#clean 15

What will you be planting in your spring and summer garden? What seeds have you ordered and what starts do you plan to purchase from your local nursery? Here’s another way to think about your kitchen garden choices.

What if you made your choices not just by what you like but by what you buy at the grocery store? Those of us with small gardens have to be selective about what to plant. Some conventional produce available at grocery stores is laden with pesticides. Other crops require less pesticide interventions to grow well. But how can we know when to spend the extra for organic produce and when conventional will be safe?

That’s where the Environmental Working Group (EWG) can be a source of information for making your own decisions about what to grow and when to purchase organic produce.

The data for these food lists comes from the United States Department of Agriculture Pesticide Data Program.

The pesticide data program reports what it has discovered when monitoring pesticide residue levels on agricultural commodities commonly consumed by infants and children. To utilize USDA Pesticide Data Program select produce item, years and summary of findings.

Here’s how these lists might help as you plan your garden. Kale (though a cool season vegetable in mild winter areas) is number 3 on the Dirty 12 list. Checking online prices for several grocery stores, organic kale can be as much as two times the cost of conventional kale. If you buy organic kale frequently, try growing it from seeds or starts in your next garden. A six-pack of lacinato kale will keep you supplied for months.

Or when organic and conventional strawberries are compared, the organics command a premium price of almost two times the conventional. Maybe it’s time to find a sunny spot in your garden to grow strawberries if you are captivated by this summer fruit.

Looking at the Clean 15 list, sweet corn requires a sizable area in a small garden. Notice that it’s number 2 on that list. With fewer pesticide residues, conventional corn could be a sensible choice if organic is unavailable or very expensive. Cantaloupe needs room to roam and heat, so you won’t find it in my small garden. But, happily it claims the number 10 on the Clean 15 list.

After reviewing the Dirty 12 and Clean 15 lists, take a look at your garden plans and think about your summer grocery list. Are there any changes you’ll be making to your spring and summer garden?

Some people think that buying organic produce and products is hype, I am not one of them.  I buy organic whenever possible, not only does it taste better, it’s better for the environment and most of the time it is affordable. The difference is usually only $.20 -.50/ lb or bunch, that is not expensive. 

Every year the Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes an updated of the 12 most contaminated foods, here’s this years list:

The 2019 Dirty Dozen:

Strawberries

Spinach

Kale

Nectarines

Apples

Grapes

Peaches

Cherries

Pears

Tomatoes

Celery

Potatoes

(Strawberries rank number one for the fourth year in a row, and the rest of the list looks similar to years past with one exception: Kale made the top 12 for the first time in a decade.)

If you're concerned about pesticides, the EWG also publishes a list of the "Clean 15," a.k.a. the produce from conventional growers that generally had less residue in the group's tests. 

The 2019 Clean 15:

Avocados

Sweet corn

Pineapples

Frozen sweet peas

Onions

Papayas

Eggplants

Asparagus

Kiwis

Cabbages

Cauliflower

Cantaloupes

Broccoli

Mushrooms

Honeydew melons

If you’re juicing I think it’s extremely important to use organic produce because you do not want a concentration of pesticides and chemicals in your juice, I’d say that pretty much defeats the purpose.  I’m a big believer in farmers markets, I try to go at least once a week. When my kids were tiny we loved going to the Redland’s farmers market then hit Trader Joe’s on the way home (because it was the closest one, thank God we have closer ones now)!  Check out your local farmers markets, it’s super easy…..there are free app locators, just search the App Store.

Sources: www.ewg.org, www.organic.org

Photo by Any Lane on Pexels.com Eating healthy and making healthier choices with the foods we eat is a common goal for a lot of people. To stick with that goal, we go to the grocery store, peruse the aisles and choose items that were healthier than the ones we chose in the previous shopping trip. How often do we think about all that is ON the food we eat? We’ve been seeing the organic label on…

2020’s Dirty Dozen & Clean 15 Lists Are Out…Here’s What You Should Know— Mind Body Green

Have you ever wondered if you should buy organic produce? You wonder if it’s worth the extra expense. Well, the Environmental Working Group has you covered. Every year the EWG publishes 2 lists. The clean 15 is a list of produce with the lowest pesticide residue, while the dirty dozenis a list of produce with the highest amount of pesticide residue. When purchasing produce from the dirty dozen…

What Exactly are GMOs

Wondering why it’s such a big deal to choose products that say ‘non-GMO’ on the label? GMO stands for ‘genetically modified organisms.’ You may even see ‘GE’ for ‘genetically engineered.’ The FDA says GMO foods are created by using rDNA technology, which essentially means they’re bio-engineered foods.

The thought was that these foods would breed bigger or more nutritious versions, but it turns…

Avocado Pineapple Cabbage Salad in Ginger Basil Turmeric Vinaigrette

Avocado Pineapple Cabbage Salad in Asian-inspired Ginger Basil Turmeric Vinaigrette. Enlarge

This sweet, sour, savory, creamy, crunchy salad will get your senses dancing and put a spring into your step!

Imagine… creamy avocado chunks, crunchy green cabbage, and sweet pineapple in a this jazz septet vinaigrette: ginger, basil, turmeric, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and evoo (extra virgin…