Organic or Conventional? 4 reasons to still choose organic

Organic or Conventional, what's the difference?
Well, according to the most recent news off the block from Stanford, apparently not much. This summary of the research, from a NY Times blog, explains, 

"A new study by Stanford researchers has added fuel to a debate about the differences between organic and conventionally grown foods. The Stanford report, an analysis of 237 studies of organic produce, meats and dairy foods, concluded that organic foods are no more nutritious than their conventional counterparts."

When I first heard the report, I initially thought, "Okay, well then I guess I shouldn't feel so bad when I do eat conventional produce, which is probably 40-50% of the time" (based on what I buy according to EWG's Dirty Dozen list).  But the more I got to thinking about it, the more irked I was. I don't believe the study was funded by outside sources, so hopefully there are no conflicts of interest, but here is why buying organic, when available and possible, is worth your while:

1. There's no "safe level" of pesticides for our bodies, regardless of what the FDA says. Yes, our bodies were created in an amazing way to weed out nasty things and release toxins, but the environment, processed foods, needless drugs and antibiotics often take their toll on our bodies, making it harder and harder for organs such as our livers to do their jobs.  Choosing organic means one less toxic thing we put into our bodies and one less thing our bodies have to wrestle with, and many have reported whether it's anecdotal or scientifically documented, improvements in health upon switching to organic.
2. Choosing organic means you're not supporting GMO or genetically modified foods.  These are foods, which as the name suggests, are genetically changed so that the foods are bigger, different colors, or so that apples won't turn brown when cut open.  GMO is a really hot topic right now, and if you want to learn more about it, see here: Millions Against Monsanto
3. Choosing organic can often mean you're supporting a smaller-scale family farm or at least a farm committed to not contributing to the toxic effect we all feel from pesticides and nasty chemicals in our land, water, and food.  I'm not a farmer, but the fewer chemicals we have around us, the better.
4. Pesticides are connected to ADHD and other diseases.  It is especially important for a pregnant or nursing mother to remove as many pesticides from her diet and choose organic when she can.  Occasionally, I feel silly for trying to ensure that most if not all of Gabe and Mia's fruits & veggies are organic (again, according to EWG list), but when I realize all the other things they're up against in this world, it's just one other protection I can offer.

There are surely more reasons than just these four, but they are the first that came to mind. 

For now, I'm going to continue to buy organic when I can, based on availability and finances.  It might not always be possible, and the Dirty Dozen list changes yearly, so things will always be in flux, but I don't think this new Stanford finding will change much of what I do.

What about you?  Do you buy organic?  Conventional? How has this new Stanford report affected your thinking about buying organic?

A Day at the Market

On the last trip to the library Mia picked out a book called, To Market, to Market, which is all about going to a farmer's market. Today we got the chance to go to a local fresh market event - not exactly a farmer's market but close enough for suburbia.

Ready to go - basket in hand

In line to check out with the produce

Chicks! And baby chickens

Megan has already made quick work of our haul: corn on the cob for supper, fresh squeezed lemonade, and peach cobbler. Good day. Good food. Let's do it again.

Pass the salad, please

Source

Me & Salads.

If I'm honest, we don't go back very far.  I never really developed a strong penchant for salads until my 20s, and even then, calling it a "penchant" might be one vocab word too far.  I enjoy them on occasion -- usually when someone else makes them -- and I had some cravings for salad during my last pregnancy.  Methinks it was partially the salad dressings I craved as well!

It turns out, much of the goodness of salads can come from the dressings themselves; that is, if you make them yourselves using good quality ingredients.

Wait, back that train up.  Did I just say the dressing could be good?? As in, good for YOU?  Yes, yes I did.  You no longer have to feel guilty about using too much dressing as long as you take the time to carefully control the ingredients when you're making these guys.  The good guys.

I just made a great salad from Publix Apron's Simple Meals, and a great Italian dressing via Penniless Parenting.

Here's the Salad, straight from Publix's website (from the meal grilled fish with gremolata and spring salad with parmesan):

Spring Salad with Parmesan
Ingredients
1 bag spring mix salad blend (4–6 oz)
1 1/2 cups shaved Parmesan cheese
1 cup pine nuts (or slivered almonds)
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup Italian salad dressing 

Steps

1. Place salad blend, cheese, and pine nuts in salad bowl. Cut tomatoes in half; add to salad.
2. Add dressing; toss and serve.

And as for the salad dressing, hop on over to Penniless Parenting - Zesty Italian Dressing.  Use this in place of store-bought dressing and you can avoid all the preservatives and vegetables or soybean oil commonly used in store-bought salad dressings.

Then, consume - GUILT-free!

We enjoyed this next to some spaghetti with meat sauce the other night. Yum!

What's your favorite salad or salad dressing combination? Do you make your own dressings, and if so, how?

Silly Kids

Giggly Kids from Megan Ciampa on Vimeo.
Gabe crawling around & giggling, Mia running around, throwing balls and being silly.

Can you shop real food at a wholesale club and still save money?

For almost 4 years, we've had a membership at a local wholesale club.  We've used our membership for various things. In the beginning, it was certainly for gasoline, and various paper products.  We still use it for that today.  I previously used it on different food products like cereal, milk, juice or sports drinks, and other packaged or frozen snacks.  Throughout my gradual progression into real food, though, I obviously buy less and less or none of those products anymore.  We have kept our membership because we feel like the savings on bulk paper products and the gasoline was worth it, but I hadn't perused the store in quite a while until yesterday.  (Things had to get majorly simplified for me for a while after adding a 2nd kidlet.)

Shopping bulk also means bigger carts!

We went yesterday during the non-event of Tropical Storm Isaac here in southern Florida.  First of all, my kids were mesmerized. I don't know that Gabe has ever set foot inside BJ's, but he was entranced by the lights and all the items.  Mia thought all the displays were pretty interesting.

Once we got what we were looking for, we walked through the aisles checking out various products.  I was happy to see more natural or organic products stocked on their shelves.  I tried to capture both the product and the price in the picture on my smartphone (remember I was also pushing 2 kids in a cart), so hopefully you can view what it is and the price....

Honest Tea, 12 pack for $10.99
(Honey Green Tea; White Peach Tea;
Half Lemonade-Half Tea)

Applegate Farms nitrate-free
Center-Cut Bacon (3-12 oz packages bundled for $11.29)

Applegate Farms deli meats & cheese
2 packages bundled for $6.99

Daisy Sour Cream, 2 lbs for $2.99

Organic Butter (salted or unsalted),
2-1lb packages for $6.99

Brie, 12.3oz, $5.99 (this was for my friend Mo)

Organic juices, $3.49-$3.99

Organic lemonade, $3.29

32 oz. Grade A Maple Syrup, $13.29

Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate, 3lbs, $8.99

Huge bag of baking soda (13.8lbs), $6.69

Organic Basil 2.8oz, $3.49

2-pack (44oz. each) Heinz Organic Ketchup, $6.79
(might still contain MSG, but no High Fructose Corn Syrup)

Newman's Own Organic K-Cups, 80 for $39.99
(Source)

Would I normally buy all of these? Maybe, maybe not.  But at least I know that these are an option should I ever want to buy some of these products in bulk and just down the road from my house.  I'm all for finding the best prices on items, but occasionally convenience and proximity to my home win out over lowest price.

Note: I did not capture the prices on organic produce or dried fruits or nuts. Maybe next time!

These may not be the best prices on everything as compared to your traditional grocery store or natural health-foods store, but I know that there were some deals among those items, like the sour cream, the Brie, the basil spices, Grade A Maple Syrup, and the Applegate Farms products.  Compared to a very popular traditional grocery chain in Florida, and my local healthfood store, I know these were definitely better prices.
Also available are Newman's Own Organic K-Cups for $39.99, which can be used in Keurig Brewers.  That's a pretty good price considering you're not paying shipping ordering from the Keurig website.

What about you? Do any of these stick out as "deals" to you, or are you able to find many of these products at lower price at other stores?  If you are not part of a co-op or buying club, where do you purchase similar groceries?