For those who eat and feed their kids Organic - does that mean everything?

[youreactinglikeafunmum]

Following on from an interesting thread about healthy living

If you buy organic food for your kids - is everything organic or just some stuff

I talked to a dietitian who said that buying non organic fresh vegetables was 'pointless' (her words) due to a lack of nutrients and to buy either organic or frozen veg

Do you buy organic meat? Potatoes? Fruits?

Do you buy organic snacks? I imagine squash thats organic is hard to come by. Same with crisps

Is your shopping bill much more expensive?

Do you buy from independent butchers or do the cheap supermarkets (asda/sainsburys/lidl) offer good value?

I bought organic once when weaning dd and then swiftly moved on to cheap fruit and veg.

Sorry if the post is confusing, it just occurred to me that I could be making healthier choices for dd(6). Shes physically healthy, thin, gets exercise though.

As shes autistic, its already a nightmare so I would be looking at trying to do like for like swpas

I swear to the laws of mumsnet, what a random lie to make up 😭

I believe dietician is a protected term whereas anyone can call themselves a nutritionist and frequently do these days.
So much crap is spouted by the “wellness” industry.

This might be what influenced what she was saying to me

I believed her because I find it hard to believe that a cheap head of broccoli from asda is really as packed with nutrients as an organic one from whole foods

I never trust those wellness people online

Organic food does have more nutrients on the whole as pesticide-treated soil leaches vitamins and minerals from the fruit/veg. This has been studied. Organic eggs also have higher levels of vitamins, antioxidants and omega 3s.

I think there is some research which shows that organic food has higher polyphenols than non organic because these are produced when plants make defence chemicals against insects etc and sprayed crops do not make this. Also higher nutrients in organic soils will be taken up by plants.

That being said non organic veg is still worth eating. I generally just avoid the dirty dozen list and things like non organic porridge oats as these are known to be very high in pesticides.

I swear to the laws of mumsnet, what a random lie to make up 😭
This is an actual dietitian following our professional code of conduct. If they really said that you should put a complaint or PALS in as that is factually not true.
www.facebook.com/share/v/16iAd8eMRc/

The kids have organic everything- but we allow them to eat whatever when out, in restaurants, at friend's houses etc- it's progress not perfection. Family all eat organic and UPF free so that's safe too. DH and I are more lax with ourselves- we eat mainly organic and mainly UPF free but we do have UPFs sometimes- mainly if we're having junk food. Our children don't know what UPFs are, and we don't fearmonger and allow them to explore food.

I think if you can add a few small things like organic veg, milk, oats etc then that's great- but don't sweat it. It is always always always more important that your child is happy and fed- if they want instant noodles instead of beef, then so be it! Also look for higher welfare meat- not always organic but can be better quality- that might be a better solution price wise as there is a wide range. And look at the Organic Butchery for their organic meat boxes. Sometimes they do work out cheaper than supermarket organic meat, and you can buy it, freeze it and eek it out a bit.

Our shop is typically 70-80% organic at a guess. I’ll always buy the organic version of anything where it’s available, but for some things it isn’t. Shopping this way has increased our weekly food bill from £180ish with Tesco/Sainsburys to £250ish with Ocado (who have better availability of Organic products) for a family of 3.

It very much depends on the quality of the fruit and veg, are they local, seasonal etc. if you buy stuff from Peru forget about nutrients or vitamins. It is also important what they are treated with, that is why organic is recommended because there are strict rules around pesticides and herbicides.
I grow veg and fruit and I know full well the difference between eating fresh from the garden and the ones in supermarkets. Unfortunately fresh organic produce is not always readily available in this country. So if I were you I would start learning about my local area, what markets are around, what producers, and find out about how they grow their produce. Some grow organically but cannot label as such because the fee to be approved is very high.
Best to avoid ultraprocessed foods and additives for your child Some neurodivergent people have bad reactions to some chemicals and food additives.