To not buy organic fruit & veg for DD?

[bluejeanswhiteshirt]

This is a slightly boring AIBU but I'm struggling with meal ideas for my 9 month old DD and feel limited as to what I can give to her due to the lack of organic produce at my local supermarkets. Is it really that bad to give her non-organic food?

I'm a single, SAHM so I rarely cook for myself and I'm also struggling to find time to fit everything in so some days I give her pouches and feel bloody awful about it but she does enjoy them.

What do other people do? I feel slightly lost with it all!

[kinkyfuckery]

I never intentionally buy organic. I buy whatever is best value for money.

I can't imagine anyone will agree that pouches of slop are better than non-organic fruit and veg.

[steff13]

Google the dirty dozen and the clean fifteen. They're lists of what produce is preferable to buy organic, what doesn't matter so much.

[FarFromAnyRoad]

Really? I think you might have anxiety issues to be honest. Organic food isn't compulsory and most of the time it doesn't even make a difference. You strung out about using pouches - what are they? Ready meals for babies? Like the jars we used to use? Why on earth would that worry you so much?
You're a SAHM and single with it - you really should have time to do some research into this stuff.

[dementedpixie]

Didn't bother with organic stuff when my 2 were small apart from chicken

[haveabreakhaveakitkat]

There's nothing wrong with non organic. All mine grew up with it and are still alive.

[Strokethefurrywall]

Don't feel bad - both of my boys were weaned on pouches and jars (organic and non-organic) - I struggle to worry about it frankly. Aside from the fact that I work 50 hours a week and didn't have time to prepare pots of food for the freezer I went with the easiest option. Not to mention that organic produce here is extortionate (not UK)

If you have the time to prepare food or then non-organic is grand.

[yellowcurtains]

Veg that isn't organic is better than pouches- the reasons babies live pouches so much biz because they're so sweet (sugars from fruit, but still).
She'll be fine, even with the occasional pouch.

[WishUponAStar88]

There's nothing wrong with non organic or the odd pouch food. If it's any help I find it easier to freeze meals and made, say, a big batch of bolognaise and freeze several individual portions so there's always food in if I don't fancy cooking baby appropriate food that night. It takes no more time really than making a smaller meal.

[NerrSnerr]

My baby had frozen broccoli for her lunch (I did cook it first- she's not that deprived!) and we sometimes use jars and sometimes not. I might sometimes buy organic but that's not conscious, it's just what's cheap and easy to make.

[RiverTam]

I thought it had now been proved that there is no health benefit to eating organic? Better for the environment but not really for humans.

[LazyLouLou]

Also, and this is entirely Googleable... lots of fresh fruit and veg is organic.

Organic farmers grow crops and sell what the supermarkets want as organic, the rest is sold as 'normal' for a lower price.

Might have been Gregg Thingy's Supermarket programme that most recently highlighted this, but where I live many farmers have to put up with this.

[OurGlass]

I just give mine kitkats, they seem to be ok

[yellowcurtains]

Nestle? tut, tut. This is MN!

[sparkysparkysparky]

I made beautifully pureed organic swede and other tastier lovelies to my dd when she was a baby. No it didn't stop her from being a fussy eater who cannot be fooled by any fussy eater recipe I have found.
She had hot dogs on white bread for lunch yesterday.
Relax and give what you can afford.

[LokiBear]

Watch the salt and sugar content. As for the rest, do not worry. I used frozen veg blitzed with a hand blender and pushed through a plastic sieve. DD is happy and healthy.

[specialsubject]

lots of 'organic' food is heavily packaged and has been half way round the world.

buy local, buy ugly (if all the tomatoes look the same, they have been bred for appearance not taste), buy seasonal as much as you can. Baby can eat what you eat, less a few ingredients. (assuming you don't live on diet foods and similar crap!)

also see if anyone nearby has an allotment/veg patch, and do a deal for their gluts of produce.

[bluejeanswhiteshirt]

Thank you for the helpful replies, I have obviously googled this but wanted to know what other mums do. Some people tend to assume that (single) SAHMs have all the time in the world but I must be doing somethiny wrong if that's the case because I barely get a minute.

No need for your bitchy reply FarFrom I do suffer with very severe postnatal anxiety so it wouldn't hurt for you to use a little more tact in future.