healthy eating – From Hedge Funds to High Chairs

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a 501c3 organization that advocates on Capitol Hill for health-protective and subsidy-shifting policies. There two primary goals are:

To protect the most vulnerable segments of the human population—children, babies, and infants in the womb—from health problems attributed to a wide array of toxic contaminants.
To replace federal policies, including government subsidies that damage the environment and natural resources, with policies that invest in conservation and sustainable development.

According to EWG, there are a number of reasons to buy organic for your Preschoolers. When it comes to the toxicity of pesticides children are especially at risk. (http://www.foodnews.org/reduce.php)

1. “It is now well established that pesticides pose a risk to vital organ systems that continue to grow and mature from conception throughout infancy and childhood. Exposure to pesticides and other toxic chemicals during critical periods of development can have lasting adverse effects both in early development and later in life.”
2. “The metabolism, physiology, and biochemistry of a fetus, infant or child are fundamentally different from those of adults; a young, organism is often less able to metabolize and inactivate toxic chemicals and can be much more vulnerable to the harmful effects of pesticides.”
3. “The nervous system, brain, reproductive organs and endocrine (hormone) system can be permanently, if subtly, damaged by exposure to toxic substances in-utero or throughout early childhood that, at the same level, cause no measurable harm to adults. The developing brain and endocrine system are very sensitive, and low doses at a susceptible moment of development can cause more of an effect than high doses. It is especially important to reduce pesticide exposures of babies and young children so as to minimize these risks.”

The U.S Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration conducted over 80,000 tests for pesticides on foods between 2000 and 2007. The EWG put together a list of 47 fruits and vegetables from worst to best in regards to pesticide load. There is a copy of the list below or it can be accessed here: http://www.foodnews.org/fulllist.php

RANK	FRUIT OR VEGGIE	SCORE
1 (worst)	Peach	100 (highest pesticide load)
2	Apple	93
3	Sweet Bell Pepper	83
4	Celery	82
5	Nectarine	81
6	Strawberries	80
7	Cherries	73
8	Kale	69
9	Lettuce	67
10	Grapes – Imported	66
11	Carrot	63
12	Pear	63
13	Collard Greens	60
14	Spinach	58
15	Potato	56
16	Green Beans	53
17	Summer Squash	53
18	Pepper	51
19	Cucumber	50
20	Raspberries	46
21	Grapes – Domestic	44
22	Plum	44
23	Orange	44
24	Cauliflower	39
25	Tangerine	37
26	Mushrooms	36
27	Banana	34
28	Winter Squash	34
29	Cantaloupe	33
30	Cranberries	33
31	Honeydew Melon	30
32	Grapefruit	29
33	Sweet Potato	29
34	Tomato	29
35	Broccoli	28
36	Watermelon	26
37	Papaya	20
38	Eggplant	20
39	Cabbage	17
40	Kiwi	13
41	Sweet Peas – Frozen	10
42	Asparagus	10
43	Mango	9
44	Pineapple	7
45	Sweet Corn – Frozen	2
46	Avocado	1
47 (best)	Onion	1 (lowest pesticide load)

Note: We ranked a total of 47 different fruits and vegetables but grapes are listed twice because we looked at both domestic and imported samples.

Action Steps: To encourage healthy choices at home, keep delicious fruit, cut and ready to eat in a spot that is first to be seen and easy to reach for your preschooler!

Healthy Food Choices are Easy to Grab and Go!

I saw an article in Body and Soul Magazine earlier this year about how to make healthier choices when we grab food from the fridge. The idea is to put the healthiest choices right in your eye sight and make them as easy to ‘grab and go’ as possible. After the reading the article, I made some simple changes in our refrigerator. I have found myself eating healthier than I have in years and losing less fruit to rotting or being forgotten.

So here is my fridge:

The article suggested dividing the fridge into categories. Here is my interpretation and use of the categories:

Dinner – This is my top right shelf. I use it for our dinner entrée type items and leftovers.
Grab and Go Fuel – This is my top left shelf. I leave high protein (fuel) snacks like cheese sticks, yogurt and nuts.
Fresh Food Snacks – This is the middle left shelf and is usually where we look first when we open the door. I have filled this with fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, salsa, and sauces (more on this later.)
Beyond Deli – This is the middle drawer. It has additional cheese, deli and chocolate.
Liquid Assets – We keep this full of cold beverages. As you can see there is a wide variety of beer which is not necessary for a healthy fridge! 🙂
Green Market – These are the drawers at the bottom. They are full of additional fruits, vegetables and leafy greens.

So a little more on fresh food snacks:

The article suggested keeping fruit cut up so they are easy to grab and eat. I found I was buying fruit, which I love, putting it in the drawer and then tossing it later because it had rotted. I bought these great storage containers at Macy’s. They have a divider. It takes me 5 minutes to wash and cut fruit and put it into the container. My concerns was that washed cut fruit goes bad faster. I have found we eat the fruit before that is an issue. There is something so fun and pretty about ‘ready-made’ cut fruit. Cut your produce, fruits and veges, into bite size pieces and store them right at eye level. For kids, put the cut fruit, in an easy to see, easy to reach spot in the fridge.

There is nothing wrong with taking a little help from the store and splurging when it comes to fruit! Trader Joe’s has pre-cut apples (green and red.) They have found a way to keep them from turning brown. It costs more than purchasing the apples yourself and cutting them however I find it a simple, healthy treat that really saves time! Consider skipping a $2-5.00 coffee and use the money for a few healthy treats instead.

Tag: healthy eating

Three Reasons to Buy Organic for your Preschooler

Organizing the Refrigerator to Encourage Healthy Choices for your Family