I dont often (ever?!) repost articles from other blogs or newsletters but I thought the Quote of the Day from the Organic Consumers Association was worth a repost by 3 Healthy Chicks...

"Organic agriculture puts the needs of rural people and the sustainable use of natural resources at the centre of the farming system. Locally adapted technologies create employment opportunities and income. Low external inputs minimize risk of indebtedness and intoxication of the environment. It increases harvests through practices that favor the optimization of biological processes and local resources over expensive, toxic and climate damaging agro-chemicals...in response to a frequently asked question: Yes, the world can be fed by the worldwide adoption of Organic agriculture."
-International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements World Food Day, October 12, 2009

It's important to be reminded of the abundance of fresh produce we from the Garden State have the opportunity to enjoy. Organic, sustainable farming is the first step in security and independence. Support your local Jersey growers!

Keep it Fresh!
3HC

Organic, Jersey Fresh Apples!!!

This past Saturday 3 Healthy Chicks headed to Princeton for the Global Mala for Peace. After doing 108 Sun Salutations in Palmer Square we drove to Terhune Orchard's Apple Day! Terhune Orchards is located on Cold Soil Road just outside of Princeton. One of the more fabulous things about Terhune (and there are many to list!!!) is that it has recently been awarded Organic Certification by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture for 8 acres!

Portions of the farm and orchards that are not designated as organic are maintained in a sustainable manner, according to the rules of crop rotation. This means regularly changing the variety of plantings in each field, guards against nutrient depletion and reduces the use of fertilizers and pesticides. Growing in a sustainable manner and implementing crop rotations helps to ensure that the produce grown has the best flavor, color, and size. Organic Certification is not an easy designation to achieve, so congratulations Terhune!

Apple Day at Terhune was fabulous! The farm was bustling with fresh fruits, vegetables and home made goods. Before we headed into the pick your own area of the farm, we enjoyed a fresh apple cider slushy. This is how slushies should be made! No additives, no preservatives, just freshly pressed apple cider and ice! They were refreshing and thirst quenching!

The pick your own apples (Empire, Delicious and Stayman Winesap) were a vibrant red and practically falling off the branch into your hands! Children were running in sugared bliss, sticky faces with caramel and candy apples in hand. There was a corn stalk maze, tractor rides and even live music by the Daisy Jug Band! The smell of apples hung thick in the air. Is there really anything better than picking fresh, juicy apples on an warm September day?? If there is, please let us know so we can put it on our next weekend agenda!

Fun aside, there is a lot more to apples than enjoying a social day in the sun. Apples are one of those amazing fruits given to us by Mother Nature that not only tastes as sweet as candy, but it's good for us as well. We've all heard the saying "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" but did anyone ever stop to ask why? What are the health benefits of apples?

Since 3 Healthy Chicks left Terhune Orchards with no less than 4 bags of apples, of course we took the time to find out why exactly we should be eating an apple a day to keep the doctor away. Here's what we learned: Apples are high in fiber, vitamins and minerals. Fresh apples contain quercetin, which are great for protecting your brain from free radicals and pectin which assists in lowering bad cholesterol. Additional health benefits of apples include: prevents diarrhea and constipation, reduces risk of cancer, reverses appendicitis, fights depression, slows aging, protects the heart, lowers cholesterol and prevents Alzheimer's! That's a lot of benefits!!

It seems like the apple a day theory just may hold some credence. I am on to McIntosh number 2 right now.


Keep it Fresh!
3HC

Welcome to Fall!!!

The transition from summer to fall has been pretty amazing on the Jersey Shore. September has graced us with warm sunny days and cool nights without frost. One of the many reasons I love September! September 21 marked the Fall Equinox....summer gracefully bows out and fall ushers in. The fall equinox celebrates the end of summer and the beginning of the harvest season. Just because the youthful days of summer have past, doesn’t mean the growing season has drawn to a close.

On the contrary, fall is the bountiful harvest! All the Jersey Fresh farm stands and farmers market should still be bustling with life and produce well into October. You can find apples, corn, eggplant, grapes, lettuce, okra, onions, squash and tomatoes through September. Cauliflower, cranberries, peppers, pumpkins, lima beans beets, broccoli, cabbage and collards through October!

Since the fall harvest is so bountiful, its a great idea to buy fresh produce from the farmers market in bulk. Don't worry we're not going to let you waste your beautiful Jersey Fresh produce! Most fresh vegetables can be easily frozen. Simply wash them, separate them into useable quantities, pop in zip lock bags and send them to the deep freeze! You'll be eating cranberries, beets and greens well into February! If you don’t have room in your freezer, or freezing isn't for you, canning is the way to go.

Now don't be afraid of a word like canning. It's not that hard and you don't have to have grey hair to try it out. There are variations in canning methods depending on what food you are canning but you can find everything you need to know at CanningUSA.com. Fruits and vegetables can be canned alone, as jellies, in syrups, in vinegars (pickling!) and don't forget soups and sauces!

I personally love to eat home made, hearty soups and stews throughout the fall and winter. One of my favorites is a Winter Squash Stew. You can easily double or triple this recipe when all the beautiful butternut, acorn and pumpkin squashes are in season. Any soup left-over can be frozen or canned!!

Winter Squash Stew
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil1 onion, finely minced2 cloves of garlic, finely minced1 winter squash, seeded, peeled, chopped (butternut, acorn, pumpkin, delcata) Veggie or chicken stock, 2 teaspoons curry powder, 1 ½ teaspoons cumin.

Directions:
Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil until onions become translucent. In a pot place squash and fill with stock until just covered. Add curry powder, cumin, onion and garlic. Boil until squash becomes tender and remove pot from heat. Purée the squash until smooth in a blender, you can set aside some of the squash if you like a chunky soup or blend it all for a smooth soup. Add chopped fresh cilantro or parsley and/or toasted pumpkin seeds for garnish.

This stew also travels really well! Heat it up and pour it into your thermos and take a hike or go for a walk on the beach. When you're ready to take a break, you'll have sweet and delicious soup to warm your insides from the fall wind!

Limiting pesticides in your produce choices.....

The mission of 3 Healthy Chicks is to help people live healthier, greener lives while keeping it Jersey Fresh. New Jersey is bountiful in produce production; there are fresh options everywhere you turn. Of the thousands of growers in New Jersey, only a select few farms in New Jersey that are certified organic, pesticide free and sustainable (check the Northeast Organic Farm Association of New Jersy for a list). So now you're wondering, "do I buy organic from Mexico or a non-organic from a Jersey Fresh Farm?" It's confusing we know.

Before we offer any suggestions in navigating the organic maze of confusion, we need to offer you a little education on pesticides. In pretty simple terms, pesticides and fungicides are toxins designed to kill things. The logical conclusion would be that we as humans shouldn't injest toxins designed to kill other organisms! Logic aside, research has shown that even small doses of pesticides and other toxins are carcinogenic, can negatively affect the nervous system, disrupt natural hormone patterns and cause eye and lung irritations.. The Environmental Working Group noted that even small doses of pesticides can cause long lasting damage to human health during fetal development and childhood.

Given the damage that can be done, it's important to educate yourself about pesticides and choosing clean or organic produce. EWG conducted extensive research and analysis based on data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. With this information EWG created two lists: The Dirty Dozen and The Clean 15. The Dirty Dozen lists the produce with the heaviest pesticide loads and the Clean 15 lists produce with the lowest pesticide loads.

EWG found that by avoiding the top twelve most contaminated produce and eating the least contaminated instead, consumers lowered their pesticide intake by almost 80 percent! "Eating the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables will expose a person to about 10 pesticides per day, on average. Eating the 15 least contaminated will expose a person to less than 2 pesticides per day." EWG has a full list of 47 fruits and vegetables ranked in order from highest pesticide residue to lowest. You can also download a pocket sized version of the Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15 here.

So, to answer the question, "do I buy organic from Mexico or a non-organic from a Jersey Fresh Farm?" it depends. Our first choice is always locally grown organic produce, but there are always exceptions. For those exceptions we offer these tips:

1. Download the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15. Start to understand what is "clean" and what is "dirty" and choose your produce accordingly.

2. Wash your produce. There are lots of veggie wash products on the market today, but a little water and fresh lemon juice works fine too!

3. Peel, Peel, Peel! If do buy non-organic produce from the dirty dozen list, remember to wash it and then peel! We know that some of the best nutrients in an apple or a peach is contained in the peel, but it's just not worth the risk. A new study just linked exposure to pesticides with a 70 percent increased risk of developing Parkinson's Disease!

4. Talk to your local farmers! At every farmers market or roadside vegetable/fruit stand, there is a wealth of knowledge behind the table. Get to know your local farmer and learn about their sustainability practices. Know where your food comes from! You may be surprised to learn that while their produce is not USDA Certified Organic, it may be grown in a sustainable manner with limited use of pesticides.

Stay tuned for the next few September Blog updates....3 Healthy Chicks are going to visit Terhune Orchards to go apple picking and talk with the Mount Family about their farm and how it feels to be one of the few organic apple orchards in New Jersey.

Until then, keep it fresh!

Who wants a Georgia Peach when you can be Jersey Fresh?

One of the most amazing things about living in the Garden State is the bountiful produce to be found here! Beginning in May, farmers markets and road side stands start to burst with life and the bounty of the first crops. Until you've lived outside the Garden State, you don't realize how lucky you actually are!

New Jersey has more than 9,500 farms state wide on more than 725,000 acres. In addition to corn, tomatoes, soybeans and other vegetables, New Jersey produces five major fruit berry crops including apples, blueberries, cranberries, strawberries and peaches.

New Jersey ranks 4th in the nation for peach production. So why buy a Georgia peach when you can get a Jersey peach right in your own back yard?! Gloucester County alone grew 36 million pounds of Peaches in 2007. Peaches come into season in Jersey July through September. They sweeten the air in the farmers market with their delicate sent luring customers in for their first bite of summer. By the time mid-August rolls around you will be able to find delicious and ripe Jersey grown peaches every farmers market in the state.

Peaches are more than just a summertime treat, they're a guilt free dessert that pack a nutritional wallop! Peaches are rich in Vitamin A which has been shown to prevent cancer. Research even suggests that peaches have good to excellent antioxidant activity, some antimicrobial activity and good to excellent tumor growth inhibition activity. Since Apples officially don't come into season until September, fill your summers up with a peach a day to keep the doctor away! They are comprised of more than 80 percent water and are a good source of dietary fiber, making them good for people trying to lose weight. Peaches will also help with that healthy summer glow. They're packed with antioxidants that help make the skin healthy and also add color to the complexion.

To enhance your peaches and cream complexion after a long day relaxing at the shore, try 3HealthyChicks Peach and Strawberry Facials Mask.

Ingredients

1 ripe Jersey Peach
2 ripe Jersey Strawberries
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp oatmeal

Pit and dice the peach. Then mash the peach and strawberries to a creamy pulp. Add a tablespoon of honey and a tablespoon of oatmeal. If the mixture is a bit too thick, add a few drops of water to form a thin paste. Apply to skin and let it sit for 10 minutes. Rinse well with cool water.


Peach peels exfoliate gently and contain large amounts of alpha-hydroxy acids. The natural exfoliation removes dead skin cells and speeds up cell renewal, leading to healthier skin tone. It softens wrinkles, sun spots, age spots, blemishes and unclogs pores leading to a healthier and brighter skin tone. Oatmeal is hypoallergenic and it helps to soften skin. Clinical studies have shown that oatmeal healps to heal dry, itchy skin. This mask will calm your skin and leave you with a beautiful, hydrated glow.