Susan and Sarah led a workshop all about healthy green living at the Mommybites Summit last night. It was a packed crowd (and a sparkly cocktail party) at Columbia University’s Faculty House. Hundreds of NYC-area moms and moms-to-be convened and mingled with sponsors and authorities (LOVED the kick-off speech by Scream Free-Parenting author Hal Runkel).

The event was expertly organized by four dynamo women who we swear could solve world peace. (Including our “own” Elise Jones, whose action plan is here on our Inspiring Planners feature at Practically Green!)

Susan gave her top recommended actions, and one of them is about the dirty dozen.

Ever heard of the dirty dozen?

Healthy Child’s Rachel Sarnoff Lincoln gives this compelling recommendation. (More on this amazing organization in the author bio below.)

Enjoy – and don’t be surprised if you think twice the next time you’re at the supermarket!

Ditch the Dirty Dozen

Think “dirty dozen” and you might see a grainy picture of a gun-toting Charles Bronson in your head. Now flash-forward 40 years and update Chuck’s picture as surrounded by a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables. This is today’s “dirty dozen,” the 12 fruits and vegetables that contain the highest concentrations of pesticides, as identified by the Environmental Working Group (and summarized on Practically Green).

Why should you care? Because pesticides have been linked to cancer, among other things. Because, pound for pound, your kids absorb way more dangerous pesticides than you do. And because if your family simply eats organic or avoids these 12 fruits and veggies altogether, you can reduce their overall pesticide exposure by 80 percent.

Eighty percent, people.

But unless you’re exclusively shopping organic it’s hard to remember what’s on the list. We can download shopping guides till the cows come home, but I for one can never remember where I put them. So here’s my little trick for remembering the 12 fruits and veggies that I put back on the shelf unless I’m buying organic.

The ABCs: apples, bell peppers and celery.

Fruit cup: peaches, nectarines, pears, grapes, strawberries and cherries. (Visualize those weird tin-can fruit cups you used to get in the school cafeteria.)

Lettuce and potatoes. (Visualize the veggies typically served with the fruit cup.)

When in doubt, go for things you can peel by hand. An orange over an apple. Corn over a potato. You get the picture. Then go organic for those you can’t, and save money by shopping late for bargains at the farmer’s market, or joining a CSA program.

Bon appétit!

Author Bio:

Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff is the Interim Executive Director/CEO of Healthy Child Healthy World, the nation’s leading non-profit protecting children’s environmental health. Previously, she founded the online magazine EcoStiletto.com and MommyGreenest.com, a blog about eco-friendly parenting her three children. Rachel has appeared on “The TODAY Show,” “CNN Headline News Local Edition,” and “Good Day L.A.” among others, and is a regular speaker about leading a realistic and judgment-free sustainable life.

Please check out our post about Rachel here.