Breakfast is important. Who can concentrate with a noisy tummy? Who can learn if their brain is craving nutrition? Who has time to make a breakfast that is healthy, full of vitamins, fiber, and protein? You do!

Just keep these few ingredients in your pantry and freezer, then you can start the day off right with a tasty power shake to feed the body, warm the heart, and free the mind from snack attacks until it’s time for lunch.

You Need:

½ banana (potassium, vitamins, and love)
½ cup frozen blueberries (a superfood with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants!)
¼ teaspoon cinnamon ( to help metabolize sugar and both anti-oxidant, anti fungal, and anti-inflammatory)
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds for adults (1/2-1 teaspoons for little kids; 1-2 teaspoons for big kids), for your heart and brain, for fiber and omegas
1 cup 2% milk, almond or soy milk (for calcium and protein)
2 tablespoons peanut or almond butter; do make sure to get the kind without any additives like sugar (for antioxidants, minerals, protein, and power)

To make 1 serving:

Just put everything into the blender, hit the switch, let it run until smooth.

Cooks tip: After you have gotten into the habit of drinking these, be bold, add a small handful spinach or kale as well, blend well and all you will taste is a new vigor for life.

To starting reaping the benefits of seaweed, you don’t have to eat a lot — just a very small serving every day or so (about ½ to 1 teaspoon). You do have to consume it more regularly than just on occasional sushi outings, though.

Eating seaweed on a regular basis is certainly a challenge for me — and I imagine it might be for you, too, if you didn’t grow up eating it!

Seaweed is one of the largest forms of algae, organisms that grow in water. There are dozens of species of red, brown, and green seaweed used worldwide as food, and it’s a dietary staple in some Asian countries. For example, the Chinese consume over 70 different varieties of seaweed. And of course, seaweed is used throughout Japanese cuisine.

In the U.S., however, it’s only recently that seaweed has become more available in large grocery stores (near the soy sauce and rice wine vinegar). If you live in an urban area, you can find seaweed at Asian markets. You can find a decent variety of options if you look around. Sushi stands and restaurants often sell green seaweed salad flavored with sesame oil. Tons of dried seaweed options are available at online health food stores. Dried seaweed quickly rehydrates in water or soup, and dried seaweed squares flavored with sesame oil, wasabi, or other ingredients have become popular low-calorie nutritious snacks.

The taste of seaweed depends on the type, but I often find it seriously briny, a little bit fishy, and chewy unless dried or toasted. The most common types available include:

Nori: What you find around most sushi rolls, its dark purple color turns phosphorescent green when toasted.

Kombu: Used to flavor soups, this darkly colored seaweed is usually sold in strips or sheets.

Wakame: Most commonly used to make Japanese miso soup (and similar to kombu).

Kelp: Often sold in flake form as a naturally salty topping for rice, this seaweed is light brown to dark green in color.

Dulse: A soft and chewy seaweed that is a reddish-brown color, this is found along the coast of Iceland, Ireland, and Scotland and eaten as a snack.

Arame: A sweet, mild-tasting seaweed that has a lacy, wiry appearance

Hijiki: This strong-flavored seaweed looks like small strands of black spaghettini. Because it can contain elevated levels of arsenic, experts recommend only consuming certified organic hijiki.

All seaweed types appear to be nutritious, although each type differs in nutrient content. For example, some types of seaweed have significantly more iodine than others, particularly dry kelp. Seaweed can be an important source of dietary iodine, but make sure not to overdo it. Research has linked excessive consumption of iodine to a slightly increased risk for thyroid cancer. To be safe, experts advise keeping seaweed consumption moderate and choosing the lower-iodine types of seaweed, such as dulse, wakame, or sushi-friendly nori.

Seaweed’s other health claims:

Possible breast cancer risk reduction: Scientists don’t yet know for sure if seaweed consumption has any role in promoting healthy breast cell function and reducing the risk of breast cancer, but research suggests that it might. In animal studies, the root of wakame seaweed (called mekabu) suppressed tumor growth in breast tissue. But it’s hard to study any direct effect in humans because it’s one of many things that we consume. Even without clear proof, the possibility that seaweed could help promote breast health is intriguing, given the wide consumption of seaweed, like mekabu, in Japan, where breast cancer rates are low.

Lower blood pressure: Seaweed contains bioactive peptides, a type of protein found mainly in milk products that can help reduce high blood pressure. Bioactive peptides have similar properties to ACE inhibitors — drugs commonly prescribed to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke from high blood pressure.

Other health benefits: Seaweed appears to be protective in other, more general ways. Brown seaweeds such as kelp, wakame, and hijiki contain a compound called fucoidan that lowers inflammation and may prevent infection. They also contain antioxidants, which can stop the formation of disease-causing free radicals. Substances that reduce inflammation may reduce the risk of all kinds of “dis-eases” (unhealthy forces on the body’s health), including breast cancer.

Studies also point to seaweed playing a potential role in reducing adult-onset diabetes, protecting the heart, and lessening hay fever. Ongoing research suggests seaweed might even aid in weight control. For instance, according to one early study, people who eat bread made with seaweed for breakfast tend to feel full so they are less likely to eat throughout the day.

Acquiring a taste for seaweed

Although I haven’t seen any seaweed bread at my grocery store yet, I’m trying to figure out new ways to incorporate seaweed into my diet. The taste of some products takes getting used to, honestly. But I’ve heard that once people start to eat seaweed, they come to crave its briny, seaside goodness. So I’m determined to keep trying!

A friend recommended one easy, no-cooking way to work seaweed into my diet: Keep a container of kelp flakes on the table. She uses the low-sodium flakes instead of salt to add a subtle flavor boost to salads and rice dishes. Another option is seaweed gomasio, a popular blend of roasted sesame seeds, sea salt, and seaweed. Sold pre-mixed in a shaker, it’s a great condiment on all sorts of dishes.

I’ve tried to make homemade sushi after watching the sushi guys at my local Japanese restaurant. All it takes is cooked short-grain sushi rice, some nori wrappers, and a simple bamboo mat — available in kitchen stores and online. You need a firm touch for the rolling action and a bowl of warm water to dip your fingers in between rolls, to remove rice that sticks to your fingers. You also need a sharp, clean knife to cut the roll into pieces. You get better after a few attempts. Get started with vegetarian rolls, with some thinly sliced cucumbers, carrots, and avocado!

I’m also going to start adding seaweed into my salads, soups, and vegetable dishes. If you have any favorite seaweed recipes or cooking tips, I’d love some suggestions. Share your ideas in the comments section below!

Meanwhile, we’re pleased to include a recipe from Dynise Balcavage, author of The Urban Vegan and Celebrate Vegan:

Easy, Raw Arame Salad

Serves 4

2 cups arame
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon ginger, finely minced
1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoon cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil
1 small Vidalia or other sweet onion, sliced very thinly
1 large tomato, chopped
½ red pepper, chopped
sea salt and pepper, to taste

Soak arame in water until soft (about 3 hours, depending on the texture). Drain.

Make dressing: In a small bowl, stir together garlic, ginger, oil, and vinegar.

Toss everything together in a large bowl. Adjust seasonings. Tastes best if you let it sit overnight.

We no longer need a celebration to bring out the treats. Since the 1970s, our calories from sugar have increased by 50%. According to the American Heart Association, people in the U.S. eat an average of 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day (355 calories).

That’s a LOT of added sugar! Especially when we know we should be careful about how much of it we eat. Experts have long blamed the empty calories in added sugar for contributing to America’s ever-growing overweight problem.

But is there more to the story than just excess calories? Should we also reduce our sugar intake to prevent disease? Are all the sugars the same? And can avoiding sugar help prevent cancer? These are just some of the questions that concern many of my patients. We have some important answers in this column.

Should we avoid sugar to prevent disease? Are all the sugars the same?

For those of us who don’t have certain diseases such as diabetes, it remains unclear whether, how, and in what quantities sugar can harm us. Scientists do know, though, that too much sugar — specifically, refined “table” sugar and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) — can sabotage the body’s normal functioning.

The body appears equipped to handle foods containing moderate amounts of sugar, such as fruit. But when you drink a can of soda, for instance, the body is flooded with up to 10 teaspoons of highly processed liquid sugar. And soda contains no protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, or antioxidants to buffer the negative effects.

The calories in sugar that aren’t needed for energy may be turned into fat, which is why sugar may cause weight gain.

Excess sugar also stresses the body in other ways, based on how it is metabolized in the cells. We can break down one of the two main molecules in sugar — glucose — in all of the cells in our body. Glucose is important because the cells use it to generate energy, and it’s the main source of energy for the brain and your body. For example, runners load up on starches containing glucose, which their bodies store as glycogen for a quick source of energy during a marathon. Glucose is the sugar in your “blood sugar.”

The other sugar type, fructose, is a different story. The liver bears the burden of breaking down the other main molecule in sugar — fructose — using a different pathway. The fructose in fruit is embedded in fiber and is released into your body slowly over time. But the sweeteners often used in sodas, candies, and other treats are loaded with fructose. The liver converts extra fructose into fat, not glycogen. Over a long period of time, a condition called insulin resistance can develop. Insulin is a hormone naturally produced in the body and is the “king” of fat. It’s in charge of storing extra blood sugar, and it’s also in charge of converting fat into energy. When the body develops a resistance to insulin, your body has trouble dealing with blood sugar and breaking down fat. Glucose builds up in the blood and body fat increases.

Insulin resistance is a serious condition because it causes inflammation, high blood sugar (hyperglycemia), and obesity. Plus, it greatly increases the risk for diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. It’s possible that insulin resistance — and specifically, too much fructose — also stimulates the growth of some cancers.

And as if that’s not enough, high fructose intake doesn’t turn off your appetite like glucose-containing foods do. So people who load up on high fructose foods and beverages don’t feel full and keep on eating and drinking. When eating or drinking large amounts of anything sweet, a rapid increase in blood sugar occurs, triggering an insulin reaction, followed by a drop in blood sugar, and then often a craving for more sweets.

Can avoiding sugar help prevent cancer?

Again, we need more research in order to know for sure. A panel of international cancer experts found the evidence on the role of sugar in cancer to be limited and inconclusive. There was enough data, though, to cause the panel to advise steering clear of sugary drinks and other foods with a high sugar content because they promote weight gain.

And the panel did find convincing evidence that our overall diet plays a role in some cancers, particularly if dietary choices lead to excess weight gain. Being overweight can increase the risk for different types of cancer, including breast cancer. Fat cells make estrogen; extra fat cells mean more estrogen in the body — and that extra estrogen over time may overstimulate breast cells, possibly leading to the development and growth of hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers. Many of the chemicals in the environment that act like estrogen dissolve in fat — so if you carry excess fat, your body may hold onto more of these chemicals, too.

Finally, when you bring in a lot of calories into your body at one time — and remember, sugary foods tend to be high in calories — it can put your digestive system under more stress. Stress can trigger unhealthy reactions in your body. Growth factors in your bloodstream can increase. Higher level of these growth factors over time might overstimulate your cells and potentially trigger the growth of some types of cancer cells.

How to reduce the amount of sugar you eat

If you’re trying to lose weight or just eat healthfully, often the first advice you hear is to cut added sugar out of your diet. This is good advice. Added sugars don’t provide any essential nutrients. Added sugar also causes your blood sugar to spike. While this provides a quick boost of energy, it doesn’t last. Blood sugar quickly drops again, leaving you sluggish and craving more sweets — which can make it hard to stick to a sensible diet.

So what’s the best way avoid sugar when research suggests our bodies are hard-wired to crave sweetness? Over the years, our nutrition advisors at Breastcancer.org have weighed in on this topic. Here’s their advice:

• Don’t try to cut it out completely. It’s very difficult to cut one thing, such as sugar, completely out of your diet for any lengthy period of time.
• Limit added sugar in food preparation and at the table. If you’re baking, try using less sugar than the recipe calls for. Often you won’t notice the difference.
• Really do use portion control. If you eat a moderately sized dessert, your body’s digestive system is able to handle the sugar and the calories. But you’ll  overload your system with, say, half a gallon of ice cream in half an hour.
• When you do have dessert or a sweet snack, truly savor every bite. Avoid mindlessly eating processed food high in sugar.
• Don’t worry about the natural sugars that occur in fruits and vegetables. This sugar is not processed and comes packaged with fiber to slow digestion. Fruits and vegetables also contain vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants – unlike cookies and candy.
• Beware that sugar is a common food additive and often hidden on food packaging under other names like corn sweetener, honey, maple syrup, and molasses. Any ingredient that ends in syrup or -ose, such as sucrose or maltose, is likely to be sugar.
• Don’t stock high-sugar snacks and candy in the pantry.
• Drink water and unsweetened teas. Avoid lemonade, sweetened teas, and sodas. Even “diet” sodas can fool your body and interfere with weight loss.

Allowing yourself a sweet treat every now and then shouldn’t be a reason to worry. Just be sure that the bulk of the food that you eat everyday is healthy.

One thing that works very well for me is to take full advantage of natural sugars. By roasting apples, their natural sugar comes out, caramelizes, and turns into a fabulous dessert or treat. Instead of ice cream, you can eat caramelized apples with plain Greek nonfat yogurt. Pears, peaches, plums, and many other fruits roast beautifully.

The best caramelization happens when you roast in a cast iron pan: just put plain cut-up apples in a cast iron pan. Roast for 25 minutes in a preheated oven at 425 degrees, then drop down to 350 and roast for another 25 minutes. I do the same thing with vegetables like sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, beets, and carrots. You can spruce them up with a little olive oil, sea salt, fresh rosemary, garlic and/or ginger. You’d be amazed how much natural sweetness and flavors come out from Mother Nature with NO added sugar!

How do you feel about avoiding or limiting sugar in your diet? Have you found successful ways to cut back on how much you eat? As someone who is always in search of the next chocolate fix, I’d appreciate hearing your advice! For starters, I stick to > 70% dark chocolate.

The grocery store. If members of your family don’t go shopping with you routinely, it’s time for them to start. Everyone can and should experience the time it takes to shop for, pay for, and bring home groceries.

A local farmers’ market. The best way to purchase the freshest, in-season food and support your local farmers is also the best way to learn about fresh good — farmers love to share what they know.

The farm. Lots of small farm operations have visiting hours and “pick your own” days. From apples to pumpkins to berries to corn, it’s a great way to show your kids where dinner comes from!

Ethnic grocery stores. Stores specializing in a particular culture’s cuisine are eye-opening trips for the family. You and your kids will be amazed and inspired by all the foods and products you have never seen before. Don’t forget to ask the proprietor how to use unfamiliar ingredients — they, like farmers, want to share their passion and knowledge.

Ethnic neighborhoods like Little Italy, Little India, Japan Town, Chinatown, Koreatown. Most larger cities have such community neighborhoods, and they are chock-full of markets and restaurants, many of them family-owned. Have lunch or dinner and taste authentic ethnic food perfectly cooked according to ancient traditions.

Cooking class as a family, either at a local cooking school or in your home (some teachers come right to your kitchen). Friends and family make great teachers, too! Ask them to teach a class.

Fish market. See what fresh really looks and smells like (it doesn’t smell “fishy”)!

Restaurant supply store. Let your kids each pick out something inexpensive but exciting to use, like new measuring cups or mini spoons.

Community garden project. Take a tour, attend a plant sale or seed-saving swap, or sign up as a volunteer. See what your neighborhood gardeners are growing.

Soup kitchen, shelter, or food pantry. Volunteer as a family at a church or Salvation Army program. It’s a profoundly moving way to show your kids how they can have a real impact on other peoples’ lives and, at the same time, show them the reality too many people face on a daily basis, most with dignity and courage. One in four children are going to sleep hungry in America. Need is up and food donations are down. This field trip will work wonders building up those gratitude muscles.

Kale is rich in calcium and other vitamins, and is a very healthy addition to this pasta dish. Most kids haven’t even heard of kale, but you might be surprised by how much they like it.

YOU NEED:

2 large bunches kale
1 pound farfalle pasta
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, slivered
1 1/2 cups sun-dried tomatoes from a jar, drained, rinsed, and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
Salt and pepper or red pepper flakes
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

TO MAKE SIX SERVINGS:

Fill a large pot with water. Bring it to a boil, then salt it so it tastes like the sea.

Remove the stems from the kale. Stack all the kale leaves on top of one another, roll them into a fat cigar, and slice it into thin slices. Or just chop, chop, chop it all – that works, too.

Throw the kale into the pot for 4 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon or tongs and drain well. Put the pasta into the same pot of water and cook according to the package directions.

While the pasta is boiling, drizzle a large pan with the olive oil, heated over a medium flame until shimmering, add the garlic, and gently sauté it until golden and fragrant.

Toss in the kale and the sun-dried tomatoes, cooking until the kale is tender and the sun-dried tomatoes are soft and bright.

When the pasta is done, drain it, reserving a few tablespoons of the cooking water.

In a large bowl, combine the pasta with the kale and the remaining ingredients. If you want to moisten it a bit, you can use the reserved cooking water. Serve with a lovely mixed green salad.

Yes, garlic tastes good. And as you’ve probably heard, it’s also good for you. Whole books have been written about the health benefits of garlic. But can it really make a difference to your health? If so, just how much of it do you really need to eat? And are garlic supplements as effective as fresh garlic?

The research on garlic

Scientists have spent a lot of energy answering these questions. They haven’t discovered any magical powers in garlic, but their research does suggest that compounds in garlic truly contribute to good overall health. Garlic has antibacterial, anticancer, and anti-clotting effects. That’s a lot of benefits from one little vegetable!

• Garlic may your lower blood pressure, at least slightly, and particularly if you have high blood pressure. It relaxes the blood vessels and increases blood flow by boosting our supply of hydrogen sulfide. Hydrogen sulfide is a gas that that the body produces naturally, but in dwindling amounts as we age.
• The hydrogen sulfide in garlic may also protect the heart from tissue and cell damage. This is the kind of damage that is seen, for example, in heart attack patients or in diabetes patients with cardiomyopathy, a condition that inflames and weakens the muscle tissue of the heart.
• Garlic may slightly lower your cholesterol. In doing so, it may also slow the development of atherosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries that can lead to heart disease or stroke.
• It’s possible that garlic may lower your risk of some cancers, although more research needs to be done before we know for sure. A compound of garlic called allicin produces an acid that helps stop free radicals from damaging cells. This antioxidant effect is more powerful than similar effects found in onions, leeks, and shallots.
• Garlic might reduce the frequency and number of colds when taken for prevention. However, research is still in its early days. The reason for possible reduction in colds is unclear. It may be that allicin blocks enzymes that are active in bacterial and viral infections. Or, it may be that people who eat lots of garlic avoid catching other people’s germs because no one gets too close to them!
• A gel containing ajoene, a chemical found in garlic, can clear up fungal infections of the skin such as athlete’s foot. But watch out! Burns and skin damage are possible if garlic is directly applied to the skin.

Scientists agree that garlic is a healthy ingredient and should be a part of every diet. Still, it’s important to note that many claims about garlic’s benefits are based on test tube studies or animal studies. There’s still very little research in humans showing significant effects.

How to reap garlic’s benefits

If you want to increase the amount of garlic that you eat, you’ll find that it’s easy to incorporate more into your diet. I like to sauté a little in olive oil when I make scrambled eggs for breakfast. Every year during basil season, I make many jars of garlic pesto. I’m also a big fan of pita sandwiches filled with garlicky hummus or tzatziki and vegetables. (In case you’ve never had it, tzatziki is a delicious creamy dressing made of yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, and herbs.) And of course for dinner, garlic goes into almost everything I cook!

To really benefit from the protective effects of garlic, some research indicates that we should eat at least two medium-sized garlic cloves every day. In general, though, the more garlic you eat, the more protective it is. Scientists have made some suggestions for getting the most out of whatever amount you eat:

• Eat it fresh. Fresh garlic has significantly higher levels of allicin than jarred.
• Store it at room temperature.
• After you crush a garlic clove, allow it to sit for about 10 minutes. This triggers an enzyme reaction that boosts the healthy compounds in garlic.
• Eat it raw – for example, in salad dressing or hummus — whenever possible, if you can tolerate the very strong taste! Cooking garlic reduces the protective activity of allicin.

Garlic appears to be safe for almost everyone. However, if you dislike garlic or have trouble digesting it, you may consider taking garlic-powder supplements. But it’s important to know that the beneficial compounds in garlic may be less potent once processed into a pill. It’s also unclear if certain garlic supplements are better than others.

Also, if you’re increasing your intake of fresh garlic or garlic supplements, it’s important to keep a few things in mind.

• Large doses of garlic may interfere with some medications and reduce their effectiveness. Garlic seems to affect enzymes in the liver that help remove certain drugs from the body. The result could be diminished levels of some drugs in the body. This effect could be particularly important in people undergoing chemotherapy. If you’re thinking about taking garlic supplements, talk to your doctor first.
• Large amounts of garlic can thin the blood, so it can slow blood clotting. Taking garlic along with medications that also slow clotting (for example: ibuprofen, clopidogrel, or warfarin) increases the chances of bruising and bleeding. If you’re about to have surgery, ask your doctor whether you should temporarily avoid extra garlic.
• Garlic may irritate your stomach. If you have heartburn, acid reflux (GERD), or an ulcer, it could make these conditions worse.
• And about your breath and body odor: The body releases some of the compounds in garlic in the breath and sweat because it can’t break them down during digestion. So garlic’s distinct odor can linger long after you’ve eaten it. Routine brushing and flossing can eliminate some of these odors. It’s also possible that drinking milk (both fat-free and whole) can block the stinky effects of garlic.
• It’s possible to sweat out the smell of garlic through your skin, too. An extra shower might be needed hours after a garlic-loaded meal.

New ways to enjoy garlic

I think it’s important to point out that there’s a lot more to garlic than what you find in most grocery stores. Diana Dyer — a member of the Breastcancer.org Professional Advisory Board — is an expert on growing and cooking with garlic. Diana is a dietitian, cancer survivor, and organic farmer.

Every fall, Diana plants more than 50 different varieties of garlic on her Michigan farm. The varieties differ in size, color, shape, and taste.

At summer harvest, she reaps more than 17,000 bulbs of garlic. She sells these at local farmers’ markets, where she also spreads the word about two things that are entirely new to me: green garlic and garlic scapes.

• Green garlic results from digging up garlic cloves in the spring, before the clove turns into a bulb. The most mild-flavored form of garlic, green garlic is eaten like green onions – both the white clove and green shoots. Diana suggests using it raw to preserve its flavor, such as tossing it into salads, adding it at the last moment to stir-fry or hot pasta, or topping a pizza after it’s cooked.
• Garlic scapes are the green stem or flower-stalk that grow from some varieties. Although often discarded, they are increasingly available at farmers’ markets and some Asian markets. The scapes taste garlicky but with a fresh “green” taste and less bite than garlic cloves. You can use them anywhere you’d use garlic cloves. They work particularly well stirred into dips and sauces.

Diana is passionate about how nutrition can be used as one strategy for reducing risk of developing cancer or its recurrence. And she’s particularly interested in garlic’s potential cancer-fighting role. Her website provides lots more information about both. In particular, her website has many delicious, healthy recipes that have inspired me to try garlic in new ways. To help inspire you, I am including a particularly creative one here. Try it and let me know what you think!

Garlic Elixir
Modified from a recipe in Tomatoes, Garlic, Basil, by Doug Oster.
From Diana: Use this on anything and nearly everything, such as bread, baked potatoes, pizza base, gyros, bruschetta, soups, egg salad, or even straight (here is where the “wowza” comes in!!!). Be creative!

1 cup garlic cloves, peeled, trimmed of ends and any imperfections
¼ cup parsley
½ to 1 teaspoon salt
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Pepper to taste
½ to 1 cup olive oil

Process garlic and parsley in a food processor until finely chopped. Then add in the remaining ingredients and process until smooth.
Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator in a glass jar, covered with about ¼-inch olive oil, for up to 1 month.

If you are interested in growing your own garlic, Diana says, “For growing in pots, we recommend deep deep pots, not shallow ones, because garlic roots will easily go down 8-12 inches when planted in the ground, and they do not like being crowded.” For more tips, including how to grow garlic in your backyard, visit the Dyer Family Organic Farm.

I kept thinking there had to be an easier way. Why hadn’t someone developed a website that would compile all this information for me? I knew I wasn’t the only one trying to shop this way.

Thankfully, there are now two websites — GoodGuide.com and EWG.org — that rate products. Neither one of them rates every single product available, but they give me helpful information on products I want to buy as well as where I can get them. Both sites also have smart phone apps, so I can check them while I’m shopping.

EWG.org is the website of the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit founded in 1993 by Ken Cook and Richard Wiles to protect people from health problems linked to toxic contaminants.

You’re probably familiar with the EWG’s Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen lists of conventionally grown produce (not organic). The Clean 15 are the 15 types of fruits and veggies that are lowest in pesticide residues. The Dirty Dozen are the 12 fruits and veggies that have the most pesticide residues. The EWG recommends that people buy organic versions of produce on the Dirty Dozen list to minimize pesticide exposure.

The EWG also created the Skin Deep cosmetics database, which allows you to search more than 74,000 products, including shampoo, nail polish, fragrance, soap, and acne treatments. The EWG gives each product a hazard score, from zero to 10 (zero is the lowest). If you find that your favorite toothpaste has a high hazard rating, you can quickly find an alternative with a lower score.

The EWG also has developed a sunscreen safety guide, a national drinking water database, a U.S. farm subsidy database, a meat eater’s guide to climate change, a guide to healthy cleaning products, and tips on avoiding cell phone radiation. In addition, the EWG maintains a chemical index that’s searchable by the chemical’s name, health effects, and routes of exposure. So if you wanted to see all the chemicals in food that you could possibly be exposed to, you can do that.

Plus there’s more: The EWG guides and indexes are developed by teams of scientists, engineers, policy experts, lawyers, and computer programmers using government data, legal documents, research studies, and lab tests done by EWG scientists.

The EWG aims to give consumers information while also advocating for government policies that protect health and shift subsidies through the EWG Action Fund, which was created in 2002.

GoodGuide.com was founded in 2007 by Dara O’Rourke, professor of environmental and labor policy at the University of California, Berkeley. GoodGuide offers information on the health, environmental, and social performance of products and the companies who make them.

Because GoodGuide is relatively new, I called O’Rourke and talked to him about GoodGuide’s goals and how the site rates products. He told me that GoodGuide wants to cover products that make up the top 80% of sales in the United States. “The goal is to give people more information on the products they’re buying,” O’Rourke said. “We started with the grocery store and expanded out to pet food, apparel, appliances, and electronics, based on feedback from our users. People also can set up filters to sort products by what’s most important to them, like the company’s environmental policies or ingredients that raise health concerns.”

Like the EWG, GoodGuide employs scientific and technology experts that review data from more than 1,000 different sources, including government agencies, manufacturers, product labels, and non-government agencies. GoodGuide offers three scores ranging from zero (the worst) to 10 (the best) for each product. (Please note: This rating system is the opposite of EWG’s. With GoodGuide, the higher the number, the better it is. With EWG, the higher the number, the worse it is.) GoodGuide takes into account:

• health: takes into account potential health effects associated with using or eating a product

• environment: takes into account the potential environmental impact associate with the making, sale, use, and disposal of the product

• society: takes into account the social impact associated with the making and sale of a product

I was initially a little concerned because GoodGuide allows companies to advertise on their products’ rating pages. But O’Rourke was quick to assure me that this advertising in no way influences the ratings. The ratings are done completely separately from the advertising.

“The ads are a test,” he explained. “We’ve only done them for a handful of companies and our users have reacted positively. The ads aren’t designed to sell the products. They’re to provide more information about the company so consumers can make better decisions. We’re trying to figure what’s most helpful for our users.”

O’Rourke told me that GoodGuide has about 600,000 visitors per month and that the mobile app has been downloaded more than 1 million times.

So how do I use these sites? When I’m buying food, especially produce, I consult the EWG’s Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen lists. I also consult the Skin Deep database before I buy personal care products. If two products I’m considering have similar EWG ratings, I hop over to GoodGuide and check out the products’ social and environmental ratings. I look at GoodGuide ratings for packaged foods, as well as clothes and electronics. The GoodGuide mobile app is especially nice for a quick check when I’m trying to decide between two items of clothing. With a few clicks, I can see which company’s social rating is higher and make my choice accordingly.

What about you? Are there other rating sites that you use when deciding what to buy?

Crock-pot, slow cooker, genie chef hiding in your pantry: whatever you call that pot, the magic part is that you just need to do a little prep the night before, or in the morning before you go to work. That evening when you come home and open the door, it will be to a house that smells warm and inviting, as if someone has been cooking all day long just for you.

YOU NEED:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 red onion, cut into wedges
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon very finely minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons curry powder, hot or mild
1⁄2 cinnamon stick
3 whole cardamom pods or 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
1 14-ounce can good-quality crushed tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound small red potatoes, unpeeled, cut bite-size
1 whole organic chicken, 4–5 pounds, cut into 8 pieces, skin removed (you can get the butcher to do this for you)
1 cup Greek yogurt, whole or 2 percent
1 cup fresh or defrosted frozen peas

TO MAKE 6 SERVINGS:

Heat up a large nonstick pan and drizzle in the oil. When it shimmers, add the onion and sauté until soft and golden. Add the garlic and spices, stir for 30 seconds, until fragrant, then stir in the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (You can do this the night before: Chill the sauce, add the potatoes and chicken, and store in the fridge until you are ready to cook.)

Pull your slow cooker out from wherever it lives. Rinse it out. Put the potatoes on the bottom, then top with the chicken and the tomato sauce you just made. Set the cooker to low for 6 to 8 hours. Half an hour before serving, fold in the yogurt and peas, and taste for seasonings . . . Does it need a little more salt? A pinch of curry?

Serve with basmati rice, naan bread, and a side of chutney.

When catching up, I always like to bring a small gift to share. But it can be hard to know just what to bring — and I don’t like to spend time wandering aisles for that perfect something. So a few years back, I decided to make a homemade gift: my favorite chutney. Everyone enjoyed it so much that I now make it every year.

I can make a batch in less than an hour, and then store it in pretty glass jars in the refrigerator. When I need a gift, I pull one out, tie on a ribbon, and it’s ready for on-the-go giving.

It feels good sharing a little something from my home with others. I also like that it’s full of healthy fruits and vegetables. The cranberries, raisins, pears, and onions all have a good dose of fiber, plus they’re full of antioxidants. (Antioxidants help strengthen the immune system and may reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, and other conditions.) Ginger can help ease indigestion and nausea. Cinnamon, cloves, and allspice may help reduce inflammation in the body.

Yes, of course — there’s some sugar too — but it’s the holidays, after all!

Dr. Weiss’s Holiday Chutney (Cranberry-Pear-Raisin Chutney)

1 lb cranberries (fresh or frozen)

3 ripe pears (preferably Bosc), peeled and diced

1 large sweet or red onion, chopped fine

½ cup raisins

1 cup water

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ground cloves

2 tsp fresh, finely chopped ginger (or 1½ tsp powdered ginger)

¼ tsp allspice

Place all ingredients into a stock pot with a thick bottom so it doesn’t burn. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium for 20 minutes, and then reduce heat to low for 20 more minutes, stirring regularly.

Let cool and then store in jars. Chutney will last for 2 weeks in the refrigerator, or it can be frozen. Makes enough for about 8 jelly-sized jars.

This chutney is wonderful served as a topping for soft cheese on a slice of fresh bread. It’s also a perfect condiment for turkey, chicken, fish, or veggie burgers. It also goes well with plain yogurt (I prefer Stonyfield Greek-style 0% fat).

I hope you’ll enjoy this chutney as much as I do. Do you have a favorite homemade treat you like to give during the holidays, too? I’d love to hear about it!

Make Your Own Cleaning Products

It’s fairly common knowledge that I have a line of nontoxic household cleaners (called Begley’s Best, in case you haven’t heard). I’m here today, like any good pitchman, to charm, beg, coerce, and implore you to give nontoxic cleaning a chance. If you do, I promise that you’ll have a clean house, help protect your personal environment, and save some money.

Here’s the kicker: I’m not here to pitch a single one of my products. Instead, I want to encourage you to make your own.

And if you do, you’ll really save some dough and lower your carbon footprint by saving a trip to the store. Why? Because you probably already have all the basic ingredients needed to make your very own line in the comfort of your home, including the empty spray bottles or jars to hold the concoctions (please wash them out first).

Here are the simple recipes. Give them a try – you won’t be disappointed.

GLASS AND SURFACE CLEANER

2 cups white distilled vinegar

2 cups water

Swirl together in a spray bottle, then apply as you would any glass cleaner. Wipe with a clean, soft cloth.

HOUSEHOLD CLEANSER

2 cups baking soda

1 cup liquid castile soap (available at drugstores)

4 teaspoons vegetable glycerin (available in health food and drugstores)

Mix in a bowl and keep in a jar. Apply with a damp cellulose sponge or clean lint-free rag. Wipe with a damp sponge.

DRAIN OPENER

1 cup baking soda

1 cup vinegar

Pour the baking soda down the drain and follow with the vinegar. Cover the drain and let it sit for at least 30 minutes. Flush with a kettle of boiling water.