April 24th, 2013

Apples, strawberries, grapes and celery. All of these are healthy foods, but unfortunately they arrive at the grocery with the highest pesticide residues and top the latest “Dirty Dozen” list released by the Environmental Working Group. The other Dirty Dozen foods include some of the most delectable fruits and vegetables. You’ll just have to buy the organic versions if you want to avoid the trace pesticides that ride along.

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October 5th, 2009

By Barbara Kessler Green Right Now The Mediterranean diet or style of eating is not just for cultivating healthy arteries anymore. Now researchers say it may reduce the risk of depression. A dietary pattern of eating plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, fish and olive oil appears to help people fend off clinical [...]

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August 28th, 2009

Green Right Now Reports

Increasingly we’re hearing about how local, seasonal food is richer in nutrients than canned or out-of-season produce that’s been shipped in from afar.

UT Southwestern Medical Center nutrition experts say we can be even more deliberate with our menu choices by choosing seasonal fruits and veggies that offer specific health benefits.

Their tip today: Eat fresh melons in season — and that means late summer in the US — to get a boost of potassium. That mineral can help athletes and those suffering from high blood pressure.

“Melons like cantaloupe and watermelon are particularly high in potassium,” says Lona Sandon, assistant professor of clinical nutrition at UT Southwestern and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “One fourth a cantaloupe contains 800 to 900 milligrams of potassium, roughly 20 percent of the recommended daily value.”

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July 30th, 2009

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Help the Honey Bees, a web-based campaign by Haagen Daz is trying to build buzz for the beneficial insects, which are beset by a mysterious ailment that causes whole colonies to collapse.

The effort includes backing some cute You Tube videos (dancing humans dressed as bees definitely help personify this issue), and a series of “challenges” on the Experience Project in which people can plant a flower or pledge to eat natural foods to help honey bees. There’s also a bee trivia quiz.

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May 22nd, 2009

By Christopher Peake
Green Right Now

COME EARLY

Get there as soon as the market opens … the bigger the market the more customers there will be … vendors are in a better mood than we’ll be later in the day …

BRING YOUR OWN BAGS

All vendors have bags but with the exception of the odd paper bag vendor (they cost vendors more money than plastic, so fewer have them) you’ll be toting home thin plastic bags.

BRING CASH

All vendors take cash, many take checks and none take plastic. Few Farmer’s Markets have ATM’s conveniently nearby, so cash is king.

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May 21st, 2009

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

We all need to start eating closer to home, and with all due respect, I don’t mean down at the corner KFC.

I’m talking about finding fresh, locally grown produce for home cooking. Do we even need to list the reasons? Buying local food cuts down on polluting “food miles”, bypasses refrigeration trucks, supports local farmers and puts nutrient-rich foods on our plates.

But unless you grow a lot of your own food, how can you distinguish what came from your friendly local farmer in Illinois (or Texas or California) from what came from a rain forest-encroaching big-Ag operation 2,000 miles away?

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May 18th, 2009

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

You’ve already heard about how curcumin, or turmeric, may help reduce your chances of getting Alzheimer’s, a disease that is virtually unheard of in India where this spice turns up in a lot of dishes.

Today’s news brings another reason to eat your turmeric-spiced curry: It may help reduce the size of your tummy. Researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University found that mice fed high fat diets that were supplemented with curcumin gained less weight than a control group that was fed a high fat diet without curcumin.

The scientists warn in a news release that they don’t know if the results can be replicated in humans. What they observed, however, was that the curcumin seemed to inhibit a process known as “angiogenesis” that helps grow fat, which would appear to be applicable to larger (get it?) life forms as well.

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April 26th, 2009

By Laura Elizabeth May
Green Right Now

When getting ready for Mother’s Day, don’t forget about Mother Earth. We have gathered eight ideas that your mother will love and won’t hurt the earth.

A Gift That Blooms

1. Flowers are always right for Mom’s Day. If you are leaning in that direction, consider buying local blooms from a local florist. Picking out flowers that are grown locally cuts down on the amount of gas used to bring you that flower, and you will be supporting your neighborhood economy. If cut flowers aren’t easily found, look for a perennial or shrub in a pot.

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March 6th, 2009

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

It seems that the iconic American wide, grassy lawn, which has lately been encroached upon by rock beds and strips of native flowers designed to cut down on watering, is undergoing some more surgery. It is now giving up real estate to another pursuit: Homeowners are claiming portions of their lawns for produce production.

Landscapers have noted the emergence of these small scale agricultural endeavors, with a new survey by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) finding that about 20 percent of residential landscape architects report they are replacing part or all of traditional grass lawns with food/vegetable gardens.

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March 4th, 2009

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Experts have been arguing about it, and you probably wonder every time you get ready to fork over an extra buck or two for a pack of tomatoes, apples or strawberries.

Does organic taste better?

Some say yes. Some say no difference. It’s a bitter debate. Lots of folks swear that conventionally grown fruits and veggies can, after being splattered with pesticides and gassed for long haul transport, mutate into bland poseurs, lacking the zest, character and even texture of their chemical-free cousins. My palate tends to agree — some of the tangiest food turns up in my organic co-op basket.

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June 24th, 2008

By Julie Bonnin

Aging baby-boomers who love fruits and vegetables may like the results of a recent study that found fruits and vegetables can help preserve muscle mass in older men and women.

Researchers from Tufts University analyzed data from 400 participants 65 years and older who completed a three-year osteoporosis trial. They found a link between higher measures of lean body mass and diets relatively high in potassium-rich fruits and vegetables. Such diets could help mediate the muscle-wasting response that occurs with aging.

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