Going Organic: What's Necessary, What Can Save You Money

As parents, we all want what's best for our children. I'm sure in a perfect world, we all would feed our children organic everything, they'd all eat their 5 fruits and vegetables a day, they'd have the perfect playdates, and they'd mind their manners perfectly. In reality though, there's a multitude of reasons why we can't control everything, so we learn to pick our battles. One of the ongoing Mommy battles is the decision whether or not to go organic. The pressure from other parents is ridiculous. I will forever be trying to understand why, as parents, we can't all just support one another and realize that we're doing the best we can for our family given our specific circumstances. Regardless, one way in which I've managed to balance the desire to feed my children healthily vs. what's best for our budget, is by following the "Dirty Dozen/Clean 15" lists. I actually printed out the lists on a small piece of paper and keep it in my wallet for when I'm grocery shopping. Here it is for you:

Not on the list, but often discussed, is bananas. I've heard that the skin is too thick for pesticides to get into, but that's just been word of mouth. A quick google search (my best friend), told me that chemicals used are able to leach into the soil and therefore even after peeling the banana, small amounts of the chemicals may be ingested. However, bananas are on the list that have the lowest pesticide residue. Here's a article that helped: http://www.fitsugar.com/Bananas-Organic-vs-Conventional-1568020

Hope that list helps you and your pocketbook out, and be confident in yourself that you are making the best decisions for your family that you can based on your unique dynamic.