Shafi 
Many consumers want organic products because they offer a certified guarantee of being free of pesticides and following environmentally friendly farming practices. These are good and honorable reasons to support organic growers, but olives are different. First of all, they are very easy to grow organically. Unlike most other fruit trees, olive crops have very … Read more
Chickpeas/Chickpeas Chickpeas are another item that vegetarians and health seekers frequently buy, so let’s take a look at some of these labels. Pin It Non-organic chickpeas Would you say there is no difference between organic and non-organic food? Think again. Studies show that not all conventionally grown chickpeas can always be eaten without question. Laboratory … Read more
Dear Umbra, I work at a grocery store. Recently a customer refused to buy our cashews because they were not organic. Does it really matter that the nuts are organic? Are they sprayed with chemicals during production? Was the customer right or should he have bought it and bought our cashews? Organic vs. non-organic cashews … Read more
The answer is no. Ground ginger contains different medicinal benefits than raw ginger root. The process of creating ground ginger reduces the amount of gingerol it contains. Ginger is the active component of ginger root that offers many medicinal properties for health. Immersion in boiling water and exposure to steam would also help remove pesticide … Read more
The colder months always invite you to warm up with a good cup of tea and a good book by the fire. In the summer, we drink a nice glass of iced tea to cool down. Drinking herbal tea is an essential addition to your health routine, especially during a pandemic. Herbal teas have many … Read more
When you eat a sprout, you eat the seed. It is for this reason that sprouts that do not use organic seeds cannot be certified organic. Beware of the grower/seller of sprouts who claims they are organic because they do not use fertilizers or pesticides. Broccoli. Of 712 samples of this cruciferous vegetable, about 70% … Read more
Okra is a drought resistant crop and grows reasonably well when left alone. Keep track of the weather in your area, and make sure your growing okra plants get a full watering about once a week, either with a good rain bath or hose irrigation. These fast producing plants are vigorous nitrogen consumers. The soil … Read more
Many consumers want organic products because they offer a certified guarantee of being free of pesticides and following environmentally friendly farming practices. These are good and honorable reasons to support organic growers, but olives are different. First of all, they are very easy to grow organically. Unlike most other fruit trees, olive crops have very … Read more
Vegetables that Consumer Reports has identified as having a low risk of pesticide exposure include cauliflower, cilantro, scallions, broccoli, mushrooms, cabbage, corn, avocado, and garlic. Onions don’t have to be organic Onions don’t just make you cry for cutting them, they make pests cry for eating them. Onions are naturally resistant to pests, so there’s … Read more
Q. I buy wild blueberries because I assume they are not treated with pesticides. Am I right about this? A. Not necessarily. Growers can grow “wild” blueberries for the commercial market and apply pesticides to reduce weeds or insects. (Here, for example, is information from Maine Extension for farmers who want to improve the yield … Read more
It is almost always true that a larger bulb will have larger cloves (seeds) inside for planting. The bigger the better, you know! Large cloves produce larger bulbs the following year. So you want to plant the bigger cloves as seeds and eat the smaller ones. Buy organic vegetables, avoid the onion family Leafy greens … Read more
Arsenic is linked to many types of cancer, including skin, lung, bladder, liver, and kidney cancers. Evidence suggests that lung cancer is the most common cause of arsenic-related mortality. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified arsenic as a category 1 carcinogen, meaning it is known to cause cancer in humans. The US … Read more
Attention buyer. The Environmental Working Group has compiled a list of The Dirty Dozen, 12 Soft-Skinned Foods That Absorb the Most Pesticides You Should Buy Organic, and The Clean Fifteen, Hard-Skinned Foods That Are Pretty Safe Because We Don’t Eat Thick Skins. (That means don’t grate citrus zest from non-organic fruits into your food!). Remember … Read more
Obviously, I’m not a big dairy consumer and you won’t see me sporting a cow’s milk mustache for the foreseeable future. You might even wonder why you would mention this on a dairy free website. The thing is, I know many of you are low dairy or dairy free. You could even be a dairy … Read more
Cilantro can be planted almost anywhere. Fall is the perfect time to plant in growing zones 8 through 11, as the plants will produce all winter until the weather warms in late spring. In more temperate climates, plant cilantro in late spring. Containers: Cilantro can be grown successfully in containers. Make sure you have a … Read more
Click here for part 2 of this post. This weekend was another market day at the Irvine Farmer’s Market and, like every other week, Davall’s new crop of dates were ready. Davall, along with many other local date growers who sell to California markets, grow their dates organically with little to no processing. When you … Read more
If the nuts are not organic, they are sprayed with pesticides and fumigated with chemicals. Soaking them reduces and removes pesticide residues. In general, even conventionally grown walnuts show little pesticide residue on the shelled walnut. However, the pesticides used in non-organic walnut production are dangerous to farmworkers and the local ecology, so choose organic … Read more
The identity of immigrants is one of the topics that Miércoles addresses, which goes well with his critique of colonialism. In the 1991 film The Addams Family and its 1993 sequel Addams Family Values, Puerto Rican actor Raúl Julia played Gomez Addams, Wednesday’s father. Since then, some have seen the Addams Family as canonically Latino, … Read more
Green peas become safer in the freezing process. | iStock.com/SherSor Frozen vegetables generally contain fewer pesticides than their raw counterparts, thanks to the blanching process they go through before being frozen. So go ahead and get the non-organic sugar snap peas. Ecological requirements for growing pomegranates Precipitation: Pomegranates need a dry and semi-arid climate. The … Read more
Over time, we have celebrated our love for plums with you. We just swoon over our certified organic prunes and if you’ve had any, you know why. They are unbelievably big, soft and plump and it’s hard to believe they are organic! Not to mention our other prunes, because they’re all second to none, if … Read more