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Elizabeth Hurley: Unlikely Organic Farmer

FitSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:00:59 -0800

Off the top of my head I can't remember the last time I've seen British bombshell Elizabeth Hurley on screen, but for good reason - she's packed everything up Green Acres style. The former actress has left the high life of London to live on a 400-acre organic farm in Gloucestershire where she shares space with cattle, poultry, sheep, and pigs.

She's not stopping there either. This week Hurley launched an organic snacks line in conjunction with Harrods using ingredients straight from her farm. All the organic snacks are low-calorie (100 or less), low-fat and include beef jerky, oat bars, and fruit snacks.

The 44 year old married mother of one couldn't be happier trudging through the mud in a pair of Wellingtons and says that leaving London was the only way to give her son a healthy upbringing free from paparazzi "I would be bursting into tears and just be so angry. There is something about motherhood that makes you very protective of anyone coming too near your child, and the paparazzi did things like take pictures of him nude on the beach and put them online. It was disgusting, disgraceful."

Hurley says that the inspiration for her organic line came from her own experiences with fad diets. “It’s compulsory portion control. I’ve never been able to chop a Jaffa Cake in half and just eat one piece,” she said.

When to Buy Organic

FitSugar — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 03:30:23 -0700

I like to think most of us would like to buy local and organic foods 100 percent of the time, but it means paying extra, which a lot of us can't always do. A good compromise is choosing organic when it makes the most sense for our health.

Here's our recommendation on foods to buy organic whenever possible due to high pesticide contamination, as well as those foods you can opt for conventional to be kind to your pocket book. I would like to add that you should try to buy local produce too - it'll taste fresher and have traveled many fewer miles to reach you.

View Slideshow ›

Healthy Eating Tip: Join a CSA

FitSugar — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:00:10 -0700

With local and organic food having such a high price tag, it can be hard to eat in a sustainable way. One way I've gotten around the high costs is by joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). The idea of a CSA is pretty simple - consumers pay farmers directly for a portion of their crop. It's a huge benefit to my health, and my money goes directly to a small, family-owned farm.

To give you an idea of how a CSA works, I'll use mine as an example. I pay $23 each week for enough produce to feed two people. My last box contained four Braeburn apples, four oranges, two pounds of heirloom tomatoes, one bunch of broccoli, two pounds of red potatoes, one pound of zucchini, one pound of green beans, one bunch of basil, and one head of red lettuce. All of the produce was grown on an organic farm located 90 miles from my home in San Francisco. For an additional fee I can also request organic dairy products, grass-fed meat, and Fair Trade coffee.

For tips on choosing a CSA, read more.

Although the basic idea of a CSA is the same no matter which you choose, details vary among farms. Here are some things to keep in mind when shopping for a CSA.

Decide how you want your produce box delivered. Many CSAs offer home delivery, while other CSAs leave boxes at convenient pick-up points in your town or city.
Membership is either calculated by the season or on a month-to-month basis. You'll save even more money if you can pay for the entire season at once.
Most CSAs choose what produce they deliver each week. Don't be alarmed -recipes are usually included and you can expect the best the season has to offer, as well as staple items. There are some CSAs that will let you pick and choose specifically what you'd like in your box that week based on their crop.
CSAs are beginning to offer much more than produce. If you are interested in meat, dairy, baked goods, and other eatables, shop around.

Visit the Local Harvest website to find a CSA near you.

Source: Flickr User 427

Organic Food No Healthier Than Conventional?

FitSugar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Everywhere you turn lately, it seems more and more foods are being labeled organic. It's definitely been a huge craze, although sales have fallen since the recession. Sales may fall even further after people hear about a new study published Wednesday that states organic doesn't mean healthier when it comes to nutrition

A review of 162 scientific studies carried out over the past 50 years found no significant difference between organic and conventional in regards to health benefits. Although, individual studies have found organic produce is higher in vitamin C than conventional produce. There have been similar findings when comparing the antioxidant levels of organic tomatoes with conventional, with the organic ones containing almost twice as many healthful nutrients.

So if your main concern is quality of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, then there's no need to spend the extra dough. However, if you're worried about ingesting chemical pesticides, or want to support farming practices that have the least negative impact on our planet, then continue to splurge on organic foods.

Tell me, will this news change your grocery shopping habits?

Source: Flickr User A.D.A. ~ Anna Duncan Art

This Valentine's Day, Send Organic Flowers

FitSugar — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 03:00:00 -0800

Valentine's Day is a time to let someone know you appreciate them by giving cards and candy, but I like to give flowers since they're calorie-free, and smelling the sweet scents can help relieve stress. Whether you send some to your lover, your best friend, or your mother, you can help do something good for the planet too by sending organic flowers. Whenever you or the lucky receiver touches or inhales these blooms, you don't have to worry about coming into contact with poisonous chemicals. Also, if growers use toxic pesticides and fertilizers, it leaches into the soil and evaporates into the atmosphere. Then it makes its way to you through the food that's grown or rain that falls. It's a terrible and unhealthy cycle.

So this holiday, order organic flowers from OrganicBouquet.com. Not only are they VeriFlora certified, which means they are grown with the least environmental impact, but they're also wrapped in eco-friendly packaging. A dozen organic long stem roses costs about $50, which is only $10 more than conventional ones. It's worth it knowing you're supporting earth-friendly practices, and the receiver will appreciate it too.

When To Buy Organic

FitSugar — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:30:00 -0700

Food costs are rising and making decisions about when to go organic a little more complicated. When it comes to produce here are recommendations from the Environmenal Working Group of fruits and veggies to buy organic whenever you can.

Source

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Bananas: Organic vs. Conventional

FitSugar — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:00:00 -0700

Deciding whether to buy organic or conventional bananas is a toughie. Organic ones are more expensive (usually at least 30 cents more per pound), and I've noticed that they seem to bruise more easily – anyone else notice that, too? The major difference between the two are that conventional bananas are grown with synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, and herbicides to protect the crops from mold, bugs, and disease. On the other side, organic farmers use natural fertilizers such as manure and seaweed, insect predators and barriers to prevent pests, and they weed by hand or mulch in order to prevent weeds.

You may be thinking that all those chemicals used to grow conventional bananas are no big deal because you peel the fruit. But the chemicals are not just on the outside of the banana - they leach into the soil that is used to grow the produce. So even if you peel your banana, it doesn't prevent you from ingesting small amounts of those chemicals. Although you may feel better knowing most experts agree that the amount you ingest poses little threat to your health. If you're concerned about the nutritional value of your food, there are ongoing studies exploring the connection between pesticides and nutrients in foods; so far it looks like organic is healthier. Organic produce is also better for the planet since chemical pesticides make their way into the soil and run off into water sources.

With the sky-rocketing prices of food, buying organic may not be feasible all the time. Bananas, along with avocados, mangos, papayas, and pineapples have been found to have the lowest pesticide residue. However, apples, cherries, grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, raspberries, strawberries have very high pesticide residues so you might want to splurge on organic.

Source

Food Review: Bear Naked Trail Mix – Pacific Crest

FitSugar — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 07:30:00 -0800

Looking for a quick snack before or after a workout? Trail mix has always been one of my favorites, and now Bear Naked (the company who makes that delicious granola) is making really unique variations of trail mix made with all natural dried fruits and nuts. There's no sugar or salt added, which is a plus. I picked up a bag of their Pacific Crest flavor. It's a little pricey (about $4 a bag), but totally worth it in my opinion (especially since I found it on sale for $2.50). Want to know what's in it? Then read more

This snack is my new best friend and you can see why. There was no skimping when it came to making this trail mix. There are tons of whole cashews, huge pieces of dried mango (my weakness), monster-sized raisins, pistachios, and sunflower seeds. All delicious. All organic. All good for you.

Serving Size	1/4 cup
Calories	140
Total Fat	8g
Saturated Fat	1g
Cholesterol	0mg
Sodium	10mg
Carbs	14g
Fiber	2g
Sugar	8g
Protein	4g

This is one healthy snack. It's low in calories, high in protein, has a good amount of fiber (for such a small serving size), and is low in saturated fat and sodium. You may not be happy with seeing 8g of total fat, but remember that nuts contain healthy fats (monounsaturated fats) your body needs. Eating fats like these can actually help to lower your LDL (bad) cholesterol and maintain HDL (good) cholesterol. Now I can't wait to try the other trail mix flavors.

Health Valley Microwaveable Soups: Organic Minestrone

FitSugar — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 07:30:00 -0800

When you're rushing around, it can be difficult to make a proper meal. However, that doesn't mean you have to give up and buy fast food. I'm always on the lookout for quick meals that are also good for me, and I just came across these Health Valley Microwaveable Soups. They're fairly inexpensive and really easy to make. I love the convenience of the microwavable container, and the fact that they're made with organic ingredients.

Want to see what this soup looks like? Then

Serving Size	1 bowl
Calories	100
Total Fat	1.5g
Saturated Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg
Sodium	480mg
Carbs	20g
Fiber	5g
Sugar	3g
Protein	4g

Good thing I like foods that have a soft consistency because after trying this soup, "squishy" was the first word to come to my mind. The cooked carrots, green beans, celery bits and noodles were so mushy that they practically disintegrated in my mouth. This would make a great meal if you just had dental work or if you weren't feeling that well.

The flavor was a little bland, slightly like salty tomatoes, and the aftertaste was a little peppery. When I looked at the ingredients, I felt good knowing they were mostly organic. Plus for only 100 calories, this would make a great meal coupled with a salad and a piece of whole grain bread. I'm not a huge fan of this Minestrone soup, but I might try the other flavors if I needed a meal in a pinch.

Zinc and Echinacea vs. the Common Cold

FitSugar — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:30:00 -0800

Nobody wants to get stuck with a cold, so when you hear that you can take something simple and inexpensive to prevent a week's worth of misery, why not jump at it? Echinacea and zinc are much buzzed-about when it comes to preventing or shortening the duration of colds, but do they really work?

When it comes to zinc, hundreds of studies have been conducted, including one in 2000, which found that taking zinc lozenges during a cold produced "modest" benefits. A more recent study published by Stanford Medical School analyzed data from 14 previous studies and reported that the effectiveness of using zinc to treat a cold "has yet to be established." Hmm.

Well, what about echinacea? To find out read more

Over the summer, a large study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal said that taking echinacea can reduce your risk of catching a cold by 58 percent. This contradicted an earlier study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which said that echinacea didn't help at all. It's tough to determine echinacea's effectiveness, because so many parts of the plant are used to make tinctures, teas, and pills. More research definitely needs to be done to figure out what part of the plant is helpful.

Fit's Tips: The bottom line is that there really is no consistent opinion about whether zinc or echinacea really benefits you when it comes to colds. During this season of sickness, instead of wasting money on things that possibly help, stick to doing things that are proven to work. Be sure to eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, get your daily supply of vitamin C (75 mg), and get plenty of rest each night. This will help to keep your immune system strong, so if your body does come in contact with germs, it can fight them off so you don't get sick.