The Environmental Working Group ranks the best and worst choices for NON-Organic produce.  This year apples moved from number 4 to number 1, 98% of apples tested had pesticides.  That said the list helps us to make educated choices when buying produce.  When you can, buy items on the Dirty Dozen list Organic, and save money buy purchasing items on the Clean 15 NON-Organic.  

DIRTY DOZEN LIST 

12 FOODS TO EAT ORGANIC

1) Apples

2) Celery

3) Strawberries

4) Peaches (Imported)

5) Spinach

6) Nectarines (Imported)

7) Grapes (Imported)

8) Bell Peppers

9) Potatoes 

10)Blueberries

11) Lettuce

12) Kale

The GOOD NEWS

CLEAN 15 FOODS TO EAT NON-ORGANIC

1) Onions

2) Corn

3) Pineapple

4) Avocado

5) Asparagus

6) Sweet Potatoes

7) Mangoes

8) Eggplant

9) Cantaloupe

10) Kiwi

11) Cabbage

12) Watermelon

13) Sweet Potatoes

14) Grapefruit

15) Mushrooms

 If you would like more information here is a link:

http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/Dirty-Dozen-Foods#fbIndex2

Mom's Homestyle Spaghetti Sauce

Mom's Home-Style Spaghetti Sauce

1 1/2-2 pounds ground beef (depending on how meaty you like your sauce)
1/2 cup chopped onion (or one small-med onion)
3 cups water
1 (12 oz.) can tomato paste (organic is best, just check ingredients)
1/2 tsp honey (optional, it's just enough to cut the acidity of the tomatoes)
1 1/2 tsp each basil and sea salt (or you may use less salt if you like)
1 tsp each garlic granules/powder and oregano (I go scant on the dried oregano leaves, it can easily overpower)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 bay leaves

Brown the ground beef and onion in a frying pan.  In a large saucepan combine remaining ingredients and stir, add drained ground beef and onion mixture to the sauce ingredients.  Bring to a boil and let simmer for at least an hour, several hours is even better.  Simple, Easy, Tasty.

Spaghetti Squash

Serve over baked Spaghetti Squash.  To bake, I just cut them in half length wise, scoop out the insides place cut side down in a roasting pan fill with water to about 1/2 inch and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or less.  It really depends on the size of your squash and your oven, it is done when the shell is soft when you touch it, or dents in easily.  Remove from the oven cool slightly and scoop out your "spaghetti".

For a side dish we had Sauteed Italian Zucchini and yellow Squash.
 Slice some zucchini and some yellow squash, about half and half.  Add it to a pan with some olive oil in it, slice an onion, some sweet peppers and add that too.  Saute until desired texture is achieved, add some basil, oregano, sea salt and pepper to taste.  Serve and enjoy. 

READ ME!

Everyone needs to read this blog post! Regardless of where you or your family are on your journey to find superhealth, this post is super important in further understanding of just how important gut health is fundamentally...ok read and digest!

Get Yolked!
Eggs...what else can I say? They really are the incredible, edible egg! The photo above shows on the left shows standard vegetarian fed, cage free DHA eggs. On the right is the ever impressive organic, pastured egg.
Notice that despite the DHA supplement that the eggs on the left pale in color and are a good deal smaller than the pastured egg. This goes to show the quality of natural diet for the animals we eat, and shows that while choosing a vegetarian fed source of eggs is far superior to the cheap bi-product fed egg, they still fall short in nutrient density compared to pastured, free range happy omega 3 making chickens.
Pastured eggs have a richer flavor as well, the shells are tougher and harder to crack. The fat quality is going to be much less inflammatory in a pastured egg than a grain fed vegetarian fed egg. The Omega 3 will be higher with all the grass fed protein sources than standard conventional grain fed sources. Right now the only commercial source of pastured eggs i am aware of is Alexander Kids Farms out of Crescent City. You can purchase these eggs for about $5.45 a dozen ( at ENF, you will pay more at Co-op) which for me means I don't get to use them exclusively. I am checking out a local source of pastured eggs right now that will run less than $4.00 per dozen which is a huge bargain for such a quality product.
Why should you spend a little extra on eggs? The more omega 3 we get naturally through quality fed sources of protein the less fish oil we have to supplement with and the less inflammation we have, also for those of us super sensitive to gluten and grain, if we are what we eat then even grain fed eggs could possibly still be causing gut issues, some apparent and some more subtle.
If you are interested in pastured eggs keep an eye on the blog and the Facebook for more info in the coming weeks!

Smoothies or Smoothmees as my 3 year old says

Here is a budget tip for those of you who have little ones in the house.  It seems that several times a day I end up with a partial banana, apple, pear, etc. leftover and going to waste.  It was really driving me crazy to see all that go to waste, but try as I might to make sure it all got eaten, it was still happening.  So...my solution is this, I save each little bite of leftover banana, partially eaten apple etc.  in a baggie and keep it in the fridge.  At the end of the day I throw whatever leftover fruit I have collected in the blender with some other additions and tada, smoothie!  The kids love it and I love that things are not going to waste!.  Last night it was 3 slices of leftover pear (looking all brown and icky but still good), a partial banana, an orange slice (threw it in peel and all), some frozen berries, a handful of spinach, a can of coconut milk, splash of vanilla and  a lot of cinnamon.  I did end up adding another whole banana, because we like it with lot's of banana.  Sometimes I add some coconut butter to up the fat content, you just have to blend it a lot and be comfortable with little bits in your smoothie.  I personally love it that way , but some of the kids don't like the texture when I add the coconut butter.  Anyway, it's a great way to sneak in some veggies,( I think I may try adding some carrot too), and use up leftover fruit or any fruit you may have in your fridge that is on the verge of going bad would be perfect.  You don't even taste the spinach at all, the kids have no idea it's there!  Have fun experimenting! 

Revised Taco Seasoning Recipe

 We just had taco's again tonight and I changed it up just a little bit and we liked it better.  I used the following:

1 TBSP Extra Hot Chili Powder (from Winco bulk) it has Habanero extract added

1 TBSP chili Powder

3 tsp of each of the following: ground cumin, onion powder, garlic granules, sea salt (plus a smidge more sea salt)

1/4 tsp or more of organic oregano dried leaves

1/8 cayenne pepper

Cook and brown 4-5 pounds of 80% grass fed ground beef, drain and return to pan.  Sprinkle your pre-mixed spice mix over and cook over low-med heat for a few minutes.  This way of cooking it worked really well, just be sure to stir it well so it get's evenly distributed, if it's to dry you may have to add a Tablespoon or so of water.  Or to make smaller batches either divide the seasoning in 1/2 for 2 pounds or 4ths for one pound.

___________________________________________________________________________________

In our house taco's are a favorite and pre-paleo days we had them once a week minimum.  But when we switched to Paleo, I could never find a comparable seasoning that we liked.  I am excited to say that I have finally found one we like, so I wanted to share it with you all.

2 TBSP  Chili Powder (if you like it spicier use, hot chili powder)

1 TBSP+ 2 tsp paprika

4 tsp ground cumin

3 tsp onion powder

3 tsp garlic powder

3 tsp sea salt

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper ( this will make a mild spice, I would add more if you like med-hot)

Mix and use or mix and store.  The spice is enough to make about 4 pounds of ground beef (I added about 2-3 cups of water).  So just use the amount of seasoning you would need for the amount of meat you have, add a little water.  Bring to a boil and simmer until the water is absorbed and it's ready to be served.

Bargains of the Week

I am back on track with my Food budget again, so you will probably be seeing more budget tips and budget recipes for a while.  The food budget was getting a little out of hand which is easy to do with a family of 9 to feed, food prices what they are and eating Paleo.  By far Grass Fed Ground beef is the cheapest meat per pound I buy, so this week there is a lot more ground beef on the menu!  Not to mention it is an exceptional deal this week, Eureka Natural Foods has discounted their already great Price! One thing I did find out this week the hard way, Spaghetti squash is REALLY expensive right now!  It blew the budget a bit.   So...that said here are the best bargains I stumbled on this week, my favorites are in red:


GROCERY OUTLET:

Prairie Grove Farms Andouille or Sweet Italian Sausages (no hormones, no nitrates, etc.)  12 oz. for $2.99

Zucchini $.59 each

Yellow Squash $. 59 each

Organic Strawberry Applesauce (24 ounces) $1.29
NON organic  Pink Lady Apples $3.99 for 5 pounds


Eureka Natural Foods:

Pacific Pastures Grass Fed Ground Beef is on Sale for $2.49 per pound ( a savings of .20 cents per lb)

Pacific Pastures Grass Fed Beef Spareribs $1.49 per pound (a savings of $1.00 per pound)
Pacific Pastures Grass Fed Boneless Ribeye Steak $9.99 per pound ( a savings of $5.00 per pound)
Breaburn ORGANIC apples $.89 per pound (I stopped buying these as I was finding them to mushy for my liking but the price for an organic apple is great) 

North Coast Co-op: 
Coconut Bliss Ice Cream pint $3.99 (regular price $6.49)
So Delicious Coconut Milk 64 oz. $2.99 (regular price $4.69)


Winco Foods:
Broccoli Slaw, is a cheap way to get some veggies in $1.98 for a 2 pound package
El Pato (always a good Pantry item) $. 58 


Costco:
Organic Omega 3 eggs 18 pack $5.29 (the price has gone up .30 cents recently)
Mauna Loa Macadamia Nuts $13.99 (24 ounces)