Eating Better

Want excellent information on living a healthier lifestyle?  Want to cut dollars off the grocery bill and know which food is okay to buy non-organic?  Don't care about organic?  Think about it.  Maybe you should.   

I am a strong advocate for organic food.  Yes, it can be expensive, but not always.  And yes, it supports an industry that now can be as misleading as the big food giants have been. 

In this country in particular we have become accustomed to large portions, perfect looking food, and excess in general.  Consider eating a better balance of food and a higher quality and maybe the super-sized snacks won't be so attractive.  The healthier we eat, the less opportunity we have for future illness. 

Many reliable sources, including the Environmental Work Group, a highly respected non-profit organization with a mission to "....use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment" have created easy to follow lists for what to buy organic, and what isn't necessary to buy organic.  Here's their list of produce, dirty (loaded with pesticides) and clean (not so much):

Dirty - Multiple pesticides found on these fruits/veggies - Best purchased organic - always wash produce regardless of where or how you bought it


Celery
Peaches
Strawberries
Apples
Domestic blueberries
Nectarines
Sweet bell peppers
Spinach
Kale
Cherries
Potatoes
Grapes (Imported)

(This is one of the those times when I like frozen organic produce.  The produce is blanched on the spot, and then flash frozen.  Pesticides are gone.  Flavor and nutrition is locked in.  Buy a reputable brand and make such things as spinach omelets, cherry tarts, etc.)

Clean - fewer pesticides, considered safe, not absolutely necessary to buy organic but as always, please wash carefully

Onion
Avocado
Sweet corn
Pineapple
Mango
Sweet peas
Asparagus
Kiwi
Cabbage
Eggplant
Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Grapefruit
Sweet potato
Honeydew melon

Want a downloadable version of EWG's 2010 Shopper's Guide? click here.

Always, ALWAYS, wash your produce.  Even if you buy organic, you simply don't know who has touched the produce or where it has really been.  Be safe.  Soap and water, as my mother always said, never hurt anybody (well, some soap, but that's another blog...)
And in case I haven't given you enough of a nudge, read what the Washington Post had to say about strawberries.

Happy Eating!

My New Best Friends

Curious?

I'm not much of a plastics person, especially in the kitchen.  I really do love quality stainless steel cookware, glass storage containers, and I'm having a torrid affair with my chef's knife which was a lovely gift from good friends.

I love to cook, not full meals daily for a family, of course (I'll leave that to my friends Rosemarie and Cathy who have fed their families well over the years and have received many, many compliments).  I would perish.  More importantly, they would.  But I love to cook simple meals for myself and friends and occasionally go full out and be totally creative with it. 

How do we reduce kitchen stress while trying to be good to the planet, our wallets, and keep our cooking integrity?  I think this is an ongoing game of sorts and I'm always looking for kitchenware that does not interfere with the quality of the food.  Technology provides us with some really cool tools now and then.  Here are some of my new favorites from Fusion Brand, not new on the market, but new to my favorite things:

The iceorb

Isn't this the sexiest ice tray you've ever seen?



(multi purpose...) @$16.00

but how to resist that figure and that shade?

You need at least two!

cupcooley

Starbuck's should marry them.  If you're still using paper cups then try these and buy a few for your bag and car.  They are cute, reusable, and they will save a few trees, and @ $4.00, well, why not? 

Here's the cutie of the bunch, in my opinion:

thefoodloop

You can wrap just about anything and cook it. Beats twine.  Beats all those ways we wrap food that we won't tell anyone about.  Beats everything I've seen.  @ $10.00 for a package of four (and isn't the color magnificent?), it's a good deal.  Personally, I have not fried (excuse me, "sauteed") anything wrapped in one of these, but that's me.  I do, however, use them for steaming and poaching (there is one for the grill which is flameproof and they also have a mini loop)

But here's my absolute favorite of all the Fusion Brand products:

thefoodpod

This is so alien looking that I love it.  It holds several heads of broccoli.  You can boil one dozen eggs.  Consider the possibilities.  (I'm thinking you could probably hand wash your delicates in one also (let me know how it works if you're brave enough to try but please don't tell me you used the same one for the broccoli) and @ $15.00, I think this is something you'll want to use all the time.

Take a look at Fusion Brands products. What I really like about them, besides the colors and the design: 

Their products are made of FDA/EU food-safe silicone and BPA-free nylon

(Note to Fusion Brands should you see this blog post:  I could use a few more iceorbs.  They are fabulous at keeping the cat's drinking water cool in this weather, thanks)