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!