Food is important to me. It always has been. I love really good food and I choose not to eat food that I know is not of good quality. Why waste the calories? I have enough problem watching what I eat. Why give my body calories from foods that don’t taste great? If I’m going to gain weight from eating. it better be the best tasting food I can eat.
So we like to have our salads made with romaine lettuce leaves, sweet red bell peppers, onions, great tasting quality tomatoes and Persian cucumbers. We make our own salad dressing with salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil, raspberry vinegar and a good balsamic vinegar.
Wonderful Vegetables from local farmer’s markets
So what has changed? I learned that lettuce and sweet bell peppers are on the dirty dozen list of heavily toxic vegetables. If I can’t find organic sweet peppers, preferably red, orange, yellow or green, in that order, we go without peppers. If you visit the EWG(Environmental Working Group) website, you learn of the 12 foods that must be organic. And one of the dirty dozen is sweet bell pepper. Same goes for lettuce. Tomatoes and cucumbers aren’t on the dirty dozen list yet. But I still choose those ingredients based on flavor, preferring really good flavor. I don’t want a tomato that tastes like jellied water.
So why is any of this important? It’s important because what we eat affects our body which affects our health and it also affects your skin, the biggest organ in the body. Yes, we must eat our fruits and vegetables. But if those fruits and vegetables are loaded with pesticides, how is that affecting our bodies? What I love about EWG is they have determined how many toxins various fruits and vegetables have. Thus the dirty dozen which must be bought organic. Things like onions and garlic have natural ingredients that prevent pests from pestering them so they don’t have to be bought organically. And there are other fruits like bananas, kiwi, mangos and pineapples that have little pesticides. Cabbage and broccoli are also very low in pesticides along with eggplant, avocados and asparagus. So not everything must be bought organically.
However, there is another reason to buy organic food. Did you know that the nutrients we once got from one carrot years ago (I can’t give you the definitive date here) now requires that we eat 4 carrots to get the same amount? Produce gets the majority of the nutrients we need in the last day or two of the ripening process. So if the produce is picked before that time, we are getting shorted on nutrients.
If you have local farmers near you, support them. In supporting them, you are helping the local economy, your family and yourself. Some communities now have CSA, Community Supported Agriculture. A great place to get your organic vegetables. And I have plenty of wonderful recipes to share with you if you find something you’ve never cooked before. Remember, I love food! I love talking about it, cooking it and eating it and then talking about how great it tasted and what shall we have at the next meal before we’ve even finished this meal! Drives my hubby crazy!
So have you bought organic vegetables or fruits and what is your experience with it?
Great job on the new blog. I like the banner at the top with the butterfly. My blog is live too, but needs a lot of tweaking. I’ll let you know when it’s ready for viewing. Anyway great reminder about organic food. I do really great for awhile buying organic produce, but then it gets so expensive and I start to buy regular again. I love bell peppers too and knew I’m supposed to buy them organic, but don’t always do. I really will get back to that.
Keep up the great work!
Thanks for your comments! And I look forward to seeing your blog.
I know organic can be expensive but check out local farmer’s markets or Trader Joe’s. I found I can get organic bell peppers there at a better price and other times, the farmer’s market does the trick. There are many veggies that don’t require being bought organic, too. Still better to buy them at farmer’s market where they are on the vines longer.
I loved this! The site itself is simple and easy to look at, and the content well written and meaningful. I learned a lot from reading it, and it happens to be a topic that my husband and myself are interested in.
I always wonder what needs to be bought organic and what is OK being regular.
Do you have much information about vegetable co-op clubs? I have a friend who is part of one in Berkeley and she swears by it.
Your opinion?
HI, Pam, thank you so much for your comments and compliments. I’m assuming the vegetable co-op clubs are what some call Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). I have not joined a vegetable one myself because there is just my husband and I. And we have so many wonderful farmer’s markets to choose from. But I did join a CSA for buying organic meats, chickens, duck and eggs. I’m very pleased with what I’m getting from them. I have friends who have joined the vegetable CSAs and they love them. And some of the CSAs attend the local farmer’s markets, too, so I get some of the those vegetables but in smaller quantities. With vegetable CSAs you don’t get to choose what you get. You get a selection of what is growing for each season you sign up and each CSA is different too. Some may give you choices. So it depends on how flexible you can be with what you will be cooking for that week. Usually the vegetables come weekly. So check in your area for what is available, learn what options you have and then decide. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to contact me. Buying vegetables like that is more cost effective too. It all depends on the size of your family, too.
I had read about the Dirty Dozen before and am committed to buying organic or locally grown as much as possible; I wish I could grow my own veggies in my backyard, but haven’t really had the time it takes to do it; maybe when I retire?? I envy my youngest sister who lives in Idaho and has her own vegetables, fruit, and also makes her own cheese (she has goats), has her own chickens and pigs for eggs and meat, makes her own bread and pasta and has local neighbors with cows that she gets milk from, as well as milk from her own goats. She and her family (she has 7 kids!) are all very healthy and no fat on any of them!! I wonder if everyone felt as strongly about eating well and buying organically if the food producers would finally get the hint and change the way they do things?
Yes, Donna, it would be wonderful if the food producers get the idea but it will affect their bottom line. As to growing your own, consider even planting a tomato or two or some other favorite vegetable in a pot on your patio or porch. You can even plant a strawberry pot and get fresh strawberries that way. Start small. How wonderful for your sister. I really think if every person were to just plant one item and get with neighbors to plant other items, then you can share what you grow with each other and have a variety! Make it a neighborhood project! I know we end up sharing some of our tomatoes and squash. And sometimes the herbs. fresh herbs are wonderful to add to your meals!