Healthy Shopping For Holiday Feasts

The Melanesians and other peoples fast before they feast but we do the opposite, gorging on sweets at Halloween, stuffing ourselves at Thanksgiving, then filling up again at Christmas and Hanukkah meals, with double dipping as we visit different sets of parents. None of us may get any lighter this holiday season, but with a few careful food choices that won't bust the bank, there are ways we may tread a bit more lightly on the earth.

Price is important. While organic can be expensive, our market survey (including Whole Foods, Fairway, Fresh Direct and and our local farmer's market at Union Square) shows that sometimes, as with organic wines, prices are the same or quite close. To protect your health, and especially your children's, you can pick organic for those items, like apples, pears, spinach and potatoes, which have the heaviest pesticide loads. Then you can save your money by choosing conventional versions of other items such as onions. Of course, choosing organic also helps keep pesticides out of the environment and avoids the cruel conditions animals endure in massive factory farms. And with fuel prices shooting up, picking foods from local farms can reduce costs and will save on the miles your meal travels before it reaches the dining room.

So fill your holiday table with a bounty of organic foods—everything from turkey and ham, to cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, fruits, breads and desserts—using The Green Guide's downloadable Smart Shopper's Holiday Companion (see sidebar). It comes complete with price comparisons (organic vs. conventional) of all items on your list so that you can plan your menu to suit your budget. It's the season's smartest and the most delicious way to make a difference.

Take the plunge this holiday to try something new.

Buy Local

Produce can travel thousands of miles before reaching your plates, but there's no reason to pay the cost of trucking and consume more oil, when you can get to know your local farmers and seek out homegrown delicacies like chanterelles, smokehouse salmon, dry jack cheese or Olympia oysters. Then the only trick is not to overeat, but savor the distinct qualities of the foods you've found. To find a local farmer or farmer's market in your area, visit Local Harvest (www.localharvest.org) and use their search engine.

More Resources

For more on organic meats and vegetables and where to buy them, see our meat and poultry product reports and our internet and mail order resources for organic produce.

D'Artagnan (www.dartagnan.com, 800-327-8246)

Diamond Organics (www.diamondorganics.com, 888-674-2642)

Meadow Raised Meats (www.meadowraisedmeats.com, 315-829-5437)

Organics To Go (www.organictogo.com, 360-866-4819)

Shop Natural (www.shopnatural.com)

Turtle Island Foods (www.tofurky.com, 800-508-8100)

West Wind Farms (www.grassorganic.com, 423-965-3334)

Whole Foods (www.wholefoods.com)