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Better Choices

Organic Kaffir Limes – WOW, These are Amazing!

A while ago I did a story on gold nugget mandarins and when I saw this unknown fruit above, I couldn’t help but think of them because of the similarity of the rind.

And just as I had never seen gold nugget mandarins before, the same was true with these organic kaffir limes.

When I started asking the woman at my local organic market about kaffir limes, she quickly asked “Do you want to try one?”

With a bit of reluctance, I said “Ok, I guess.” After all, eating limes isn’t something that I normally do.

Yet when I bit into it, I was pleasantly surprised.

The kaffir lime didn’t have the sourness or bitterness that most limes do. It was more mild, more refreshing. In fact, after a few small bites, I found myself unable to stop eating it.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t control myself. The woman who cut it open for me jumped at the chance to do it because she knew that she was getting the other half, which was devoured in a split-second and with great enthusiasm.

Apparently, kaffir limes are a staple in Thai cooking. While I never eat this type of food anymore, my senses did recall the taste of kaffir limes in the Thai food that I had consumed in the past since the peel is an important part of many Thai curries.

Based on what I have read about kaffir limes:

– They are commonly used in household cleaners.

– The scent is supposed to improve one’s mood (I believe this – the smell is intoxicating).

– Supposed to promote gum health and are recommended for use in brushing teeth.

Many people who eat a lot of Thai food or have traveled extensively in Asia may already be familiar with kaffir limes but very rarely do they appear in organic markets in the Northeast.

While I always get very excited when I discover a fantastic new organic product (maybe that’s why I love going to Expo West and Expo East so much), my level of excitement goes to a whole new dimension whenever I come across a new organic fruit.

When you spend the majority of your life in Boston, New York City and Providence (not exactly tropical locations), you’re just not exposed to that many varieties of fruit.

So, discovering amazing organic fruit, such as kaffir limes, is just one of those awesome moments.

What can I say? Organic food is my passion.

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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

Top 10 Herbs by Nutrient Density

By now, many of you may be familiar with the “ANDI Scores” when you walk into the produce section of Whole Foods Market.

Created by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, ANDI stands for “Aggregate Nutrient Density Index” and ranks a food’s nutrient density on a scale from 1 to 1000.

The ANDI scores are calculated by evaluating an extensive range of micronutrients, including vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidant capacities, and by dividing the nutrient level of a food by its caloric content (N/C).

For context, kale, a dark leafy green, scores 1000 while soda scores 1.

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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

Have We Been Misled? 5 Organic Foods That Should Make You Think Twice

I spend an inordinate amount of time learning about the healthiest and newest organic food products available. Through my research at the various trade shows — most notably, Natural Products Expo East and Natural Products Expo West —  talking to industry contacts, roaming supermarket aisles, speaking with as many well-informed food people as I can and reading books, I have come to the following conclusion:

You can take almost any food in the world and some health expert will have something good to say about it while a different health expert will have something bad to say about it.

So, what I do is educate myself as much as I can and then make my own decision about whether I should be eating it or not.

The following five organic foods seem to be the most controversial. While books could be written on all of the foods below and by no means am I covering all of the pros/cons of each, I will try to highlight the most salient points.

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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

5 Strategies for Keeping an Organic Diet While Traveling During the Summer

Now that we are in the midst of summer, many people are going away for weekends or for an extended period of time.

For me and many other individuals, a vacation does not mean a vacation from organic.

I have been working with several clients on this very issue and thought that I would share my tips and strategies for eating organic while traveling.

1) Bring your own food If you are traveling by air, car, bus or train, always take food to eat. This could be nuts, fruit, salad, energy bars. Anything. You never want to be stranded and hungry when the only option available is fast food or junk food.

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livingmaxwell: a guide to organic food & drink