Q: Oh no! I got invited out to another Italian restaurant and/or buffet, etc. etc. what to do?!?!
A: I was at a wedding this past weekend and they had a neat thing going at the buffet line – make your own pasta – you chose from 5 or so different shapes, chose toppings and a sauce or two. It was great until I realized that I haven’t personally considered pasta to be a “food item” in close to two years. Luckily they had some great tasting meatballs and I made up a
large plate of salad and meatballs – topped with some sauce and sundried tomatos. The servers were horrified, but I’m used to that reaction by now – I had a long drive home ahead so a pasta-induced-coma was just not on the schedule. The meatballs were very good. If you’re in an Italian restaurant, there’s usually an option to add grilled chicken or steak to a salad, and pasta side dishes are often easily replaced with the seasonal veggie or side salad.
Q: So this Beyond Organic thing…. how much will the __________ be?
A: Also this past weekend I was talking to a few random people about the Beyond Organic company and products – they wanted to know the prices of many items. Of course now that the main site is live – you can just click here on the words Beyond Organic and check everything out yourself. Local people, keep your eyes and ears open, when my giant shipment of food arrives, I’m going to throw a little cookout party so we can all try the full range of products. Depending on the “party” location I may bring kettlebells, the infamous battling rope and maybe a TRX so newbies can try those things out too and work up an appetite. Again, all this is TBA…..
Related to the above conversation – they asked what should they do if they can’t afford to buy ALL organic fruits and veggies… Q: Which produce products matter most when buying organic? Can I fudge on some of them?!
A: Good news – because of thick skins and/or cultivation methods, some conventional fruits/veggies are relatively free from pesticide contamination – the lists seem to change from time to time, so feel free to do your own research. The Environmental Working Group has put together a printable take-along set of lists as well on this page: www.ewg.org/foodnews
Here’s just a few to get you thinking….
Most Pesticide Laden:
- Apples
- Celery
- Strawberries
- Peaches
- Spinach
Least Pesticides:
- Onions
- Sweet corn
- Pineapple
- Avocado (YAY!!!!)
- Asparagus
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