Berries, Berries, Berries…tis the season! 🙂 We have been eating strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries like crazy at my house. With it being berry season, it made me think of the choices that we all make when we are shopping for food.  Most all grocery stores carry organic foods now and I know when you shop you are faced with the choice of paying a little more for organic or choosing other produce.

In our house, 90% of the time we choose organic.  With all the digestive issues that I have had and because of the harmful pesticides that I know are out there, we just feel safer choosing organic.  For us, high quality food is a priority and we would rather cut back in other areas and buy organic food.  That being said, I know that fresh produce is very expensive, so I have a couple of tips for you to help you in your food choices.

I have used a Food App called the Dirty Dozen for a few years now, it is a free App. The App has what they call, The Dirty Dozen and The Clean Fifteen. The Dirty Dozen lists produce with the highest concentration of pesticides.  It is interesting to note that pesticides persisted on tested fruits and vegetables even after they were washed and sometimes peeled. The Clean Fifteen lists produce with the least amount of pesticides. They also have a website that you can visit if you don’t have access to the App.

The App is really convenient to use and I pull it out whenever I’m at the grocery store. For instance, right now apples are at the number one spot for most pesticides, so I would make the choice to buy organic apples. On the Clean Fifteen list avocados are at the number one spot, so depending on the price, I might choose non-organic avocados. This App will allow you to make  educated food shopping choices about the produce you are buying. One other tip for those of you who belong to Costco, Costco has awesome organic frozen fruit in large bags.  The frozen fruit is perfect for smoothies and you can thaw the fruit and use for baking etc..

Restoring your health…one bite at a time.

xoxo

Jackie