15 Foods You Don't Need to Buy Organic
Some fruits and vegetables are less likely to be contaminated with pesticide residues, so you can feel good about buying them conventional if you are trying to stick to a budget.
Eating more fruits and vegetables—organic or not—is better than eating none at all. Most of us would love to be able to buy organic produce all the time, but it can be expensive. You may wonder if the price is worth it for your health. Pesticides can be absorbed into fruits and vegetables, leaving trace residues. One way to limit your exposure is by choosing organic. But if that's not a financial reality for your family, you can also shop smarter: buy conventional produce that's the least likely to contain pesticide residues and save your organic dollars for produce that tends to have the highest amounts of pesticide residue (aka the Dirty Dozen).
Pictured recipe: Avocado Toast with Burrata
Every year, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, releases a Shopper's Guide to Pesticides that identifies fruits and vegetables with the highest and lowest pesticide residues. The Clean Fifteen is the list of foods that are least likely to be contaminated with pesticide residues, so if budget is a concern, you can feel good about buying these 15 fruits and vegetables conventional, starting with the least contaminated food.
1. Avocados
Pictured Recipe: Spicy Avocado Hummus
Good news, guacamole lovers! Avocados once again top the Clean 15 list. Of the conventional avocados tested, fewer than 1 percent contained pesticides (with only one pesticide found).
Related: Healthy Avocado Recipes
2. Sweet Corn
Pictured Recipe: Coconut Grilled Corn
When it comes to pesticides, sweet corn is one of the cleanest conventional foods you can buy (less than 2 percent had any detected pesticide residues). A small amount of sweet corn is grown from genetically engineered seeds, so if you choose to avoid genetically engineered crops, opt for organic corn.
Related: Is Corn Healthy or Not?
3. Pineapples
Pictured Recipe: Pineapple & Cucumber Salad
Almost all (90 percent) of conventional pineapples tested had no pesticide residues.
4. Onions
Pictured Recipe: Melting Onions
Of all the conventional onions tested, less than 10 percent tested contained pesticide residues.
5. Papayas
Pictured Recipe: Papaya & Feta Salad
A large majority (80 percent) of papaya tested had no pesticide residues. However, a small amount of papaya is produced from genetically modified seeds, so opt for organic papaya if you want to be sure to avoid genetically modified produce.
6. Frozen Sweet Peas
Pictured Recipe: Lemony Linguine with Peas
A large majority (80 percent) of conventional frozen sweet peas tested had no pesticide residues, with no more than two pesticides detected.
7. Eggplant
Pictured Recipe: Eggplant Parmesan
8. Asparagus
Pictured Recipe: Grilled Asparagus
9. Broccoli
Pictured Recipe: Balsamic & Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
10. Cabbage
Pictured Recipe: Melting Cabbage
A large majority (86 percent) of conventional cabbage tested had no pesticide residues, and only two of more than 700 cabbage samples contained more than one pesticide residue.
11. Kiwi
Pictured Recipe: Chocolate-Pistachio Kiwi
12. Cauliflower
Pictured recipe: Easy Cauliflower Tacos
13. Mushrooms
Pictured recipe: Roasted Mushrooms with Brown Butter & Parmesan
14. Honeydew Melon
Pictured Recipe: Honeydew Melon Agua Fresca
15. Cantaloupe
Pictured Recipe: Cantaloupe & Cucumber Salad with Fresh Za'atar