10/2 Health & Wellness Tip – Dirty Dozen

October is Vegetarian Awareness Month!

Do I believe everyone should be a vegetarian? No, I don’t.VeganHeart

  • I believe being vegan works for some people; not everyone
  • I believe being gluten-free works for some people; not everyone
  • I believe being vegetarian works for some people; not everyone

Honestly, I do believe that I need to figure out that unique “diet” that is right for me. And you need to figure out that unique “diet” that is right for you. That is my belief. You may or may not agree with me and that is OK. What is important is that you live by your beliefs.

Enough of that for now. Onto Vegetarian Awareness Month. One of the comments I hear often is that “it is more expensive to eat healthier.” So a couple of the posts this month will focus on how to save money when eating healthier.

In my utopia, I could buy everything organic and whenever I want it. Fact is, that just can’t be done for various reasons. One way to spend your money more wisely is to buy organic produce based on the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen published annually by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

Here is the 2016 Shopper’s Guide you can print and carry with you or you can download the Dirty Dozen app to your smartphone if you prefer the electronic version to paper.

Dirty DozenClean Fifteen
1. Strawberries
2. Apples
3. Nectarines
4. Peaches
5. Celery
6. Grapes
7. Cherries
8. Spinach
9. Tomatoes
10. Bell Peppers
11. Cherry Tomatoes
12. Cucumbers
1. Avocados
2. Corn
3. Pineapples
4. Cabbage
5. Sweet Peas
6. Onions
7. Asparagus
8. Mangoes
9. Papayas
10. Kiwi
11. Eggplant
12. Honeydew
13. Grapefruit
14. Cantaloupe
15. Cauliflower

There it is. The first tip to save money when you want to enjoy more fruits and vegetables in your diet. Is that useful?

Website for Environmental Working Group

by Michele Spear