The question always comes up…”Is it worth it to buy organic?”  My answer is “how could it not be?”  Pesticide use has been linked to various cancers, birth defects, learning disabilities and more.  In addition to this, thousands of people visit the hospital every year due to pesticide poisoning.  

The goal of using these chemicals is to kill off insects and preserve the crop.  With enough repetitive exposure it’s not far fetched to think that they could be killing us too! 

While some organic produce can be more expensive than their same conventional counterpart, I encourage you to think of the long-term cost savings you provide you and your family by purchasing organic produce.  Proactive health care is far less expensive than hospital bills, doctor visits and disease management.   

While in an ideal world we’d be provided everything organically, this is not always the case.  Take time to review the chart of produce and take note of the foods that have the highest concentration of pesticides.  These are “non-negotiable” foods that should only be purchased organically.  The clean fifteen group contain the least amount of pesticides and can be purchased conventionally when organic is not an option.   

It is always best to buy produce locally.  This is an easier task in the spring and summer months with farmer’s markets, however, there are also great options year round.  Check into CSA’s and door-to-door organic delivery services.  They provide local produce and create ease with consistent delivery or pick-up options.   

I’ve attached a couple of links for your use.  The first link provides a good overview of pesticide information.  The second link is to one of my favorite non-profit organizations, The Environmental Working Group (EWG).  You can explore their website to find information on various toxins and feel empowered to make the best decisions for you and your family.   

http://www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/ 

http://www.ewg.org 

Happy pesticide-free shopping and dining! 

It’s my great pleasure to serve and support you in health and happiness.  I’d love to hear from you; feel free to connect with me: connect@angelagaffney.com

Cheers to your health and happiness! 

XO,

Recipe:

Sautéed Veggie Wraps : A Brown Bag Special!

Angie’s Note: I will often make these to use up leftover vegetables from the previous night’s dinner. If you don’t have leftovers on hand, make a point to sauté a pan of vegetables on Sunday evening for use throughout the week. You can also use grilled or roasted vegetables for this wrap, each will taste splendid! You should have enough veggies in this recipe for 2+ wraps (depending on how well you stuff the wrap!  If you want to do away with the wrap all together, this recipe can be made into a yummy salad too, just use a plate of greens instead of the wrap.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon Avocado Oil or Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1⁄2 of medium onion, sliced in quarters
1 medium organic red pepper, sliced in quarters
6 button mushrooms, sliced
10 stalks of asparagus, tough ends removed, and chopped
1 cup organic spinach
1⁄4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Feta cheese
Plain hummus
Pinch of sea salt
Pepper to taste
Organic whole grain wraps (GF wrap will also work well)

Directions: 

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion and red pepper for 6 minutes add the mushroom, asparagus and spinach and cook through. Add a pinch of sea salt and pepper to the vegetables as they cook. Once vegetables are ready, lay the wrap out on a piece of foil. Spread hummus onto the wrap in a thin layer, leaving space near the edge of the wrap. Top the hummus with vegetables, parsley and feta cheese. Roll your wrap to secure the yummy ingredients, wrap foil around the wrap and place into your lunch bag. Compliment your wrap with some extra veggies, a piece of fruit, or a small cup of soup for a well-rounded lunch.

Recipe compliments of Angela Gaffney 

Budgeting your time and resources is key to succeeding in all areas of life; and this is especially true when it comes to your health. What does your budget look like and how often are you preparing home-cooked meals versus eating out?

Consider this food for thought…to feed a family of four dinner at a sit-down, moderately priced restaurant, you would probably spend a minimum of $50 if everyone were to eat a meal and order a drink instead of having water.  Add in a 20% tip and you’re at $60 for the outing.  If you were to eat out one more time in the same week, you’d be spending $120.00.  The cost of convenience can add up very quickly and while it’s nice to do once in a while, it serves us best to understand the expense of it and make decisions that will serve our financial needs and health goals.

The same situation can occur when you purchase prepackaged goods instead of whole food items.  A bag of steel cut oats will provide you more meals than a box of breakfast cereal, a bag of brown rice can serve a family of four two to three meals when accompanied by protein and vegetables, and a bag of beans can be cooked and used for two pots of soup.

The best rule of thumb to follow when grocery shopping for the week is to purchase as many whole foods as possible and leave the boxed items in the center aisles for everyone else!  While it may require a bit more work on your part to prepare the whole foods, you receive far greater benefits this way.

1. You’ll be providing your family foods that contain the highest amounts of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients which are all essential for health and disease prevention.
2. You control all the preparation and the ingredients that go into your meals.
3. It is far less expensive to buy whole foods and bake snacks for your family than purchasing them in a prepackaged form.
4. If indeed you do purchase a transition food (such as an organic chicken sausage, or prepackaged fresh salsa, or a can of beans) to be used in your recipe, you’ll still save money if you plan for the majority of the meal to come from whole grains, vegetables and greens.
5. You’ll be saving money in the future!  The quality of food available to us in restaurants isn’t always the best and rarely is it organic.  Eating out too often, or relying on prepackaged foods will feed disease in the body and cost you a lot more in the long run when you’re paying for doctor visits, medicine and possibly hospital visits.  Do the work now, and budget accordingly so you can spend your retirement funds on fun activities instead of disease and ill health.

Budgeting for healthy food requires you to prioritize what’s important.  You’ll need to choose where to invest your money to best serve your family.  Small changes can add up to big savings; you can make your own popcorn and bring it with you to the movies, treat yourself to a Starbucks coffee once a week instead of the daily routine, pack your lunch for work and enjoy a lunch outing with friends once in a while, and bring a water bottle with you wherever you go to fill it up from the tap versus buying bottled water all the time.

A healthy exercise is to keep a log of your spending for one week, and encourage your spouse to do the same.  Sit down together after completing the log and find areas where you could improve on your budget so you may afford what’s most important to you.

Want more resources for healthy living? Check out our online Feel Good, Look Good Master Class!