Author: Lori Alper

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Nosh

5 Ways To Improve Your Smoothie You Haven't Thought Of

Adding a smoothie to your daily menu can be a great way to kick-start your morning. A delicious blend of vegetables and fruits provides a healthy, refreshing snack perfect for any time of the day. Fruit and vegetables are the main additions to most smoothies, but it’s simple to add a few powerful favorites to help make the most delicious—and nutritious—smoothies.
Here are five simple power additions that are perfect for any smoothie.

Kombucha

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Kombucha is a fermented probiotic drink. It’s generally a fermented tea (green or black), sugar, and fruit juice with added cultures of bacteria and yeast. It can easily be used in any smoothie as a base and will provide a wide array of health benefits, one of the greatest of which is its ability to detox the body. It’s also been known to improve digestion, help with weight loss, increase energy, reduce joint pain, and prevent cancer.

Kefir

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Kefir is a creamy fermented product that is traditionally made using cow’s or goat’s milk. The health benefits are endless, including antibiotic and antifungal properties. Kefir has been used to treat allergies, cancer, digestive issues, heart disease, osteoporosis, and more.

Flax

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Flax seeds pack a big nutritional punch. They have a crunchy and chewy texture with a slight nutty flavor. Stirring one tablespoon into your favorite smoothie will add essential vitamins and minerals. Flax seeds are a good source of protein (1–2 grams of protein per tablespoon) and are chock full of omega-3 fatty acids (which are a key force against inflammation in our bodies), antioxidants, minerals, and essential vitamins. They are also low in carbohydrates and high in fiber. If you don’t like the texture of full flax seeds, you can grind them before adding to your smoothie.

Pomegranate Juice

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Pomegranate juice is a powerful drink filled with amazing nutritional benefits. Pomegranate juice has been found to have three times the antioxidant activity of red wine and green tea. Adding it to your smoothie could help reduce stress and protect against heart disease and cancer. Try to use organic pomegranate juice when you can.

Matcha

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Matcha tea is the dried leaves of green tea ground into a powder. Add the powder directly to your smoothie to give it a nutritional boost.
The list of health benefits is long, including providing many minerals and vitamins. It can also protect against many kinds of cancer and help prevent cardiovascular disease.
There are so many simple ingredients to add to any smoothie to give it a more powerful and nutritious punch. Adding any one or all of these supplements can help you make the most delicious and nutritious smoothies year round.

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Lifestyle

How To Steer Clear Of Ticks Naturally

With the warmer months upon us, the tick population is out in full force. Although ticks are around throughout the year, they tend to be more active in the warmer weather. Ticks can be active on winter days when the ground temperatures are about 45 degrees Fahrenheit.
Ticks are commonly thought of as insects but are actually arachnids, like scorpions, spiders, and mites.
Many believe that ticks fly or jump onto their victims from a tree branch. The reality is that ticks cannot fly or jump, they crawl. They wait patiently for someone to brush by tall grass or a shrub and then transfer onto their host. When you find a tick higher up on your body it generally means they climbed all the way up.
There are many types of ticks out there, but the deer tick is of concern since Lyme disease is caused by bacteria transmitted by the deer tick.
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There are several ways to protect yourself from tick bites without the use of harmful insecticides.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
“Blacklegged ticks (the ticks that cause Lyme disease) live in moist and humid environments, particularly in or near wooded or grassy areas. You may come into contact with ticks during outdoor activities around your home or when walking through leaf litter or near shrubs.”
A simple way to avoid ticks is to walk in the center of trails and avoid walking through tall bushes or other grassy areas.
Sticking to sunny spots will dramatically reduce the risk of tick bites. Tick nymphs can’t survive in the sunshine since they need environments with at least 80 percent humidity to survive. They tend to hang out in leaf piles and other shady, humid environments.
If the weather isn’t too warm, take the time to cover up. Wear clothing that covers up most of your skin to prevent ticks from latching on.
Check your clothing for ticks after spending time outside. Ticks can easily end up on your clothing, especially shoes and socks. Once they make their way onto the lower portion of your body they then start making their way up your body to a warmer spot.
Taking a shower after being outside is a great way to prevent tick bites. Showering within two hours of coming indoors has been shown to reduce the risk of getting Lyme disease. This is also a perfect time to do a full-body tick check.
Performing a full tick check after being near tick-infested areas is critical when trying to prevent tick bites. Check the entire body fully, including hair, ears, belly button, underarms, and behind the knees. Ticks like finding these warm spots for their next meal.
Also, take the time to check your shoes and other equipment for ticks along for the ride. If they’re brought inside, ticks can later attach to people or pets.
Throw your clothing in the dryer with high heat to kill any ticks that manage to make their way indoors.
If you do find a tick, don’t panic! Here’s info on tick removal.

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Nosh

Safe And Healthy Grilling All Season Long

This time of year there’s nothing like a backyard cookout with all the traditional fare, including hot dogs, hamburgers, and corn on the cob. As much as we all love grilling, research has shown that cancer-causing compounds can form when meats, poultry, and fish are cooked at high heat. Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are chemicals formed when muscle meat—including beef, pork, fish, or poultry—is cooked using high-temperature methods such as grilling directly over an open flame. HCAs and PAHs have been found to cause changes in DNA that may increase the risk of cancer. Also, anytime we grill there’s a risk of fire.
There are a few general guidelines to keep you and your family safe while grilling. To prevent fire make sure your grill is outside and away from any eaves, deck railings, and overhanging branches. Take the time to occasionally clean your grill and remove grease or fat buildup from the grills and in trays below the grill. Never leave your grill on and unattended.
To keep your meat safe on the grill follow these important suggestions:

Use a grill thermometer.

Keep the food on the grill until it’s thoroughly cooked, but not any longer. Use a grill thermometer to help determine when the food is done. Steaks, chops, and fish should reach 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Beef burgers and pork should be cooked to 160 and chicken and turkey to 165 degrees.
Use low temperatures and indirect heat when you grill. Indirect heat is created by turning on the back burners and turning the front burner—where the meat is cooking—down or off. This will allow the meat to cook without direct flames.

Flip your food.

While cooking the food make an effort to flip your food frequently to prevent it from burning.
Try to avoid smoke and flame flare-ups from grease. Keep a water bottle handy in the event of a fire. The smoke and flames contain cancer-causing substances that coat the meat.

Marinate your food.

Marinating your meats before grilling can reduce your risk of cancer. Studies have shown that marinating your meat before grilling it can decrease HCA formation by up to 96 percent.

Switch to grilling veggies and fruits.

Try grilling other foods, such as fruits and vegetables. Grilling vegetables and fruits rather than meat produces no HCAs and ends up decreasing your risk of cancer.

Try lean meat.

If you simply can’t ditch the meat, try to buy lean meat or remove the fat before grilling. When there’s little to no fat there’s less likelihood that the meat will catch on fire. Using indirect heat is another way to prevent direct flames on the meat.

Grill smaller pieces of meat.

Try grilling kebabs rather than large pieces of meat. Using smaller pieces of meat will allow the meat to cook faster. Less time on the grill means less time to form cancer-causing compounds.
Remember to limit the amount of red meat you’re consuming. The evidence is overwhelming that diets high in red meat (including processed meats such as hot dogs) can contribute to an increased risk of colorectal cancer.
When thinking about grill safety it’s important to keep the grill in a safe location to reduce the chance of fire, and it’s equally important to give thought to what type of food you’re grilling and the way it’s prepared on the grill.

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Lifestyle

How To Properly Care For Your Recyclables

Did you know that the United States is one of world’s largest producers of trash? Trash is generated at an alarming rate of 1,609 pounds of trash per person per year. Over the past 30+ years the national recycling rate has headed in the right direction, with a reported rate of about 34.5 percent of households, but there’s still room for improvement.

There are so many reasons to recycle. Recycling allows us to reuse materials, which in turn conserves natural resources. It also saves water and energy, improves air and water quality, lowers pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and preserves landfill space. 

City and town recycling programs each have their own set of rules for preparing your recyclables before placing them in the recycle bin. Following your city or town’s guidelines is imperative, because facilities’ equipment and capacity vary widely from location to location.

Here are a few general guidelines to follow for recycling.

Glass

Glass bottles filled with liquid need to be emptied and preferably dried before being placed in your bin. It’s important in most communities to clean out containers and jars that contained food and grease. A simple trick to help with the cleanout process is to fill a jar with a small amount of water, place the lid back on and give it a few shakes. Once you dump the water out, the jar will be reasonably clean. This works especially well with jars used for pasta sauce.

There’s no need to remove labels on glass containers since the recycling process will take care of this.

Cardboard

To recycle cardboard it’s important to remove all other materials from inside the box, such as plastic wrap, polystyrene peanuts, and other packing materials. All cardboard boxes should be broken down before being placed in the recycle bin. Cardboard should be dry and free of food scraps.

Paper

There is a long list of paper products that can be recycled, including: magazines and catalogs, telephone books, direct mail, brochures, pamphlets, and booklets. Also recyclable are cereal, cake mix, and cracker boxes. Be sure to remove the liner and all food from boxes. Flatten the box before placing it in your recycle bin. Tissues and waxed and carbon paper are not recyclable.

Plastic

Check the bottom of the plastic container for the recycle triangle symbol to make sure the container is recyclable. Rinse plastic containers with water and crush, if possible, before adding to your recycle bin.

Not all locations require the rinsing of containers, but a problem can arise in areas that do require rinsing when the rinsing doesn’t happen. When recyclables are dirty their market value substantially decreases. This creates a vicious cycle because it reduces the amount of money the recycling service provider is able to earn, thereby decreasing the amount of money they are able to reinvest and improve their existing services.

It’s important when recycling to check the regulations at your local waste management facility before placing items in the recycle bin.

As the national recycling rate continues to rise, it’s crucial that we take the time to recycle properly to ensure that items don’t unnecessarily end up in the landfill.

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Lifestyle

How To Dispose Of Your Expired Medications Safely

The typical American medicine cabinet is full of expired and unused drugs that often sit untouched for years. When there’s a need for additional space in the medicine cabinet only a fraction of these medications will get disposed of properly. In 2015, approximately 4 billion prescriptions were filled at pharmacies throughout the United States. It’s estimated that of those 4 billion prescriptions, as many as one-third are never used.

Fortunately there are a few safe alternatives for disposal so that we don’t have to let expired or unused prescriptions accumulate dust in the medicine cabinet.

Expired and unused medications generally should not be flushed down the toilet, poured down the drain, or thrown out in the trash. Studies have shown that over-the-counter and prescription drugs can make their way into our nation’s waterways if we don’t dispose of them properly. Once in the waterway they can contribute to water pollution and cause adverse effects on aquatic life. When drugs are discarded into the trash there’s a possibility that they’ll be found and misused or pollute the soil in a landfill.

The good news is that there are plenty of community-based drug “take-back” programs to help minimize the amount of flushing and tossing of medications. These take-back programs allow people to drop off their unused medications at convenient locations. The reason that take-back programs are so successful is they are convenient and they keep unused drugs out of our waterways and prevent drugs from being misused by someone who finds them in the trash.

At least once each year there are National Prescription Drug Take-Back Days. According to the U.S. Department of Justice: “The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.”

This year a take-back day is scheduled for April 30, 2016, from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. On April 1, 2016, the Department of Justice will provide information on collection sites near you.

Another option for locating a disposal program in your area is finding a local pharmacy on Dispose My Meds by typing in your zip code. The map will reflect any local pharmacies near you that accept unused medications.

If a pharmacy isn’t an option, contact your local law enforcement agency to find out if medication disposal is available at the precinct or another local agency. It’s also worth checking in with the prescribing physician about a take-back program.

As a last resort, if no disposal instructions are given on the prescription drug label and no take-back program is available in your area, throw the drugs in the garbage following this protocol suggested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration:

  • Mix medicines (do not crush tablets or capsules) with an unpalatable substance such as dirt, kitty litter, or used coffee grounds.
  • Place the mixture in a container such as a sealed plastic bag.
  • Throw the container in your household trash.
  • Scratch out all personal information on the prescription label of your empty pill bottle or empty medicine packaging to make it unreadable, then dispose of the container.

There are a number of options for proper disposal of unused and expired medications. Spending the time to find a take-back location in your area will help prevent water pollution and the possibility of drug misuse.

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Nosh

Cracking The Egg Carton Code: Date Codes Explained

Ever wondered if supermarket eggs were so old they’d become a breeding ground for salmonella? After all, you can’t tell an egg’s age by looking at it. And the numbers printed on the carton seem to require a Cold War code-breaker. But that’s where you’ll find the answers; fortunately, you don’t need a mathematics degree to understand them.
Eggs coming from plants producing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-graded eggs must display the date they were packed, a three digit code called the Julian date. The Julian date indicates how long ago the eggs were packaged. Reading the three-digit code is a bit tricky with January 1 reflected as 001 and December 31 as 365. This is the most useful date on the carton of eggs.
The FDA gives farmers 30 days to place an egg in a carton and then another 30 days to sell that egg after it’s been placed in a carton. That means it’s possible to purchase eggs at the supermarket that are 60 days old!
Many cartons of eggs have a “sell-by” or “use-by” date. It’s important to understand that these dates are not required by the federal government. The guidelines for dates on a carton of eggs vary from state to state. And some states have no guidelines at all.
The use of code dates on USDA-graded eggs is optional; however, if they are used, certain rules must be followed.
– A “Sell-By” date tells the store how long to display the product for sale. Expiration dates can be no more than 30 days from the day the eggs were packed in the carton.
– A “Best if Used By (or Before)” date is recommended for best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date. This may not exceed 45 days past the pack date.
– A “Use-By” date is the last date recommended for the use of the product. This may not exceed 45 days past the pack date.
– “EXP” Expiration dates can be no more than 30 days from the day the eggs were packed into the carton.
You can store fresh shell eggs in their cartons in the refrigerator for 3-5 weeks beyond the date you purchase them. The “sell-by” date will usually expire during that time, but according to the USDA the eggs are perfectly safe to use.
Before buying your next carton of eggs look at the dates stamped on the carton and try to gain an understanding of how long those eggs have been sitting in their carton. It’s entirely possible that the eggs you’re reaching for at the supermarket aren’t fresh. That doesn’t mean you can’t eat them. Provided they’ve been refrigerated within the time frames mentioned above they are safe to eat.
Are you ready for fresh eggs? Try purchasing eggs through a CSA or maybe it’s time to invest in backyard chickens!
Did you know: Hens with white feathers and earlobes lay white-shelled eggs, and hens with red feathers and earlobes lay brown eggs. And there’s no nutritional difference between the eggs.

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Lifestyle

Simple Tips To Make Your Home Energy Efficient

Winter has finally kicked in on the East Coast. With cold temps and some areas getting several feet of snow and more promising to come, it’s important to make sure that our homes are as energy efficient as possible. There are many ways for families to make cost-effective energy upgrades at home. Changes both large and small will ultimately help protect the environment and, in turn, will save you some money. Many of these changes are simple one-time investments, while others are actions you can do every day.

Get an Energy Audit

Bring in a professional to evaluate your home and make energy recommendations. An energy audit inspection will help you determine how you use energy in your home and where you can make improvements. Energy audits are generally free of charge or can be done for a nominal fee.

Windows and Doors

Make sure windows and doors are properly sealed to keep the warm air in and the cold air out. Plug up any leaks that could allow the cold air to get into your home and cause your heating bill to go up.

Make the Switch to LED Bulbs

As your incandescent bulbs burn out, consider replacing them with LED bulbs. Making the switch to LED bulbs could potentially cut general lighting energy use nearly in half by 2030, saving energy dollars and reducing carbon emissions. Quality LEDs have a long lifespan. They have an average life of 30,000 to 50,000 hours or even longer. A typical incandescent lamp lasts about 1,000 hours, and a CFL lasts 8,000 to 10,000 hours.

Install a Programmable Thermostat

A programmable thermostat is a simple way to save some money and improve the energy efficiency in your home. Once installed, you have the ability to program your heat and/or air conditioning to preset temperatures throughout the day.

Add Ceiling Fans

By simply adding ceiling fans to a few rooms throughout your home you can save dramatically and improve the energy efficiency in your home. During the summer months, a ceiling fan creates a cool breeze, which in turn reduces the need for air conditioning. In the winter a ceiling fan (rotating in the opposite direction) circulates the rising warm air, helping to keep the room comfortable.

Our homes are a major source of energy use, which contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Taking the time to improve the energy efficiency of our homes will enable each of us to save some money and help to reduce our carbon footprint.

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Nosh

How To Add Vitamin D To Your Diet Naturally

If you live in a region of the world where the sun doesn’t always shine, odds are that you’re not getting enough vitamin D. Even if the sun is shining where you live, you need to spend at least 15 minutes in the sun each day to get enough of this critical nutrient. African-Americans, others with dark skin, the elderly, and obese are also more prone to having a vitamin D deficiency.
It is estimated that 30-100 percent of Americans, depending on age and community living environments, are deficient in vitamin D. And more than half of all American children are vitamin D deficient.

How Much Vitamin D Do I Need?

According to the National Institutes of Health, the amount of vitamin D needed on a daily basis depends on age, and ranges anywhere from 400 IU to 800 IU. You can check out the chart they provide in more detail here.
Vitamin D is essential for bone health, cold prevention, fighting depression, and more. A vitamin D deficiency could increase the risk of osteoporosis, heart disease, some cancers, multiple sclerosis, and even the flu.
Brief exposure to the sun might be the easiest way to add a little vitamin D into your life, but this isn’t always realistic during the winter months.
Fortunately, there are a few other ways to add this critical nutrient to your diet. There aren’t a whole lot of food sources that contain vitamin D, but this short list will help keep you healthy when the sun isn’t shining.

Fatty Fish

Although fatty fish doesn’t sound very appetizing, it can be a great source of vitamin D. Look for salmon, herring, and sardines. Sockeye salmon is a good vitamin D source. Three ounces will provide your recommended daily intake.

Mushrooms

Not all mushrooms provide vitamin D, so look for certain types of mushrooms that are grown in ultraviolet light. Shiitake and Portobello mushrooms are varieties with high levels of vitamin D.

Eggs

Eat an egg and you’ll consume 41 IUs of vitamin D, which is 5-8 percent of the recommended daily amount, depending on your intake needs. It’s important to eat the entire egg, since vitamin D in an egg comes from its yolk. Use organic eggs when you can.

Cod Liver Oil

This option might not be the most appetizing, but it’s a surefire way to increase your vitamin D intake. One tablespoon of cod liver oil provides 1,300 IUs of vitamin C, which is about twice the recommended daily allowance.

Fortified Foods

It’s time to start reading those labels! Many foods are enriched with vitamin D, which means it’s been added. Look for orange juice, rice milk, yogurt, and cereals that have added vitamin D.

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Lifestyle

Eco-Friendly Tips For Removing Snow And Ice This Winter

It’s hard to imagine that snow and ice are coming soon to many parts of the country when temperatures in the Northeast have been approaching 60 degrees in December. There’s no escaping the winter months, which are just around the corner, along with frigid temperatures and slippery conditions.

As snow and ice start to accumulate it’s important to find a way to keep slippery conditions under control.

This time of year conventional snow and ice removal products line the aisles of local hardware stores. Unfortunately, many of those products contain harsh chemicals, including sodium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, and calcium salts. We end up tracking these chemicals into our home on the bottom of our shoes and boots. This puts our pets at risk, because ingesting large amounts of sodium chloride (a common ingredient in ice melting products) can be lethal to dogs. As the snow and ice begin to melt, the chemicals make their way into our waterways, placing plants and wildlife at risk.

Here are a few eco-friendly tips to remove snow and ice this winter.

Find a quality shovel, and shovel often.

Use those muscles and an ice-breaker to break up the ice. Try to remove as much ice and snow as you can without the use of an ice melting product. Find a quality shovel that will help keep you from injuring your back. Start shoveling early before the snow turns to ice.

Use sand sparingly for traction.

Use sand if traction is all that is needed. Sand isn’t recommended unless necessary, since it can clog sewers and lower air quality in areas that use a lot of it. It can also ruin hardwood floors if tracked inside.

Find an eco-friendly ice melt product.

Read the labels before purchasing an ice melt product at the store. Find a product that contains ingredients that are safe for you, your family, and your pets. Over the years, more and more non-toxic ice melting products have made their way onto shelves in the stores.

Don’t use salt.

There’s no question that salt will melt the ice, but it can cause more harm than good. Salt can leach heavy metals, which can end up in our water supply. Salt can also hurt our pets if it gets lodged in their paws or ingested. It can damage our cars and kill our grass and plants. As the ice and snow start to melt, the salt ends up making its way into our waterways and can wreak havoc.

If ice buildup is getting to you this winter, take the time to find a safer alternative. There are plenty out there, it just takes a bit of effort to find a product that meets your needs.

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Lifestyle

Dishwasher vs. Hand Washing: Which is a Better Option?

More than 60% of American homes have a dishwasher. Items such as dishwashers have become standard amenities in homes built in the 2000’s compared to only 46% of homes having a dishwasher in the 1960’s.

The debate over whether hand washing dishes is more energy and cost efficient than using a dishwasher has been ongoing for years. The conversation changes drastically when talking about dishwashers made after 1994. The reason being, a dishwasher made before 1994 wastes more than 10 gallons of water per cycle. A new, efficient dishwasher will save about 1,600 gallons of water over its lifetime. On average, newer dishwashers account for about 1.4% of our indoor water usage, which is a relatively small percentage.

According to a German study, A European Comparison of Cleaning Dishes by Hand, it took about 27 gallons of water to clean 12 place settings of dishes. A new EnergyStar Certified dishwasher will use less than 5.5 gallons of water per load.

If a dishwasher is your dishwashing method of choice it’s time to stop rinsing your dishes before putting them into the dishwasher. Rinsing dishes prior to loading is counterproductive and ends up using much more water than needed. Newer dishwashers get the dishes just as clean, if not cleaner, than washing the dishes by hand and use significantly less water. It’s time for the rinsing to stop, but the scraping must continue. The old food does need to be scraped off, but this can be done without the water running.

Today’s dishwashers use less than half as much energy and water as those made before 1994.

New dishwashers also come equipped with a yellow EnergyGuide label produced by the U.S. Department of Energy. The label estimates the amount of energy in kilowatt-hours (kWh) that each model consumes, provides an estimate of its yearly operating cost and compares it with the energy use of similar models. This is a great tool for consumers in the market for a new dishwasher.

Investing in an energy efficient dishwasher, as well as other efficient appliances, is a simple way to do your part to combat climate change. Through human activity we are continually releasing greenhouse gasses into the environment. By improving energy efficiency through the use of a newer, efficient dishwasher, we are helping to reduce air pollution and its impact on climate change.

There’s one big caveat to loading everything in the dishwasher. Never put anything plastic in the dishwasher. Repeated wear and tear on plastic, including running plastic through the dishwasher, could cause BPA, Phthalates and other chemicals to leach out of the plastic when heated.

Hormone-disrupting chemicals leach from almost all plastics, even BPA-free plastics. Heating the plastic (stressing it) may cause more leaching of the chemicals.

Take the time to wash all plastic including lids, dishes and cups by hand. Everything else can and should go into the dishwasher. In the long run, you’ll save water, time and money.