Choices Road Trip for Health--Week 2

Make your health journey a fun adventure!  

Rejuvenate your good habits like reading labels,

trying new recipes,

and saving money while buying high quality food! 

TIP:  DAILY CHOICES FOR HEALTH 

Work hard to eliminate processed foods from your diet. Eat only foods that contain ingredients you might cook with at home.  Read labels.  Usually the fewer the ingredients, the less processed the food.  There are many websites to help guide you in this endeavor, but one of my favorites is www.100daysofrealfood.com    Here is Lisa Leake, the author of the blog, sharing some of her tips for reading labels.  While nutrition labels are important, the list of ingredients is a must-read as well.

INFORM AND ENCOURAGE

2017 FOOD TREND HIGHLIGHT #1

Eat organic.  The trend to eat organic continues in 2017.  Now you can find organic options in nearly every grocery store.  What used to be a "hippie" trend, has become mainstream.  According to the USDA, consumer behavior has been driven by concerns about health, the environment and animal welfare.

What drives concerns about health?  Chemicals in our food.  One of the most widely used herbicides used on conventionally grown crops is glyphosate, the active ingredient in Round Up.  Prior to the 1990's, it was only used on a small scale because, in addition to killing weeds, it also killed crops.  But then Monsanto introduced genetically modified crops that were resistant to the herbicide, and the use of glyphosate skyrocketed.  In 1987, 11 million pounds of the chemical were used on US farms, and now nearly 300 million pounds are applied each year! This is especially troubling, given the fact that in 2015, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer categorized glyphosate as a probable carcinogen (cancer causing agent).  And with the increased use, come resistant "superweeds" that require even greater quantities of chemicals (and different types) to kill them, creating a vicious cycle.    Newsweek February, 2016   With greater chemical applications, come greater residues on our food.  

Which leads us to the money saving tip for today....

SAVINGS RESOURCE

You may be convinced that buying organic is the way to go, but there is an added cost, which is sometimes  difficult to fit into a tight budget.  The Environmental Working Group analyzes pesticide residues on produce each year.  What they've found is that some items have greater residue than others, leading them to create two lists: The Dirty Dozen and The Clean Fifteen.  If you prioritize your grocery budget by buying organic for items on the Dirty Dozen List, then you can save money by buying regular produce items on the Clean Fifteen List.

The Dirty Dozen  (produce that tested highest in pesticide residue)--best to buy organic

Strawberries topped the list this year, followed by apples, nectarines, peaches, celery, grapes, cherries, spinach, tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers.  The "Dirty Dozen plus" items are those that did not necessarily test highest in pesticide residue, but the pesticide residues that were present were considered to be the most toxic.  The "plus" produce items are hot peppers, kale, and collard greens.

The Clean Fifteen (produce that tested lowest in pesticide residue)--safe to buy conventional, not organic.  These are the products you can SAVE MONEY on, by not buying organic!

Avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, cabbage, frozen sweet peas, onions, asparagus, mangos, papayas, kiwi, eggplant, honeydew melon, grapefruit, cantaloupe, and cauliflower

When in doubt--

it is always best to increase your intake of fruits and vegetables,

whether they are organic or not!

RECIPE SHARE

It's always a plus when a recipe is quick and easy to clean up.  I love this one from Giada de Laurentiis from the Food Network:  Fusilli with Spinach and Asiago!  Beautiful and delicious!  This is what it looked like when I made it at home :)   Click here for the recipe.

And we have added a new Eat Well, Be Happy cooking video to our website!  Click here to see Debra prepare recipes featuring the anti-inflammatory ingredients of ginger and turmeric!

Stay on track!  

Don't lose sight of your destination!  

Make your health journey a fun adventure!