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This Strawberry Tastes Like a Strawberry!

Blythe

Wow! This strawberry tastes like a strawberry! This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to go to two organic Farmer’s Markets. Sampling the produce, cookies, nut butters, jams browsing the handmade items and jewelry was the best!

I don’t claim to be an organic food specialist, but let me tell you what a treat it was to taste fruits and vegetables, peanut butter without sugar and of course, pastries made by loving hands that had great flavor. I was in my glory! I’ve found non-organic produce, especially the fruit, doesn’t do much for my taste buds. But when you’re raising a family, buying totally organic can be a challenge. It can be expensive, not always readily available and having the time to shop may not be in your schedule. For me, when I have the opportunity and wallet to buy organic, I do. And I have a few foods that I won’t eat unless they are organic.

But when I’m too busy or too tired to make a salad or grill some chicken, pizza or take-out may be on my table. I’m never going to give up sugar or carbs, so moderation is the name of the game for me. Every family is different, so you have to do what works best for yours. And please don’t beat yourself up of organic isn’t the way to go.

Each year the Environmental Working Group releases its “dirty dozen” and “clean fifteen” lists of foods. The lists reveal the fruits and vegetables with the highest amount of detected pesticide residue as well as the least amount of detected pesticide residue.

David Suzuki, from (www.davidsuzuki.org) says the following:
Should you avoid the dirty dozen?
Absolutely not! Fresh fruits and vegetables are always a healthier choice than processed foods. Besides, non-organic processed foods are sure to contain a slough of chemicals too! Instead, let the guide dictate your allocation of organic vs. non-organic purchases.

Here are the lists for 2017.

Dirty Dozen list:                                                      

  1. Strawberries
  2. Spinach
  3. Nectarines
  4. Apples
  5. Peaches
  6. Pears
  7. Cherries
  8. Grapes
  9. Celery
  10. Tomatoes
  11. Sweet bell peppers
  12. Potatoes

The Clean Fifteen

  1. Sweet corn
  2. Avocados
  3. Pineapples
  4. Cabbage
  5. Onions
  6. Frozen sweet peas
  7. Papayas
  8. Asparagus
  9. Mangoes
  10. Eggplant
  11. Honeydew melon
  12. Kiwi
  13. Cantaloupe
  14. Cauliflower
  15. Grapefruit