The holidays are here, and for many of us, that means food, food, and more food. We are a fortunate bunch to be able to enjoy the holidays in abundance. I am always grateful that my family can participate in these holidays of plenty. I know that times are hard for many, and simply getting enough food may be a challenge. While I normally strive to feed my family as organically as possible, I know that it is sometimes difficult to find or afford organic foods. However, I just can't bend on keeping the most heavily sprayed foods away from my children's plates. For instance, if conventional (non-organic) strawberries are on sale for a great price, and there are no organic strawberries in sight, I am not willing to compromise my children's health just to save a little money. We simply skip the strawberries in this case. If you can keep your children's diets organic, that is wonderful. If you can only afford to purchase the "Dirty Dozen" organic, that will make a tremendous difference in the amount of pesticides you keep out of your children's diets. Pesticides can compromise our children's health even more than our own because their bodies are smaller and still developing. Not all produce have equal levels of pesticides, however. For instance, a non-organic avocado or banana is rather low in pesticides compared to the high pesticide levels found on non-organic (conventional) strawberries, bell peppers, and potatoes. The Environmental Working Group has a printable list of the "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean 15". Print up your copy for your holiday shopping trip, and keep pesticides off your plate.
