Going organic?

Recently I've been reading about organic produce and its health benefits... well I guess really the health dangers of eating inorganic. I've thought about buying organic produce in the past, but I have ended up at the conclusion "Well, if I'm eating fruits and veggies at all I'm doing well. Inorganic produce is better than no produce, right?"

The problem is that organic is so much more expensive! But this is especially a concern to me as we think about getting pregnant in the future. I don't want to be exposing my children to poison that can do them harm, especially as their little lives are just forming!

Have you ever heard of the dirty dozen and clean fifteen? This is a list of the 12 fruits and veggies that are most likely to contain pesticides (which is poison), and the 15 that are most safe to eat inorganic. I've printed out this list and am going to stick it on our fridge. My plan is to refer to it as I make my grocery list each week.

Dirty Dozen (buy these organic):

1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Strawberries
4. Peaches
5. Spinach
6. Nectarines
7. Grapes
8. Sweet Bell Peppers
9. Potatoes
10. Blueberries
11. Lettuce
12. Kale/Collard Greens

Clean Fifteen (lowest in pesticides):

1. Onions
2. Corn
3. Pineapples
4. Avocado
5. Asparagus
6. Sweet Peas
7. Mangoes
8. Eggplant
9. Cantaloupe
10. Kiwi
11. Cabbage
12. Watermelon
13. Sweet Potatoes
14. Grapefruit
15. Mushrooms

It's my new goal to buy the worst offenders organic instead. I know it's going to be more costly, but it's for our health and the health of our family! It's easier and cheaper than going all organic - which I'm not sure is necessary.

By the way, our Farm Fresh To You delivery was on our doorstep before we left for work this morning. I have to say, it wasn't much food for $25... looks yummy though! But it's organic so I have to get used to this idea.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

A while ago I came across the concept of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and have been thinking of participating ever since. Here's how it works: You sign up to receive fresh produce from a local farm 1-4 times a month. Some services are for pick up in your area, and some deliver to your home or office.

The contents of your produce box vary each week, depending on what's currently in season. You're helping the environment by decreasing pollution caused when fruits are shipped from other places like South America. You're getting the freshest food possible because it came from a farm just miles away. It's even organic, which I've found is a big health benefit and pesticides aren't being put into the earth either. Having all those fresh fruits and veggies makes you eat healthier because it's there so you have to eat it. You get to try new foods because it's not up to you what items you receive.

I've seriously been contemplating joining a CSA for a good two years, and earlier this year I jumped on the opportunity to buy a Groupon for Farm Fresh To You, a local CSA that delivers right to your door.

The small box that I've selected is $25 per delivery. I'm planning to order it for every other week, which means we'll be spending $12.50 per week on organic, seasonal produce. Do yo know how easy it is to spend $12 in Safeway's produce department?! Our first box is coming tomorrow, and here's what we're getting (each Friday they post what's coming next week):

• 2 red plums
• 2 ears of white corn
• 1.5 lbs. of summer squash
• 1 lb. of grapes
• 1 lb. of green beans
• 1 bunch of basil
• 1 bunch of lettuce
• 1 cucumber

I also found Full Belly Farm while researching this, which offers produce for pick up and might be a bit more affordable. If all goes well with this FFTY experience, I'll probably look into that CSA. But this week's order is free with my Groupon :)

Thankful Thursday: Farmers' market

Today I’m thankful for living half a mile from the best farmers' market in the region. Every Sunday until noon there’s a huge farmers' market in the parking lot under the freeway at 8th and W Streets in Sacramento. It’s crazy crowded and traffic is a nightmare. But, we always walk. It’s fab!

During the summer we go almost every week to get fresh strawberries, blackberries, peaches, melons… when it gets colder we don’t go as much, but I’m planning to go the Sunday before Thanksgiving to get all the fresh herbs and vegetables I’ll need to make that meal.

Buying your fruits and veggies at the farmer’s market really saves a lot of money. On our walk home we always add up how much we spent and what it would cost at Safeway. It seems to consistently be about half because you’re not dealing with the mark-up grocery stores charge to make a profit.

But on top of the savings, it’s a really fun atmosphere that gives you a sense of community. Going there allows you to interact with your neighbors (even if it’s just a smile) and the farmers who grow your food. I just love it, and I’m really thankful that going is so easy for us because of our location.

Goal #50: Design a web site for my dad's business

Okay I've actually had this done for a long time, but I never posted it because I'm not that proud of the work. I've never done anything like this before and it's obviously very much in progress, but here it is:

www.OakTreeSolarEnergy.com

If you know anyone who needs solar energy or construction work done on their home, farm or business in Northern California - give my dad a call! He's awesome and has been in the construction business for way longer than I've been alive. Email Info@OakTreeSolarEnergy.com if you have any questions... or leave a comment and I'll get back to you ASAP!

>List of 100 goals<

Goal #16: Dry more clothes outside

Now that the weather is consistently gorgeous, I can take advantage and dry my clothes outside. I just have to remember to wash earlier in the day so that they can hang outside for several hours. I always do laundry on weekends anyway, so as long as it's not raining I'll try to do this every time.

This is pretty much the only thing our tiny backyard is good for.

My list of 100 goals is here.

Recycling

It’s about time I blogged about the issue I’m most passionate about (it’s a tie between recycling and gay marriage rights… but I’ve already blogged about that). I was inspired by these statistics published today in Dear Abby – this is how long it takes specific materials to decompose:

Paper ................................ 2 to 5 months
Orange peels ................... 6 months
Milk cartons .................... 5 years
Filter-tip cigarettes ....... 10 to 12 years
Plastic bags ..................... 10 to 20 years
Leather shoes ................. 24 to 40 years
Plastic containers ........... 50 to 80 years
Disposable diapers ......... 75 years
Tin cans ........................... 100 years
Aluminum cans .............. 200 to 500 years
Styrofoam ....................... Never

Styrofoam – Never! Never?! I cringe when thinking about all the styrofoam out there in the world, taking up space in landfills. It will be there forever! Forever, because people are too lazy to put it in the recycling bin. Or even have a recycling bin.

Our world has limited space, and I’d prefer not to use it as a landfill. Or as little landfill as possible. Every item that’s recycled is one less item that goes into a dump. Even better, it’s remade into another item – thus removing the need to create a new item. Is this not the best idea EVER?

To avoid turning our planet into one big dump, it’s so, so important that we recycle the items we can – paper, cardboard, plastic, aluminum. That’s not everything by all means… if you want to know what you can recycle, go here.

Oh, and shopping bags! Before I started using cloth bags, I had hundreds of bags in my house. It was ridiculous. Those bags can be taken back to most stores and placed in a bin at the entrance. Look up there ^ If you throw them away, they will be in our ground for 10 to 20 years. Just bring them back to the store on your way to shop.

I’ve gotten into the habit of using cloth shopping bags though, and I love it. They are much sturdier and can hold more stuff. I keep them in my car and just grab them before I go into a store. My mom got me started with this (thank you!). At first I would always forget to use them, but it eventually became my normal routine. I still forget sometimes, and I hate it because the cloth bags are much easier to carry.

At our house, we recycle almost everything. It’s just as easy as putting it in the trash. Think about most groceries – they’re packaged in a cardboard box. Or your drinks are in a plastic container. That’s all recyclable and can be remade into another box or bottle. Please don’t send it to take up space in a landfill when it doesn’t have to!