Spend Wisely & Eat Healthy with the Clean 15

As big a bummer as my last post was about the Dirty Dozen and the myriad of ways modern agriculture and food packaging are trying to kill us, the upside is there is another (happy!) list . While we avoid produce from the Dirty Dozen if we can't get it organic, we go flipping crazy buying the stuff from the Clean 15 and gorge ourselves silly on them, guilt free. Buying these conventionally grown foods (and saving some serious cash) makes me feel like I'm getting away with something, and apparently I am devious enough by nature that this is a big plus in my book.

How I feel when I channel my inner-Rachael and save money.

The Clean 15
These conventionally-grown foods contain the absolute least amount of pesticide/herbicide residue on the market, and I have no guilt about feeding these things to my family (and baby).

1. Avocados - (*Swoon!*) I buy these by the bag at Costco. Great first food for baby, and it freezes well enough that Augustine would eat it as a snack, even if it was a little strange looking. Guacamole is perfect for when you have a slew of these become ripe all at once.

2. Sweet Corn - Alas, our low-carb-paleo lifestyle puts a hamper on this one more than I'd like.
3. Pineapple
4. Cabbage
5. Sweet Peas
6. Onions - Thank goodness, because literally every meal I cook starts with this tasty fella.
7. Asparagus
8. Mangoes - A family favorite! Beware, if your toddler eats too many he WILL get jungle rot in his diaper. Ask me how I know.

How to cut a mango without swearing.
And apparently really impress your coworkers in the break room at lunch. 

9. Papaya - This guy skeeves everybody out but me.
10. Kiwi
11. Eggplant
12. Grapefruit 
13. Cantaloupe
14. Cauliflower - A low-carb girl's best friend!!! It is mind-blowing what you can do with a boring head of cauliflower, especially when you consider it only has like 2 calories. Pizza crust, rice, "potato" soup... we eat this about 3x per week, with absolutely no grumbles from my 10 year old.

Cauliflower + Food Processor = Rice

15. Sweet potatoes - We LOVE sweet potatoes and eat them in any form. We will be featuring one of our favorites, an amazing and simple baked cinnamon sweet potato bites recipe on our next freezer meal cooking session.
(16). Mushrooms 

So as you can see, trying to make healthy and well-informed decisions does not always have to be expensive/depressing/time consuming. And if you're like me, you can feel like you're sticking one to the man in the process!