Fruits and Veggies

You have to check out my friends blog at http://www.justtryingtolivebetter.blogspot.com/

I just washed all of our fruits and veggies in a vinegar water solution (2 tbsp white vinegar for every 1 pint of water and approximately 1 tbsp salt) in a white dish pan.  Scrubbed with a veggie brush and rinsed with cool water.  And needless to say I am grossed out!!!!  You should see all the yuck floating in the water!!!  I love this recipe!  And we will be eating very clean fruits and veggies!!  Look at these pictures, that water was crystal clear at the beginning!  Yuck!!

The Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15 (taken from http://static.foodnews.org/pdf/EWG-shoppers-guide.pdf You will want to go this and print off the card to carry with you.)

It has been said to me......"would you spray an apple with Raid, rinse it off, and then give it to your son to eat?"  NOOOOOOOOOOOO is the answer!!!  Well....this is basically what we are doing to ourselves and our families.  Conventional fruits and vegetable that were sprayed with pesticides, developed to kill insects, are what line the isles in the produce section.

OK.  Now we are going to talk about what fruits and veggies you should either buy organic or don't eat.  Along with a list of fruits and vegetables that it really does not matter if you buy organic or conventional.  Here we go.... 

Dirty Dozen (Conventionally grown foods you most want to avoid due to high levels of pesticides or buy Organic.)

1.  celery

2.  peaches

3.  strawberries

4.  apples

5.  blueberries

6.  nectarines

7.  bell peppers

8.  spinach

9.  cherries

10.  kale/collard greens

11. potatoes

12.  grapes (imported)
13.  carrots (my addition)

Clean 15 (fruits and vegetables that even when grown conventionally, expose you to fairly low levels of pesticides.  BUT STILL WASH THESE BEFORE CUTTING!!!!!!)

1.  onions
2.  avocado
3.  sweet corn
4.  pineapple
5.  mangos
6.  sweet peas
7.  asparagus
8.  kiwi
9.  cabbage
10.  eggplant
11.  cantaloupe
12.  watermelon
13.  grapefruit
14.  sweet potato
15.  honeydew melon 

I have actually seen Meijer, Marsh and Whole Foods sell their organic and their conventional at the same price!  But on average organic runs about $1.00-$2.00 more than conventional, depending on where you shop.  So, we have adapted the attitude, that if we can't buy the Dirty Dozen in organic......we don't buy it.