Organic!?

Our underwhelming winter has come to an end and spring has officially sprung.  Unlike our trees and flowers that we only see growing and thriving in spring and summer, our vegetables are being grown year round.  Growing fruits and veggies during every season can get expensive and growing them to keep up with the large population eating them can be challenging.  Introduce pesticides and chemicals to keep up with demand and all of the sudden people started thinking twice before eating their apple a day.  A lot of research has been done over the years, much media attention has been given, and as a result we see the hot food fad 'ORGANIC' hit our supermarkets.

What is organic? Here's the definition given by the USDA:  Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation.

What's a person to splurge on at the store when it comes to organic?  The list I use is from the Environmental Working Group (an organization of scientists, researchers and policymakers).  They lay out their 'Dirty Dozen' and 'Clean 15'.  According to the EWG the dirty dozen, when grown conventionally, tested positive from 47 to 67 different chemicals.  In my opinion, here's where to spend your organic money:

• celery
• peaches
• strawberries
• apples
• domestic blueberries
• nectarines
• sweet bell peppers
• spinach, kale and collard greens
• cherries
• potatoes
• imported grapes
• lettuce

All fruits and vegetables aren't created equally. Because of this the EWG deem these 15 as being "clean" (testing for zero to limited chemicals when conventionally grown).

• onions
• avocados
• sweet corn
• pineapples
• mango
• sweet peas
• asparagus
• kiwi fruit
• cabbage
• eggplant
• cantaloupe
• watermelon
• grapefruit
• sweet potatoes
• sweet onions

New recipes posted on the 'Favorite Recipes' tab!

Grilled Eggplant Steaks topped with Mediterrean  Chickpea Mix

Sweet Potato Patties

 Chopped Caprese Salad

Veggielicious

I remember the day very distinctly, it was June 30th, 2011.  I had just returned home from one of several work trips I had been taking lately.  I asked my husband how his week was and he said something along the lines of "eventful, I went to the library and have been reading a lot of books".  Knowing my husband and his take it or mostly leave it attitude about reading books for fun, I had a hunch the next words to come out of his mouth would effect my life forever.  "I want to become a vegetarian".  I begin processing.  How do I react, this is craziness, but he read books about it, I should be supportive, for better or for worse, but I love meat, I should probably say something. So I answer him the only way my brain knows how, deflect with light humor.  "On purpose?" I ask, with the cutest smile I can muster.  We sat on our couch and talked a long time that night about his choice.  For the first, probably 20 minutes, my reaction was the same as any other logical, rational carnivore. I combated every point he made by calling him a "crazy hippy".  When I was finally able to open my mind up to the reasons he was giving me as to why he wanted to become a vegetarian, I realized he was actually making sense.


I should begin telling his story by explaining where he's coming from.  My husband has something called Berger's Disease (IgA Nephropathy). In very simple terms, his kidneys struggle filtering waste, excess water, and electrolytes from his blood.  He received this diagnosis in college and since this time has labs run on his blood and urine every six months.  As a result, as long as I've known him, he's been conscious of what he puts in his body.  And when I was pregnant with our 2nd child he decided to become, I'll just use the term "aggressive", in his food choices.  In many ways, having children effects our brains and how and why we make decisions,  My husband is not the exception.  Having lost his dad at an early age due to a heart attack, I see his nutrition choice as being a father's choice to do everything he can to be with his kids as long as he can.  And I love and respect him more than words can say because of that.


So back to the meat analysis...

1. Besides the fact that meat tastes delicious, it's also good for you because it's a "complete" protein.  By complete, I mean it has every essential amino acid our body needs to build the protein that helps us perform basic bodily functions.
2. The trouble with meat, red meat especially, this quick fix protein comes carrying the extra baggage of saturated fat.  I use the words 'extra baggage' very intentionally.  Saturated fat is linked to that extra baggage we find on our bellies and thighs and the extra baggage clogging our arteries.
3. As with most anything meat in moderation probably isn't overly problematic.  The problem for me was, when we ate meat, it was the centerpiece of our meals.  Oftentimes we consumed more than the recommended limit of 4 oz. And because we were getting full on meat, I wasn't making and we weren't eating as many healthy unsaturated fats and vegetable nutrients that would help our bodies function better.
4. Those I love are worried that without meat, my family won't get protein. And that's what I worried about first as well. So here's what I learned, vegetables do have protein. It's just "incomplete" because each veggie on it's own doesn't contain every essential amino acid.  This means I need to work harder to get our protein by combining vegetables and non meats in meals in order to "complete" them.  It's really not a convoluted process, we just make sure we eat rice, beans, whole wheat, and nuts throughout the week.
5. In the end we've decided not to become vegan or vegetarian.  We still eat eggs (which are "complete" proteins like meat) and we've opted to keep fish and seafood in our diet.  They're "complete", low fat, many are a great source for b12, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids.
6. I personally do eat meat sometimes when I go out.  But I don't go out often, so it's become a treat; not a staple. I've found I can get a veggie sub at the sandwich shop and the veggie burrito bowl at the taco place without blinking and I'm completely satisfied.

Since our decision to cut back on meat my husband has had labs done on his urine and blood twice. His results have started the numbers that can cause concern, trending downward.  While we can't prove this is the direct effect of the change to our dinner table, I like to believe it was a little change that did us good.  I want to reiterate that for me this wasn't about eliminating meat, it was about adding vegetables.  It took cutting out meat for me to be creative in my kitchen again.  There have been many tasty and hearty dishes served.  Click on the recipes tab to see three I added this week.

• Eggplant Bruschetta sandwich
• Creamy wild rice on a bed of apple
• Whole grain Tuscan linguine (a knock off from one of my favorite noodle restaurants)