The Dirty Dozen

The Dirty Dozen

For the last few years I have tried to go “clean” with my food. I choose to buy organic foods whenever possible. I don’t eat 100 percent organic but it is a goal of mine….I always say the first thing I will do when I win the lotto is fill my pantry with the cleanest best food I can possibly find.  Processed meats, for me, are the worst….I can taste the funk in chicken…you can smell the stuff they add to ground turkey and well, quite frankly, I think grass fed beef is delicious. So…for health benefits and for flavor I make these changes. 

Here’s one of the problems….It is expensive. When trying to feed a family on an organic diet the grocery bill goes sky high. For my family…it is worth it and we slowly make these changes. I started with milk…we only have organic milk in the house and for those who say there is no difference has never done a taste test.,,,,from there it was the eggs and so on.  Small changes are good for you and not as big of a hit to the wallet all at once.

We all feel better. Both myself and my mother really notice this with meat. Cheap poultry crammed with growth hormones and antibiotics makes me feel ill. Normally my mother can not eat beef…it gives her terrible stomach aches…but not grass fed beef. Some people do not believe that there is a difference…I beg to differ.  While I love to eat for pleasure….due to my illness it is a fundamental necessity for me to eat for my health.

That said…there is a list of the “Dirty Dozen”  which has been in circulation for quite some time but I wanted to reprint for you. It serves as a good reference when hitting the grocery store….so that even if you can only begin making small changes this dirty dozen is a good place to start.

Apples
Cherries
Grapes
Peaches
Nectarines
Pears
Lettuce
Strawberries
Bell peppers
Celery
Potatoes
Spinach

The above fruits and vegetables are considered the "Dirty Dozen" because they have the tendency to retain a higher level of pesticides and herbicides used by farmers than other types of produce.

"Dirty Dozen" organic foods lists often vary to include the following:
Raspberries
Beef
Poultry
Dairy