What is a “Dirty Dozen”?

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Dirty Dozen?

When I began the organic phase of my food journey I found “the dirty dozen”.  A group of foods that have the MOST pesticide residue left on them and IN them.  I didn’t know that I couldn’t just wash off the pesticides–I’ve learned a lot since then!  These 12 foods are foods that you should buy organic if you can . . . 

 dirtydozen

How can I remember 12 foods?

Once you get to know me . . . and I hope you will . . . I forget things.  A LOT.  Not just silly things like garbage day–but big things like birthdays and anniversaries.  It’s not that I don’t care, I do!  But no matter what I do–the names, dates stuff like that, just doesn’t stay with me.  

[tweetherder]”Oh crap, was that today?”[/tweetherder]

Is one of my mantra’s (you can tweet that!).  So when I looked at the list I was overwhelmed.  But then I took a closer look and realized that I didn’t buy half of what was on the list so I didn’t really need to memorize the entire list.  And now they have an app for the dirty dozen (or you can just make a note of it on your phone).  What seemed so hard–really wasn’t once I thought about it.

This is from pbs.org:  The fruits and vegetables on “The Dirty Dozen” list, when conventionally grown, tested positive for at least 47 different chemicals, with some testing positive for as many as 67. For produce on the “dirty” list, you should definitely go organic — unless you relish the idea of consuming a chemical cocktail. 

  1. celery
  2. peaches
  3. strawberries
  4. apples
  5. domestic blueberries
  6. nectarines
  7. sweet bell peppers
  8. spinach, kale and collard greens
  9. cherries
  10. potatoes
  11. imported grapes
  12. lettuce

I routinely buy apples, strawberries (in season usually), my greens–romaine lettuce, spinach, and kale, potatoes and peppers.  My family is not a big fan of grapes, cherries, blueberries–any choking hazard (now that I think about it) . . . I don’t buy!  I love the Farmer’s Market–any farmer’s market anywhere–not to say that it still isn’t “dirty” but I can at least ask the farmer what he sprays or if he does at all!  

Remembering just the foods that I use and not worrying about what I don’t use–made this list more manageable.  I thought I CAN do this!

Feel free to google “dirty dozen” for a million sources.  You can find the app for your phone here.

L.O.V.E.,

Renee

Need more veggie inspiration?  Follow me on Pinterest!

 

Fun Food Fact Friday #3

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Welcome to the 3rd edition of F4!

Fun Food Fact Friday #3

If you missed the second edition you can find it here or the first edition here.

This week has been a little busy with . . . the Olympics!  I just can’t help myself!  This week I sent out an email to my subscribers that gave some details about my Olympic dreams.  The email also included a super healthy, incredibly easy recipe for my kids!  Each week I include a recipe that is NOT on the website–typically it will be what I am making in the house that week.  Just a real mom making real plant-based meals that kids and husbands eat!  You can follow me on Facebook or sign up for emails.

On to this weeks fab finds on the web!

1.  Jamie Oliver!  

Jamie provides a great report outlining the history of school lunches and the future of school lunches.  I found it to be interesting and somewhat alarming.  In my perfect world everyone has enough to eat–I fully understand that this is not the case, YET!  I am a huge proponent for a healthy school lunch.  The easiest way to provide your kids with a healthy lunch is to make your own.  I will be writing more and more about how to create simple school lunches–stay tuned.  (They are so simple your child will be able to do it!)

2.  Calcium?

When “being vegan” comes up in conversation people often ask me about calcium.  I think it is sort of odd that people asks me about calcium and protein–when I meet someone I don’t ask them about how many Omega 3’s they consume a day.  I respect the curiosity and feel blessed that I can share my knowledge about . . . calcium.  

The truth is, I don’t like milk–so the not drinking milk part of being vegan isn’t that hard for me.  I do make awesome ice cream . . . I did like cream in my coffee sometimes, the fun flavors of Chobani yogurt made it hard to make my final decision to not consume milk.  When I learned that calcium is actually added to the milk–drinking milk just made less and less sense.  The final transition for me was reading about the life cycle of a dairy cow.    I found it very disturbing that cows are artificially inseminated, the babies are taken away at birth which depresses the cows and then more drugs are given to generate milk production again.  This is the short version of the story–but I decided that if I really wanted to live a life without causing harm–to live in harmony, not consuming dairy products were my next step.  

I found a website livelovelife.com is a great resource–this article outlining calcium sources in awesome!  I follow them on Pinterest–they have great info graphics.

3.  Carla Golden–woman of wellness!

Could you eat Fruit ’til Five?  Carla has a free program offering a peek into the high-fruit lifestyle for reversing and preventing disease, increase energy, and greater all around well-being.  I encourage you to look at her website–it is full of information.   I’ll be honest–I haven’t tried this program but I have been juicing for the last month and I feel amazing.  I’ve lost 8 lbs, I feel healthy and energized.  I NEVER thought I would be juicing–but here I am.  

Carla is amazing.  She is professional, respectful, helpful . . . she offers . . . wellness!  

4.  Top 50 Vegan Blogs

I believe that we all need to take responsibility for educating ourselves about our own health.  What works for me, may or may not work for you.  My goal is to have Renee’s Kitchen be a resource for you.  The website Berry Ripe has a list of the top 50 vegan blogs (I’m not one of them–yet! :-)).  I have this website bookmarked and go back to it again and again.  

5.  I love Ann Arbor, Michigan!

Ann Arbor Vegan Kitchen features an incredible red lentil soup that is perfect for this too long of a winter season.  What I love about this recipe is the combination of spices and that most of the ingredients will already be in your pantry.  Thanks Vicki Brett-Gach for this great recipe–next time I go “home” maybe we could meet for lunch!
 
What are you curious about?  Next week I am researching “anti-inflammatory” foods and diets to share with you!  Come back next week for another recipe, video and FFFF!
 
Have a blessed weekend full of fruits and vegetables!

Rice or Potatoes?

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Which do you prefer?

In preparation for a few new recipes, I posted the question “Rice or Potatoes?” on Renee’s Kitchen Facebook page.  The responses varied and included sweet potatoes and quinoa so the results are not exactly scientific!  

Growing up I never ate rice–maybe once or twice a year at home.  (My Mom loved Chinese buffets so . . . we did eat rice when we would go out!)  When I started working in restaurants I began to understand why rice is served–it is less expensive, easier to make consistently and can be reheated.  I stored this knowledge away until I started cooking for my own family.  We eat rice for these simple reasons:

  • it is easier to store
  • the yield is greater with rice–5  lbs of potatoes feeds 
  • it is more nutritious in magnesium but less in potassium and vitamin C
  • rice reheats easily (I make double batches for quick evening meals)
  • the variety of rice keeps dinner fun and interesting
  • simple to make in my rice cooker

cavapin

 

 

What about you?  Rice or Potatoes? Please leave your vote in the comments below!