Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

Fruits and vegetables with the most pesticides can be avoided.  Buy them when they are in season from your local farmers and community supported agricultural groups (CSA) and request organic, heirloom,  non-genetically modified food.

You can also grow your own food anytime with your own gardens, kitchen container gardens, all season greenhouses, and local garden clubs.  Contact your local plant nurseries and garden centers for more information.  Many garden clubs offer group-buying discounts; group gardening workshops, and coupons.

Each year around February, you can pay a yearly fee to your local CSA.  The CSA will provide you with a big box of fresh fruits and veggies each week during the growing season.  The cost typically ranges from $200 for an individual to $400 for a family.  It’s really like hiring your own farmer to make sure you have a weekly supply of fresh local food.  You can even request specific food from your local CSA.  I typically plan for one day a week to dehydrate, can, and preserve all the excess fruits and veggies that I get from my local CSA.  It only takes a few hours of my time and canning a few jars, dehydrating a few trays, freezing a few bags of fruits and veggies each week, will stock a household for the winter months.  Some people also purchase a CSA share with another family.  They work as a group to pick up their weekly food supply, sort it, and preserve the excess each week.

The following list gives you a good idea of how you are consuming pesticides, chemicals, and heavy metals from food that is sprayed.  Organic food that you grow yourself can help to minimize your exposure.  I am raw vegan, so I never buy anything on this list if it is not organic, because the chemicals and pesticides cannot be washed off.  Consuming pesticides and chemicals causes many diseases.

· Apples, Apricots, Nectarines, Peaches, Cherries, Strawberries, Raspberries.

· Carrots, Beets, Peppers, Celery, Cucumbers, Green Beans, Tomatoes, Zucchini.

· Dark Leafy Greens.

· Nuts, Soybeans.

The following list includes fruits and vegetables with a less amount of pesticides and chemicals that can be washed off before consuming.  Wash well and dry before you cut and consume any food. Of course you should choose organic non-gmo when you have a choice.  You can often find organic ripe bananas and others on the discount rack at your grocers.  Take them home, break into small bite size chunks, and freeze in large freezer bags or plastic tubs to be used in recipes.  Organic ripe veggies can be dehydrated or canned and stored.

· Avocados, Watermelon, Sweet Corn

·Asparagus, Eggplant, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, Rhubarb, Winter Squash, Dried Beans, Sweet Potatoes.

· Garlic, Onion.

· Cashews.

References

Organic vs. Conventional.  Retrieved online February 18th 2012 from

http://preventdisease.com/news/11/060311_pesticides.shtml

Fullers Veggies CSA.  Retrieved online February 18th 2012 from

http://www.FullersVeggies.com

DIY Fruit and Veggie Wash

Non organic fruits and vegetables get sprayed with pesticides and chemicals while they are growing.  The ones with hard skin often have a chemical residue on the outside of their skin that should be washed off before consuming. 

Raw Vegans only consume organic food, so they can wash their fruits and vegetables with plain water.  If you consume food that is sprayed with pesticides and chemicals you can wash chemicals off your food with a safe homemade recipe.

Ingredients:  Lemon, Distilled White Vinegar, Water, Spray Bottle.

Squeeze 1 tablespoon of lemon into your spray bottle.  Add 2 Tablespoons vinegar and 1 cup water to your spray bottle.  Shake vigorously.  Spray on your fruits and veggies, then rinse well before consuming.  Lemon juice is a natural disinfectant.  The acid in the vinegar neutralizes most pesticides.