Organic Dried Fruit, Healthy and Tasty
Organic dried fruits are produced without the use of chemical pesticides or fertilizers. As many other organic food products, organic dried fruits also have many benefits, especially for your health:
1. Organic fruits are free from chemical additives such as sulfites, which can cause allergic reaction in some people. (Sulfites are usually used as preservatives).
2. Organic fruits contain vitamins and nutrients as well as the fiber needed to promote healthy colon function.
3. Organic dried fruits are quick and healthy snack at work and school.
4. Organic dried fruits have longer shelf life than non-dried fruits. Most of them, when stored properly, have a shelf life of at least one year.
5. You can use organic dried fruits for various recipes; you can mix them in to cereal, pancakes or yoghurt, salad, cake or muffin.
Some disadvantages of dried organic fruits are:
1. They tend to loose some water-soluble vitamin and mineral such as Vitamin C, Potassium and the B vitamins.
2. Organic dried fruits have shorter shelf life than regular dried fruits, which usually contain preservatives.
Below are two kinds of organic dried fruits products you can choose:
1. Organic Bake-Dried Granny Smith Apple Chips
Customer reviewed by: A. Pecorella
I found these in a Whole Foods one day and thought they were fantastic, but they were also quite expensive. Amazon offers them in bulk packages for a bit less which is nice, though they’re still on the costly side. The great thing about these is that they are baked, not fried. That means that there is no fat and very few calories, but they are still satisfyingly crunchy, making them a fantastic “got the munchies” snack. These are indeed cut from real apples and every once in a while you’ll get a stem or some slices that are just peel, but for the most part the quality is quite good. My wife didn’t seem to like them, though I’m not sure why – I think they’re yummy. 
I’d certainly recommend them to anyone who can afford a somewhat pricey, but extremely healthy, snack. However I’d also suggest trying to find a small bag to try first at a local grocery (most likely an organic-focused one – I don’t think Food Lion carries these) to make sure you like them before buying this much.
5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh and Chewy with a Nice Sweet Taste!
2. Organic (USDA Certified) Sun Dried Black Mission Figs
Customer reviewed by: Gary Peterson
I like dried fruits, both as a pick-me-up snack and to pack with my noontime lunches. Plus, I take them along when I go on camping trips. Nutritionally, they offer almost all the advantages of fresh fruit, but they don’t require refrigeration and have a long shelf-life if the bag seal is maintained during storage. Typically, I buy the large bags and dole them out in smaller portions from there.
Yesterday, I was in my favorite warehouse store strolling the dried fruit isle and found a large bag (32 ounces) of Made in Nature Organic Black Mission Figs. Well, I’ve always liked dried figs but I’ve never had this particular kind before. It seemed worth a try. I was surprised that they were much smaller than the dried figs I was used to. They were also a bit more flavored, in a positive way. Well, they’re delicious! Fresh and chewy with a nice sweet taste. Yum! These won’t last long.
Tags: dried organic fruits, organic dried fruit, organic dried fruits
Home Made Organic Snack for Kids
Home Made Organic Snacks
Children, unlike adults, have a lower immunity system. That’s why parents have to be very careful in preparing and giving them the best snacks.
For me, the best snack for my children is home made snacks, especially when it’s organic snacks.
At first, I though preparing home made organic snack is a complicated thing, but it’s actually very simple, easy to prepare and fun to eat. Not only for children, but also for their parents .
Below are some ideas in making home made organic snacks for your children. I guarantee your children will hardly refuse them. It will be more enjoyable when you ask them to involve preparing these healthy home made organic snacks.
1. Fruits and vegetables are the easiest and healthiest organic snacks choices.
- Apple slices served with peanut butter (you can also add a bit of organic maple syrup to the peanut butter and microwaving).
- Celery or carrots (or both) served with peanut butter.
- Cubed fruits dipped in vanilla yoghurt.
- Frozen grapes
- Fruit slices (apple, pear, strawberries or banana) dipped in soy cream cheese (mixed of a tub of vegan soy cream cheese, 1/4 cup undiluted apple or orange juice concentrate and a dash of cinnamon).
- Fruit skewers.
- Organic dried fruits, such as organic raisins, dates or apricots.
- Celery with peanut butter and raisins.
2. When you love to serve organic snacks which need to baked, you can get these from the oven:
- Cookies
- Cakes
- Muffins
- Pizza
If you don’t have much time to prepare home made organic snacks, it’s not a big problem. There are lots of companies who produce organic snacks. You can find these snacks at your local health or natural store or buy them online.
Organic snacks will taste just the same, except they don’t contain any harmful pesticide residue for your beloved children.
Related articles:
- A Guide to Choose Organic Fruits and Vegetable (for those with limited budget)
- Organic Recipes
- Organic Cereal in Dilemma
Tags: healthy snack, healthy snacks, organic snack, organic snacks
Natural Pest Control Methods
Natural Pest Control
There many different ways of natural pest control that organic farmer can apply. Below are some of them:
1. Natural pest’s predators.
Organic farmer need to recognize insects and other animals that prey and control pests. For example: grasshopper, slug, aphid and types of caterpillars are pests. Ladybird, spider, ground beetle, parasitic wasp and praying mantis are predators.
2. Companion planting.
It is one of natural pest control methods where crops that pests will avoid are planted near the commodity. The example of companion plant is onion or garlic which many animals hate the smell.
3. Make an insect trap.
Just simply use a few clear plastic bottles with labels removed filled the bottom with a little thick sweet syrup. Insects which attracts by the sweet will find difficulties finding their way back out. With a little creativity, these trapping bottles can also be a decoration.
4. Using organic pesticide.
Spraying with chilies, onions, garlic or what gardeners use is something called diatomaceous earth are some examples of organic pesticide. With this method, visiting insects will be turned away by the poisonous diatomaceous earth. But this method should be limited as much as possible, because one of the side effects is that good bugs such as butterflies and ladybirds can be turned away too.
5. Build a wire cage.
Natural pest control also deal with larger pests too, for example: rabbits. Vegetables farmers won’t like any rabbits which think that their plants as set of delicious buffet menu. The best way to keep rabbits (or deer) out of the vegetables would be use wire cages to fit over each vegetable patch.
6. Choosing crops.
Grow healthy crops that suffer less damage from pests and disease. Organic farmers need to pick crop’s varieties with a natural resistance to specific pests and disease. Local varieties are better at resisting local pert and diseases than introduced varieties.
7. Planting planning.
It’s also a natural pest control method to avoid the period when pests do most damage.
8. Crop rotation.
The aim of this method is to help break pest cycles and prevent a carry over of pests to the next season.
9. Attract predator bird.
Certain birds eat insects but they don’t care of the plants. One way to attracts birds is by building a water feature such as bird’s bath or bird’s houses.
Before applying natural pest control, organic farmers have to identify pests correctly. This will prevent the farmers from wasting time or eliminating beneficial insects. What farmers should know are life cycles, breeding habits, host plants and their predators.
Related articles:
- Why Back to Organic Pest Control?
- Hazards of Pesticide for Human Health.
- A Glance of Organic Farming Method
Tags: eco pest control, green pest control, natural pest control
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