When it makes sense to pay extra for organic fruits and vegetables.

Over the past five years the sales of organic fruits and vegetables has skyrocketed. Organics not only provide greater nutritional value, but the farming of organics is more environmentally friendly.  But is the higher price of organic produce worth it?

For one group the answer is yes. Pregnant women and young children may benefit from organic fruits and vegetables because US certified organic produce cannot be farmed with most synthetic pesticides.

Non-organic fruits and vegetables, grown by traditional farming methods, frequently contain pesticide residues. Even thorough washing and peeling fails to remove all pesticide residue. Government agencies claim that such low levels of pesticides have little or no effect on humans, although this is frequently debated.

Few studies, however,  have examined the effects of low levels of pesticides on developing children and fetuses.  Small children have immature and developing immunological, neurological, and reproductive systems. This makes them extremely susceptible to toxins. The concern among many is that even small levels of pesticides may have long term effects on these developing systems in children, as well as on the developing fetuses of pregnant women.

A University of Washington study found that the levels of pesticides in the urine of children decreased after these children were placed on an organic diet. The researchers also discovered that children eating a generally organic produce diet had one-sixth the amount of pesticides in their urine than children eating a regular diet.

While organic fruits and vegetables can help prevent pesticide exposure in young children, they can be extremely expensive costing 20% to 50% more than conventionally grown produce. This can place a tremendous strain on any budget!

On a limited budget, the best tactic may be to pay only for organic fruits and vegetables when the non-organic alternatives have relatively high levels of pesticides.

Some fruits and vegetables for example, have extremely low pesticide residues regardless of whether you eat the organic or non-organic version.  Bananas are a prime example, possibly due to their thick skins.  You may not want to pay extra for organic bananas which have similar low levels of pesticide residues as non-organic bananas.

You may, however, want to pay extra for those organic peaches when you realize that the non-organic peaches suck up a relatively high level of residual pesticides.

To help make such decisions easier, consider using the non-profit Environmental Working Group’s ranking of the pesticide loads of 43 commonly purchased fruits and vegetables. This ranking is based on 51,000 tests collected by the USDA and FDA between 2000 and 2005.  You can view the full Environmental Working Group list at www.foodnews.org.

Fruits and vegetables with the highest pesticide residues include: peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, lettuce, imported grapes, pears, and spinach.

With these fruits and vegetables it makes since to buy the organic counterparts that are farmed without most synthetic pesticides.

Fruits and vegetables with the lowest pesticide loads include: onions, avocados, pineapples, mangoes, asparagus, and bananas.

In these cases your budget may dictate whether the organic fruits and vegetables are worth the extra money, since the non-organic alternatives have relatively low levels of pesticide residues.

Update: I’d like to thank Hopeful Spirit at BloggersBase.com for including this article in the Carnival of Family Life blog carnival.

We all know that’s its much cheaper to cook and eat at home, but sometimes with hectic schedules, it feels good to eat out and let someone else do the cooking.

We list 7 ways to eat out with your kids without breaking the bank.

Eat at places that offer free refills on drinks. Beverages at restaurants can quickly add up, especially for a family. Many restaurants offer free refills. This allows you to buy smaller sized drinks which can be refilled, saving you money. Alternatively, simply ask for water instead of soda and save nearly $1-$2 per person.

Skip the kids menu, split an adult meal. At some restaurants, the kids meals can be relatively expensive for the amount of food that you actually get. In such cases it may be more cost efficient to order one adult entree to split between two children, or have each adult share their meal with a child.

Go to places where tips are not expected. You can find restaurants that provide a nice, casual dining experience without waiters, so no tip is expected. This saves you an instant 15-20%. The national Chipolte’s Mexican restaurant chain is one such restaurant where you can save by not having to leave a tip.

Fill up on the free bread, salad, and chips. Restaurants often offer free bread, salad, or salsa chips while you wait for your main meal. These items are relatively cheap for the restaurant to prepare and can be quite tasty.

They’re also a great way to fill up without having to order expensive appetizers.  Many restaurants will even gladly offer you extra bread or salad for free or for a nominal fee.

Go on nights when kids eat free. Many restaurants offer special nights where kids eat free. Usually the free child’s entree is restricted to the kids menu and the child must be eating with a paying adult. This is terrific way to save money.

Just double check how many kids can eat free per paying adult and during which hours of the day the deal applies. The website coupondivas has a great list of restaurants offering kids eat free nights, as does the website mykidseatfree.com

Join birthday clubs. Some restaurants have birthday clubs which provide children with a free meal on their birthday. All you have to do is sign up ahead of time. Check out MommySavers.com (list is halfway down the website page) to find a great list of restaurants offering birthday meal savings .

Eat dessert some place else. Why pay $4-$5 a piece for expensive restaurant desserts when you can make a quick stop at the grocery store on the way home and pick up a gallon of ice cream for a fraction of the price. Alternatively, a stop by McDonald’s can net you hot fudge sundaes from the value meal for only $1 a piece!