In a previous post, I outlined why Bambinos nutritionists have identified organically sourced foods as the best choice when it comes to feeding your little ones. (Add hyperlink to post) Understandably, it’s not always possible to exclusively buy organic, especially when organic foods come with a high dollar price tag.
Still, making even just a few changes to your purchasing habits can greatly benefit the overall health of your baby. Nutritionists agree on 12 particular fruits and vegetable that should always be purchased from your grocer’s organic section—this list is called “The Dirty Dozen.”
For children, however, this list can be modified to include the food items they eat most frequently. Not many 5-month-olds are munching on celery, for example, but they may eat a good deal of apple sauce. For this reason, I’ve adapted to the Dirty Dozen list to include the top 8 offenders that will most likely come into contact with your infant and small children. Here’s why it’s best to choose organics when buying these foods for baby.
- Apples—In addition to being the go-to fruit for most children, traditionally grown apples are highly sprayed with pesticides.
- Strawberries—Farmers use a heavy amount of fungicide on strawberries, and the fruit’s porous nature causes it to absorb these chemicals like a sponge.
- Potatoes—what kiddo doesn’t love potatoes and French fries? As a widely grown root vegetable, potatoes have very high rates of pesticides as compared to their organic counterparts.
- Grapes—This antioxidant-packed fruit offers incredible benefits to our body, but the conventionally grown version has unusually high pesticide levels that can inhibit us from processing these benefits.
- Peaches—the skin of this delicious fruit packs a powerful antioxidant punch. Grab the organic version whenever possible.
- Milk—as infants transition from breast or formula to solid food, they often begin drinking cow’s milk. Organic milk may provide more health benefits to pregnant women, infants, and children.
- Peanuts and Peanut Butter—although we conventionally refer to peanuts as nuts, they are actually Legumes are harshly treated by pesticides, and switching to the organic versions can greatly limit your child’s exposure.
- Tomatoes/Ketchup—The EWG has reported that cherry tomatoes host residue from up to 13 different pesticide agents that also show up in traditional ketchup varieties.
Creating your own organic baby food can seem impossible, time-consuming and difficult. This is why Bambino’s makes organic baby food that is frozen fresh from the finest locally sourced organically-grown, all-natural foods, just like you would do at home, yet formulated according to standards of pediatricians and allergists for optimal health. You never have to worry about pesticides or any other nutrient blocking additives when you order from Bambino’s. Click here to browse our entire menu and place an order!