It’s summer – the best time of year to eat fresh foods! Many of us can buy almost any produce year round, but buying  locally grown fruits and veggies, in season, is the healthiest and tastiest way to go. Many local farmers employ organic methods without the certification. Just hit up the farmers market and ask. And there are so many options this time of year…

In alpha order:

• Apricots
• Arugula
• Avocados
• Beets
• Berries
• Chard
• Cherries
• Corn
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Figs
• Green Beans
• Herbs
• Lettuce
• Melons
• Nectarines
• Okra
• Peaches
• Peppers
• Potatoes
• Spinach
• Summer Squash
• Tomatillos
• Tomatoes
• Watermelon

Whew. No excuses now!

I just don’t like it.

Luckily, I can get all those same vitamins and minerals from eating a wide variety of fruit and veggies that I do like!  Who’d a thought?

Did you know that there are over sixty covert aliases for processed sugary invaders on our food labels? Sixty!

But we have the power to look past ingredient deception to the the carbohydrate section of the label where it says “sugar”.  Be very wary of anything over 10 grams….

(or better yet, only eat foods that don’t come with a label)

Naturally occurring cellulose, the kind you get from broccoli or celery, is a heart healthy soluble fiber. The cellulose found in items like pre-packaged shredded cheese and salad dressings is synthesized from wood pulp. Yum. And heart healthy? Not so much.