How To Wash Produce

I am frequently asked how to wash produce and remove pesticides. Washing produce in plain tap water has been shown to be as almost as effective as the special sprays that are available in the produce section of your grocery store. It is important to wash your produce well before eating, even if it says pre-washed or organic.

Make Your Own Fruit and Vegetable Wash

Make your own produce wash using a botanically-based dish washing liquid.  One small drop in a gallon of cold water will help to remove pesticides. Wash fruits and vegetables quickly by rubbing the outside with your fingers then rinse and dry with towel. Do not soak your produce in the soapy water.

Another technique which has been shown to be more effective than commercial produce washers is lemon juice and/or vinegar washes.  Make your own wash by dipping your produce in vinegar or lemon juice, followed by rubbing for 5 seconds, rinsing with running water, and drying with a paper towel.

Washing Vegetables and Fruits

• Before working with any foods, wash hands with soap and water.
• Under clean running water, rub fruits and vegetables briskly with your hands to remove dirt and surface germs.
• Wash produce just before serving but not before storing. Washed produce spoils quicker.
• Remove outer leaves of leafy vegetables before washing.
• Always wash bananas, melons or squashes before cutting even if you are not going to eat the rind.
• DO NOT wash produce with conventional detergent or bleach solutions.

Eat More Fruits And Veggies

In order to maintain a healthy lifestyle everyone should eat 8-10 fruits and vegetables a day. Visit the Wow You Are Really Lucky, healthy living blog for more fruit and vegetable recipes and tips from Deb Bixler.

Holistic Health and Wellness columnist, Deb Bixler is a natural diet and lifestyle educator who focuses on small daily choices that add up to big results. If there are any specific topics of interest that you want her to cover, please contact us and let us know.

Past articles written by Deb Bixler include:

• Children Need More Dietary Fiber – Fool Recipe

• Kids Healthy Eating Test

• Healthy Children’s Eating Habits Last A Lifetime!

How to Wash Fruit And Vegetable is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Kids Need More Fiber

Today, most children are not eating enough dietary fiber on a daily basis. American children are lacking in fiber because they are consuming so many processed foods.  A diligent Mom must make every effort to add fiber to her children’s daily diet.  It is not hard to add fiber to your diet with some small simple choices each day.

Foods With Higher Fiber

Many Middle Eastern and Muslim foods are naturally high in fiber.  Grape leaves, brown rice and of course beans or legumes are an excellent sources of fiber.  Sometimes sticking with traditional recipes is the best choice you can make for your family.

Legumes High Fiber

When you cook legumes on a daily basis your children will benefit from the added fiber in a longer and healthier life.  The fava bean is one legume not often found on the average American dinner table.  A traditional Middle Eastern dish using the fiber rich fava bean is ful medammas.  Fava beans, which originated in west or central Asia, are a staple breakfast food in Egypt and are frequently used in preparing for Ramadan due to the stick-to-the-ribs ability of the filling bean.

Fava Beans = Fool Medemmas

The traditional Middle Eastern dish is spelled many ways but Fool Medemmas basically means fava beans. In the US they are sometimes called broad beans.  Either way the buttery flavored fava bean may be found canned or dry in most grocery stores. Progresso makes canned fava beans. This is a simple recipe that is fun, fast and high fiber.  Get your children back into the habit of eating high fiber foods.

2 cup cooked fava beans (canned or dried)
1 large onion, chopped
1 large tomato, diced
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. cumin powder
2 Tbs. fresh parsley, chopped
Juice of 2 lemons
Salt
Red chili pepper to taste
Pita bread (please get whole wheat)

1. Bring all ingredients to a boil.
2. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes or until onions are tender.
3. Eat with pita as is.
4. Or puree into a spread in your food processor or blender.

Learn more easy food switcheroos that you can make in your every day family meals to add more fiber to your children’s diet.

Holistic Health and Wellness columnist, Deb Bixler is a natural diet and lifestyle educator who focuses on small daily choices that add up to big results. If there are any specific topics of interest that you want her to cover, please contact us and let us know.

Past articles written by Deb Bixler include:

• Kids Healthy Eating Test

• Healthy Children’s Eating Habits Last A Lifetime!

Children Need More Dietary Fiber – Fool Recipe is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

I teach many classes for kids healthy eating at area schools, churches, the Jewish Community Center and more. [Ponn: We'll have to get you into the Islamic community too, inshaAllah, God willing ]   Frequently the organization is using grant money to pay for the healthy eating class for the children.  When that is the case we offer a pre-test and a post test so that the results can be used for future grant funding.

Children’s Healthy Eating Test

Can you pass the children’s healthy eating test without taking the class? (The answers are found at the bottom of the page.)

1. Which foods that are whole grains? organic flour, whole wheat flour, brown rice, rye flour, oatmeal
2. What does organic mean?
3. My breakfast cereal is probably whole grain:  True or False
4. Dessert is good for you:  Always, sometimes, never
5. Fat is good for me:  True or False
6. Which Fat is better for you?  olive oil or butter
7. Should I eat the skin of organic apples?
8. Which of the following are processed foods? Sponge Bob Macaroni and Cheese, Apples, Raisins, White Flour, Mom’s home made macaroni and cheese.
9. Which is better for you Captain Crunch cereal or Kashi Crunch cereal?
10. Which foods are are vegetables: celery, cherries, cabbage, broccoli, peanut butter, steak, cupcakes
11. I think it would be better for me to eat white bread instead of whole wheat:  True or False
12. Which foods are protein:  chicken, broccoli, lemons, fish, peanut butter, grapes
13. Which foods are carbohydrates: oranges, oatmeal, ice cream, barbecued chicken, eggs

Cooking For Kids

If you got more than 5 incorrect answers and are cooking for kids on a regular basis you may want to learn a little more about your foods.  Kids who cook before they are twelve will live a longer healthier life.  When you get your children involved in cooking healthy good-for-you foods at a young age you are investing in their life long health.  The passion of cooking is a gift for your children that will las their whole entire life.

Natural Foods For Healthy Kids

Kids who eat a natural-high fiber-chemical free diet have a lower risk of many diseases. Research has shown that high fiber diets and natural foods reduce your chances of diabetes, cancer, heart disease and more.  Your children deserve a long and healthy life. Learn more about natural foods to fight cancer, hearth disease and keep your kids healthy.

Healthy Cooking Test Answers

1. whole wheat flour, brown rice, oatmeal
2. grown, harvested and transported pesticide, herbicide and synthetic fertilizer free.
3. False
4. sometimes
5. True
6. olive oil
7. yes
8. Sponge Bob Macaroni and Cheese, White Flour
9. Kashi Crunch
10. celery, cabbage, broccoli
11. False
12. chicken, fish, peanut butter
13. oranges, oatmeal, ice cream

Holistic Health and Wellness columnist, Deb Bixler is a natural diet and lifestyle educator who focuses on small daily choices that add up to big results. Learn more about her holistic health and wellness approach to life with this COOL reminder chart on how to live a healthy life style. Deb provides a vast resource of healthy recipes and ideas on how to speed up your metabolism naturally at her healthy living resource center. If there are any specific topics of interest that you want her to cover, please contact us and let us know.

Past articles written by Deb Bixler include:

• Healthy Children’s Eating Habits Last A Lifetime!

Kids Healthy Eating Test is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Children Need Good Habits

Children’s fitness and eating habits start in their childhood and will be carried out their entire life.  When you teach your children how to lead an active life you are investing in their future.  Statistics have shown that children who watch to much TV have a greater chance of becoming obese.  TV/Video games contribute to obesity.

Healthy Food Choices For Kids

Your children’s food choices today are impacting their life forever.  Most parents do not realize how many chemicals that they are feeding their children.  Chemicals have no nutritional value and they are addictive which is why the children today are coming down with adult type diseases in their teen years.  You can change that for your children by studying and learning what chemicals are in their food.  For example many brands of macaroni and cheese are almost all chemicals and no whole foods.  Learn what chemicals are in Macaroni and cheese so you can make better food choices for your kids.  When you make  macaroni and cheese from scratch using a healthy recipe, you will give your kids the gift of good health.

Improve Your Kids’ Health

You can improve your kids’ health by the choices you make.  Teach them how to cook and enjoy real food and get them away from the TV!

Holistic Health and Wellness columnist, Deb Bixlet is a natural diet and lifestyle educator who focuses on small daily choices that add up to big results. Learn more about her holistic health and wellness approach to life with this COOL reminder chart on how to live a healthy life style. Deb provides a vast resource of healthy recipes and ideas on how to speed up your metabolism naturally at her healthy living resource center. If there are any specific topics of interest that you want her to cover, please contact us and let us know.

Please share your thoughts and experiences below!

Healthy Children’s Eating Habits Last A Lifetime! is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog