Andrew & Rachelle are my favorite vendors at our local Saturday morning farmer’s market. They own Earthkeeper Farm and really know what they’re doing, so the food they grow is not only chemical free, but also nutrient dense because their soil is nutrient dense. (You’ll get to meet them if you take my Rookie Class, which is soooooooo close to launching, because I was able to interview them! By the way, they still have a few openings in their CSA.)
Andrew told me one day that they often have people asking questions about what makes produce the most nutritious, so I wrote something up for them…
- Choose fruits and vegetables that are grown without chemicals. Chemicals are used on crops to kill pests; common sense and many studies have shown them to be unsafe for us, too. Children are especially at risk. Choose chemical-free produce if at all possible. (One thing I do, however, because it can get expensive, is to either grow it ourselves, or check this shoppers guide for which produce is sprayed the least and which is sprayed the most – those are called “the Dirty Dozen”.) It's best to get to know your farmer, because often they grow chemical-free but can't afford the time or trouble to get the organic label. If you don't know them or ask about this, you won't know, so ask questions! (Update: here's the newest of the “Clean 15” and “Dirty Dozen” so you know which produce you really should buy organic, and which ones are OK to buy conventional.)
- Choose darker colored vegetables for more antioxidants. Also, remember that getting antioxidants or other vitamins and minerals from food is always the best and most natural way, so you know you’re getting all that nature intended.
- Produce grown in healthy soil is not only more nutrient-dense, it also tastes better! Make sure your grower knows how to keep the soil alive and full of nutrients. (A commenter reminded me that I didn't say the obvious, which goes along with knowing your grower: choose locally grown and in-season produce whenever possible!)
- Serve fresh fruits and vegetables in a meal that includes plenty of healthy fats for good digestion and better assimilation of nutrients. Healthy fats like butter, lard, tallow, coconut oil, etc., do not make you fat or damage your cardiovascular system! (Read more at the healthy fats link above.)
Please tell us what you would add to this list, and read more below about the importance of healthy soil!
- Do you eat fruits and vegetables in season only?
- How I wash our produce
- Pesticides Health Effects
- The importance of healthy soil.
- The Quest for Nutrient Dense Food – High Brix Farming & Gardening – I’d never even heard of a Brix meter until I read this article, but isn’t it interesting?!
- Part of the Two for Tuesdays blog hop, Simple Living carnival, & Pennywise carnival
Alicia says
Love the tips in this post and the comments! thanks for contributing to Simple Lives Thursday!
Sense of Home says
Terrific tips!
-Brenda
Couscous & Consciousness says
I like to buy locally grown organic produce at my farmers market as much as possible – and you are right, often produce is grown chemical-free but growers can’t always afford to get the appropriate certification so it does pay to ask questions. Thanks for your helpful advice.
Sue
Alex at A Moderate Life says
whooo hoo kel, you are surely doing justice to your shorts! 😉 Very cute momma! I agree that the soil is where it all starts! Then the seed can be important–heritage varieties tend to taste the best. Chemical free ofcourse. I wash veggies in water with grapefruit seed extract and use a little scrubby brush for hard skinned veggies! Thanks for posting this on the two for tuesday recipe blog hop! 🙂 Alex@amoderatelife
L.M. says
To clean fruits and vegetables especially strawberries
(the kosher certification companies don’t want us to eat them due
bugs thta we can’t see–so we can’t really blackberries or
rasperries either). We soak it in a product called Environne fruit
and vegetable wash for a few min. and then wash them in water and
they almost taste organic. Supposedly the product is organic and it is kosher.
Christy says
Great tips and information – I agree food grown in nutritious soil is so much better! Thanks for linking to Two for Tuesdays!
Butterpoweredbike says
I’m so happy to see the tip about choosing produce grown in healthy soil. I’m passionate about the importance of well-nourished and thriving soil. Thank you for linking these great tips to Two for Tuesday.
Debbi Does Dinner Healthy says
Great tips, I didn’t realized that about the darker fruits! Thanks!
teenagehealthfreak says
I also clean my fruits/veggies with a solution I make to clean them: 1 TBS vinegar, 1 TBS lemon, and 1 cup water..when I can’t get organic.
KitchenKop says
Hey, thanks for reminding me, I’ll go add a link up in the post to the info on how I wash my produce, similar to yours, only with sea salt.
(p.s. I’m still planning to run your interview as soon as I can, and thanks again!)
Kim says
Great post! I never really stopped to think that produce could have varying levels of nutrition depending on how it was grown.
Stanley Fishman says
Great tips!
We think it is especially important to only eat chemical free produce. This can be expensive, but it is better to buy less than to eat chemical saturated produce, even the “dirty dozen”. Just because a vegetable is sprayed less, on the average, does not mean it is not heavily sprayed with human made chemicals, including pesticides made with GMOS. In fact, the farmer who grew the “dirty dozen” vegetable you are buying might spray more than other farmers, or use more toxic pesticides.Pesticide residue gets into the soil, and every plant grown on that soil will absorb some pesticide residue, in addition to what is being sprayed. Also, the use of pesticides changes from year to year, and a vegetable that was sprayed less last year might be sprayed more this year.We have no way of knowing.
girlichef says
Great tips!!! Thanks so much for sharing them with us at Two for Tuesdays this week 🙂 I would add…Eat your Colors!! You’re sure to get a wonderful, healthy punch if your diet is full of earthy, natural colors!
Lucas says
Choose fruits and vegetables that are in season and locally grown. We try to stay out of the produce aisle in the grocery store during the growing season, and pick what is fresh from the farmer’s markets in our city. This allows us to be excited when a new fruit or vegetable is ready for harvest.