Today, you hear the word Organic now, more than ever. It enters conversations when talking with friends and family, is a focus at the grocery store, in online advertising and in television ads. It was not along ago that Organic was for the wealthy and families feeding an average of 4 mouths would not spend the extra money for organic, but rather pay less for the conventional product sitting on the shelf beside it, the same product they have been buying their entire lives, and from eye view, they look exactly the same. In fact, people who bought ‘organic product’ were perceived to be crazy to spend more money on the same product. I remember the comments said around it. Boy, how times have changed!
Thank goodness for the internet and for advocates of natural healthy foods, that more and more information is available at our finger tips to help the public fully understand what it means to spend extra $$ on a product that says Organic. I am confident writing this that there is an exponential growth of people who now understand what it means when a product is labelled organic, no chemical pesticides or chemical fertilizers are used to grow the produce. Pesticides are chemicals sprayed on crops to kill insects, fungus and bacteria, but in this process, they are making humans very ill. For more information visit the following site:http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/effects-of-pesticides/
Recently, I had a conversation with a friend, who asked me if I was aware of the ‘dirty dozen’. I had not, and she proceeded tell me that it is 12 food items that have the most pesticides on them and should always be purchased organic. Very intrigued, I was eager to do a bit of research to find out what was on the list. Sure enough, just typing the two words Dirty and Dozen into the Google search engine, pages upon pages of information came up on the ‘dirty dozen’. I highly recommend you do some more research on this.
So what are the Dirty Dozen?
- Apples
- Celery
- Strawberries
- Peaches
- Spinach
- Nectarines
- Grapes (imported)
- Sweet Bell Peppers
- Potatoes
- Blueberries
- Lettuce
- Kale
To my surprise, the products that I always buy ‘organic’ were not on the list, the products I thought that would have been on this list were Soy, Corn, Peanuts, but I was wrong. Although I will continue to buy the products that I already only buy Organic based on GMO factors, I will be adding the other staples onto my grocery list, under the Organic list: spinach, strawberries, bell peppers, potatoes and apples.
Check out this website for detailed information on why these 12 are listed on the dirty dozen list: http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/dirty-dozen-foods#slide-1
Thanks for reading & happy cookin to all!
Lyndsay & Laurie
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What’s on the menu this week?
- Rice Noodles with Peanut Sauce
- Fiesta Salad
- Grilled Portobello Mushroom Burgers
- Bok Choy Stir-fry
- Romaine, Tofu Salad & Sprouts
- Brunch: TLT
- Dessert: Fruit & Jam Parfait
Enjoy!
Lyndsay & Laurie
Lyndsay & Laurie
Contact us at lyndsay@vegmenufortheweek.com
