Renaissance Trophy Wife

As a followup to the discussion on nutritional info, let’s talk about foods sans labels.

Rule of thumb– the closer a food is to its natural state, the better it is for you. Fresh fruits, veggies, whole grains… yum! Compare chicken tenders (preservatives, breading, grease) with a chicken breast (hopefully not brine-injected).

When you make a meal from scratch, or even partially from scratch, it’s generally cheaper and more nutritious.  Why not eliminate preservatives or added fat/salt while getting an end result that tastes even better?  I don’t have a whole lot of time, but I get around it by cooking a couple meals on weekends and then eating leftovers and salads throughout the week. My slow cooker is my new favorite kitchen appliance– more posts on that to come.

I also try to buy locally farmed, organic goods, even though it’s more expensive. When you buy local, the produce or meat spends less time in transit, which means it’s fresher when it gets to you. Also, don’t forget the carbon savings!  If you’re lucky enough to live near a farmer’s market, their prices on seasonal produce are generally better than the grocery store, and it’s a fun outing– why not shop for a meal and be entertained for free?

(Note: there is controversy regarding conventional and organic goods– some studies claim organics have greater nutritional value, while others claim no discernable difference from conventional.)

Organic goods have fewer hormones and pesticides, which is definitely beneficial to your health, but the >30% markup on produce or meats may not be so beneficial to your wallet, so let’s talk about how to get the most bang for your buck.

What to buy organic:

NRDC wallet card

Meat and poultry: Animals raised by conventional modern methods are often fed hormones to speed up growth, antibiotics to resist disease and pesticides to grow the grain fed to the animals. USDA certified organic meat can come only from animals fed organic feed and given no hormones or antibiotics.

Milk: A biggie especially if you are nursing or have children who drink lots of milk. Pesticides and other man-made chemicals have been found in human breast milk, so it should come as no surprise that they have been found in dairy products. While any residues detected have been rare, and of low concentration, children are much more susceptible to negative developmental effects from harmful substances. Organic dairies cannot feed their cows with grains grown with pesticides, nor can they use antibiotics or growth hormones like rGBH or rbST.

Seafood: No USDA organic certification exists for seafood yet. Wild seafood may contain mercury, PCBs and other contaminants, and farm-raised fish may contain high levels of antibiotics.  Women who are or may become pregnant, as well as children, are particularly susceptible to mercury levels.  Check out the EPA’s guidelines for more detailed information.

The Natural Resources Defense Council provides a handy guide to help you determine which fish are safest to eat on a regular basis. I appreciate that they list fish not only by contaminant level, but point out those that are over-fished.

The Environmental Defense Fund also offers a comprehensive list of fish, with another downloadable pocket guide for easy reference when shopping.

Coffee: Many of the beans in stores are grown in countries that don’t regulate use of chemicals and pesticides. Fair Trade Certified Organic products will give you some assurance that chemicals and pesticides were not used on the plants. It will also mean that fair prices were paid for the end product in support of the farm and that farm workers are treated fairly.

Produce: With food prices rising, it’s expensive to buy everything organic.  But what produce should you be most concerned about, and what can you get away with buying non-organic?

The nonprofit Environmental Working Group has researched pesticide loads on produce and developed a list of fruits and vegetables according to content.  According to the handy little guide below, you’d be doing your body a favor if you chose organic bell peppers over organic asparagus.  Makes shopping easy when you’ve got a cheat sheet, no?  (Click on the link above to get the full list of 43 items.)

Other good sources of info:

I love the suggestions on this healthy eating calendar on The Daily Green.

Organic.org is a terrific resource for things you want to know about organic foods and labeling.

LocalHarvest makes it easy to find local sources of sustainably grown food.

Locavores is an SF-based group focused on eating only local food.

Share your tips for shopping and eating healthy!