[anomaly13]

With rising food cost, a growing family, and a grocery budget that is tight, I am trying to prioritize and stretch our food dollars as best I can and still provide healthy, nutritious food for my family.

When talking about organic foods I think produce and animal products get the most attention, is this cause they are the most important to eat organic? I feel confident in making choices for my family in thoses food groups for organic or conventional.

What about other foods? Can we start a conversation/list about other foods we should eat organic or ones where it's not as important if it's organic or conventional. Care to join in.

The first one that comes to my mind is:
peanut butter, always organic

 

[luckiest]

I personally prioritize having all of my animal products come from the best sources available to me (local, humanely raised and processed, "beyond organic") and I'm fortunate to have lots of good, pretty affordable options near me.

For produce I make sure to buy the "dirty dozen" organic and beyond that, it depends on what's available/affordable. I do the farmers market when I can, but definitely not always.

If you eat wheat/bread, that's a biggie to get fresh and organic. Some conventional farmers (though not all) use RoundUp as a desiccant when they harvest their wheat - meaning they douse it with the stuff a week or so before harvesting to dry out the crop if it matures unevenly.

We don't eat many nuts, but almonds for example have to be pasteurized so if I get them I look for steam (rather than chemical) pasteurized ones.

I try to keep perspective and know that even the organic label definitely doesn't mean "chemical free," so it's hard to know where to spend your money.


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[neonalee]

Great topic! We are in a similar position due to reduced income (DH hasn't worked in almost a year). We were eating grass-fed this & that, and organics, etc but seems like every month we have to go a little more conventional I hope you get more replies!

 

[ABCDE Family]

I always buy organic potatoes, onions and eggs. I try to buy non GMO if available anti always pay attention to ingredients. If you can't buy organic, less ingredients is best! I buy most foods organic but it gets costly feeding a bigger family. I also buy organic frozen veggies.
I never buy yellow corn anything, even if it is organic. I try to get white corns, like tortilla chips.

 

[Carla Mike]

As an organic vegetable farmer, I can tell you that organic fruits and vegetables are the absolute freshest. "Real" organic vegetables and fruits are sold at farmer's markets within hours of being picked.

They are completely non-toxic. It is hard as hell growing them and keeping the bugs off of them and keeping the elements from destroying them and keeping them as pretty as possible, but if you're looking to get the most nutrients and zero toxins from your plant matter intake, organic is definitely the way to go.

They are also expensive. Eating organic is a truly hipster character trait, and it is a surefire way to rocket a person into a social class where snootiness is acceptable and unnecessary extreme extravagance is necessary.