Everyone wants to eat healthy. However, it's so much cheaper and easier to be unhealthy. It's easier on your wallet and your day planner to pick up convenience foods, instead of taking the detour into organic farms and food co-ops. If you've ever stood in the grocery store and did a side-by-side comparison of organic versus "regular" tomatoes, you probably staggered at the prices. Healthy foods can cost as much as two times the amount of regular foods. So, who has the luxury to eat healthy?

You do! For starters, discard the mindset that eating healthy is a luxury, because it's actually a necessity. It's really the other way around. You don't have the luxury to buy hormone-injected, pesticide-drenched convenience foods if you want to invest in your longterm health. Pesticides, have been known to cause cancer, create birth defects in unborn babies, and advance the effects of aging. A particular set of pesticides, known as neurotoxins, are said to cause brain damage, like Alzheimers. Innocent foods like peaches, apples and green beans harbor the highest concentration of neurotoxins. Thorough rinsing may reduce, but not eliminate, these pesticides.

What we know is that eating healthy goes beyond integrating more non-processed foods into your diet. Shopping on the outer aisles of your grocery store is a good place to begin, but you don't have to stop there. To maximize your health, you'll need to develop a notoriously picky side. Buying fresh or frozen fruits and veggies isn't enough if they've been treated with synthetic, unnatural pesticides, or bio-engineered in some unholy lab. All the scrubbing in the world won't rid your foods of harmful ingredients that make a way through the peel. You may be consuming more harmful products than good.

So where to begin? And what is the most economical option available?

The first place to look is in your grocery store. Most grocery chains now have a meager section of organic foods available. Look for the least-populated area, and that's where you'll find these foods. What to look for on the packaging is a seal that says "100% Certified Organic". This seal comes from the US Department of Agriculture, and ensures that the food you're about to purchase was treated with absolutely natural pesticides that won't harm you or the environment. This also means that the product is 100% natural, and not a lab experiment. Some items may say organic, but only those with the seal have been regulated by the government.

Next, look into buying from local farms. At LocalHarvest.Org, you can search for farms in your area. There's many different options available to you when you buy locally. You can go to U-Pick farms, the Farmer's Market, roadside stands, food co-ops, and CSAs. Here's how they differ:

U-Pick farms are open-to-the public. During harvest time, you can pick your own fruit and vegetables. It's a fun place to go with children, who'll work for free. After you've loaded your baskets, you pay on a per-pound basis. There's many farms all over the US, and you'll be sure to find one near you (no matter how citified your location). It's a good practice to call ahead before you go, so that you know what's in season, and the hours of operation.

The Farmer's Market and roadside stands are also available to the general public. Every town has a farmer's market, where local farmers come to sell their produce. If you live in a major city, especially one with warmer weather, you may have access to a farmer's market 365 days a year, but many operate only once or twice a week. The roadside stands are also operated by farmers who are interested in selling their produce, but may not be interested in paying for the fee to set up shop at a farmer's market. These are fun outings for the weekend, where you can stock up. They are often cheaper than grocery stores, because you're not paying for the middle man's gas and transportation.

A particularly interesting option now available is signing up for a food co-op. A food co-op is a grocery store opened by a group of individuals. It's usually community-owned. A food co-op may be private (membership only) or open to the public. If you become a member of a public food co-op, you will get discounted rates on fresh food. If you decide to start a private co-op, you will have a deciding say on what types of food you buy, and where you buy from. Because you're dealing directly with the farmer and buying in bulk, you get a special discount not available in major grocery stores. It's worth looking into, if you're interested in eating healthy food and supporting your community at the same time. Membership starts a $10 a year, in many food co-ops.

CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture, is like a food co-op, but without a store. You basically subscribe to (or sponsor) a farm for a season, and you get a weekly box of produce in return. This produce varies, based on what's grown in your sponsored farm. You pledge for the season, usually upfront, although some farmers allow you to pay in weekly installments. It's a nice way of really supporting your community.

You may be wondering, how can I be sure that local produce is any different than what I buy in the grocery store? For one thing, the foods don't need to be conditioned for a long haul from Mexico. When you interact specifically with local farmers, you can also ask them about their pesticide processes. A lot of small farmers use non-synthetic pesticides, but don't have the money to pay for the USDA's certified organic seal.

So, hopefully this gives you a good start, but if you can't afford to go completely organic, here's a list of 12 of the most contaminated items, known as the "dirty dozen":

1. Strawberries

2. Bell Peppers

3. Spinach

4. Cherries (grown in the US)

5. Peaches

6. Cantaloupe (grown in Mexico)

7. Celery

8. Apples

9. Apricots

10. Green Beans

11. Grapes (grown in Chile)

12. Cucumbers

Strawberries are the worst offenders because as much as 500 lbs of pesticide are sprayed over each acre of strawberries.