I Must Have A Really High Tolerance For Poison, Part Deux

This is an update to this blog post that I wrote recently...apparently celery, blueberries, and spinach are now more likely to poison you than lettuce and pears...good stuff. Some updated information from Yahoo News:


Here's a closer look at the 2010 Dirty Dozen:

This year, celery takes the number one spot and both blueberries and spinach make an appearance (displacing lettuce and pears).


1. Celery

Celery has no protective skin, which makes it almost impossible to wash off the chemicals (64 of them!) that are used on crops. Buy organic celery, or choose alternatives like broccoli, radishes, and onions.

2. Peaches

Multiple pesticides (as many as 62 of them) are regularly applied to these delicately skinned fruits in conventional orchards. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include watermelon, tangerines, oranges, and grapefruit.

3. Strawberries

If you buy strawberries, especially out of season, they're most likely imported from countries that have less-stringent regulations for pesticide use. 59 pesticides have been detected in residue on strawberries. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include kiwi and pineapples.

4. Apples

Like peaches, apples are typically grown with poisons to kill a variety of pests, from fungi to insects. Tests have found 42 different pesticides as residue on apples. Scrubbing and peeling doesn't eliminate chemical residue completely, so it's best to buy organic when it comes to apples. Peeling a fruit or vegetable also strips away many of their beneficial nutrients. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include watermelon, bananas, and tangerines.

5. Blueberries

New on the Dirty Dozen list in 2010, blueberries are treated with as many as 52 pesticides, making them one of the dirtiest berries on the market.

6. Nectarines

With 33 different types of pesticides found on nectarines, they rank up there with apples and peaches among the dirtiest tree fruit. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include, watermelon, papaya, and mango.

7. Bell peppers

Peppers have thin skins that don't offer much of a barrier to pesticides. They're often heavily sprayed with insecticides. (Tests have found 49 different pesticides on sweet bell peppers.) Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include green peas, broccoli, and cabbage.

8. Spinach

New on the list for 2010, spinach can be laced with as many as 48 different pesticides, making it one of the most contaminated green leafy vegetable.

9. Kale

Traditionally, kale is known as a hardier vegetable that rarely suffers from pests and disease, but it was found to have high amounts of pesticide residue when tested this year. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include cabbage, asparagus, and broccoli.

10. Cherries

Even locally grown cherries are not necessarily safe. In fact, in one survey in recent years, cherries grown in the U.S. were found to have three times more pesticide residue then imported cherries. Government testing has found 42 different pesticides on cherries. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include raspberries and cranberries.

11. Potatoes

America's popular spud reappears on the 2010 Dirty Dozen list, after a year hiatus. America's favorite vegetable can be laced with as many as 37 different pesticides. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include eggplant, cabbage, and earthy mushrooms.

12. Grapes

Imported grapes run a much greater risk of contamination than those grown domestically. Only imported grapes make the 2010 Dirty Dozen list. Vineyards can be sprayed with different pesticides during different growth periods of the grape, and no amount of washing or peeling will eliminate contamination because of the grape's thin skin. Remember, wine is made from grapes, which testing shows can harbor as many as 34 different pesticides. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include kiwi and raspberries.

Good luck!

Hollywood, Baby!

Well, actually...Boston.

My partner in crime, Kendra, and I will be performing in a stage show called 'Expressing Motherhood' in Boston this September. Please visit the link to find out what it's all about.

Our names are listed under Performers Boston '10 in font about this big. But don't let the size take away from the importance of our message which is....hmmm...should I tell you? I need to check with Kendra so she doesn't kick my heiny for leaking the goods without her permission. Look forward to that installment, yo. 

I can tell you that it's going to be exciting, groundbreaking, and scandalous! Yes, I just said scandalous. Afterall, I'm teamed up with one of my close friends from high school (that's Kendra for those of you not paying attention) and we're off to Boston for a week without much supervision.

Oh my gah! How, like, totally rad is that? (I'm sorry, we graduated in the '90's.)

I swear it's like we should be renting a convertible, wearing scarves over our hair, and calling each other Thelma and Louise. Except for the fact that neither one of us has murdered anyone and we don't have a suicide pact.

That is unless we crash and burn on stage and then maybe that pact will be a go...I jest. Really I do! I don't need any type of intervention. We're good, right? Let's just forget about that last part there. Yeah.

Please go to the link and check it out!

p.s. You should probably get our autographs before we make it big. Just a heads up.

The Wind Beneath My Wings

Inspiration comes in many different forms...it can tickle as lightly as a feather or it can hit you like a ton of bricks...in the shins...when you're wearing shorts. Picture it. NOW.

I have managed to surround myself over the years with people that have inspired me. They have inspired me without knowing for the most part, kind of like Secret Agent Inspiration Robots; only they're real people and not...robots.

If you asked most people who inspired them throughout life I bet you that most would list off actors, sports icons, or literary genius's. If you would have asked me that very question about 5 years ago, I would have been among most people in my answers. After I turned 30, my priorities shifted and I realized who I am and why I became the person that is looking back at me from the mirror.

And it's all because of my Secret Agent Inspiration Robots!

What? I said I turned 30 physically...I didn't say I matured emotionally to that age. Duh. *eye roll*

You never know who is inspired by the things that you say and do. People are always watching. Not to get you all paranoid or anything. It's not like people are watching you from behind the bushes in your front yard. I mean, they might be but really that's highly unlikely.

I just went from inspiration to weird in like, 5 seconds, ya'll. (OMG...that "ya'll" that just snuck out is *totally* my little sister's fault for dragging me to Tennessee with her last weekend. Now I'm going to have make up for it by using northern terms like "Pop". )

Remember: People rarely recall who won an Oscar or who had the nicest car...they remember what a person stood for and how they lived their lives.

Fin.