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Use the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen {Green in 365: The Kitchen}

February 12, 2013 By Emily McClements
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Green in 365 series

This is Day 43 of the Green in 365 series!

Clean eating begins in our kitchen and the foods that we choose to bring into our homes. Saving money is on the top of almost everyone’s priority list, but so is feeding our families good, nutritious food.

One of the ways that our family stretches our grocery budget while still purchasing and eating organic food, is to use the EWG’s Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists. They list common fruits and vegetables in order of those with the highest pesticide residues to those with the lowest, so you can prioritize your food dollars by buying the produce on the Dirty Dozen list organically, while saving money by purchasing conventional produce from the Clean Fifteen list.

Dirty Dozen, Clean 15 Printable

You may notice that some of the produce items on the Dirty Dozen list are hard to find organic in your area, especially when the fruit or veggie is off-season. In that case, for our family, we usually pass up buying that type of produce fresh, and if we really need it, we try to find it frozen and organic.

For example, strawberries are on the Dirty Dozen list, and they were recently on sale at the grocery store. BUT, they were conventional strawberries, and fresh organic ones were not available, so we passed on buying the strawberries, and instead, because we wanted them for green smoothies, bought bags of frozen organic strawberries at Aldi (By the way, so excited that Aldi is now carrying organic foods! Check them out if you haven’t yet, and buy them so that Aldi knows their customers want organic options!)

This is another reason why it’s great to try to find bulk sources of local, fresh, pesticide-free produce (even if it’s not certified organic) when it’s in season in your area, and put it up to last throughout the year. We do this with blueberries, visiting our local, organic U-pick blueberry farm and picking as much as we can to freeze and use throughout the rest of the year so we don’t have to resort to buying conventional blueberries.

The EWG has made a printable guide to the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen so you can print it off and carry it with you in your purse or wallet for reference while shopping.

Of course, it’s always better to eat fresh fruits and vegetables than none at all, so don’t pass up feeding your family fruits and veggies just because you can’t find an affordable organic option for the produce on the Dirty Dozen list. Do the best that you can, with the budget and selection you have, and don’t worry about the rest.

How do you use the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists to stretch your family’s food budget?

Find all the Green in 365 posts.



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2 CommentsFiled Under: Green in 365 Tagged With: conscious consuming, frugal cooking, green in 365, healthy living, real food

Default ThumbnailSaving Money On Real Foods At The Grocery Store winter vegetablesGreen in 365: Eating Seasonally and Locally in Winter Default ThumbnailStrawberries! Strawberry Spinach Salad

Comments

  1. Heather says

    February 12, 2013 at 3:56 pm

    I love these lists! I try to buy a lot of stuff in season, and then preserve it for the winter. But things like greens, I seem to need these all year round (lucky they are available!) and I always go for organic. And when I first saw the clean 15 list, I was so happy, because for a time I wouldn’t buy too much fresh because I was worried about the pesticide levels.

    Reply
  2. Kelly H. says

    February 13, 2013 at 11:22 am

    One thing about corn that you have to watch out for is alot of it is genetically modified. So buying organic might be better for that one too.

    Reply

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