organic fruits

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Pears, like apples, are also great for losing weight

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Pears, like apples, are also great for losing weight

Full of flavor and packed with phytochemicals, trace minerals and amino acids, pears are one of the world's healthiest foods that you can eat for weight loss

Pears suppress our appetite and prevent overeating

A close kin to the apple, pears are another must-have food to include in your diet.  Pears are known to be high in dietary fiber, offering us that feeling of being full and satisfied with hunger levels to the point that we don't overeat during meals or in between meals either (similar to eating bananas for losing weight).  The sweet flavor that a pear brings satisfies our hunger (and/or suppresses our appetite) and their electrolyte makeup serves to stabilize our blood sugar, giving us natural boosts in energy without the crash afterward.

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Yellow watermelon fruit bowl

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Yellow watermelon fruit bowl

Fruit bowl made out of watermelon shell and filled with organic yellow watermelon pieces

The Basics

  • Prep time 5 minutes 
  • Servings 3-4

Ingredients

1 whole yellow watermelon (organic if available)

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Mashed pOpaya!

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Mashed pOpaya!

Organic papaya cut, sliced, scooped then mashed and sprinkled with a few papaya seeds on top

The Basics

  • Prep time 2 minutes 
  • Mash Time 2 minutes 
  • Servings 2-3

Ingredients

1 whole papaya (organic if available)

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An apple a day keeps the (bariatrics) doctor away

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An apple a day keeps the (bariatrics) doctor away

Examining the anti-obesity and digestive health benefits of apples for weight loss

Whether you're familiar with the old English proverb or not, an apple a day can and does actually help to keep us out of various types of doctor's offices, perhaps most notably, the bariatrics doctor's office.  Research and clinical studies show supporting evidence of apples (red apples specifically) as being effective in preventing, treating and reversing obesity with the help of water-soluble, vacuolar pigments known as anthocyanins (*as well as hints of another phyotchemical, malvidin, a type of anthocyanidin).

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Keep calm and stay cool this summer

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Keep calm and stay cool this summer

30 Plant-based foods that you can eat to keep your cool and stay comfy in the summer heat

Cooling foods

Whether you're feeling beach body ready yet or not, the summer like temperatures are beginning to increase for us with record high heat waves on the horizon the coming season.  This summer, you can work to naturally keep your body temperatures as cool as humanly possibly by eating foods that are known to cool the body by hydrating it and flushing heat and toxins from it.  Some of Mother Nature's most popularly known cooling foods are fruits and vegetables but, there are also some good legumes and whole grains that are known to cool the body down, too.

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Peppery Pear Salad

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Peppery Pear Salad

Wild Arugula Salad with Pear, Avocado and Tomato

The Basics

  • Preparation Time: 5 minutes
  • Servings: 2-3 servings

Ingredients

1 pear
1 round tomato
1 avocado
1/2 lemon
1/2 lime
1/2 cup diced organic arugula
1/4 tablespoon turmeric
1/4 tablespoon cracked black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Finding Organic Produce in New Orleans, LA

Finding Organic Produce in New Orleans, LA

Going Organic in a Town Flooded with Blue Runner Billboards and Popeye's Fried Chicken Commercials

Whether you're a New Orleans resident or just a patron traveling through, finding organic fruits and vegetables at the local grocery stores may deem somewhat problematic in the Big Easy. What the popular Nola groceries (like Rouse's, Zuppardo's and Winn Dixie) do try and carry is next to impossible to find, with organic labeled fruits and vegetables spread out sporadically in random baskets and shelf spaces.  Without an actual map to get you through the produce puzzle at these groceries, you might find yourself leaving said grocery store(s) with a lot more confusion and frustration in your cart than actual organic produce.  Nonetheless, there is some light at the end of the levee down south, with a few (Whole Foods Market) grocery stores in New Orleans carrying organic fruits and vegetables.

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