Do you buy organic? Do you not? What about the price and finding deals and is organic produce really better?
Those are questions I’ve found myself pondering in the past and questions I often get from others. What should buy organically and what things don’t matter quite as much?
Inside today’s podcast, we dive into the truth about organic foods, what you need to know, what foods you should focus on buying organically and how this impacts the health of our bodies.
It’s a show to listen to, especially if you wrestle with these same questions. Also, make sure to keep reading the post where I share five ways to get organic on a budget.
But before we get to either, can I get on my soapbox? Okay, good, because I’m going there.
While I do believe this is a valid conversation and in some cases debate, the truth of the matter is that the most important thing is just choosing to eat more whole foods. If you’re still working on that aspect, do NOT worry about whether it is organic or not. Because if we look at death rates in America, the number one and number two cases of death still boil down to what type of diet people are eating, processed versus whole.
And if we go another step then we can grasp that produce only accounts for a small percentage of chemical usage, so switching from processed foods to more whole foods is still going to decrease the chemical exposure in general. So rather than arguing so hard over organic or not, I think we first need to clarify that the most critical element is still whole foods, whether that is organic or conventionally raised.
After you achieve that massive step, then you may want to consider what is inside this podcast.
End rant 😉
Stay tuned, because you’ll learn more about this here.
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There’s no question, organic is often more expensive and for every good reason. If you go all the way back to the farmer, it does cost more to grow, but that extra investment does come with added perks. You can learn more about these on the podcast but scientifically speaking there are two main benefits of organic products.
My recommendations are to buy organic as often as possible. However, I very well know that this can make a significant difference to your budget. That’s why I wanted to give you the five tips I follow on what to choose organically.
tip #1 know your priorities
Not all foods are created equal. While most would probably assume the worst offenders are produce, it is not that at all. Produce only accounts for around 20-30% of chemical consumption in our food system.
The worst offender is our animal proteins followed by our processed foods.
Given this information find a food group and commit to starting with that. For my family our priorities are animal proteins, considering they contain some of the most significant diferences in health and chemical load. That means we first choose organic and grass-fed meats, butter and eggs. Then we continue filling in as the budget allows.
tip #2 buy seasonally
Buying seasonally is especially crucial for produce. Of course, whether you are purchasing organic or not, this is the preferred and ideal way to eat. Take a hard look at what foods are in season and pick those. These foods also tend to be on sale or at a lower price than at other points during the year.
#3 buy generic or bulk
Just because it has a name brand doesn’t mean it has anything extra special about it. In some cases, you may like the flavor combination but generally speaking, especially for pantry staples, there are good organic generic options that can save you some extra change. Not to mention, when you restock your pantry, check out the bulk bins. When you’re not paying for fancy packaging you’re not going to keep, you can save extra money.
#4 meal plan around the sales
This one is pretty simple. If you know which grocery stores carry organic, check the ads and create a meal plan around the sales. I do this with our favorite grass-fed meats {Wallace Farms} as well as our local Co-Op. Once I know what’s on sale and what we have on hand I create a meal plan. The better news, this often includes seasonality without you having to think about it.
#5 buy frozen
The last tip is to buy more frozen produce and meats. I know it’s not always the same taste as fresh, but in many cases, it contains more nutrients.
This is due to the processing time. Once a fruit or vegetable is harvested for freezing, it is fully processed and packaged within 2-3 days. Unlike buying fresh produce from your local grocery store where it can take 2-3 weeks on a truck to make it to the store. That’s a big difference in nutritional quality. So buy frozen whenever possible.
my list
Here is my current list of what I buy organically versus conventionally. Granted, this is and has been a work in progress for many years. Don’t expect this to change overnight.
My organic list includes:
- ALL meats
- Eggs
- Apples
- Grapes
- Berries
- Peaches
- Plums
- Greens including Spinach
- Herbs, fresh and dried
- Carrots
- Bananas
- Sweet Potatoes
- White Potatoes
- Tomatoes
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Ketchup
- Dressing
- Grain-Free Tortilla Shells
- Oatmeal
- Snack Bars
- Popcorn
- Adaptogens {Maca}
- Matcha
- Hemp Hearts
- Chia Seeds
- Coconut Oil
- Flaxmeal
- ALL canned foods
- Bone Broth
- Collagen
- Butter
- Ghee
- Sorghum Flour
- Frozen fruits and vegetables
What I don’t buy organically:
- Avocados
- Melons
- Lemons
- Limes
- Kiwi
- Cabbage
- Salad Kits {If I buy them occasionally}
- Coconut Milk Yogurt
- Coconut Milk
- Dark Chocolate Almond Milk
- Teas {I do try to find high-quality sources}
- Chips
- GF Pretzels
- GF Bread {I wish this one were}
- Pistachios
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Almonds, Pecans, Walnuts
- Olive Oil
- Avocado Oil
- Maple Syrup
- Honey {I do buy local, raw honey}
- Frozen sweet potato fries.’
I’m sure there are foods I am missing from this list. I can also guarantee this didn’t happen overnight. As I mentioned, I started with animal products and slowly introduced more organic foods as we found fitting. Don’t let it overwhelm you but let this be your encouragement; worry first about eating wholesome foods and then buy what you can organically.
dirty dozen | clean fifteen
If nothing else, check out the list the EWG releases to showcase which items they have tested to be the safest and worst offenders. This list is a good judge of what is essential in purchasing organically. They call it the dirty dozen and clean fifteen. Get the lists below:
cleanse the toxins out
Of course, the main reason for buying organically is to prevent the toxic burden that these chemicals can have on the body. Although produce, animal proteins, and other foods are not the only sources of toxic chemicals in the human body. We find them produced from normal metabolites; toxic thoughts can produce toxic compounds, excess stress, chemicals in household cleaners, beauty products, our air quality and so much more.
Toxins are everywhere, and it’s hard escaping it. That’s why I always recommend you control what you can and don’t worry so much about what you can’t. While in some cases we can control what we eat, put on our body and the thoughts running through our head, we can’t always control our air quality, work and life stressors and environment.
But this doesn’t mean we can’t help our body out.
natural detoxification
Our body has some pretty sophisticated means of detoxification. Detoxification isn’t something you do for your body, but rather its what your body is doing every minute of every day and it does it well.
The problem comes in when there become more toxins than detoxification power. When toxins get backed up in the body, and it can’t keep up with the load. This creates what we call toxic burden. Toxic burden leads to fatigue, exhaustion, weight gain, brain fog, hormonal imbalance, skin problems, immunity swings and so much more.
It’s a problem many of us face.
But rather than letting the toxic burden become the main burden in our life, what if I taught you how to change all of that. To help you reduce the load on your body and provide the right environment for your body to do the job of detoxification the way it was intended and designed?
The thing that we get wrong about detoxification all the time is trying to do for the body what it already does better.
the simple cleanse
That’s why I created a course called The Simple Cleanse that shows you the practical and everyday habits you can incorporate into your life to reset your detoxification pathways and get back into a healthy rhythm.
To get your results that last for months to come! I guarantee if you take detoxification seriously, you will see the results you want, whether that’s weight loss, energy, reduction in cravings, more joy, and less burden toxic burden.
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