Okay, we promise that, once the "Know Your Food" series normalizes (hopefully by next week), we'll be posting daily 3- to 4-minute segments, not these gargantuan bandwidth- and free-time-hogs! But, it's a decent 8 minutes of solid entertainment (kind of/sort of). So, hope you enjoy. We call this "Episode 1 (sort of)." You'll see why. Includes a few bonus minutes of discussion on goals & synchronicity.

As you saw, we didn't air the entire APPLE show. So, a few notes are in order:

First, Wendi and I both feel strongly that ORGANIC apples are best. We know they're expensive, and don't want you to feel bad if you can't find or afford them. But, it's simply true that apples practically dominate the list of produce items carrying the most chemical pesticides. Assuming that, like us, you'd rather eliminate or at least minimize your ingestion of such chemicals, you may want to think about eating conventional apples. (The **worst** 10 "pesticide load" items are: 1. peaches, 2. APPLES, 3. sweet bell peppers, 4. celery, 5. nectarines, 6. strawberries, 7. cherries, 8. lettuce, 9. grapes, and 10. pears. Here's a list of the top 43!).

On a related note... Though the pesticide is systemic to the entire apple, the most concentrated area for pesticides would naturally be the skin. So, if you're eating conventional apples, definitely peel it (or at least wash it well). However, keep in mind that, when you peel it, you're also missing out on significant fiber and antioxidants! So, again, it's best to stick with organic so you don't miss out. And besides, organic apples taste better!?

To sum:? Apples have around 50 calories each. They're a great cancer prevention fruit. They're high in fiber, good for regularity, great for your bones, lower your cholesterol, are suspected to help prevent Alzheimers, help manage diabetes, are heart-healthy, and even accelerate weight loss. And they're delicious. But, don't eat the seeds! (They contain cyanogenic glycosides - aka cyanide, nasty stuff.)

Some trivia:? Did you know that there are around 7,500 varieties growing all around the earth? Did you know the science of apples is called pomology ? Do you know why New York is called The Big APPLE ? (Well, no one knows for sure, but the most widely accepted story has to do with horse racing. Back in the day, it was a phrase commonly used by southern stable boys when they were heading off to New York, where all of the "big money" was in horse racing. To a horse, the "big apple" would've represented the ultimate prize. So, it's easy to project back and hear those barn hands stoking themselves and their horses with unbridled enthusiasm: "Hear that, Firebolt ? We're heading off to the Big Apple soon!")

Now, go eat some!? Finally, we want this series to be useful in addition to the nutrition information provided. Daily (hopefully), we'd like to link to a raw food recipe involving the food du jour. So, for apples, here's a link to a raw apple pie recipe from livingmom.net!