When to Buy Organic

I admit - I think I should be buying organic fruits and vegetables, but I just can't bring myself to pay the cost difference.  Is it important to only buy organic?  Or are there certain fruits and vegetables that don't matter so much if they're organic or not?  I really don't know, so when I saw this on Facebook this evening, I thought it would be worth holding onto.  It's a list of the fruits and vegetables that you really should buy organic, along with a list of 15 fruits and vegetables that are lowest in pesticides and safest to purchase conventionally.
 

The list is designed to be printed out so you can carry it with you to the grocery store and have a handy reference.  It doesn't list everything, but it's a good start.  I can tell by looking at the list that I am buying some of the worst ones and should definitely look into switching to organic, but it's nice to see some of my favorites on the other side, too - so I can just concentrate on fixing the bad ones first.

Here's a list of 45 popular fruits and veggies, ranked from highest to lowest amounts of pesticide residue, if you'd like some more information.

Related articles

• The Most Pesticide-Laden Produce, And Healthier Alternatives

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• The 15 Fruits And Veggies Least Contaminated By Pesticides

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• Pesticides Lurk in Fruits & Veggies (Infographic)

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Lemonade Yogurt Popsicles

I found this recipe for Lemonade Yogurt Popsicles on Baking Bites, and I just had to try them. They're in the freezer now.

Lemonade Yogurt Popsicles

• 1-1/3 cups lowfat yogurt, plain or vanilla
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 5 tbsp sugar

1. In a small, microwave safe bowl, heat up the lemon juice and dissolve all the sugar into it.
2. Pour lemon mixture into a medium bowl with the yogurt and whisk until smooth.
3. Divide into popsicle molds and freeze, for at least 2 hours or overnight.
4. Dip popsicle molds in hot water to release the pops before serving.

I used my Tupperware popsicle molds - the ones I used to use all the time when the kids were younger - and got 6 full ones and a partial.  Next time (see, I'm already assuming there's gonna be a next time) I'll add just a touch more yogurt so I can fill them all up.
 

Related articles (more popsicles I just must try)

• Summer Popsicles (kidsincowtown.wordpress.com)
• Homemade Pops - Melt my Heart! (toppedwithsprinkles.wordpress.com)
• This might just be the best thing ever! (thelemonandlime.com)
• Endless Poptails: Cherry Apple Whiskey Sour (nolagirlsocial.wordpress.com)
• Healthy & Delicious (vakkermom.wordpress.com)
• Summertime Treat: Popsicles (atouchoflovely.wordpress.com)
• Popsicle o'clock (secret-agent-josephine.com)

Smoothie Recipes

Now that we've got the Ninja, we're thinking we need to have smoothies more often. I made some this weekend with orange juice, a banana, and some frozen strawberries - using one of the recipes in the recipe booklet that came with the Ninja.  They were pretty good, and we decided we need to keep more frozen fruit around so we can make smoothies any time we want.  So when I went shopping today I grabbed a big bag of frozen fruit.  I already have frozen bananas, and I got some vanilla yogurt too, since some of the recipes in the booklet call for that, too.

Also, I just quickly searched for 'Smoothie Recipes' online and found this entire list of smoothie recipes. And that's just one of the sites that came up! I'm looking forward to trying a few of these.