Quality Eggs

Quality eggs are not obvious with all the different labels. Here's a great article from Organic Consumers Association on what words to look for: “Free Range” is better than “Cage Free,” but “Pasture Raised” is best. Avoiding cheap factory farm eggs is not only the right thing to do for your vote on agricultural practices but also for your health. Eggs got a bad rap in the 1980s about their nutrition, but when you get what I call "happy eggs," you'll get Omega-3 good fats and other important vitamins and minerals. Eggs are an inexpensive protein packed full of nutrients if you get the right ones. Egg-xcellent!

Jicama for chipaholics

Jicama is a great substitute for that chip craving! It's a crunchy refreshing white root vegetable that has a great amount of fiber with a slightly sweet taste. If you like cucumbers, you'll really like this veggie that is high in crunch factor. The high water content makes it a refreshing chilled treat on a hot day, also a good substitute for a popsicle craving.

One cup of raw sliced jicama gives you 6 grams of fiber, great in Vitamin C (can't get enough of that!) and it's a great source of inulin to support a happy healthy gut. It's low glycemic and terrific for weight loss and flat belly with its high fiber content. More about it's nutrition profile here.

I find my jicama at the farmer's market. If you're in the LA area, there's a terrific Asian veggie stand (near the salad stand) at the Larchmont market. You can find it at most grocery stores. All you have to do is peel, slice and eat!
I like to eat it just plain, but some people like to pair it up with cucumber and lime to make it a tasty slaw. You can find cool jicama recipes here.

Secrets of strawberries

A good friend of mine got me addicted to Harry's Berries when I first moved to LA and I'm a devoted follower ever since. You see, I've been spoiled and can't eat any commercial strawberries anymore, especially not the big genetically modified ones. Conventional strawberries have high pesticide load and please remember to buy organic for this fruit (See the "Dirty Dozen" list from the Environmental Working Group). Other strawberries just don't have the fragrance and texture of home-grown strawberries I remember from my youth, and Harry's Berries is just as good as a home-grown strawberry because they fresh-pick it that morning before it comes to market!

As much as I love the Hollywood Farmer's market on Sunday, it's sometimes too large (I can get easily distracted by all the stands) and too much competition to get to the market early enough before it's sold out. So if you can squeak in a weekday morning farmer's market run, I do better by getting to the Monday West Hollywood market (click on the link to find out where you can get Harry's Berries near you in LA area), and the secret to getting your hands on these strawberries is getting there just after 9am (to get parking and avoid street cleaning between 8am-9am on Fountain) and you need to get there before 11:30am (it's usually when they sell out). Please say hi to Alex who greets you at the stand. If you want recipes, they have a few recipes on their website, but I can't bear to modify these beauteous tasty strawberries. I think they are perfect in their raw beauty.

And if you're in search of more summer fruits, please check out the Nicholas Family Farms stand at Larchmont Market, where you can get plums, grapes, peaches and more. You can ask Penny or one of her daughters what their favorite fruit of the week is so that you can find out what is at the peak of the season. California cherries have a short season, but I found organic cherries at Vons supermarket this past week. The bonus of finding great strawberries and summer fruit is that I don't really need dessert when I have a tasty supply of yummy fruit packed full of antioxidants waiting for me. Do you have some other great finds? Please share! Happy hunting for summer fruits!

Can't do dairy?

Some of us can't do dairy (or shouldn't do dairy) and we need to find alternatives. It's possible that you might not be able to digest cow products well, but do ok with goat cheese. Shown here are amazing apples from the Tehachapi mountains of Johna's Orchards with a smidge of lavendar goat cheese, pistachio butter(no dairy at all!), and peach/raspberry goat cheese. The yummy goat cheese comes from Soledad Goats and the pistachio butter comes from Santa Barbara Pistachio Co, where a smidge gives a big wow of flavor.

However, some of us have been stressed by different food allergies (or even extra stressed by the pollen/airborne allergies) that our stomachs need a boost of help. Taking care of your stomach will improve your immune system. This immune booster can come from easy powder-to-liquid digestive enzymes. The best food and supplements can only make an impact for our bodies when it has an effective delivery system and we absorb it in our bodies. When my stomach has already been irritated by fried foods or cow-dairy, it doesn't want any pills and has trouble. The liquid digestive enzymes are the best for quick damage control and bringing my stomach back to happy. Since I'm dairy-sensitive, I keep one of the travel packs with me to put in my water at a restaurant before I do any damage to my stomach--saves me from a lot of stomach grumbles!

Farmers Market Deals

Some of you might assume that farmers markets are more expensive than shopping at the grocery store. I say, take a moment to enjoy some fresh air, and try it out! If you want apples, they should be organic (conventional apples have one of the top loads of pesticide -- see my write-up about the "dirty dozen"). And if you look at organic prices at your neighborhood grocery store, and compare it to the Farmer's Market, guess what? There will be some stand that will offer it for $2.00 or less a pound compared to the more expensive and less fresh versions at your grocery store. Here's a link to your local Los Angeles Farmers Markets. Even if you don't buy much, you'll feel healthier having taken the walk at your local market.

Side note: I went all over New York City looking for my organic apples at the Farmers Markets to make my "famous" apple cider, apple, vegetarian stuffing. Californians, you will be proud to know that our farmers markets are bigger than ones elsewhere and it's easier to eat local and organic here!