Thursday, November 3, 2011

Why All Natural/Organic? Part 3

Ok, so now on to the fun stuff.

What to eat!
If you Google organic recipes or toddler organic food you will get a lot of great options and websites.

Whole Foods Banana Bread - check out the rest of Whole Food's site for TONS of great recipes. 
Organic Recipes and Snack Ideas for Babies and Toddlers - scroll to the bottom for some great, simple recipes like hummus and mini muffins. Plus some ideas for tag-along foods.
Veggielicious Mom - a great vegetarian/vegan blog with TONS of yummy recipes.

Obviously any recipe can be organic by simply substituting organic ingredients. Start taking a look at the labels of everything you buy. Not everything has evil offenders in it, but you would be surprised what does.

I needed some beans and checked the can, I was a little horrified to see that my beans were floating around in high fructose corn syrup. Thus, I ended up buying organic beans, which was something I thought I could maybe slide on.

I know all the commercials say "it's natural" and "ok, in moderation" but it's impossible to be moderate about it when it's in EVERYTHING. I had trouble finding bread with no HFCS. Nature's Own is a company that does no HFCS.

Make sure to consult the two websites I mentioned in yesterday's blog for lists of additives and preservatives to watch for and also for the "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean 15". It's so expensive to go organic, so know what you can buy non-organic. These lists can help.

You can buy items in bulk at natural food stores, like flour, sugar and other baking items. Pick a day to make some baked snacks for the week to have on hand. This can be WAYYY cheaper than trying to buy organic cookies, crackers, etc.
Go to your local farmers market and eat produce that is in season. You will save tons, support local farmers and you will get the best and tastiest produce. I spend about $10 a week on produce at the farmer's market. This is much less than trying to buy all organic at the grocery store.

Remember that you don't have to do it all at once. It takes time to figure out how to do it affordably and the right way for your family.

I hope this has been somewhat educational. Next up...Holiday decorating...WEEEEEEEE!!!!

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