This Nutritious Veggie Has Been Ranked One Of The Least Likely To Have Pesticides
It's that time of year—the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists are officially out. The Dirty Dozen names the top produce items most likely to have pesticides, while the Clean 15—you guessed it—are the fruits and veggies least likely to contain pesticides.
And this year, the Clean 15 has a new addition. Here's what it is, plus a handful of recipes that include the nutritious veggie.
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This year's new addition to the Clean 15:
Along with mangoes and watermelon, sweet potatoes were the third addition to the Clean 15 this year, and the only vegetable at that. As the EWG explains, broccoli, cauliflower, and eggplant were taken off the Clean 15, making room for three more additions.
The EWG comes up with these lists by analyzing data from the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Pesticide Data Program, identifying the produce that has the most and least pesticides after being washed.
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What to do with them.
If you needed another reason to eat sweet potatoes, the fact that they're now on the Clean 15 is definitely a plus. After all, there may be a number of health benefits to limiting pesticide exposure, and eating food grown with fewer pesticides tends to be best from a farmer's safety and environmental perspective.
Plus, sweet potatoes are loaded with antioxidants and nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese, vitamin B6, magnesium, and potassium. They're also rich in fiber, which is excellent for digestion.
Ready to add this nutrient-packed veggie to your diet? The following recipes are sure to please—and easy to make too:
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The takeaway.
There are so many ways to use sweet potatoes, whether you opt to simply bake one in the oven or whip some up into fries, nachos, or toast. However you want to prepare them, you can rest easy knowing this is one of the best produce options when it comes to limiting your exposure to pesticides.
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Sarah Regan is a Spirituality & Relationships Editor, a registered yoga instructor, and an avid astrologer and tarot reader. She received her bachelor's in broadcasting and mass communication from State University of New York at Oswego, and lives in Buffalo, New York.