How to: Go Organic – The Dirty Dozen Cheat Sheet

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How to: Go Organic - The Dirty Dozen Cheat Sheetphoto: we heart this

Like many of our readers, Stef and I have been slowing adding green minded choices to our everyday lives, one small step at a time. Making eco-conscious beauty and home purchases, reducing waste and actively recycling were a relatively pain-free and simple start. Lately we’ve attempting to go a little greener in the most important category of all – food. We figure, if we’re making an effort to avoid pesticides and chemicals going on our skin, we certainly should try to cut out (or limit) those we actually ingest.

So while we haven’t cut out the Doritos and Tastykakes completely, or switched to a totally organic diet, we’ve both made a positive difference in our diets – and you can too – with just a few easy steps.

First, start shopping at your local farmers market. If you are lucky enough to have one near by, make the effort to do your veggie shopping (and meat, eggs or dairy, if available) at the local farmers market. Your purchases will be fresher, having traveled a shorter distance, and should be free of the pesticides and chemicals commonly found in produce (ask first if you’re not sure). Even if you can’t go every week, commit to a visit or two a month and you will reap the benefits.

After a few weeks of routine farmers market shopping, I discovered that I’ve started to enjoy a former dreaded task. What’s not to like? The sun is shining, everything looks and smells fantastic and each and every vendor greets me with a smile. The great environment and incredible farm fresh purchases, means keeping that “think global; shop local” commitment has been pretty easy.

Finally, since a picture is worth a thousand words, if you still aren’t convinced to start this practice just check out Stef’s gorgeous haul from over the weekend (above image) at her local market!

One tip: I’ve found I’m more likely to use the fresh veggies I buy at the market if I take them home and wash, chop (if needed) and store them right away. Then everything is all set for snacking or cooking whenever I need it. Need ideas? Check out our archive of wht approved recipes – many of them are veggie based.

For those weeks you can’t make the farmers market, or for those of us whose budgets limit our organic purchases, I bring you the handy (and utterly adorable) Dirty Dozen Cheat Sheet. Designed by crafty, smartypants Heidi Kenney over at My Paper Crane this free, downloadable cheat sheet will help you make the wisest shopping decisions in the produce aisle.

photos:My Paper Crane

Based on the research of the Environmental Working Group, the compilers of the original Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 list, this sassy, little card features the tearful (aww) commonly pesticide loaded “Dirty Dozen” of fruits and veggies on one side and the happy faced “Clean Fifteen” (those commonly found to have the lowest or no pesticide residue) on the other.

Once you’ve mastered the basics, check out the Environmental Working Group site for the complete list, plus loads of information and a complete Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides (also available as an iPhone app).

What about it, our fellow Green Monday peeps? How have you incorporated natural and organic foods into your diet?

Author

  • tyna

    Tyna is a former editor of we heart this that worries about becoming a crazy cat lady, reads at least a book a week, checks in at a Flyers fan forum every morning and is forever organizing her closets and drawers. skin tone: NW 20/25 skin type: combination favorite beauty product: eye shadows and lip balms

15 Comments

  1. Thank you for this Tyna! I will certainly use these tips. My husband and I recently purchased a harvest share from a local organic farm. What that means is that during the harvest season we will receive a portion of what ever the farm harvests each week. We are so excited to be getting locally grown, organic produce. It is also a real opportunity to try some things that we don’t normally eat and to sample new recipes. We see it as an adventure! And at the end of the season they hold a big get together for all of the share holders to tour the farm and eat good stuff. Yay!

  2. Tyna, that little cheat sheet is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I’m printing them for everyone I know!

    I’m lucky– I live near an area that hosts a huge farmers market every weekend, and I load up on organic veggies, baked goods, even dog biscuits (the Baltimore Dog Bakery rocks! http://baltimoredogbakery.com/). I’m trying to be way more conscious of what I put in my body as well as on it. But yeah, I’m not ruling out a Ho Ho every now and then!

  3. I love, love, LOVE this post, Tyna! The boyfriend and I have been making it a point, no matter how tired we are, to get up early Sunday mornings and head to our fave farmers market here in San Diego. It’s such a wonderful experience, and the more you go, the more you really get to know the vendors and it just gives you a wonderful sense of community. That’s not to say that I’ve completely eliminated my trips to the grocery store for certain types of produce (I’m friendly with my grocers too because they are quite knowledgeable and always give me great advice). So anyway, when I DO shop at the grocery store for produce, it will be awesome to have this cheat sheet! And could it be any more adorable? Thank you so much for sharing this with us!

    Oh and one more thing about the farmers market: Aside from it just tasting better (SO much better–especially tomatoes!) I find that I’m more inspired to cook great dishes when the stuff I get from the growers themselves. It’s just an all-around wonderful thing. So thanks for writing this post–I really hope it inspires others to get out there and do their shopping this way. :)

  4. Great Post Tyna! That list from My Paper Crane is so cute! and totally handy! I luckily am close to a great farmers market, and can totally taste the difference. I chop and freeze as much as I can too, which is great for soups, stocks, and stews!
    Leeks, carrots, onions, celery..those are my top chop and freeze items, because the bundles are so big, and if I don’t freeze them some of them go to waste.
    Farmers Market eggs are the way to go too, they taste SO much better!!

    @Melissa the dog bakery!! I want to order all their goodies for my pup :)

  5. How cute is that cheatsheet?? I’m glad you posted it, I didn’t know about the need to buy organic for some of those veggies!

    My husband and I are attempting to follow a more “clean” diet; cutting out processed foods and etc… We haven’t hit up our farmers’ market yet, but I plan to. I can’t wait for us to get a house and a deep freezer so I can do all those great ideas I keep hearing about!

  6. Oh I love MyPaperCrane and her cheat sheets are so cute!

    Farmers markets are one of my all time favorite things about summer and luckily there’s one right on the college campus where I work! There is nothing better than going home with a bag full of fresh veggies.

    Great post Tyna!

  7. That card is just adorable. I’m definitely going to have to print one off for myself to take grocery shopping because it’s just too expensive to be buying organic if it isn’t that much extra benefit for certain produce items. What a great idea!!!

  8. Whee – I just returned from my local Monday morning farmers market, how Green Monday of me. I’ve been visiting this smallish market (by LA standards) with in walking distance of my place every other week for the last few months. Like @ nouveaucheap I’m starting to get to know the regular local vendors, and learning which stands have the best peppers or tomatoes, etc. And you’re right – buying such gorgeous produce inspires me to use it and eat it more. It’s a win-win.

    @kellie76 – wow your harvest share sounds so great! It’s like a little surprise gift every week when you see what sort of good stuff you get. Fun! Hope we get to hear more about it once the crops come in.

    Glad to hear so many of you are incorporating clean food into your diet. And isn’t that Cheat Sheet awesome? Thanks to that list I made sure to get certain items I wanted (bell peppers, celery, apples) at my all-organic, farmers market.
    .-= Tyna Werner´s last blog ..Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Household Cleaners =-.

  9. Love that cheat sheet. I need that! I have the hardest time remembering what I should buy organic.

    I love homegrown veggies. I’ve been blessed with family members that have large gardens and share their veggies with me. Homegrown tomatoes are one of my most favorite things in the world. My dream is to have a large garden of my own someday. Seriously, can’t even imagine how happy I would be to go out and pick fresh veggies each day.

  10. That cheat sheet really is great! can’t wait to print it off.

    I too am pretty luck as my Farmer’s Market is right across the street from my apartment building. Now if only I could wake up in time to get the good stuff before they close shop! When I do make it over there, I’m never disappointed. I love all the colors, smells, and music. It a great experience. So much more fun than going to the grocery store.
    @kellie76 i’m so jealous! That share you got sounds awesome.

  11. That cheat sheet is awesome!!! You guys are inspiring me to be greener…

  12. Good for all of you! We’re proud of you chicks.

    I was so excited to spread that bounty on my table and shoot it! And even more excited at the thought of my meals for the week: free-range chicken, couscous and bok choy (which is so insanely good, I’ll have to share this with you all!), portobellos stuffed with tomatoes and parm, butternut squash pasta with asparagus and goat cheese.

    Buying locally means you eat better and are doing your part to pull yourself out of the food corporation cog. But just as important, it taste better!

    And I’ll say it again, if you have any doubt if the extra effort (however big or small) is worth it, watch Food Inc. I’ve never been so motivated to make a change in my life.
    .-= Stef´s last blog ..Abeego – a Green Monday food storage solution! =-.

  13. OMG, Stef! Did you know that PBS has been streaming Food Inc FOR FREE since Earth Day? The free stream ends tomorrow at midnight:

    http://www.pbs.org/pov/foodinc/photo_gallery_watch.php

    This doc changed my life. I’ve been vegetarian since last September and I really have this film to thank for helping me finally make that change (I did cheat once on a spicy tuna roll, but other than that it’s been soooo easy).

    PS: Butternut squash pasta with asparagus and goat cheese?? If you don’t post your recipe I might cry and never forgive you. :)

  14. @nouveaucheap – That’s where I saw it! I saw it last week on my local station. So glad it moved you as much as me.

    I’m not a vegetarian, but what it did do for me was to convince myself that I need to buy organic meat (from animals that were that are allowed to roam, graze and see sunlight; all things that is typically not the case for most meat you buy at the supermarket). And I’m attempting to cut down to eating meat only once or twice a week. I don’t miss it so far!

    But, just so people know-you don’t have to be a vegetarian in order to benefit from this movie.

    Oh, yeah, I’ll share the recipe! It usually calls for bacon, so I’m substituting asparagus and extra olive oil. I’ll let you know how it goes!
    .-= Stef´s last blog ..Car accident + totaled truck = best garden ever! =-.

  15. I’m vegetarian so the dirty dozen cheat sheet is perfect for me, and the cute little pictures are adorable. Its a good budgetting tool to be able to save money when deciding which products you splurge on for organic.

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