Kitchen/Food: Separating food fact from fiction

Organic? Vegan? Vegetarian? To be honest, I'm just trying to get a little more natural and healthy with my diet. And with little time (and even less money these days), it's important for me to separate the food fact from the fiction.

When I first heard about super foods, I was well, super skeptical. I mean how super could they be? Well, it turns out they actually are pretty fantastic. According to doctors, incorporating superfoods into your diet can really have an impact on heart disease, diabetes, cancer, even hypertension. Superfoods are real, unprocessed foods, and you'd be surprised at how easy they are to incorporate into your life. Some of my favorites are pomegranates, blueberries, oranges, turkey and yogurt.

Either eat them at your meal, see if you can add them at your local smoothie place, or even remember to look for products like Jergens® Naturals® Skin Renewing Daily Moisturizer which have blueberries and pomegranates as ingredients – another reminder to get your super foods!

Now when it comes to organic, things do get tricky. I have a friend who buys everything organic – from her eggs to her ice cream cones – there is nothing that isn't pure and certified at her place. Her world may be sustainable, but I don't know how she sustains it or affords it! So if you're looking to get a little organic without going all the way, here is a general rule to apply. The thinner the skin of a fruit, the more important it is to buy organic (because pesticides are more likely to penetrate), so strawberries, peaches, apples, grapes are all very important to buy organic, whereas oranges and grapefruits are less so. Same with veggies. And milk and eggs are recommended too. But when it comes to ice cream cones you can probably skip it!