Friday, June 25, 2010

"Its OK, its Organic!"

As you probably know by now, I believe that the more organic foods you can buy the better. Is everything I buy organic? Absolutely not, not even close. We simply cannot afford that. So I prioritize and make sure that every day staples like milk, yogurt, peanut butter, bread and many produce items are organic. I do think there is a little misconception going on out there about some of the more processed organic foods. Organic does NOT equal healthy, yet I'm starting to see a trend of people thinking this way. Has anyone else noticed this?

Recently I was visiting somewhere and I was offered a glass of organic lemonade. Immediately my 5 year old shouted out that he wanted to try some. Now we do not give our kids sugary drinks. They drink milk, water or watered down 100% fruit juice. My husband and I don't drink soda or other sugary drinks either so there is never any in the house. So when we were offered the organic lemonade the first thing I did was grab the bottle to check the ingredients. My husband laughed and rolled his eyes and then our host said this:

"Oh its OK, its organic!"

That is all well and good, but I still read labels before letting my kids eat or drink something. So OK, the first ingredient was water - great! The second ingredient? Organic sugar. <insert buzzer sound> Now this is my point, yes its organic so that means no high fructose corn syrup or other yucky artificial stuff, but the 2nd main ingredient is sugar. Big whoop its organic, it is still a lot of sugar, which my kids certainly don't need. Because my boys aren't rambunctious enough on their own, let me load them up on some sugar too! No thank you.

I did end up giving my 5 year old about a quarter of a cup and I told him that after that he could drink water. And yes, I drank a glass myself. I wont lie, it was very tasty. But organic or not it is still empty calories so its not something I indulge in very often. My rear end is large enough. :) A little treat from time to time is nice though.

So I strongly encourage you to always read ingredient labels. Whether its non-organic or organic, start getting into the habit. And don't assume that just because something is organic that it is healthy.


6 comments:

  1. You know this is something I argue with the hubs with all the time. There is such a thing as organic JUNK FOOD! Thank you for reaffirming that I'm not totally nuts.

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  2. LOL, it must be a husband thing because mine thinks just because something is purchased at Whole Foods then that means it is healthy. Ummm, no. Sorry honey, that gooey mac & cheese on the hot bar is not exactly healthy despite the fact all ingredients are natural and/or organic.

    I am right there with you reading the label. We must be smarter about what we let our children consume. I try to buy organic fruits, vegetables, and vegetarian fed lean meats (it is quite expensive though). It's funny, my 2 year old is always running around eating organic vegetables (red peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.) as a snack, all my friends think we are wacky!

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  3. THIS is a perfect post and so true! Of course I don't do a lot of organics but I know that an organic candy cane (I don't think there is such a thing) isn't going to be w/out sugar. :)

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  4. We don't do a lot of organics either but I agree that it doesn't matter if it's organic or not it's still got a lot of sugar and yeah my kid doesn't need any extra sugar lol.

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  5. Wow, such a great post!! I couldn't agree more with you. And I do have to admit that I used to think that as long as a product is organic it is okay to eat. I have grown a lot in my green journey and now know that isn't always true, but I did fall under that trap for a while. Glad to be well educated now!! :)

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  6. This gets me all the time. Yes, it defeats the purpose of being organic and healthy for you when organic sugar or cane sugar is at the top of the ingredient list. This thinking that just because it's organic is healthy irritates me just as much as parents who give their kids fruit snacks and say "They're healthy because they're made with 100% juice." Yeah, but they stick in your kids' teeth. Your dentist would rather your kids eat chocolate or something else that's not sticky if you're going to allow those kinds of foods. Sorry for the soapbox moment. I just get irritated when people can't read beyond the front of a package that's enticing you to buy a product.

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