May 5, 2010

a clarification, a bar review, and a thought.

thank you guys so much for your encouragement yesterday!

i know being excited about hunger is a strange thing to think about, but after a few years of feeling like a freak with my health, just to do normal things again is such a blessing.

1. allow me to clarify something:
my links were almost the same color as my regular words, so i changed it to make it easier to see. 

sorry about the the link to the justin's nut butter giveaway being hard to see... enter for free justin's here!

2. a bar review on a bar actually worth buying.


ok, i'm probaby the last person on earth to try something from amazing grass, but i can't help it!

a) i'm a starving student, and b) they ain't cheap! but i snagged this bar buy one get one free at whole foods the other day and thought i'd give it a try.

i love that it has so many incredible ingredients packed into one little bar!

"The peanut butter protein Bar is a premium blend of organic peanuts and whey protein in a chocolate covered bar. Each bar is loaded with 12gr of protein."


270 calories
14 grams of fat (healthy omegas)
12 grams of protein
19 grams of sugar
28 grams of carbohydrates

Ingredient List: Organic Peanut Butter, Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Dates, Whey Protein Concentrate, Organic Peanuts, Organic Rice Crisps, Amazing Grass Green SuperFood (Organic Wheat Grass, Organic Barley Grass, Organic Alfalfa, Organic Spirulina, Organic Spinach, Organic Chlorella, Organic Broccoli, Organic Acai, Organic Maca, Organic Carrot, Organic Beet, Raspberry, Organic Rose Hips, Pineapple, Green Tea, Organic Flax Lignans, L. Adidophilus, Alpha and Beta Amylase, Protease, Lipase, Lactase, Cellulase, Organic Peppermint), Natural Flavor, Peanut Extract, Organic Vanilla Extract, Sea Salt Organic Dark Chocolate Coating: Cane Sugar, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Non-GMO Soy Lecithin, Natural Vanilla Flavor

i usually don't do chocolate covered bars, but this one seemed pretty wholesome as far as they go. i shared it in the dark with the boy during a movie, and when i ate the next one the day after, i started cracking up... if he knew the inside was green, he wouldn't have touched it for a million dollars!

this is actually a bar i think could be a good addition to my snack rotation. i like.

have you tried it or the shake packets? whaddya think?

3. a thought.


do you guys buy all organic produce?
i grocery shop for 4: me, my mom, my little sister, and my little brother... except my sister, brother, and i are all athletes, so we eat for more like 10,000.

... so i just try to buy what i can afford.

sure, i'd love to bring home the organic produce section of whole foods everyday, but there's no way i could fit that into my budget.

so what is really important to be organic, and what isn't?
if you're like me, you have a limit budget for food, but you want to make the best choices with your money.

so what's worth the money for organic, and what can you pass on?

the dirty dozen:
you should always try to buy these organic.
they retain the highest amounts of pesticides from being sprayed with chemicals during farming.
- celery
- peaches
- strawberries
- apples
- blueberries
- nectarines
- bell peppers
- spinach
- kale
- cherries
- potatoes
- grapes

not quite as bad, but also on the naughty list?
- salad greens
- carrots
- pears
- meat
- milk
- coffee

the clean fifteen:
these are foods that are considered safe from the chemicals used in farming.
these are ok to buy regular, so go nuts!
- onions
- avocados
- corn
- pineapple
- mango
- asparagus
- peas
- kiwi
- cabbage
- eggplant
- papaya
- watermelon
- broccoli
- sweet potato
- tomatoes

want a printout of those lists to take shopping with you?

the bottom line?
do the best you can with what you have.

if you eat an apple everyday, you might consider going organic. if you only eat blueberries twice a year, don't sweat too much if they aren't organic.

think about what makes the biggest impact in your life, and stick with that. life is about making good choices, not wasting it worring about what might kill you. eat well, and live well!


do you guys think organic food is worth the price?
do you make it a priority to buy organic produce every time you shop?
- r

7 comments:

  1. You're not quite the last to try Amazing Grass - I think I win that one! :P I've been quite interested but haven't felt the need to place an online order for them. Maybe sometime though.
    And I try to go by the dirty dozen/clean 15 list...but usually don't follow it to a T. :\ If there's not a huge price difference, I'll go organic, but most of the times it's just too expensive.

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  2. Hi! Thanks so much for the note on my blog!

    I live near Blacksburg, VA, so just a few hours from Richmond! I've met Christie from Honoring Health and Brittany from Eating Bird Food before, and I know I've seen you a few times on their blogs :) I may need to plan a Richmond trip sometime.

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  3. I am going to try my amazing grass packet in a smoothie later today so I'll get back to you on how it is! I really like to buy organic unless the price is overly ridiculous.

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  4. Like most people, I try to shop wisely with my dollars. I try to stay away from the dirty dozen list in the grocery store. Also, other countries don't have the same limits on what they can use for pesticides so I make it a point to only buy produce grown in the USA. That means I can only buy peaches, strawberries, blueberries when they are in season. I am also learning to be creative. I joined a co-op with a local organic farmer. At least during our growing season my family enjoys loads of fresh, local, organic veggies at a very reasonable price.

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  5. theres rumour that those bars are coming to my local health food store... theyve already just brought in the powders. im freaking out and on the edge of my seat contemplating if i should phone every day and bug them "is it in yet? is it in yet?" lol. they look delicious! <3

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  6. we are going more Organic, it's hard and expensive. We're starting slowly, we buy some organic at least, more than we used to! Gotta start somewhere i guess.

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  7. tanya - good point about buying USA! and what a good way to buy local :)

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questions or comments about my thoughts?
feel free to share, and thanks for stopping by!