawberries!
That is a great rule of thumb! I hate how expensive organic lemons are but since I put them in my water, skin and all, I make sure to buy them organic. I do have a baby lemon tree that should be producing fruit soon, so I’m looking forward to that! Thanks for reaching out Christina!
I love your list! I have been buying more organic things lately especially fruits!
You go girl! I’m glad you found these lists helpful. I really appreciate your feedback!
I like to know how and why organic groceries are better for you. I appreciate the value concerning the great information you provide in your nice review.
Thank you Jerry! I appreciate YOU and I will do my best to continue providing details and explanations for why my family prefers organics and other green products.
This is a great article! It really helps to have the information when trying to create healthy, organic meals for my family! 🙂
I’m so glad you found it helpful Betsy! My goal is to share any and all valuable information that I come across during my journey into healthy living. Keep up the good work being an advocate for your familys health! You rock!
Hello there world..Im from Indonesia…..Thank for your article its useful for me