Buying Organic Foods vs Conventional Foods

If possible try to buy the following fruits and vegetables organic in order to avoid the residue of pesticides on and inside the fruits and vegetables.

The dirty dozen list:

1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Strawberries
4. Peaches
5. Spinach
6. Imported nectarines
7. Imported grapes
8. Sweet bell peppers
9. Potatoes
10. Domestic blueberries
11. Lettuce
12. Kale/collard greens

The Enviromental Working Group also lists the "Clean 15," or that rank lowest in pesticide residues. These are:
1. Onions
2. Sweet Corn
3. Pineapples
4. Avocado
5. Asparagus
6. Sweet peas
7. Mangoes
8. Eggplant
9. Domestic cantaloupe
10. Kiwi
11. Cabbage
12. Watermelon
13. Sweet Potatoes
14. Grapefruit
15. Mushrooms

Would you like a mouthful of pesticides with your peach? If you’re eating non-organic peaches, that’s what you may well be getting. According to the 2011 edition of Environmental Working Group’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides, the majority of conventional peaches contain two or more pesticide residues; in fact, peaches as a group rack up a combination of up to 57 separate pesticides. Pesticides can be extremely toxic to human health and the environment. Both U.S. and international government agencies have linked pesticides to nervous system toxicity, cancer, hormone system disruption and IQ deficits among children.
Each year Environmental Working Group analyzes nearly 100,000 produce pesticide reports from the USDA and the FDA to determine what fruits and vegetables contain the highest (the “Dirty Dozen”) and lowest (the “Clean 15″) amounts of chemical residue. The information is presented in a handy shopper’s guide. I love this list, it is so practical and puts the ability to eat safely in everybody’s hands. It’s a brilliant workaround.
Shoppers can use the list in two ways:
• If you are unable to buy organic produce, for whatever reason, avoid the Dirty Dozen and instead opt for the Clean 15.
• If you can buy limited organic produce, purchase organically-grown items from the Dirty Dozen, and continue buying non-organic selections from the Clean 15.
Of course, in a perfect place we wouldn’t be contending with pesticides at all – but given this wonky world, at least we have some tools to help navigate around the n-methyl carbamates and organophosphate pesticides. (Did you know that some of the most commonly used pesticides today were originally derived from nerve gasses developed during World War II? Fun fact. Ugh.)
Anyway, by avoiding the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables, you can lower your pesticide consumption by nearly 92 percent.

Source: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/top-12-toxic-fruits-and-vegetables-2.html#ixzz1PhGbFw97

Mother Teresa's Pearls of Wisdom

YOU AND GOD

People are often unreasonable

irrational and self-centered;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse

you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some

unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere

people may deceive you;

Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating

others could destroy overnight;

Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,

some may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

he good you do today,

will often be forgotten;

Do good anyway.

Give the best you have,

and it may never be enough;

Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis,

It is between you and God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

OTHER QUOTES BY MOTHER TERESA:

• "Peace begins with a smile.."
• "I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much."
• "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless."
•  "Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."
•  "Live simply so others may simply live."
•  "Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile."
• "God doesn't require us to succeed, he only requires that you try" .
• "What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family."
• "The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved."
•  "I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples."
• "We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something."
• "May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us." 
• "The person who gives with a smile is the best giver because God loves a cheerful giver." 
• "If you can't feed a hundred people, feed just one." 
• "Work without love is slavery."