It's amazing how having a baby changes your life for good.
Ever since Juniper started eating real people food (as opposed to baby food), we've made a commitment to consume foods that are healthier – organic, free of pesticides and other additives.
It's a hard commitment to make. Organic foods are expensive. We have something like eight mortgages and come grocery time, it's hard to turn down .44 cent bananas that you've eaten you're whole entire life for .88 cent organic bananas. Seriously. But where I refuse to compromise my commitment to better foods for Juniper is in our meat and dairy.
It's hard to put into words what happens when you become a mother. It's kind of like you've created this human being and it's you're job to mold it and fashion it into something amazing (amazingness is relative).
I'm really not sure if and how all the chemicals and stuff that we inject into our foods really affect us; but because I can't prove otherwise (and because all the articles I read seem to point to the fact that it does) I feel obligated to ensure that my little being isn't exposed to any chemical she doesn't need to be.
Which brings me to this Thanksgiving Day. The nation's poultry holiday.
So where does one find an organic bird?
The best are sold locally at farmer's markets, but you can still find some that offer great flavor and peace of mind at grocery stores. Here are a few producers who's birds never dine on antibiotics, growth stimulants or animal by-products:
- Diestel Turkey Ranch. These birds roam freely in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. You can find them sold at your local Whole Foods Market.
- Shelton's Poultry. Has an organic line to its free-range chicken & turkey business. You can find them using this handy-dandy store locator.
- Petaluma Poultry. Certified by Oregon Tilth, a nonprofit organization dedicated to environmentally sound agriculture. They raise both Rosie, the organic chicken and Rocky, the free-range chicken.
Regardless of what kind of bird you'll be eating this holiday season, I hope your holidays are just beautiful!
Comments
NewYorkMom
We do the same thing. It’s pricey to buy organic all the time. Meat and milk and eggs and cheese we go hormone and antibiotics free. Do u have a Trader Joes near you. great organic stuff for low prices.
Carrie
Living here has made the issue of healthy food all the more obvious. I have a few friends here who’d had health problems in the US (food allergies, esp) that have entirely disappeared now that they’re in Italy. Similarily, Italian wine producers pride themselves on using the fewest non-natural ingredients and the ‘Bio’ vineyards are doing well. ‘Bio’ here actually means that EVERYTHING that goes into the product was produced naturally on that property. Wild, huh?