ocassionally having to eat "dirty" food

[Frostalina]

i started a similar thread a few months ago. so, i'm trying to eat organic food but wanted to ask others who do this how you eat out? just assume that occassionally eating things you shouldn't eat is ok? (like stuff from the dirty dozen list like potatoes)

[1love4ever]

Rarely do I eat anything that is not organic, but especially not foods from the dirty dozen.  If nothing else is available and I needed it then I would.  The most common non-organic food's I buy are blackberries and bananas, because we love them and they are not available organic in our area.  Our meat is not certified organic, but is from a farmer who we know and trust and have seen the animals on the  green pasture and he believes just as we do that medications, hormones, etc are bad so he does not feed them these things.

We follow a traditional foods diet, lots of meat, some organ meats and fermented veggies, lots of veggies period, whole foods, no processed foods (once in awhile we will buy something organic that is processed like organic mac and cheese if I am sick and need a quick meal for the family), we try to stick to gluten free, very little added sugar, soaked grains like oatmeal, lots of eggs (from our own chickens).  We have a big garden in the summer and this summer I am planning on fermenting lots of our veggies.  We try to buy local whenever possible, to eliminate the environmental impact of manufacturing, shipping, packaging, and so we know how our food was raised/grown.  For an adult I guess I would say yes its ok to eat non-organic things sometimes but for a young child who is developiing I would say no for the most part.  I will never eat a doughnut for example, not only because of the disgusting unhealthy ingredients, but also because of the environmental impact of shipping, manufacturing, packaging and the environmental impact of the farming techniques used to grow the wheat, soy, corn, etc that is in it.  Yuck!

If it is a whole food and its at someone else's house and they offer it to us, for example an orange, then I will say yes, but if they offered us a burger made from Walmart hamburger its a NO, a candy bar would be a NO, Wonderbread is no, etc.

[Frostalina]

oh I think I have to make more exceptions, because there are always potlucks, or people wanting to go lunch, and I'm sure none of the restaurants here have organic food and I doubt most people bring organic food to share. I am just curious how others deal with these situations. We're going to visit my sister and I'm sure none of the food will be organic.

[serenbat]

here is hoping you have better luck! 

a few things - with your sister- YOU bring some organic things and start the conversation 

just recently I head (over heard-again) a person ask in a dinner- in my area it is NOW common to ask- everything from gluten free, diabetic reason, how is this made, is this in it, can I have that not put in,etc., to ORGANIC-----it really is getting to be common place- some place state it and some restaurants in my area are doing organic!

It's VERY common in seafood place to ASK and also see it stated where things are sourced- some small place do buy local for veggies and meats and eggs.

with pot luck- at least you know what you are bringing

the dirty list is great to avoid 

it might help if you provide a few more details as to what types of place you are referring to here- if you are talking national chains- I know Ikea has some organic things on their menu but most don't

have you contacted you state buy local for information? my state does by county and lots of organic sellers if asked will gladly tell you if they sell to local places-you might be surprised- I know we are very luck and lots of places near me have great organic/WAPS groups etc- some of it is just a simple matter of looking

what region of the country are you in?

[Frostalina]

We're in Michigan, in a small town. I can get meat and produce (in summer) from local farms so it's possible that some of the restaurants do, but this being a small town, other than the natural foods co-op I don't think you can trust the food.

[serenbat]

OP- have you checked out these?

http://eatlocalwestmichigan.com/blogroll/

http://www.eatwild.com/products/michigan.html

http://www.eatlocaleatnatural.com/restaurants-markets.aspx

as with MOST things- education and awareness and DEMAND!! gets things---speak up!

[1love4ever]

There is a local sandwich shop in my small, conservative town who makes all their own bread, they have a sourdough that I order.  They use some organic veggies, and in the summer they get them local.  that is the only place I make the exception for.  If we go out for dinner which is rare, I order seafood that I know is not farm raised like walleye, trout, halibut, or perch.  I will even call the restaraunt ahead of  time to see what type of fish they have and if they only have, say, shrimp, then I will go somewhere else.  I make sure its not breaded.

Things that we absolutely never make exceptions for: Genetically modified foods and GMO ingredients (everything like ranch dressing, breadings, etc have soy and corn) and artificial colorings, sweeteners and preservatives.  We will NEVER buy or accept/eat things like cheetos, candy, Yoplait yogurt, etc because of what is in them!!  Those are out of the question period.  I will accept for myself cheese that I know is hormone free(but not organic) if its at someone else's house.  Things that are whole foods that maybe arent produced in a good way but still a real food are the things I will sometimes make exceptions for

[Stayseeliz]

We try to follow an 80/20 rule. There are some times when it's impossible to eat perfectly and we try to do our best!

[t2009]

Originally Posted by Stayseeliz 

We try to follow an 80/20 rule. There are some times when it's impossible to eat perfectly and we try to do our best!

We're something like this. We don't eat out that often (saves $$ for buying better groceries). When we do go out we definitely avoid non-organic animal products but probably eat about once a month someplace that is definitely non-organic but will go vegetarian. We're also lucky that the burger place down the street serves grass fed beef & we stick with that option or seek out other restaurants that serve quality food that we're comfortable with.

As for other peoples homes, we don't make a fuss. We will offer to contribute something homemade but otherwise don't bring it up (if it's something really awful, we will just fill DS's plate & ours with the most whole-food & least terrible stuff & politely decline the rest). With some friends & family we can talk about food politics, but otherwise we don't.

[Jessica Womack]

I think the 80/20 rule is about what I follow, I am nervous to head back to work though as we often have pot luck type lunch scenarios and feel rude to push my eating views on to my workmates. hopefully my ratio won't go down to much!