Trying to eat clean and even sustainably on a tight budget?  I know - it sometimes seems like an oxymoron, right? You know I love healthy, fresh, organic foods - I support my local farmer’s as often as possible, and my favorite Fascia Food recipes are filled with leafy greens and fresh fruit. But let’s be real, buying farm fresh, organic produce is NOT cheap. If you want to keep your diet healthy, fresh, and delicious on a budget, I have the solution for you. Check out my two essential lists for shopping organic: The Dirty Dozen (these are foods, that if you have the choice, you should really invest in the organic or Non GMO option) and the Clean 15 (this is produce that is safe enough to buy conventionally grown).

THE DIRTY DOZEN

When you do your weekly shopping, there are twelve foods that you definitely need to buy organic if you possibly can. These foods are most likely to have been exposed to pesticides, so you don’t want to risk it. And while I love my local farmer’s market, I know that organic products tend to be more expensive at these markets. So shopping in bulk at warehouse stores like Costco or increasingly these days you can also find good organic produce at your local supermarket, making it more budget friendly. 

1. Strawberries & Berries (Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries)
2. Spinach
3. Nectaries
4. Apples
5. Peaches
6. Pears
7. Cherries
8. Grapes
9. Celery
10. Tomatoes
11. Sweet Bell Peppers
12. Potatoes 

THE CLEAN 15

These fifteen foods are LEAST likely to be contaminated by pesticides, so if you’re on a budget, or if you are having trouble finding organic foods, these will generally be less impacted by pesticides if you buy them conventionally farmed. According to the  Environmental Working Group (EWG) - a nonprofit organization that works for policies that help protect our earth and human health and its latest  Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, there are some foods that meet the mark with minimal pesticide residue. 

There are still a few things to keep in mind, though: often people who have allergies to certain foods discover that they don’t react to the organic version of them, so if you have food allergies you want to pay attention to how you react to conventionally grown produce. Also, if you are living in the US, a lot of corn and papayas sold here these days will be GMO, so if you want to avoid this, stick to certified organic options for those products. 

1. Avocados
2. Sweet corn*
3. Pineapples
4. Onions
5. Papayas*
6. Sweet peas (frozen)
7. Eggplants
8. Asparagus
9. Cauliflower
10. Cantaloupes
11. Broccoli
12. Mushrooms
13. Cabbage
14. Honeydew melons
15. Kiwis

The good news is that these days you can find so many fresh, organic, non-GMO or pesticide free options at places like  Costco, Trader Joes and other supermarkets as well as from your local farmers. Once you’ve done your shopping, check out some of my favorite recipes on my  Instagram or my Ideal Day Meal Guides now inside the Aligned Life Studio for some meal-time inspiration!

If you’re looking to reboot your diet, you can do the Taller, Slimmer, Younger Transformation Challenge, which guides you through 10 weeks of movement medicine AND a meal guide filled with foods that help you glow from the inside-out.