Only Organic Swap Challenge: Lunch
Weeks Three and Four
If you missed the launch of our New Year’s Organic Swap Challenge, it’s not too late to join in on the fun. This week we are guiding your swap journey with three lunch items to replace with healthier organic options. Learn more about the challenge and organic breakfast swaps here.
Top 4 Organic Lunch Swaps:
- Meat
- Why you should swap:
If you’re opting to eat a turkey sandwich for lunch, you should make the switch to organic cold cuts. Organic livestock must be fed 100 percent certified organic feed. And the land and pasture on which organic livestock are raised must be certified organic, along with meeting all organic crop production standards. With the exception of poultry, conventionally raised animals can also be injected with synthetic growth hormones, so they’ll gain weight faster or produce more milk.
Our top picks for organic meat are Organic Valley and Applegate.
- Salads
- Why you should swap:
The number one reason to choose organic fruits and veggies is to avoid pesticide and herbicide residues that have been linked to environmental and human health problems. Learn which fruits and veggies are the most important to buy organic using EWG’s Dirty Dozen™ list.
Our top picks for organic fresh salad ingredients are Earthbound Farm and Uncle Matt’s.
Now that your salad ingredients are organic, don’t douse it in conventional salad dressing and toppings. Choose certified organic dressings from our partner Annie’s Homegrown and use clean ingredients when making them from scratch.
Our top picks for salad toppers and to make your own clean organic dressings with are Seasnax and Stonyfield.
- Prepared Foods
- Why you should swap:
Prepared foods often hide unsavory and unhealthy ingredients behind words like “natural,” “healthy” and “good for you.” But when you swap conventionally prepared foods for organic options, you can be sure you’re avoiding toxic and synthetic pesticides, growth hormones, genetic engineering, artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and irradiation.
Our top picks for organic prepared foods come from Annie’s Homegrown, Stonyfield and Amy’s Kitchen.
- Drinks On The Go
- Why you should swap
If you’ve been in a convenient store lately, it’s likely you’ve noticed that drinks on the go are one of the hardest organic items to find. Whether you want a nice tea for an afternoon pick me up, a juice to accompany your lunch, a kombucha to heal your gut or a protein smoothie to round out your meal. Finding organic beverages for lunch can be a real challenge. The argument for why you want to stop drinking conventional drinks comes down to one main ingredient that shows up over and over again in just about every beverage: sugar.
Sugar or some form of it in almost every single beverage you come across. Beverage manufacturers are even using it to flavor water. Sugar is used so much in on the go beverages that unless you are drinking only water, you’re likely drinking sugar. In fact, a can of non-diet soda contains anywhere from 8 to 13 teaspoons of sugar per 12 ounces. But, it doesn’t stop when you swap soda, you’ll still end up consuming high amounts of sugar in teas, smoothies, and juices too. The problem with sugar used in conventional drinks is that most of it is sourced from genetically engineered ingredients. GMO sugar beet crops make up 95 percent of the U.S. production. The other popular beverage sweetener is corn syrup. Over 80 percent of corn production is also genetically modified. Keep in mind that sugar is typically the first or second ingredient in a beverage, which means that the drink is made up of mostly sugar. What’s worse is sometimes you’re drinking several different types of sugar without realizing it.
The best way to avoid genetically engineered sugar is to purchase certified organic beverages. This can take a bit more planning since finding them in certain areas can be a challenge, but thankfully grocery stores across the country are carrying our favorite go-to products for either packing or picking up on the go. The best brands for on the go beverages are Uncle Matt’s, Traditional Medicinals, Honest Tea and Orgain.
Organic Lunch Swap Menu:
Annie’s Fruit and Quinoa Salad + Yogurt Dressing
Greek Salad with Annie’s Lemon & Chive Dressing
Orgain’s No-Bake Energy Bars Recipe
Orgain’s Mulled Cider with Collagen Peptides Recipe
Uncle Matts Orange Energy Shake
Uncle Matt’s Citrus Green Smoothie
Vegan Kale Caesar Salad With Veggie Burger Croutons
Amy’s Arugula Salad With Veggie Burger Crumbles
Stonyfield’s Carrot-Raisin Slaw
Stonyfield’s Cucumber Melon Smoothie
Challenge a friend to take the organic swap adventure with you.
Organic Giveaway:
