The Best Clean Foods

Here are some ideas to think about when going to the grocery store next. I believe more then ever that it is important to eat more healthy. Have you ever read the ingredients on the foods you have in your pantry that you think are "healthy"?? Well I did one day and the list went on and on with many ingredients that are not good. I am still learning about many of these topics and hope to become more educated in the things that I eat on a daily basis.

Organic Food
If you've heard the term "organic" a million times but still aren't sure what it means, here's the deal: Organic farming avoids the use of most artificial inputs, like synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, and bans the use of animal by-products, antibiotics and sewage sludge. But check for tricky labeling: "100% organic" actually means that all the individual ingredients are organic. "Organic" means that at least 95% of the ingredients are organic. "Made with organic ingredients" means that at least 70% of the ingredients are organic. Check your local farmers market, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project, neighborhood food co-op, and natural food stores when looking for organic foods. Such as HENDERSONVILLE PRODUCE.

GMO-Free Foods
Genetic engineering allows scientists to create man-made plants (corn, soy beans, canola), animals (clones) and micro-organisms (crops). These genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, can spread and interbreed with natural organisms, and contaminate non-GMO environments for future generations in unknowable and unmanageable ways The danger is that, once released into the environment, GMOs cannot be recalled.

Minimally Packaged Foods
Being eco-safe in your food purchasing also means cutting down on packaging. Trash from the packaging of food in the U.S.(including tin, cardboard, paper and plastic) adds up to 200 million tons a day! Here are some tips: Buy food sold in bulk at natural food stores, Buy at farmer's markets, where most of the food is unwrapped and you can bring your own bags and also try to cut down or eliminate the use of disposable aluminum foil, plastic wrap and baggies for leftovers. Instead, store food in glass or ceramic bowls with lids. Wash and reuse zip plastic bags, containers, and grocery store produce bags.

Locally- Grown Food
Why eat local? Think about the fuel it takes to get Jersey tomatoes to California or Washington apples to the Empire State. When you buy local, you help conserve the extra gas mileage and energy it otherwise takes to transport food. The closer your farm is, the more likely that the food is natural, tastier and better for you than food from a big business farm hundreds of miles away.

Pesticide-Resistant Food
We hear about pesticides a lot, but studies find that they really do harm the body over time. In fact, many scientists think that pesticides account for the current soaring cancer rates among children. While this list of foods isn't necessarily "organic" or "eco-friendly" (because they may still be grown on farms that use pesticides) you can buy them without fearing pesticide-overload. Why? They either grow above the soil, or have such a thick outer layer (like a banana peel) that the pesticides don't harm the part you're going to eat: Avocados, corn, onions, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, grapes, bananas, plums, green onions, watermelon and broccoli.