Kalette: The new veggie on the block

Hi readers! This post is written by Beth’s intern, Erin, who is studying to be a registered dietitian.

This just in… Kale is officially “out” and it’s new, cooler, trendier and tastier younger sister, Kalette is “in”. You can think of a Kalette as the Kylie Jenner to Kim Kardashian. Yes, Kim is definitely still “cool” in a married with kids kind of way, but Kylie is younger, more chic and a little weird in a way we all find intriguing (so we follow her on all social media accounts and wish our lives were that cool when we were 18.)

So here are the facts… A Kalette is basically the child of Kale and Brussels Sprouts. Some scientists over in England have been working on this hybrid vegetable for about 15 years and it just recently made its way across the pond to the US. For all you skeptics out there (me included) don’t fret! This is not some kind of freaky science experiment. Kalettes are naturally grown from seeds and right now, Kalettes are mostly being grown in southern California because of the warm coastal climate.

I know exactly what you’re thinking…. You need to go to the store to get this mysterious new vegetable RIGHT NOW so you can make an awesome dish and Instagram it so all your friends know how ahead of the times you are (just me? Idk..) But wait, where can you find these Kalettes you may wonder… Trader Joes and Whole Foods both claim to have Kalettes in all of their locations nationwide (although you may want to call and check before going. Other names for Kalettes may include Kale Sprouts, BrussleKale or Flower Sprouts)

So now you know where to go and what you’re getting but how do you pick the perfect Kalette? I’ll tell you how… The leaves should be nice and hydrated without any brown spots and the steam should look freshly cut and have a very pretty purple-y color. Check out this super exciting video explaining how to prepare your Kalettes for cooking:

Since I am studying nutrition and diet, I feel obligated to talk about the nutritional benefits of this innovative new veg…

For 1 ½ cups of Kalettes, you get 4g of protein (moderately high for a vegetable), 120% of your daily value for vitamin K (pretty typical for a leafy green but still a good thing!) and 40% of your daily value of vitamin C (just in time to start fighting off winter colds) all for just 45 calories!

And there you have it, folks! Now I’m off to go munch on some roasted Kalettes while I catch up on KUWTK.

Are red meat and processed meats really that bad?

Last week brought with it some pretty earth shattering news, and no I am not just talking about the news of Karla Kardashian…

I am referring to the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring that consuming red meats and processed meats increases cancer risk. Now, I know that most of you probably care more about the Kardashians than this, but for those of you who do, I am going to talk you through what this means. First, let’s start with the basics.

Who is WHO?

The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that focuses on public health. It employs some of the world’s finest doctors, scientist, epidemiologist, etc., etc. To sum it up the WHO is…

What constitutes as red meat and processed meats?

According to WHO red meat is any of the following: beef, veal, lamb, mutton, goat and everybody’s favorite, horse. Processed meats is considered as any meat that has been transformed to improve its flavor or preserve it (think smoked or cured meats)—sausages, hot dogs, salami, jerky, deli meats, bologna, spam, anything smoked and the beloved bacon.

Not new news...

I am not sure why everyone is so shocked by this “news.” The American Cancer Society made this recommendation to limit red meat and processed back in 2002 citing potential linkages to cancer.

Not just cancer...

This report only focuses on the linkage between consumption of red meat and processed meat and cancer. What it doesn't mention is the high saturated fat and sodium content that both red meat and processed meats have. So on top of the whole cancer thing, red meat and processed meat are not good for your heart either.

How bad is it?

Well, it is not anywhere as bad as tobacco. To put it in perspective, smoking three cigarettes a day increases your cancer risk by 500%, while eating a couple slices of bologna a day increases it by 18% (source). The cancer that is most associated with eating red and processed meats is colon, prostate, and pancreatic.  

Why is this such a big deal if the effect is small?

So perhaps this has been a bit overhyped, but I think that this is something that Americans need to hear more of. Yes, eating red meat and processed meat does not have the same dangers and deadliness of tobacco, but I know a lot more people who eat red or processed meats on the regular than I do people who smoke.

What if I want to eat red or processed meats?

If you are thinking this right now…

…here are a couple of pointers to reduce your risk.

• Cook red meat at low temperatures (read: do not grill, pan-fry, deep fry, etc.)-cooking them at higher temperatures produce the highest amounts of chemicals suspected of causing cancer.
• Don’t eat it every day- I like pizza. I do not eat it every day because it is not very healthy to do so.
• Moderation- Similarly to the above sentiment…I like pizza. I don’t eat it every day. When I do eat it, I only eat like two pieces, not an entire pizza.  

Breaking it down

It has been well known for a while that red meat and processed meat is not very good for your health. This research just confirms that there is a link between consuming red meat and processed meats and cancer. Is red meat and processed meats as harmful as cigarettes? No. Will occasionally eating these give you cancer? No, however if you have a family history of colon cancer you may want to consider not eating them every day. Eating red meat and processed meat is presents more of a threat to your heart than your risk of getting cancer from it. Basically what I am trying to say is eat more fruits, vegetables, poultry, seafood (heck maybe even try going vegetarian), and maybe not put bacon on everything. Well I am off to go cook some bacon for my all of my ex's. 

Keep it Fresh,

Keep it Green,

Beth

Is your Instagram making you fat?

In lieu of an opening sentence, I am just going to put this here…

We have all been there, have friends that do it, see people do this, and maybe even do it yourself. Personally, I just go to fancy restaurants and take pictures of other people’s food that cost them an arm and a leg, and order a side salad for myself. Yes, it may be a little awkward to ask complete strangers to take pictures of their food, even more so when I make them wait 10 minutes while I get the perfect shot, but at least all my followers think I am living in the lap of luxury.

You may have a problem if you find yourself answering yes to the following questions:

• Is it obligatory to take a picture of your food before you eat it? 
• Do you feel bad when you had great looking food and you forgot to snap a picture to post on Instagram? 

If so, we may need to talk. You may be making people fat.

Girl you cray…

I am not even trying to pull a fast one on you…this time at least. According to recent research, that may just be the case. Luckily for me, most of my friends are not very good at taking food pictures J Anyways, this kind of makes sense. In a way all of these food pictures are like marketing. I am pretty sure we have all been there before-- it is late at night and you are all snuggled up on your coach with your diva of a dog watching the Kardashians when a commercial for pizza comes on. Now you had a filling dinner a couple of hours ago, but upon seeing a nice cheesy slice of pizza, you now NEED that pizza.

Is this bad?

On the other end of the spectrum, you could potentially use this phenomenon to make fruits and vegetables more appealing as well. This could very well just be me, but show me a picture of some well-cooked Brussels sprouts and I will then be craving them the rest of the day.  I mean…I know I probably fit the criteria for a health nut, but anybody else not want to eat these?

Breaking it down

Yes these food pictures on Instagram may make you want those foods or may make you a little hungry, but I don’t really see the need to go unfollow all of your “friends” that post food pictures. If you are like me, you will be too lazy to actually go and purchase said food. Basically what I am trying to say is eat your fruits and vegetables and practice will power/mindful eating. Oh and if you happen to be my friend and are reading this, thanks for being a lackluster food photographer. Well I am off to go take some selfies. Until next time!

P.S. This would definitely be me…

Keep it Fresh,

Keep it Green,

Beth

Nutrients vs Foods

Omega-3, vitamin C, vitamin B, fiber, iron, etc., etc. We always hear about all of these nutrients and how healthy they are, which they are. However, there is a common disconnect between these nutrients and the foods they naturally can be found in. There is no vitamin C tree that just grows vitamin C. Believe it or not all of these nutrients can be found naturally in food, not just food sprinkled with the powdered form of these nutrients, and definitely not just supplements.  

Beth where are you going with this?

Funny, I often ask myself this same question J Let me, “illustrate” my point for you. Let’s pretend that bae comes down with a case of the sniffles and is being a bit of a drama queen about it...

Attempting to be a caring significant other, you fight through your anti-commitment issues and general annoyance with princess over there and head to the store to pick up some vitamin C supplements or just anything touting vitamin C in the label because everybody knows that’s what you need when you are sick (which is futile once you are already sick by the way but I already covered that in a previous post).  My question for you though is outside of supplements, where can you find vitamin C? Believe it or not, vitamin C is found naturally in foods such as citrus fruits, strawberries, peppers, kale, broccoli, etc. Ok so you probably got the vitamin C and orange juice thing, but what I am getting at is two things.

1. You do not need supplements to get vitamin C—you can eat foods that naturally contain vitamin C.
2. Vitamin C is only effective in helping lessen colds when used preventively, not when you already are sick

The same thing could be said for all of the other “trendy” nutrients such as omega-3. Instead of taking some fish oil supplement that makes your burps taste like fish, why don’t you actually eat some salmon or if fish isn’t your thing, try some walnuts. Just a crazy thought I know.

Why does this matter Beth?

Well, there are two reasons; the first and biggest reason is that food sources of vitamins and minerals are better absorbed by your body than those from supplements. The other reason being that people tend to think that you can eat like crap and then take a multivitamin or something and think that they are doing good. I hate to break it to you, but that’s not how it works.

Breaking it down

Should you be concerned with certain vitamins and minerals? If you eat a well rounded diet (aka eating fruits and vegetables) no, unless you are advised by your doctor. Not that I am the healthiest eater that ever roamed the earth (probs close to it though J ), but I don’t take any supplements and I also don’t keep a check list on me as to how many oranges I need to eat a day to ensure that I get enough vitamin C. I just eat a variety of foods that I enjoy. No need to haggle over certain nutrients and eat foods that you simply just do not like. So instead of running to get some vitamin C supplement the next time bae gets a ferocious case of the sniffles, tell him he should eat some oranges, strawberries, peppers, etc. on the regular to prevent them. After all, they taste better than the supplements do.  Well I probably should just take the rest of the day off; I feel a case of the sniffles coming on.  I am going to send this to my boss...

There is no way he can tell me no…kittens always win and I am even a dog person. I don't care who you are, that kitten is pretty cute. Until next time!

Keep it Fresh,

Keep it Green,

Beth 

Juice

One of my pet peeves as a Dietitian is juice. Everybody thinks its healthy. I mean look at this picture for crying out loud…

Unfortunately, just about all juices are not made that way, and even if they were, juice still is not the best decision.

Why are you so ant-juice Beth?

Well I am glad you asked, I just need to get this off my chest. My disdain for juice can be summed up in one infographic…

Yes, 100% juice does contain natural sugars, which is great,  however, your body cannot differentiate between the two. To the body sugar is sugar.

Another common thing that keeps me up at night is people drinking juice in place of eating fruits and/or vegetables. Why you ask? Well, I just covered the whole sugar piece as to why this may not be the best idea, but the other big things that jumps out at me is the lack of fiber. Ah yes, everybody's favorite nutrient. Riddle me this, what keeps you fuller for longer drinking a glass of orange juice or eating an actual orange? (The correct answer is eating an actual orange) One of the reasons for this is because of the fiber found in the actual orange, which is removed when juice is made (unless you take your oj extra pulpy), helps with satiation (say-she-ation).  

Well what if I want to drink juice?

That’s fine, everything in moderation. Here are some things to look for to make your juice drinking decision a little healthier:

• Look for 100% fruit juice. Note: this will require you to actually read the label not just look at the pictures on it. Case in point:

Fruit drink and fruit cocktail is essentially fruit flavored water with tons of sugar added to it...the equivalent of soda or pop for my Midwestern friends. Yes, 100% fruit juice does contain some nutrients that soda does not, but it is not going to dramatically improve your health.

PSA: Juice cleanses

Here are my sentiments on juice cleanses…

Essentially this is a giant waste of time and money. Your body has a thing called a liver and not one, but two kidneys that “cleanse” your body of toxins.

Breaking it down

Not saying that you should never drink juice, but just be mindful that it does contain calories. Does it come from fruit? Yes, the 100% kind sure does. Does that make it "healthy"? Well, Ketchup comes from tomatoes, does that make it healthy? Not sure about you, but I don't see anyone (willingly) drinking ketchup. Anyways, I prefer not to drink my calories; rather I like to actually eat food and feel full. Again, moderation is key and NEVER drink OJ after you have brushed your teeth. Until next time!

Keep it Fresh,

Keep it Green,

Beth

What to do if you encounter a Vegetarian

I have another confession. I occasionally write about bacon and meat, however, I don’t actually eat them...that’s right, I am a vegetarian. GASP! Now before you write me off as a crazy hippy, hear me out. Now, I am not the type of person that is going to shove it down your throat and condemn you for eating meat ( I will however shove it down your throat that you should eat your fruits and vegetables); being a vegetarian is a personal decision. I just want to take this opportunity to educate you all on the matter because pretty much anytime I disclose that I am a vegetarian, it’s like playing 20 questions. Now, I don’t mind fielding these questions unless I get questions like this…

Anyways, I thought I would take the opportunity to field some of these questions for you.

Note: For the purposes of this blog and life the term meat includes the following: beef, pork, chicken, turkey, fish, shellfish, any flesh of an animal.

What is a vegetarian/vegan/pescatarian/lacto-ovo-vegetarian?

Let’s first start with defining all of these for you, so that you can vaguely know what you are talking about the next time you encounter one of these...

• Pescatarian: The only meat they eat is fish. They may or may not eat milk, cheese, eggs, and other dairy.
• Ovo-vegetarian: Does not eat meat but does consume eggs.
• Lacto-vegetarian: Does not eat meat but does consume milk, cheese, and other dairy products.
• Lacto-ovo-vegetarian: Does not eat meat but does consume milk, cheese, eggs, and other dairy products. Technically this is what I am and I would venture to say this is what people mean when they say they are vegetarian.
• Vegan: Does not consume any animal derived product. This include honey, dairy, eggs, etc. Sometimes vegans will also not wear leather, wool, silk, etc. since it is derived from animals. Additional foods that often contain animal products include marshmallows, jello, gelatin, etc.

Why

Now this is where it gets interesting. To start with, not all vegetarians are vegetarians because we think that animals are our friends…

Other reasons for going vegetarian include:

• Religious: Some religions not only encourage vegetarianism, but require it, such as Jainism. Religions that encourage it include Hinduism, and Buddhism, and Seventh Day Adventist.
• Environmental: Raising animals for food requires a lot of land, food, energy, and water in addition to the pollutant byproducts that are produced by animal agriculture. According to the Water Education Foundation, it takes 2,464 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef, compared to 25 gallons for a pound of wheat. Also of note, is that the meat industry contributes to global warming by being the number one producer of methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases. Cows are the biggest contributor to this and yes, methane is released when cows burp and fart…

          Some organizations dispute this and claim that vegetarianism is actually worse for the                         environment. I am by no means an environmental scientist and this is the most unbiased article           I could find on the topic. 

• Health: Vegetarian diets are typically lower in saturated fats (the “bad” fat) and higher in fiber. This equates to a lower risk for developing heart disease, certain types of cancer, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension.  Some studies have also found that vegetarians live longer. 
• Animal Cruelty: Don’t worry, I am not going to go all PETA on you and post gross pictures of suffering cows. I will however just post this…

         Personally, I grew up on a farm and have participated in the butchering of chickens and                        witnessed my “pet” cow be butchered. His name was White Sox. My parents lied to me when I            asked over a  dinner of steaks shortly after his butchering if I was in fact eating White Sox.                 They assured me that they had in fact traded in White Sox’s meat for that of another cow’s. Did            this scar me and cause me to become a vegetarian? Nope.

• Cheaper: This one is probably not a shocker; fruits, vegetables, eggs, legumes, etc are cheaper than meat. That is unless you buy everything organic but for more info on that check out my previous post.
• To annoy people: Just kidding at least this is probably not the case in most instances but I cannot speak for all vegetarians.

So….What do you eat?

Contrary to popular belief, I don’t just eat salads; I said I was a vegetarian, not a rabbit.  I eat anything that doesn’t contain meat. Instead of focusing on what I can’t eat, let’s rephrase the question to what I can eat. Obviously this includes fruits and vegetables, but also eggs, cheese, legumes (beans), nuts, seeds, grains, tofu (no vegetarians do not eat this as much as people tend to think that they do), and so on and so forth. I think why people can’t seem to get past the “what do you eat” question is because Americans place so much focus on meat being the golden child of every meal. With that being said, I would like to share you with a video that I found highly entertaining about If Vegans Said Stuff Meat Eaters Said... 

Vegetarianism…the wrong way

Now, some foods are naturally vegetarian like chips, cookies, cake, French fries, etc. I mean Cookie Monster is technically a vegetarian...

That’s not quite the way one should do vegetarianism. Since vegetarians eliminate meat and other animal products there are some minor nutritional concerns. One of the most prevalent questions that I get is where I get my protein from. Getting enough protein is the least of my worries. There are eggs, soy, dairy, nuts, legumes, seeds, and yes even fruits and vegetables contain some protein as well.

Things to be more mindful of include: iron, vitamin D, vitamin B12 (especially if you are vegan), and calcium (again especially if you are vegan). However, vitamin D you can get from the sun and it is fortified in other foods and iron is found in plenty of non-animal sources such as spinach and raisins.

Breaking it down

I am not going to preach that everybody should be a vegetarian. I only ask that you be more cognizant of what you are eating and of course for you all to eat more fruits and vegetables. Now, I may be weird, but it is not because I am a vegetarian. Maybe it’s from the emotional scarring of eating my pet cow; I don't know but I am working with my therapist on that one :) For more information on vegetarianism that isn’t too off the wall or biased, check out The Vegetarian Resource Group. Now if you will excuse me, I need to go do my part to prevent watermelons and other fruits and vegetables from taking over the world. Until next time!

Keep it Fresh,

Keep it Green,

Beth

Gardening Part Deux

I have blogged about gardening in my previous blog post, Gardening: Get Your Grandma On, but after my exciting weekend of “farming,” I decided to revisit the topic. (Note: My version of farming is the four vegetable plants and four herb plants that I grow in containers on my patio. Why yes, I am thinking about getting a tractor J ) For those of you youngens, yes this is what happens to you when you get old. Oh and this happens too…

Oh and this…

Anyways, back to gardening...

Why should I grow my own produce?

Well I could ramble on in complete sentences but that does not match my current mood, so I am going to leave you with bullet points:

•     Cheaper than buying fruits and veggies (especially if you buy organic) 
•     Better for the environment
•     Taste better
•     Why not?!?

Beth’s Gardening Tips

Let me preface this section with this. I am no gardening expert, but I do play one on tv.

·        

      Sunlight: One of the biggest things to consider is sunlight. Most plants need about 6-8 hours of sunlight per day, so if you live in a heavily wooded area you may be out of luck. It is best to select an area that faces east, west, south to ensure your plants will get enough light. If you are directionally challenged, use Google maps to figure it out.

·       

      Water: Make sure you water your plants using potable water (city water or water out of your spigot). Established plants should be watered every other day or every third day. If your plants start to look limp, you should probably water them. It is best to water plants in the morning.

·       

      Soil: Your plants will only be as healthy as the soil you put them in.

·       

      What to plant: Here in Charlotte, if you plant watermelon in the fall you are just setting yourself up for failure. Just because you can get a watermelon year round in the grocery store does not mean they grow all year round here in Charlotte. I will give you a resource with more detail, but to be brief your summer crops include tomatoes, summer squash, cucumber, melons, and peppers. Fall crops include fall/winter squash, apples, pumpkins, kale, and so on. Not much grows in the winter besides hearty, dark leafy greens. Spring brings strawberries, asparagus, and lettuces.

·       

      Space: Different plants need different amount of plants. Before you go throwing 10 tomato plants in one pot, do a little research and maybe even read the seed packet or those little sticks that they stick in the seedling soil. Just a thought.

The above tips just scrape the surface of all things to consider when gardening. For more information, check out this great resource from Friendship Gardens: http://friendship-gardens.org/resources/gardening-101/

But Beth, I don’t have a lot of space

Neither do I! Luckily, for people like us, if your look up container gardening on Pintrest there are tons of cool ideas.

Local Produce on Campus

Well Beth if you are such a hippy why don’t we have any locally grown fruits and vegetables in our dining halls?!? I would say touché, but I will not because the world of food and the food industry is very complex. We actually do have some local produce in our cafeterias, albeit not consistently and is not marketed as such for a myriad of obstacles. However, even though it is not marketed as such, I am willing to bet my first unborn child that our sweet potatoes were grown in North Carolina. Dorky fact of the day: North Carolina produces over 40% of the nation’s sweet potatoes.

Anyways, incorporating more local produce into our food system is something I have been toying with since I began this job a little over a year and a half ago, so stay tuned. In the meantime, you can find Cloister Honey, Smokey J’s Salsa, Roots & Branches Artisan Crackers, and Uncle Scott’s Root beer in both of our convenience stores on campus.  

Breaking it down

Whether you have a black thumb or green thumb, or are old, young, hippy, not a hippy, country bumpkin, city kid, give gardening a try. Is it the most exciting thing in the world? Nope, but it is pretty painless and…

Plus, you can get your organic produce without the hefty price tag. Now if you will excuse me, I need to go plant my bacon seeds.

Until next time!

Keep it Fresh,

Keep it Green,

Beth

Organic

Without fail every time I meet someone new and disclose that I am a Registered Dietitian, I am always prompted for my thoughts on various nutrition topics, which I don’t mind; I just find it entertaining. The most recent topic that was brought up to me was organic, so I thought I would take this opportunity to enlighten you all. For the sake of this blog, I am only going to focus on organic fruits and vegetables.

Should you be buying organic? Are they more nutritious? Do you need to always shop at Whole Foods? Before we jump into those questions, let’s first take a look at what organic means.

What is organic?

Well, according to Jim Gaffigan,

Funny, yet true. Anyways, jokes aside, here is the USDA’s definition: “Organic is a labeling term that indicates that the food or other agricultural product has been produced through approved methods that integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used.” Yeah…all of that doesn't really mean anything to you does it? Didn’t think so. The USDA has a huge guide if you are really interested in all of the details, but basically for fruits and vegetables it means...

• Land must have had none of the prohibited substances applied to it within the last 3 years
• Crops were never exposed to irradiation, sewage sludge, synthetic fertilizers, prohibited pesticides, and genetically modified organisms were not used
• Crop pests, weeds, and diseases will be controlled primarily through physical, mechanical, and biological controls. When these practices are not sufficient, a biological, botanical, or synthetic substance approved for use on the National List may be used.

I know, I know, blah blah blah. Basically what I want you to take away from this section is that the term organic does not mean that no sprays were used.

Why do we use pesticides?

I am not trying to trick you on this one; pesticides are used to keep pests away to stop them from killing all of the plants. Case in point, last summer I found this little gem on one of my tomato plants…

…and proceeded to scream like a little girl until I could collect myself to hit it off the plant with a stick, which didn't work very well. Luckily for me, my roommate came home to save both me and my tomato plant. Imagine if you had a whole field of tomatoes and had an infestation of these little guys, it wouldn't be pretty.

Should I buy all organic?

Well, I am not sure about you, but I don’t make enough money to only buy organic fruits and vegetables. If you are trying to be a bit more budget conscious but still want to try to go the organic route, there are some fruits and vegetables that make more sense to buy organically than others. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) puts out a yearly list of fruits and vegetables based on the amount of pesticides used in growing said crop.  EWG puts out two lists, one being the Clean Fifteen and the Dirty Dozen.

If you are ballin' on a budget...

but still want to go the organic route, you can spend your money more wisely by only purchasing the fruits and vegetables off of the Dirty Dozen list, that way you aren't paying extra for organic bananas that have such a thick peel (that you more than likely are not eating) and isn't really worth it in the long run.

Organic vs Local

To start with, organic and local are not mutually exclusive, meaning you could find some fruits and veggies that are both local and organic, but more often than not, that is not the case. So I am going to step on my soapbox for a hot second. Just because something it not labeled organic doesn’t necessarily mean that it is not. For example, if you visit a farmers market you may see some signage indicating that no sprays/herbicides/pesticides were used.  There is a good chance that this produce is organic, however becoming a certified organic farm is a very long and expensive process that small farmers may not be financially realistic. In this case, the best way to know is to ask them.

Another entire blog post could be about how you define local because there is not standard definition in terms of miles from where you live and what food products you count as local. For example,   we have a Coca-Cola bottling plant here in Charlotte, which uses local water in addition to whatever other flavorings and colorings they add to their beverages. Is that local? (Steps off soapbox)

Breaking it down

Do you HAVE to buy organic fruits and vegetables? Nope. Should you? It definitely won’t hurt you physically (maybe a little bit financially).  Are organic fruits and vegetables more nutritious? Nope. Coming from the perspective of a Registered Dietitian, I just care that you are actually eating fruits and vegetables. You may want to look all cool and all by buying only organic food, but what good is it doing you if it just sits in your fridge until you throw it out anyways? From the perspective of the pseudo hippy that I am, buying organic and/or local is better for the environment as well. Well, I am off to go tie dye some shirts while listening to Bob Dylan. Until next time!

Keep it Fresh,

Keep it Green,

Beth