Organic eating help please- crtique my shopping trip!

[Purple*Lotus]

My neurologist told me today that I needed to eat mostly organic- nothing that is frozen, pumped full of junk to preserve it, full of pesticides, etc. He thinks that is an underlying cause of my immune issues including the blindeness in the one eye.

Keep in mind that the only two grocery stores where I live are Walmart and Food Lion.

I did the best I could, but tell me what I should add please!

I got some salad greens, tomatoes, onions, brocolli, cauliflower, apples- could not find any labeled organic.

Organic milk- which he insisted on, I was able to find that easily.

two boxes of organic cereal

organic strawberry yogurt

and I figure I can boil some eggs to toss in to the salad for protein. I did not focus on dinners because I have some frozen foods to eat up first.

What should I look for as far as dinners go? Also does anyone have the link to try to find a farmer's market in their area? I know there is not one here but maybe somewhere nearby. Any blogs? I need all the help that I can get. My idea of eating is ordering from a menu :

[AndrewsMother]

I read that you said no frozen foods, but can you eat frozen organic fruits and vegetables? I know that Wal-Mart carries Cascadian Farms organics, and they are pretty good for frozen vegetables.

[cristeen]

Try checking out www.localharvest.org - that has CSAs and farmer's markets listed for most areas.

Then I'd also probably look for the dirty dozen list and it's mate the clean 15. If you can't find produce that's organic, then you should concentrate on buying from the clean 15 list - the crops that use the least amount of chemicals to grow, and avoiding anything on the dirty dozen list.

Of the produce you listed, apples and lettuce are on the dirty dozen list, while broccoli, onions and tomato are on the clean 15 list.

If you eat meat, it is another hidden source of a lot of crap. Pastured/wild would be ideal, but organic if you can find it, and nitrate/nitrite free are probably also going to be important. Eggs are also going to be important... animals concentrate pesticides - so if they're eating them, when you eat the animal product, it's even more concentrated, so all your animal products need to be as clean as possible. Which may mean wild fish/seafood depending on your location.

How about cheese?

I would also work on eating whole grains like rice, buckwheat, oats, rather than boxed breakfast cereal. Because while it may be organic, it still falls under the "pumped full of junk to preserve it" category in most cases.

[MaggieGrace]

This is really great advice that I really believe everyone needs to hear, thank you! You should also watch the movie "Food INC." it will really give you a lot of great suggestions on this topic.

[rhiandmoi]

Apples are one of the worst offenders as far as pesticide residues in the marketplace. I am not really sure why, it may be the waxy coating applied at the packinghouse traps any residue. just FYI.
http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php

[dollyanna]

The list does change a bit year to year, but the worst ones are pretty much always the same http://www.foodnews.org/fulllist.php

The Dirty Dozen

Peach
Apple
Sweet Bell Pepper
Celery
Nectarine
Strawberries
Cherries
Kale
Lettuce
Grapes - Imported
Carrot
Pear


Clean 15

Onions
Avocado
Sweet Corn (Frozen)
Pineapples
Mango
Asparagus
Sweet Peas (Frozen)
Kiwi Fruit
Cabbage
Eggplant
Papaya
Watermelon
Broccoli
Tomato
Sweet Potato
Broccoli
Papaya
Watermelon

[wanderinggypsy]

How about some good unrefined organic grain, like brown rice for example?

Note: chew your rice very well to extract maximum nutrient value.

[elanorh]

Is there a health foods shop in your area? I only ask because I think most people here would say that there is very little organic food available in our community (WY) - but we have a health food store which besides its supplements etc., has organic and sustainable foods (including organic grass-fed beef etc.). You may want to look around and see what might be available where you live too ....

Also definitely check out the localharvest link. You may want to check this one as well: http://www.slowfood.com/ -- and also check with "Finding Your Tribe" here for your region to see if anyone from your area is aware of a co-op or etc. where people order organic foods into the community. A lot of this stuff really seems to be word-of-mouth, it certainly is in my area (there are two co-ops here which order foods in).

If you are not used to cooking your own food much, you may also want to contact your local Cooperative Extension Office - or community college - and look for information about cooking classes. Many Cooperative Extension Offices provide classes called "Cent$ible Nutrition" or something similar, which is for low-income families. They are great basic cooking classes, and if you don't qualify for their income guidelines, they sometimes will take a donation towards the program to allow you to attend. You can find the # for their office in your "County" pages in your phone book (County Extension, or County Agent, or 4-H). You might not be using organic at the workshops, but the cooking basics that they teach would be helpful.

[Purple*Lotus]

Thank you so much! You all have been very helpful! I found a Kroger's in the town I work in that has a nice organic section. I was able to find so many more things that will help for my breakfast's and lunches. And I am printing out the clean vs dirty list to keep with me.

[MamaEli]

Hmmm, Food Lion, Krogers, WalMart. I think I know your general locale, and I'm somewhat nearby. Definitely check localharvest. Krogers does have lots of good choices, though. This board will help you a lot, spend some time on here and you will learn so much.