(OK first off I have to admit I stole this photo from the internet because I don’t have enough salad left to photograph…) But this is what it looks like – so bright and colorful. This salad recipe was given to me by the mom of a friend of mine in my “bridal shower cookbook”. All the guests brought a recipe written on an index card – and it is still one of my biggest go-to cookbooks. Great recipes! And this is one that I make all summer long because it is so yummy and always a hit at cookouts and parties. And big bonus? It’s actually very healthy! But best of all – it’s super easy!

Black Bean + Corn Salad

In a big bowl, mix:

• 2 cans organic black beans
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained – OR 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed OR 1  1/2 cups fresh corn, cooked and cut from cob
• 2/3 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• OTHER suggested additions: chopped avocado, chopped mango

Dressing (mix together in a separate bowl):

• 2 T chopped flat leaf parsley
• 2 T chopped cilantro
• 2 T chopped scallions
• 1 T ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 T olive oil
• 10 T fresh lime juice (about 5 limes)
• Salt & black pepper

Pour dressing over beans and vegetables, then mix until well combined. Chill in fridge to let flavors marry. Serve cold or room temperature. Keeps in the fridge for 4 or 5 days. Also excellent as a salsa with chips, or over chicken or fish.

This week EWG came out with their annual list of the “Dirty Dozen” – the twelve fruits and vegetables with the highest levels of pesticides.  And guess what – 2 of the top 3 are fruits that are typically big hits with children – Apples (#1) and Strawberries (#3).  Ugh. In our house, those are two of the most consumed fruits. I pretty much buy only organic apples, and we still wash them with fruit wash. But organic strawberries are harder to find. Right now they are at Trader Joe’s and are reasonably priced, but that only lasts for a couple of months. Frustrating…

It all does make you think. We are exposed to pesticides in many ways – not just from the food we eat but also in our homes and offices. The greatest exposure in general actually comes from household pesticide use (those sprays that keep ants and bugs out of your house). So if you are worried about what you are eating, definitely think about what you are spraying too. There are many non-toxic bug control sprays available – we have one that we have been using that has kept the tiny ants away (those little guys make me nuts!) It may take a couple of additional days to get rid of the bugs, but just think about how much healthier it is for you and your family.

Anyway, if you are looking for fruits and veggies that are LOW in pesticides, check out EWG’s list of the “Clean 15″. This will help you balance your selections. According to EWG: “Picking five servings of fruits and vegetables from the 12 most-contaminated products would result in consuming an average of 14 different pesticides a day. Choosing five servings from the 15 least contaminated fruits and vegetables would result in consuming fewer than two pesticides per day.” It’s also important to remember to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables so you get the vitamins and minerals you need.

Both of these are available in PDF form so you can bring it with you when you shop.

What do YOU do to try to reduce your exposure to pesticides? Or do you think this is all blowing things out of proportion? We’d love to hear from you – join in the conversation on the Garden Girl Facebook page.

I remember wanting to eat Wheaties when I was little. With a slogan like “Breakfast of Champions” who DIDN’T want to eat Wheaties? Of course, I actually didn’t really like them at the time. That was the problem. They were too healthy-tasting. Fast forward 35 years or so and here I am subjecting my family to “champion-like” breakfast choices – most of which my husband grumbles about, saying they taste like cardboard. Because the thing is, I have a little bit of an obsession with buying only cereal with a certain level of fiber in it, preferably with a little protein – and with only a little sugar. Plus, I buy cereal almost exclusively at Trader Joe’s – so we don’t even get the “real” Cheerios, we get Joe’s Os. It’s just that I have a hard time having the boys eat a breakfast that is empty of the simple things that give them sustained energy and balanced nutrition.

But the thing is, my kids have grown up with these types of cereal so they are actually ok with it. Clearly they would prefer yummier choices (who wouldn’t?) And it’s not to say that they aren’t THRILLED on Christmas when they each open their annul gift of a full box of chemical-laden, sugar-rush-provoking, full-on sweetened cereals like Lucky Charms and Corn Pops! Hey – everything in moderation or as a treat, right? But generally, they don’t complain about the choices.

As a matter of fact, this year my oldest son has mastered the art of organic rolled oats in the microwave. He makes a big batch and we all have it every morning (plus they ALSO eat cold cereal – which to me sounds like a lot of food, but they love it). I had forgotten what a great way it is to start the day with oatmeal- and they love the sprinkling of brown sugar and cranberries.  Between that and the smoothies (still nuts over my Vitamix – holy cow, is that a fun machine!), it’s a great way to get the boys started on their busy days.

Anyway, all that said, I am always interested in suggestions for healthy breakfast suggestions. That’s why the Cooking Light list of good breakfast cereals caught my eye - Choose the Best Healthy Cereal.

Not only does the article make some great suggestions for healthy but great-tasting cereals, but it also has some great guidelines for making good cereal choices including looking for ones with “a serving of whole grains (16g) or at least have a whole grain as the first ingredient, be relatively low in sugar (10g or less), be a good source of fiber (3g per serving), and be free of artificial colors and dyes.”

The list has “winners” for categories like Best Cereal for Kids and Best Cereal for Fiber. So check it out – it’s always nice to shake things up a bit, so maybe you’ll find something new to try – maybe even something that doesn’t taste like cardboard?

The Daily Green online magazine has released some useful guidelines for seeking safe lipsticks.  Basically, what it comes down to is to avoid the following:

• Parabens
• Phthalates
• Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives
• Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA)
• Oxybenzone
• Fragrance
• Lead

In many ways, it’s great to have a nice list to use when looking for a safe product. However, the tricky thing is that you often don’t know if some of these ingredients are in the products as many companies don’t label all ingredients in their products.

The article does go on to list a few suggestions of safe lipsticks. Interestingly they are all pretty steeply priced. The good news? Garden Girl offers lipstick sheers that meet the above requirements AND are only $5.50 each! Check them out at www.GardenGirlSkinCare.com.

And keep an eye out for more colors coming soon!

I have been singing the praises of one of my favorite “finds” for a few years now, and a friend recently noted that I’d never blogged about it. Duh! I don’t know why this product slipped my mind. It’s such a great thing to have around the house and has a zillion uses. So here it is: True Lemon crystals! Sounds strange – I know. But I swear, once you check this out, you’ll love to have it around. (And let me just disclose that I buy this product, it’s not something that was sent to me specifically for reviewing).

True Lemon is crystalized 100% natural lemon that comes in little packets. The reason I discovered it in the first place was that I was looking for something to stop cut up apples from turning brown when I sent them to school with the boys. They love those presliced apples that you can buy at the store – but that whole concept bugs me, paying a ton more for fruit that is not as fresh and is something that I could do just as easily at home. So I was looking for some kind of vitamin C that I could use on the fruit (which stops the oxidation process). Scouring the shelves at my supermarket, I came across TrueLemon. They boys loved it on their apples, and then I started realizing the other uses for the product.

First off, it is, as I said, totally natural.  According to the website, True Lemon’s ingredients are the same as found in a lemon: Citric Acid, Lemon Juice, Lemon Oil and Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C). It also has a bit of organic evaporated cane juice (but that doesn’t add any calories). Great start, right? I am a big water and seltzer drinker (I have blogged about the SodaStream machine before – another one of my favorite finds!) and I love the concept of fruit water but a) the stuff you buy has artificial sweetener in it which just seems unnecessary and b) keeping cut up lemons and limes around gets to be a pain. So now I have these packet that don’t spoil like fresh fruit but add just the same flavor. So cool! It makes drinking water much more enjoyable

But the uses go on from there – the site lists 20 uses, but I am sure you could come up with more. Some of them include sprinkling it on fish and vegetables as well as adding it to tea. And what is even more interesting, is that the website has an article about a study done by Purdue University that shows that adding lemon to green tea quintuples the amount of antioxidants available for your body to absorb. So tea that actually tastes better is really better for you, too!

Another article on the site refers to a study (also done by Purdue University) that has connected artificial sweeteners with weight gain. According to the article, “when we consume products with a sweet taste and few calories, the result is a metabolism that stores, rather than burns calories, and that wants even more of them.” So put away the Crystal Light and the diet sodas, and instead get some plain water or seltzer and toss in some True Lemon.  Not a big fan of lemon? Or you want more variety? They also sell True Orange and True Lime, as well as Lemonade and Raspberry Lemonade (the boys are HUGE fans) that have stevia as the sweetener.

If you can’t find it in your supermarket (check the area where drink mixes are, as well as the baking area) – you can easily order the products online at www.TrueLemon.com.

A recent OpEd piece in the Washington Post brought up the question again about whether food dyes could be contributing to hyperactivity. The author noted that the FDA is scheduled to meet this week to discuss the topic – in a Bloomberg article on the same subject, they note the specific dyes that are of highest concern, based on a petition submitted in 2008 by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. As quoted from the Bloomberg article:

“The petition covers Blue Nos. 1 and 2, Green No. 3, Orange B, Red Nos. 3 and 40, and Yellow Nos. 5 and 6. FDA approval of these chemicals dates to the 1960s and is subject to batch certification. The dyes are used to make a variety of candy, beverages, baked goods and sausage.” (ok sausage? really?)

There have been numerous studies (all controversial) that have linked food dyes to hyperactivity. With two young boys (…), I will be definitely interested in seeing where this goes.  Food in our house is generally clear of dyes – I try to avoid things that are not natural-ish or at least that have too many unnecessary ingredients (like dyes).  I’m not saying we’re crazy vigilant about it – they do get the occasional treat that might have that stuff in it, but generally it is avoided. But it comes down to the fact that, to me, it just seems like another chemical that doesn’t need to be in our food.

But clearly this is a controversial subject. I also found this Food Fear Mongering the the WaPost in response to the Op Ed piece. The author clearly believes that there is too much hype and not enough proof regarding this topic. She believes that sugar is a bigger dietary culprit. She goes on to “fact check” the Washington Post piece. However, some of her fact checking lacks facts, unfortunately:

• She said she found no evidence that the FDA is meeting on the subject (they are, see link above)
• Her rubuttal to the quote from the Washington Post stating “Today’s supermarket is a fun house of hues. Its aisles feature riotously colored processed foods perfectly engineered to appeal to the part of your brain that says ‘yum’.”  is that those foods have no nutritional value and are loaded with sugar. All very true, however that’s not the point. The sugar impacts the taste – one of the senses that impacts the “yum” part of the brain we while eating. But the color impacts the visual – another one of the senses that impacts how appealing food is.

Anyway – I think this will be interesting to watch. Clearly lobbyists on both sides will be fighting hard. In Europe they have required warning labels on foods using some of those dyes. It has actually forced companies like Kellogg’s to change to natural dyes to avoid having to put those labels on their products in Europe. The way I see it, if it’s one fewer unnecessary chemical used in food, regardless of whether costly studies and wasted time have proven any links to anything detrimental, that’s a good thing. So let’s hope we at least get the warning labels.

CNN recently reported on a government study to understand our brain’s exposure to radiation when we use a cell phone. The research stated that after 50 minutes on a cell phone, our brain cells start to increase glucose metabolism.  According to the article, when glucose metabolism goes up, it activates cells in the brain – brain cells use glucose to create energy.

While it is not clear what impact the increased activity will have long-term, it does show that the exposure to electromagnetic radiation from cell phones is definitely reaching our brain cells. The key now is to figure out what this is doing to use over time – and how it could be impacting children who use cell phones, as their skulls are thinner and more easily penetrated.

There is talk about requiring cell phone companies to indicate and display the radiation levels emitted for each phone that they cell. Given these results, that sounds like a pretty good idea. Meantime – check out these tips for reducing your exposure to the cell phone radiation.

I remember very clearly when I was in grad school and we lived in apartments in Phoenix, each Wednesday a guy practically in a hazmat suit would come by and spray our apartment to keep the insects at bay. Having had MANY MANY nights when we had crickets in our A/C system (I can’t even begin to describe how completely annoying that is), and also more than a couple of unnerving experiences with some grotesque and completely fear-inspiring ginormous spiders (kinds that we east-coasters don’t usually see), at the time I was very appreciative of that man. But to be honest,I didn’t put much thought to the potential harm my husband and I were exposing ourselves to. I was just happy to be free of crickets, freakish spiders and (thankfully we never got these) scorpions. Note: Clearly if it was Jiminy Cricket living with us, it would have been a totally different story…

But now, I realize that we were lucky we only were exposed to that for a shortish amount of time. And I’m very glad we weren’t living there when we started our family. More and more information is cropping up about the concerns about pesticides – and this week USA Today had a story about how some pesticides have been linked to developmental issues. Should we be surprised by that? Not especially, considering the fact that pesticides work by basically damaging the brains of the insects. So if it works on them, wouldn’t you expect it to have some impact on humans?

And here’s the kicker, this study is based on the pesticide Permethrin, which, the article states, is “among the most commonly detected pesticides in homes”. Well guess what? This Permethrin is the REPLACEMENT for “older organophosphorous pesticides” which were “phased out because of concerns that they harm brain development.” Oh boy. Out of the frying pan into the fire.

This study was conducted in New York City where followed pregnant women, who are exposed to the pesticide as a result of spraying for cockroaches, who had agreed to wear a monitor. They monitored the health of the women and their children (both in utero and after birth) for a few years.

What they found was  that “children exposed to the highest pesticide levels before birth were three times as likely to have a mental delay compared to children with lower levels.” I guess it’s not surprising, and I feel for people who need to find a solution for their insect problem (believe me, I totally get that) – but I hope for everyone’s sake that a safe solution is found. Because the only alternative to living with bugs shouldn’t be poisoning our babies.

I was reading another article online about staying healthy and keeping weight under control, and I came across this article in the Boston Globe. It’s a great compilation of advice from different health specialists – psychologists, weight control specialists, nutritionists and physical therapists. What I really like is that the advice is very practical. Because let’s face it, we have enough going on in our lives, we don’t need complex rules to live in a healthy way. We just need some easy tweaks that will keep us in check – and that’s exactly what the article offers.

Their top 3 tips are:

1. Don’t Diet! “Dr. David Ludwig, who directs the Optimal Weight for Living Program at Children’s Hospital Boston, says diets backfire when people put a lot of energy into unsustainable ways of eating — cutting way back on a whole food group, for example. It’s better to follow the advice even the 5-year-olds in his clinic can grasp: Eat real foods, not fake foods.”
2. Be Aware of Stress and How You React To It “Many people eat when they are stressed, and the foods they choose for comfort may be high in fat and sugar. That could undermine their best intentions to maintain a healthy weight.” The article suggests finding alternatives to eating to help handle stress -like exercising or talking with a friend.
3. Pick a Goal and Try to Get Closer to it. I like this one – basically they are saying, don’t stress yourself out by setting a crazy goal and getting upset when you don’t reach it. Instead, “Boston Medical Center cardiologist Dr. Gary Balady says take aim at one of the American Heart Association’s targets: weight, diet, smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, or physical activity. Make it your resolution to improve, even if you don’t reach your goal.” Aim to make small advances – cut down on smoking, cut down on a few calories, etc.

So if you’re seeking ideas to keep things healthy and in control this year, check out the article for the remaining 8 tips, plus other insights.

Looking for some fun and innovative healthy resolutions? The Washington Post asked some food/health-based experts what their resolutions are and compiled them in Resolutions for 2011: Eat and drink more healthfully.

So here’s to a happy, healthy year!

I guess I had kind of considered parabens a “girl thing”. Not in a good way – but I had really viewed their danger as more of a threat to women (with regards to breast cancer) than to men. But sadly, it appears that men are at risk as well – but for different reasons. A recent study published by the Environmental Health Perspectives revealed that there is a likely link between one particular type of paraben – Butyl Paraben (or BP – not to be confused with bisphenol A/BPA which is a different chemical) – and damaged DNA in human sperm.

Butyl Paraben is a preservative found in many creams, lotions, gels, cosmetics, deodorants and even some food. If you aren’t already in the habit of reading labels for everything you buy, now is a good time to start. Look for parabens on the label – typically at the end of the ingredients list. Many products even have many of the paraben types: ethyl-, butyl-, methyl- and propylparaben.

This study examined the relationship between paraben levels in men and sperm health, something that had not been done previously. The findings were quite disturbing. They found that the higher the levels of BP in men’s urine, the more more sperm damage they had.  When combined with higher Bisphenol A levels, the sperm damage was even worse. And when there is DNA damage to the sperm, the chances of infertility issues increases.

Of course, this was a relatively small study and it was preliminary so there are many out there that will disregard it or poke holes into it. But there is clearly something here that is concerning. Not good. For anyone.