Hmmmm...

Do you know where your fruits and vegetables come from?

Here's a confusing scenario I encountered the other day...

Have you ever had buyer's remorse before... from buying groceries???

Me neither. Until recently..

Jim was out of town for the past 2 weeks with the racing biz. And usually whenever he leaves, I use that time to "try something new".

Sometimes it's things like:

• clean out every closet


• walk the dog every day


• take long bubble baths


• frame some new photographs


• or go to the Caribbean!

This time, it was: buy groceries. Enough to actually make some serious dishes that will last us several weeks -- if not months.

Wondering when certain fruits and vegetables are in season?...

I've written about this before... which foods you should buy "organic" vs which are okay to buy "regular" (...because they aren't as likely to be loaded with pesticides).

But now I found the official study behind those reports, and I've been hearing a lot about this in the news lately. Thought some of you might be interested in seeing this too...

After 11 years as a loyal member, I've decided to let my Sam's Club membership lapse.

Why?

Location, location, location.

Convenience is everything to me these days, and while the Sam's Club is only about 15 minutes away, I'd just rather not make the trek.

I guess I'm at that point in my life, where I'm tired of nickel-and-diming everything.

I've only just recently come to grips with the fact that driving 8 miles there and 8 miles back just to save $.03 on gas isn't worth it. (The savings only amounts to a whole 50 cents!) If you're there shopping, or you're on that end of town anyway, then Sam's Club gas is definitely a good deal, but if you're not...

So, I'm perfectly content spending a couple pennies more here and there -- like at the local Kroger -- so long as I get the convenience of running in and running out, and keeping it under 3 miles of drive time.

HOWEVER, I am going to miss a few things at the trusty 'ol Sam's Club. They carry a handful of items that I just can't find elsewhere, or prices that just can't be beat, like:

In general, meat, milk and eggs are really worth buying organic," says Lisa Lee Freeman, editor in chief of Shop Smart magazine (published by Consumer Reports).

In addition, according to MSNBC's ConsumerMan, "Leafy greens and fruits and vegetables with a soft skin, such as strawberries, peaches, and raspberries, are more likely to contain pesticide residues and sometimes higher-risk pesticides. Fruits and vegetables with a thick skin that's not eaten, such as oranges, bananas, and pineapples, tend to have very few residues, if any.

Therefore, the most contaminated foods are the ones that should be bought organic, whenever possible.

For starters, to slash your pesticide ingestion, you'll want to choose fruits and vegetables on the following least-contaminated fruits & vegetables list... and avoid those on the most-contaminated fruits & vegetables list.

Here's a helpful guide...