Portobello, Spring Onions & Potatoes...Meatless Mondays

So in preparing for the 3 day juice fast - cleanse Hubby and I are planning to do soon,  it is recommended to prepare your body the week before by not eating certain things like dairy, meat, sugar, caffeine, etc.  While shopping at our favorite organic farm Blooming Hill in Blooming Grove, NY,  I looked around to see what I could make in terms of dinner so that it would not be a week of only salads!  They had huge beautiful spring onions that they were grilling for us to try and they were so good.  So here is what I came up with and both Hubby and I loved it.  Yums!

 

 

Spring Onions with Portobello and Red Potatoes
(serves 2 - all ingredients are organic)

• 12-15 small long red potatoes
•  2 portabello mushrooms
• spring onions
• cilantro
• 1 tbsp of crushed garlic
• sea salt
• black pepper
• olive oil

 Wash and cut potatoes the long way.  Heat some good olive oil in a pan and place potatoes sliced side down on pan.  Let cook for about 1-2 minutes or until lightly golden.  Cut spring onion diagonally (thick slices), clean and cut portobello mushrooms into long slices, chop cilantro and set all three aside.  Bake potatoes in the same pan at 375 for about 10-15 mins until soft and done.  Be careful with the hot handle on the pan and put pan back on stove top on medium heat.  Add garlic, mushrooms, spring onions and cilantro.  Add more olive oil and mix all together. Season with sea salt and pepper and mix again until spring onions and mushrooms look cooked.  Wow!  You would not believe the flavors, this was so good and filling!  Enjoy!

The Dirty Dozen & The Clean Fifteen - Produce

It can be pretty expensive buying everything organic.  We have had to make major adjustments to make room for the extra cost in our produce alone. 

Here's a quick breakdown of the difference between buying conventional produce vs organic produce.

 Buying organic means:

1. Your produce is not sprayed with harmful pesticides and synthetic fertilizers that are not good for your body and puts your health at risk.  
2. The soil is also richer and creates a more nutrient-dense product.  Producing a more nutritious and better tasting fruit and vegetable.  

Why spray them with pesticides?  Conventional produce is sprayed with pesticides and fertilizer because they usually have to travel very far to get to your supermarket.  They spray it so they last the long distance and protect them from pests.  Getting the organic seal is also a very expensive and strict process for a farm to have their crops certified organic.  That's why you may get better prices going straight to the farm to get your produce.  Local produce is usually grown with the same standards as organic produce but without the seal.  Always ask the farmer if there is use of pesticides or synthetic fertilizers in their produce.  I know that if you don't have farms by you this narrows it down for you a bit.  Here is a very helpful list of the 12 fruits and vegetables that contain the most pesticides.

The Dirty Dozen- (always buy these organic)

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

Now the following produce are the ones you can get non-organic if you had to.  They are the cleanest in regards to pesticide use.

The Clean Fifteen:

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

That is my quick version, DR. OZ wrote a great article that explains it all in greater detail.  A good and informative read.  I hope these lists will be helpful to you!  They are updated every year by The EWG and to find a farm by you here's a great website: Local Harvest.

One Simple Step - Ketchup!

One simple step.  I want to list here simple things you can do to change towards healthier choices.  Little by Little.  Sometimes it's all we could do.  Change can be overwhelming if we try to do too much at the same time.  I hope these simple steps can be helpful.

 Product:  Ketchup (Heinz)

    

We all love Ketchup and kids love it even more.  Contrary to popular belief, ketchup is not exactly a serving of vegetable/fruit!  But if you switch from regular to organic you can make sure you are getting the best ingredients you possibly can without giving up ketchup.  Not only are the ingredients organic but it doesn't contain HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP AND CORN SYRUP.  The organic kind contains organic sugar in their place.  It's just a better choice.  The price is about the same and the taste is as well.  I'm sure there are even better choices out there but I have not yet tried that.  This is one easy baby step you can take without sacrificing taste and I promise the kids won't even notice the switch!   Here are the ingredients.