Put your Salad to the Test!
You are at the Reys and you see all of the shiny beautiful US grown apples, cucumbers and polished green peppers. How can you resist. The apples are so shiny you can see your reflection in them and the green peppers look plastic they are so perfect. What you may not realize is the chemicals and the polishes that are used to make the fruit look so attractive. You then show up at the organic fruit market. The green peppers may be a bit smaller, the tomatoes not as brilliant and the cucumbers not as robust. So why would you go organic, well it is the TASTE. Organically grown produce tastes so much better. Not to mention it is local and therefore you are doing your part in reducing the carbon foot print of imported fruits and veggies.
A few months ago just before we bought our first basket of organic lettuces from our local Organic Mercado, Allan was sceptical. He thought how much better could lettuce really taste. We picked up our 4lb basket, I took it home, sorted the lettuces and radishes and proceeded to make a huge salad with a little bit of everything. This is what Teresa told me to do so I did it. We each took a fork, I added a simple oil and vinegar dressing and we dug into our organic salad. I am writing this to say, I have never seen someone’s eyes light up as much as Allan’s did over a salad. We licked the bowl clean. He was impressed, I was impressed and we both remarked at how much better the salad tasted.
Why does it taste so good? The simple answer is you are eating a pure vegetable. It has not been induced with chemicals to make it bigger, or sprayed with pesticides, and it hasn’t been polished with wax to make it look nicer. It is your organically grown local vegetable. I did a lot of research and reading on the benefits of organic foods and there is a lot of discussion surrounding the organic hype.. I found a great article that discussed both sides of the debate. I included part of the article that shows there is evidence through research to support the benefits of eating organics.
Official food composition tables, including data compiled by the US Department of Agriculture, reveal that since the 1940s the mineral levels in fruits, vegetables,
meat and dairy have declined substantially in conventional foods. Combine this with earlier (pre-ripened) picking, longer storage, and more processing of crops,
and it's not surprising that we may be getting fewer nutrients in our food than we were 60 years ago.
The artificial fertilization associated with conventional crops produces lush growth by swelling produce with more water. On a pound-for-pound basis,
organic food has more "dry matter" (i.e. food). Partly because of this (and for other reasons too), there are higher levels of nutrients in organic produce. (www.grinningplanet.com)
Our local organic monthly market is growing and will be offering more variety and will be bringing together a few of the local organic resources in one place. Whether you are a sceptic or a believer of eating organically grown produce, why not come out and support your local farmers. Grab a cucumber and some lettuce and do a taste test. You are not only going to be doing your body some good, but you will be doing your part in reducing your carbon foot print and you may just finding your eyes light up like Allan’s did, while eating his salad!
http://karynsaunders.isagenix.com/ca/en/company_associate.dhtml
Karyn Saunders is a Life Coach who lives in Hacienda Pacifica with her
partner; Allan, their 2 cats and Nina their Panamanian Puppy. Karyn has
been on the road to Health and Wellness after she made some crucial life
changes over 12 years ago. Karyn admits: "I was 50lb overweight, a daily
smoker and I knew something had to change". Karyn quickly became active.
She has completed a marathon many triathlons, and you will often find her
out on the golf course, tennis courts, running on the beach with the 6:30am
boot camp crew, or battling the surf with Allan at Playa Serena. Her
passion to living a an active lifestyle has taken her on some fabulous
adventures. "My goal is to help our society see the forest through the
trees when it comes to "Health and Wellness", physically and emotionally. I
have a quality of life that is second to none, and my goal is to help those
that want it too"
