Hope everyone has had a wonderful week!!!!! I have great information this week on how to eat healthy, and not have to choose between being  homeless or buying safe and healthy produce!!! :). I’m going to share the top 12 list of produce that must be organic (aka) “The Dirty Dozen” , and the top 15 produce that does not need to be Organic (aka) Clean 15. Here we Go!!!

Dirty Dozen * Must Be Organic* Beside each produce items in Brackets I will give you the number of pesticides that were found. 1 Apples (40) 2. Strawberries (60) 3. Grapes (30) 4. celery (60) 5. Peaches (60) 6. Spinach (50) 7. Sweet Bell Pepper (50) 8. Imported Nectarines(33) 9. Cucumbers (35) 10. Potatoes (35) 11. Cherry Tomatoes 12. Hot Peppers. * I didn’t get the pesticide count for numbers 11 and 12. But If they made the Dirty Dozen list I am going to assume the counts are in this ball park. Kale/Collard greens and Summer squash are in the Dirty Dozen plus lists. so those produce are high in pesticides and are recommended to be consumed organically. www.ewg.org/

Clean 15 (Yay)!!! *Does not need to be  Organic *!! 1.Corn (Be sure corn is GMO free) 2.Onions  3.Pineapple 4.Advocatos (yay) 5. Cabbage 6. Frozen sweet Peas. 7. Papayas(Be sure Papayas are GMO free) 8. Mangos 9. Asparagus 10. Eggplant 11. Kiwi 12. grapefruit 13. cantaloupe 14.Sweet Potatoes 15.Mushrooms.

This Information is based on scientific research studies that were conducted by scientists from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Federal Food and Drug Administration who are part of a health and research and advocacy organization called Environmental Working Group (EWG). For 9 years EWG has been ranking contamination on 48 popular fruits and vegies based on an analysis of over 28,000 samples. www.ewg.org/

Washing your Produce with a White Vinegar wash is so important. Experts have found that a White vinegar Wash kills 98%  of bacteria and removes pesticides. You can buy white vinegar in larger quantities that are more affordable at the dollar store compared to buying the already made pesticide cleaners for your produce from the grocers. I need to save as much as possible so I can have extra money to go dancing :). (I will give you the mixture Below )

Many Pesticides pose serious health risks and have been linked to brain and nervous system toxicity, cancers, hormone disruption, skin, eye, and lung irritations. Truthfully learning about all this is a bummer. I miss the days when all food was safe or at least I thought it was. I wonder sometimes if this is why so many people are becoming ill leaving us wondering how they got so sick. Are these foods making many of us ill? But getting over the hump of learning all this is empowering. It empowers us because we know the safe measures to take so that we are in fact eating healthy instead of only thinking we are.

I have found a fair amount of people that want to educate us on eating organic but it’s as if they forget that not all of us can afford to always eat Organic. They scream and shout from the roof tops about how thrilled that they are to be 100% Organic, and that’s Awesome and incredible. Its great to aim for that, but It left me a lot of times feeling bad and feeling like this health goal is not reachable for me. With the Dirty Dozen list and Clean 15 list I feel Inspired again. When I have the funds to buy Organic I will, and when It’s not possible I can pick from the clean 15 List and still feel great. We must do what we can with what we have , and that’s enough.

I have found supermarkets such as, the superstore and Co-op and Save on Foods to have a great selection of Organic produce at more affordable prices compared to The local health food grocery Store. Farmers Markets are also a great place to shop to get quality and affordable produce.

I hope this List Inspires you and gives you a bit more of a direction on what to buy. I hope this list lifts some weight off your shoulders so cooking and eating can be clean, fun, safe and healthy again. the way its supposed to be, and the way it should be. Happy Eating !!!

White Vinegar wash!!!! fill a bowl with water and add 1/8 to 1/2 cups of White vinegar depending on the size of your bowl. Soak for 15 to 20 minutes. I also use the sink when I have a lot of produce in that case, I add about 1 cup of vinegar. Very Effective way to wash Produce !!

*****Next Blog ***** Price Look up codes (PLU) what they are and how you can use them as a guide to know exactly which produce you have in your hands. using PLU Codes to tell you if your produce is  Organic, Conventional , or GMO *****

I will be getting into detail about GMOs later on. A topic Im very passionate about. If your not familiar with Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s) and you want to get a jump start check out www.nongmoproject.org

Look forward to talking to you again soon!!!