A Solution to Pesticides

My Fruity Lunch

If you follow me on twitter or you're a friend of mine on facebook, you'll recall me complaining about my allergic reaction to the pesticides in fruits last night when I ate a peach and my lips and throat inflated like a bubble! It's such a sad thing when fruits are full of vitamins and is great for the skin. I used to eat fruits without eating dinner and looked forward to the after dinner fruits, though studies now say that it is much healthier to eat fruits before dinner to maximize the absorption of vitamins. I know I am not the only one that has this problem, but I have a solution! Salt water. Salt water not only prevents your fruits (apples, pears) from browning, but it also helps kill the pesticides.

I did a very basic fruit salad today for lunch: one peach, two kiwis, one box of strawberries. I simply washed them and cut the kiwi into halves, peach into fours, and took the tops off the strawberries. Add about a tablespoon of salt to your water and mix before placing fruits in to soak. Be sure to do a little rinse through prior to soaking (just to rinse off that outer later of dirt). Depending on how long you soak your fruits, and how much water you're using, you may want to use less salt because the fruits will soak up all the salt which will leave you with salty fruits. I soaked my fruits for an hour today before cutting them up and placing them in a dish. Of course, the longer you soak your fruits, the better it is, but of course be careful of having salty fruits! For those of you who are not allergic to pesticides, you can simply soak for a few minutes prior to eating to remove another coat of germs. Berries have a tendency to float so if your berries are floating on top and not covered by salt water, add a bowl on top to sink those berries in. If you like your fruits cold like I do, just remember to pop them back in the fridge for a little before eating or keep the bowl over an ice bath.

Normally, I add other fruits to my salad for a party of people but I wanted to keep it simple today. You can use any fruits to your liking, I love to add coconut gels which can be found in jars at the Asian supermarkets. I hate to separate Asian from American, but it is very unlikely that a Pathmark would carry a bottle of coconut gels. Coconut gels give your fruit salad a bit of a texture. It's chewy like tapioca pearls, and doesn't taste like coconut (I'm not a fan of coconut but I love coconut gels). If you like, you can add boiled egg whites to your fruit salad for a bit of protein. A last key ingredient I add to my fruit salads that not a lot of people use is mayonnaise, yeap mayonnaise. It may sound icky, but all you need is a dallop, mix well and you're good to go! If you're a bit hesitant to add this to your big bowl of fruits, try taking a small bowl of fruits and mixing very little mayonnaise to test it out first. 

A very simple lunch today for a healthy diet. Please remember to eat other foods to balance out your diet! Too much fiber is not good for you.