Five Easy Ways to Go Organic

October 22, 2007, 6:59 am

By TARA PARKER-POPE

Got organic milk? (Tony Cenicola/The New York Times)

Switching to organic is tough for many families who don’t want to pay higher prices or give up their favorite foods. But by choosing organic versions of just a few foods that you eat often, you can increase the percentage of organic food in your diet without big changes to your shopping cart or your spending.

The key is to be strategic in your organic purchases. Opting for organic produce, for instance, doesn’t necessarily have a big impact, depending on what you eat. According to the Environmental Working Group, commercially-farmed fruits and vegetables vary in their levels of pesticide residue. Some vegetables, like broccoli, asparagus and onions, as well as foods with peels, such as avocados, bananas and oranges, have relatively low levels compared to other fruits and vegetables.

So how do you make your organic choices count? Pediatrician Dr. Alan Greene, whose new book “Raising Baby Green” explains how to raise a child in an environmentally-friendly way, has identified a few “strategic” organic foods that he says can make the biggest impact on the family diet.

1. Milk: “When you choose a glass of conventional milk, you are buying into a whole chemical system of agriculture,” says Dr. Greene. People who switch to organic milk typically do so because they are concerned about the antibiotics, artificial hormones and pesticides used in the commercial dairy industry. One recent United States Department of Agriculture survey found certain pesticides in about 30 percent of conventional milk samples and low levels in only one organic sample. The level is relatively low compared to some other foods, but many kids consume milk in large quantities.

2. Potatoes: Potatoes are a staple of the American diet — one survey found they account for 30 percent of our overall vegetable consumption. A simple switch to organic potatoes has the potential to have a big impact because commercially-farmed potatoes are some of the most pesticide-contaminated vegetables. A 2006 U.S.D.A. test found 81 percent of potatoes tested still contained pesticides after being washed and peeled, and the potato has one of the the highest pesticide contents of 43 fruits and vegetables tested, according to the Environmental Working Group.

Go organic with kid favorites like peanut butter. (Lars Klove/The New York Times)

3. Peanut butter: More acres are devoted to growing peanuts than any other fruits, vegetable or nut, according to the U.S.D.A. More than 99 percent of peanut farms use conventional farming practices, including the use of fungicide to treat mold, a common problem in peanut crops. Given that some kids eat peanut butter almost every day, this seems like a simple and practical switch. Commercial food firms now offer organic brands in the regular grocery store, but my daughter loves to go to the health food store and grind her own peanut butter.

4. Ketchup: For some families, ketchup accounts for a large part of the household vegetable intake. About 75 percent of tomato consumption is in the form of processed tomatoes, including juice, tomato paste and ketchup. Notably, recent research has shown organic ketchup has about double the antioxidants of conventional ketchup.

Organic apples are readily available. (The New York Times)

5. Apples: Apples are the second most commonly eaten fresh fruit, after bananas, and they are also used in the second most popular juice, after oranges, according to Dr. Greene. But apples are also one of the most pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables. The good news is that organic apples are easy to find in regular grocery stores.

For a complete list of Dr. Greene’s strategic organic choices, visit Organic Rx on his website.

from: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/five-easy-ways-to-go-organic/

10 Food Rules You Should Follow

Rule 3: Eat your colors.

Pollan’s advice: "The colors of many vegetables reflect the different antioxidant phytochemicals they contain...Many of these chemicals help protect against chronic diseases, but each in a slightly different way, so the best protection comes from a diet containing as many different phytochemicals as possible.”

see more at: http://www.eatingwell.com

The Skinny on... Potatoes

from: http://www.weightwatchers.com

 

From blue to red to white to yellow, we’ve got the lowdown on potatoes. Here’s how to buy, store, cook and enjoy this versatile vegetable.

Article By: Mark Scarbrough and Bruce Weinstein

The United Nations made 2008 the International Year of the Potato, part of its millennial goals to address world hunger.

And no wonder. The fat-free, sodium-free, cholesterol-free potato is incredibly nutritious. A medium-size potato (5.3 ounces, about the size of a computer mouse) has half your day’s vitamin C requirement. If eaten with its skin, a potato has more potassium than a banana and is one of the best fiber options in the produce section.
Basic varieties
There are five basic types: yellow-fleshed, red-skinned, white, blue and Russet. They are categorized by color and by starch: less starch yields a firmer potato. Here’s the complete run-down:
Nutrition
Contrary to popular myth, most of the potato’s vitamins and minerals are not found in the skin. Instead, they cluster in a layer a little less than an inch under the skin. Therefore, removing the skin will not affect the spud’s nutrition. However, it will reduce its fiber and potassium content.
Best-ever mashed potatoes
Here’s a shock: the microwave actually makes the best mashed potatoes.
1. Wash (but do not dry) 4 or 5 medium Russet or yellow-fleshed potatoes. Do not prick or peel them. Place them in a large, microwave-safe bowl with a lid that has an open vent hole — or cover the microwave-safe bowl with plastic wrap and then poke a small hole in the wrap.
2. Microwave on high for 8 minutes (total) without disturbing.
3. Remove from microwave — be careful of hot steam — take off the lid or plastic wrap, and mash with an electric mixer at medium speed or a hand-held potato masher adding some skim milk, fat-free chicken or vegetable broth, a little butter or olive oil and/or some Dijon mustard and herbs.

The Potato Rainbow
Yellow-fleshed These dense, creamy potatoes, typified by the Yukon Gold variety, are moderately starchy, and so make excellent mashed potatoes and au gratins. They are flavorful, slightly sweet and perfect for steaming, boiling, stir-frying and pan-frying (as in hashed browns or hash).
Red-skinned Often called “new potatoes,” these spuds have a vibrant red skin — and some, a mottled red skin. They have a mild, earthy taste and are the least starchy of any variety, so they’re best roasted with olive oil and herbs. Because they hold up well, they’re also great in potato salads.
White potatoes Perhaps the most versatile potato, these are available in round little balls or long fingerlings (not named for fingers but for little German fish). They should not be confused with larger Russets; white potatoes, like Irish creamers, are always small with a creamy white or pale beige skin. Use them for salads, mashed potatoes, oven fries and any dish that requires boiled or steamed potatoes.
Blue potatoes Closely related to the original potatoes from South America, blues are actually available in a range of colors: blue, violet, purple or lavender. These fairly starchy potatoes have a nutty, earthy taste. They are good roasted or mixed into doughs (bread, muffin or even tamale).
Russets Sometimes called Idaho or baking potatoes, Russets are the starchiest (and thus the fluffiest) potatoes and have thick, netted-brown skins. They make fluffy mashed potatoes and classic baked potatoes as well as great French fries. Their skin is so thick and chewy that these are the only potatoes that can be turned into potato skins. Because of their dry, starchy texture, they are also the only potatoes that can create gnocchi or potato noodles.

yoga and winter

Every week my yoga teacher says, "It's yoga practice, not yoga perfect."And every week the yoga is different. Today my muscles were sore. And I had to crawl out of Shavasana  carefully because of the chronic low back pain that I get from driving too much, and maybe because it was only my second class since being sick with that bad winter cold for almost two weeks ... in any case, practice is the point. Practice makes practice better, or different, or familiar. I practice writing, I practice teaching, I practice patience, I practice becoming the person I want to be. Day in and day out. Some days I don't resemble that person I really want to be at all. And that's how it goes. Some days I finish eating the allotted calories for the day, and then go back later for another snack. Oh well. Try again tomorrow. Some days I think I should do yoga at home, on my own, and never quite get around to it. Well, sometimes the thought is the first step even if the second step takes a while to hit the ground. And so I keep practicing. Here's another way to think about it: Yoga and Willpower.

So this weekend I'll make another list of things I want to "accomplish" next week. Like going to yoga twice and doing it once at home. And taking the dog for at least one extra long walk, especially since the weather's been so mild. And maybe I'll even pull out that guitar, my other resolution for the new year, to start practicing music. My yoga teacher also talked about "emptiness" today, in a way I've heard it discussed in Tibetan Buddhism. Emptiness is not nothing, it is infinite potential. It is the space in which anything is possible, potential, there are no constraints. The trick is to aim toward the potential instead of staying or getting caught in limitation, or limited thinking. Emptiness. Don't empty your mind. Open it.