I actually do wash fruits and veggies with soap and water. I know they are still not pesticide free, but it makes me feel better. I also hope that it will get rid of some of the nasty little germies that get on the produce from people touching it.

Organic produce is hard to come by in our area though it is starting to gain in popularity. I'm hoping that we get at least a Whole Foods or equivalant near us soon.

Another avenue worth trying is CSA -Community Supported Agriculture. This is when you pay quarterly to a farm and receive a bi-monthly vegetable box. Many of these services are organic, and they help farmers by cutting out the middle-man. The produce is fresh and seasonal.

Thankfully most large grocers are beginning to carry some organic options and hopefully the prices will start to fall. I know there are sites where you can find our which are the most polluted produce - I know strawberries are pretty bad. It's good you wash your stuff more carefully - I was raised barely washing anything! I try to be more careful myself, though i do wonder how much those produce soaps really do. Then there's the whole salmonella thing! Yikes! A whole other enviornmental issue.

Yesterday at Easter dinner (a brunch at my grandmother's retirement community), everyone at the table stopped everythng they were doing when my husband started to give Pie 1 some canteloupe and I had to stop him. I'm sure they think I'm crazy and over protective, but who knows whether the place may have had some of the recalled canteloupe. Better safe than sorry.

After the spinach Ecoli scare, I no longer use the pre-bagged greens of any kind. Since then I have seen numerous stories about Ecoli and salmonella contamination in bagged greens.

I've heard about the CSAs and may have to check them out. We also have a few farmer's markets in the area during the summer that I always go to. For being so close to Boulder, the granola-crunchy center of the universe, you would think we would have more organic produce available.

There must be some place in Boulder! Are you close enough to shop in Boulder? I have a friend who's an editor for Natural Solutions Magazine and lives in Boulder. I could ask her where to shop - but only if you're able to get into Boulder.

I try to avoid those prewashed greens, as well. It's a shame b/c it's so convenient. Our farming practices are catching up with us. Sometimes I do wonder if there are more cases of ecoli, etc or if they are just better reported so we hear more about them.

Let me know if you want me to ask my friend about organic shopping options!

We have a wonderful grower's market from May to November. I try to get all my fruits and veggies from there and then do mostly organic the rest of the year. The food just plain tastes better when it's from the grower's market, too.

Mmmm...just another month or so and it's farmer's market time again!!

One of the joys of living in LA is that our farm box is actually pretty good all year around. Yes, there are a lot of potatoes in December, but we get green stuff, too! And the Farmer's Mkts are fun year around. This helps to off-set the fact that the air here is only about 10% oxygen.

PBM - I live in a teensy town, and I have decent luck finding organic veggies in the frozen section. I would prefer fresh, but if you don't overcook the crap out of them, frozen can still be quite nutritious. Our local Wal-Mart even has a decent assortment. I know, the evils of Wal-Mart, but to get to a comparable grocery store, I have to drive half and hour each way, assuming there isn't a wreck on the loop or I-35.

Thanks for the CSA info Regina! I just found one somewhat in my area. I will look into it a little more and hopefully sign up. There are no Whole Foods within 20 miles of me either, but I live in a somewhat rural area near Chicago that has Produce Stands and Farmer's Markets in the Spring/Summer months that usually run from May - Octoberm, so we get a lot of our veggies from them.

PBM, you might want to see if your town/city or a close neighbor has a calender of events that might list any Farmer's Market type events that may be taking place. I found this calender for Boulder:
http://www.bouldercoloradousa.com/calendar/index.cfm?action=search
and it lists
Boulder Farmer's Market
April 5, 2008 - November 1, 2008
Sat 8-2 pm (4/5/08-11/1/08); Wed 4-8pm (5/7/08-10/1/08)

as well as many other seminars and activities. I usually start e-mailing everyone in my GirlsNight group calenders from our home towns, and I start letting them know about stuff I am interested in a few months in advance.

Bah, I always forget about no paragraph breaks in column posts.

Yeah, that's weird about the paragraphs. Maybe we can change that.

Thanks for all the tips Meghan! I agree about the frozen food. E loves frozen green beans (and I mean he eats them still frozen!) So I always buy the organic ones. Also, frozen organic fruits for smoothies are a good option. I found 5lb bag of organic green beans and also organic blueberries at Costco! Mamawho, in my opinion, we have to balance the neg with the pos. If you can find organic at Walmart, then go for it! Walmart isn't going anywhere, but by consuming the more conscientious items they offer, maybe it will slowly help to make it a more benign force. Also, put in requests with the managers if there's something you want. You never know if that may have an impact - esp if you can get a group of folks to petition them for something, like a grass-fed beef option, or something like that. I saw frozen grass fed beef at a Target Super store, so anything is possible! Also, as I mentioned above, Costco carries some organic options. As a final option, there are internet food options. I'm not so sure about veggies, but there are organic, grass fed meat and fish companies that will deliver to your door. You need a good sized freezer for this option. Here's a great site for info on finding local sources for these items http://www.eatwild.com/, and here's a great site for shipping meat http://texasgrassfedbeef.com/index.htm.

Thanks Regina and Meghan. Unfortunately, I don't live close enough to Boulder to make it feasibile to just go for the market. I have always wanted to check that one out as it is supposed to be really good. This summer we'll probably try to do double duty and hit the mountains and stop at the market.

Mamawho you are right and frozen is what I turn to most nights since it is faster and easier after work. Safeway (large chain grocer, but not in every area) has started their own line of organics which is actually quite good. They have everything from olive oil to cereal to frozen entrees and veggies.

Ok, I didnt know. We live about an hour from Chicago or Milwaukee, but there are a few small towns that are about 10 min away that have their own small(ish) farmer's markets. I like to google their town calanders to find out when where everything can take place. I guess I am just unwilling to accept that there is nothing by you PBM, maybe I just live in that kind of area though. We also have a lot of resale/antique shops too. Please forgive my ignorance I have never lived anywhere but here (within 30 miles of my current house). I do hope you find something cool and enjoy the Boulder market when you go to the mountains. Thanks for the meat links too Regina I am checking it out.