The holidays are upon us! Thanksgiving is over and the rush of Christmas begins, followed close behind by New Years! Whether the holiday season brings joy or sadness, family gatherings or solitude, stress or excitement, one thing is to be sure; there will be food. Probably lots of it! Whether you are hosting a gathering or contributing to one, you want the food to be tasty and delicious. The easiest way to accomplish this is by using real ingredients. But what exactly does that mean?

With the onset of school and cooler weather, my mind turned to stocking our medicines for the winter. Unfortunately, we were blessed with our first bout of colds before I could replenish our stock! I’ve never liked using over-the-counter medications. They usually contain fake sugars, food coloring, and often only mask the symptoms instead of dealing with the illness. Aside from that, most medications have little to no effect on me, so I usually consider it a waste of time to take them. Others are overly sensitive to medications and experience adverse side effects. When you’re sick, it doesn’t help to give yourself extra problems!

In several past articles, we’ve addressed the dangers of pesticides, how to read organic labels and the benefits of purchasing locally. Very few, if any of us, can afford to purchase everything organic, so you may be sitting back and wondering what are the most important areas to focus on.

With the quickly passing signs of spring, we are headed full steam into summer. With summer comes lots of sun, and fresh air, and the opportunity for fresh fruits and vegetables. For some that means planting a large garden, for others it means visiting the local, pick-your-own farm for fresh strawberries and blueberries, and for others, it means visiting the local farmer’s market.

Last month, I wrote about the many nutritional elements of tree nuts. This month I would like to touch upon seeds. Nuts are actually the seeds of trees with a hard shell, so many of the same benefits of tree nuts will be found in the similar nuts of plants. Pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds are all very well known. You may already be enjoying them as snack or as an ingredient of your baking or cooking.

Most people either love or hate tree nuts such as pecans, walnuts, cashews or almonds. We really enjoy them at our house and primarily eat them as a healthy, afternoon snack. There are many different kinds of nuts, and they all contain similar benefits to a person’s health. When most people think of nuts, the first thing that comes to mind is fat. While it is true tree nuts contain fats, they are primarily mono saturated fats, also known as good fat. Instead of causing you to gain weight, eating nuts will actually help you lose weight and keep it off!

Avocados are a wonderful fruit that contain a powerhouse of health. Typically grown in the southern hemisphere, avocados are also grown in California and Florida. The two types of avocados are Haas avocados, which have dark, bumpy skin, and the Fuerte avocado, which is larger and has a smooth green skin. They have a pale, greenish-yellow fruit with a single stone, and a delicious buttery rich taste.