What to eat, what to eat...

A new blog I have enjoyed reading is the "Urban Homestead." Although this family is the extreme example of self-sustained healthy living, they have tons of amazing ideas! It also makes me jealous of their California growing season!

One quote I liked from a recent post is regarding choosing food sources. The "chain" begins with what you can grow in your own yard (and you should see their yard! Who knew you can fit so much on a city lot!).

If not from backyard, then locally produced
If not locally produced, then organic.
If not organic, then family farm.
If not family farm, then local business.
If not local business, then fair trade.

Great chain and one I need to work at following more closely! I have learned that healthy, unprocessed eating generally involves more time, research, and work than simply hitting the supermarket!

In other growing news-my plants are sprouting! I have carrots, peas, sunflowers and spaghetti squash all coming in! I have my lettuce and spinach planted (better late than never) and am waiting to see little green shoots from them.

This year I have planted lettuce both in the salad table (see previous post) and in my yard, to see which grows better. I will let you all know how that goes!

Happy Eating!

Dirty, dirty, dirty

Organic or not organic? Is it worth the money? Should I switch? Is it a gimmick? A simple answer to this question was in a recent issue of Martha Stewart, as well as in my Maximized Living Nutrition book (more on Maximized Living later).

There is a set of 2 lists developed based on pesticide loads. Basically, the idea is that if you are wanting to switch to organic, it is best to immediately switch out the produce with the highest amount of pesticides used, and/or the ones you eat the most often. These lists can help differentiate.

The Dirty Dozen (highest pesticide residue):

1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Bell Peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Kale
9. Grapes (Imported)
10. Lettuce
11. Carrots
12. Pears

The Clean Fifteen (buy conventional and save some $):

1. Onion
2. Avocado
3. Sweet Corn
4. Pineapple
5. Mango
6. Asparagus
7. Sweet Peas
8. Kiwi
9. Cabbage
10. Eggplant
11. Papaya
12. Watermelon
13. Broccoli
14. Tomato
15. Sweet Potato

Another big tip to help remember-it is not the rule, but many times if the fruit has a thick skin you don't eat, you are usually able to go non-organic.

If you want to support organic/fair-trade exclusively for economic reasons-have at it!

Happy Grocery Shopping!