Happy Apples

Winter can make it difficult to get a good variety of fruits and veggies in your diet. Buying locally in Ontario can mean eating root veggies for 3 months. It is nice to have fruit in the winter months and this time of year is when it is especially important to look for organic produce.

Skeptical? I always tell people who are skeptical about organic to buy an organic apple and a non-organic apple and taste them both. Organic is better...no question.

REASONS TO BUY ORGANIC
- more flavour
- prevent health problems caused by toxic overload
- foods have highest nutritional value
- help protect future generations from chemical pollution
- decrease the real cost of food (not supporting chemical use)
- decrease the cost of organic foods by creating demand
- support local and independent farmers
- prevent soil deterioration and erosion
- protect water quality
- reduce ozone damage
- restore biodiversity, protecting animal and plant life
adapted from The Staying Healthy Shopper’s Guide, Eldon Haas MD

When buying winter produce from other regions than your own, it is good to put the produce that is the most sprayed on your organic list.

These are:

FRUIT
apples
pears
peaches, nectarines
raspberries
strawberries
cherries
grapes
kiwi

VEGGIES
green beans
corn
potatoes
broccoli
bell peppers
celery
spinach

Fruit like oranges and those with thicker skins are less likely to be sprayed. This doens't mean that they are 100% chemical free, but they can be lower on the list of necessity. Another great thing to so is to find a list of what grows locally in your region and get to know what's in season when. Talk to farmers in your area - frequenting your local market is a good way to become familiar with what's available.