Very much of tradition and culture and gathering involves foods. In our hectic lives with a grab and go moment around any corner, it is hard to weigh choices in the grocery aisles.

Who has the time, the energy, heck by the time my cart is filled up sometimes it is hard to care what else goes in the cart. Please, just make it be over and on top of it all, there's paying for the experience, uggh!

Does it need to take twice as long and cost more to do the right thing? Can't a shopper catch a break and have some help to speed along and make smart choices too? Yes, you can starting with the best and worst lists for produce and pesticides, put together by a fabulous organization called the Environmental Working Group.

They have a collection of consumer information, everything from identifying who gets the money for the USDA subsidies, 50% go to the 22 Members' Districts by the way but for now we'll keep our eyes on the food.

EWG tracks the chemicals and identifies what types and levels of residual pesticides or other agricultural chemicals are on our foods. Good to know, especially when it's so easy to choose a banana over a peach once you see peaches are the very worst and bananas are some of the cleanest.

That's the kind of detail that is helpful to take to the grocery aisle, practical and economical.  Bananas are great nutrition, at about a dollar a pound they make a great snack, already wrapped in an ecofriendly skin, good to go as is.  No special peeling tools, no one who can't chew or digest, great everywhere solo to alongside everything from cereal to ice cream. 

Try a banana bread recipe, think of the possibilities and just the one piece of fruit as a favorite handy to grab for at the store will ease your mind by making the best thing an easy one.  Whew, why can't we do more of that in everyday life!

EWG has both a free download version, and it printed on a totebag. I'm a supporter so I got a bag and was so happy that finally it was one that's attractive and does something worth extra by having my best and worst list right on my ecofriendly, cloth bag.

It's so nice when one small thing keeps making you feel better and the list is a great place to start. As the holiday traditions push you onto auto-pilot, take a breath, make a list, check it twice, better yet, keep the EWG list where it's handy for trips to the store.

Our health is the most valuable gift of all, here's to yours and making it better by simple changes like going for the bananas! Enjoy and eat well!

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