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Better Choices

10 Organic Foods You’ll Always Find in My Kitchen

For someone who loves organic food so much and cooks so often, my refrigerator is surprisingly empty. How could this be?

Well, I go food shopping A LOT and pretty much only buy whatever I need for the next meal that I’ll be eating. I have the good fortune of being able to do this because an amazing organic market is literally less a one minute walk from my apartment.

Plus, I LOVE going food shopping and making multiple trips to the market in one day is not exactly a burden. Staring at all of the amazing fruits and vegetables in the produce section is one of my favorite things to do.

Even though I do tend to “buy on-demand”, you’ll pretty much always find these 10 organic foods in my kitchen:

COCONUT OIL I am a huge fan of coconut oil.  Not only is it high in lauric acid and great to use after a workout but it is one of the few oils that you can safely heat and cook with. (Olive oil is not one of them.)

Aside from using organic coconut oil in my smoothies, I use it as a moisturizer as well.

PALM SUGAR Not only is palm sugar low on the glycemic index, but it is a very sustainable alternative sweetener.

I am pretty obsessed with palm sugar these days and love its mild sweetness. Plus, it is super-easy to travel with.

CHIA SEEDS  Chia seeds continue to explode in popularity — and for very good reason.

Chia seeds are an incredible source of protein, and I use them in my morning smoothie and for puddings.

I seem to alternate back and forth between the seeds and the sprouted chia seed powder. Some people believe that the powder is more easily absorbed in the body. I go both ways on that one.

BRAZIL NUTS I drink a good amount of nut milk, and my preferred nut is definitely Brazil nuts.

Brazil nuts are high in fiber and protein (14%), and contain many amino acids and minerals, including selenium.

I always store my Brazil nuts in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.

CACAO POWDER According to various pieces of research that I’ve seen, cacao contains the highest amount of antioxidants of any food on the planet.

Along with using it in my smoothies, I will also drink it straight.

I’ll take a 1/2 teaspoon of cacao powder, 1/4 teaspoon of maca, 1/8th of a teaspoon of palm sugar, and then stir in 1/4 cup of warm water. I’ll drink this first thing in the morning on an empty stomach in order to allow for maximum absorption.

QUINOA I must eat quinoa about 3-4 times per week and can’t seem to get enough of it.

Rich in protein and containing all nine essential amino acids, quinoa is also an excellent source of manganese, magnesium, folate, and phosphorus.

SAUERKRAUT If you’ve never added sauerkraut to your salads, definitely give it a try it. This will take your salad to a whole different level.

Sauerkraut is a fermented food and provides the body with beneficial bacteria. I particularly love the Biodynamic caraway sauerkraut from Hawthorne Valley. It is spectacular.

SEA VEGETABLES I try to consume sea vegetables, either kelp and dulse, on a daily basis.

Kelp has very high levels of iodine and is fantastic for the thyroid. The importance of sea vegetables does not get nearly enough attention as it should.

BLACK SESAME SEEDS As I wrote about recently, black sesame seeds have become an absolute fixture on my salads and quinoa.

Not only are they full of magnesium, calcium, copper, and zinc, but some people believe that they help to reverse gray hair (of which I have plenty).

GOJI BERRIES Considered the most important food/herb in Chinese medicine, goji berries are rich in minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants.

I have a tremendous amount of difficulty not devouring the whole bag in just one sitting. They are that good and that good for you.

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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

Organic vs. Natural: Understand the Difference, Educate Others

These past few days have been heaven for college football junkies such as myself. Why?

We got to watch a ton of great bowl games and the best is yet to come — January 10th when Auburn and Oregon play for the National BCS Championship. Then, a few months later comes March Madness, the college basketball championship tournament.

Now that I got the sports plug in, let’s talk about Organic vs. Natural.

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A message from Tradin Organic

How Tradin Organic is Helping Coconut Farmers in The Philippines

For more than a decade, Tradin Organic has been working with local partners in The Philippines to bring a diversified range of organic products to the market, such as coconut oil, tropical fruits and even cocoa.

The company is helping to support local farmers by assisting them with technical support and organic certification, in addition to paying Fairtrade premium on top of the organic premium.

Learn more.

Organic Insider

Better Choices

Could Regenerative Organic Coffee Farming be the Key to Reversing Deforestation in Peru?

Nestled in the heart of the mountains in the Andean Paramos region of Peru, there are 182 families who entirely depend on coffee cultivation for their livelihood.

Unfortunately, coffee rust – a fungus also known as “La Roya” — has devastated the coffee trees of 64 of these families, leading to catastrophic economic losses for hundreds of people.

With coffee production their only way to make a living and provide for their families, they have had no choice but to search for nearby land which has not been infected by coffee rust. While this is giving these families a financial lifeline, it has also resulted in the destruction of forests in the region, a territory that cannot that cannot afford this type of displacement.

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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

Study: Organic Ketchup Has Higher Levels of Antioxidants than Conventional Ketchup

Last year, I wrote about a groundbreaking study from Washington State University that said that organic strawberries have higher antioxidant activity and concentrations of ascorbic acid than conventional strawberries.

This research was the subject of much conversation in the organic industry because now we could point to objective, independent research that validated the superiority of organic.

Well, for those who still don’t believe that organic is a better option, maybe a recently released report from Spain will make them think differently.

In a study performed at the University of Barcelona Science and Technology Centres and reported in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, ketchup made from organic tomatoes proved to have higher levels of polyphenols than ketchup made from conventional tomatoes. (Polyphenols are biomolecules with antioxidant properties and protective effects in the human body.)

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livingmaxwell: a guide to organic food & drink