I'm a pretty health conscious individual save for my sweet tooth. Seriously, Coldstone Cremery is a gift from God. One of the reasons I reverence the gift by only paying homage to the chain once every quarter. A step back from indulging every month.
But back to the subject of health, I'm supposed to eat my fruits and veggies. So why are American farmers making it difficult for me? In case you are living under a rock, you've probably heard of the salmonella outbreak in tomatoes. The news came to me after I went to the grocery store a week ago, then blended the two cases of tomatoes I bought from Whole Foods to make some stew.
I'm fine, thanks for asking. As I heard, as long as you didn't eat the tomatoes raw everything should be alright. But I will say this, I have been extremely diligent in taking my vitamins every morning (something I usually forgot to do); so there is a silver lining in scaring me straight to pay attention to my health.
But guess what? As I mentioned, I bought the tomatoes at Whole Foods. The chain just recalled all tomatoes from its stores after I spent my money. Anybody knows how pricey Whole Foods can be all in the name of "organic?" There's truth to the saying: "Whole Foods, Whole Paycheck." That's why I'm a smart shopper - buy fruits, veggies, and meat at Whole Foods, shop elsewhere for everything else.
And did I mention I live in Florida; the number one tomato producer in the country? I found that tidbit trivia out yesterday afternoon while working out. I thought we were only leaders in oranges. According to the CNN reports, Florida may lose up to $500 million for this outbreak but not to worry, 17 counties in Florida have been found safe. Gee thanks! Which county exactly? I don't know but I feel so much better now (not).
Now it's tomatoes, some months back it was onions, and don't get me started on the spinach last year. I gave up spinach for many months and to think the amount of iron I couldn't load up since I'm not big on red meat. Only to find out this morning, lemons might also be affected with E-coli. This is just GREAT! I have a couple of lemons in my refrigerator as I type these words; part of my last grocery shopping expedition.
So for all you who love your beverages - both alcoholic and non-alcoholic; it might be time to start saying "hold the lemons!" But hey, according to the report, vodka on the rocks might kill off the e-coli germs. I just love the descriptive term "might" as opposed to "will." It's like a half loaded gun, I don't know which bullet "might" kill you but I will just keep shooting to see.
Tags: Tomatoes, lemons, salmonella, e-coli
