Recipes

Don't deprive yourself of foods that you crave because you will only want them more. Instead, share a dessert with someone else, or eat only a few bites.

Before adding dried herbs to recipes, rub them between your palms to enhance their flavor.

Roasted garlic makes an excellent spread and adds flavor to salads, soups or sauces. Slice off the top of an un-peeled garlic head and bake at 350-F/180C for 20 minutes (until soft).

Watch out for excessive use of oils, even healthy ones. Saulty with water, or use an oil spray bottle, to reduce calories (organic varieties of oil are available).

Switch from using table salt to using authentic sea salt since it has more nutrients then regular table salt.

When possible, substitute store bought salad dressings (which may contain sugar or preservatives) with a homemade variety. Here is my favorite: cup cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil; cup balsamic vinegar; cup red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar; dried basil, dried rosemary, dried oregano; seasoning salt; one clove of garlic and a dash of pepper. Mix it all together and enjoy!

Next time you are baking your favorite homemade cookies, try lining the baking sheet with parchment paper instead of aluminum foil. Aluminum foil may be absorbed into your food when heated. Although the link between aluminum and Alzheimer's disease remains unclear, we suggest using the less controversial alternative until the results are in.

Store leftovers in glass containers instead of plastic. Some plastics may leach bisphenol A (BPA) into food and liquids at high temperatures. Frederick vom Saal, Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Missouri, reported in a 1998 interview that the amount of BPA a person is exposed to throughout your life can have a direct impact on breast cancer. There are over one hundred published studies confirming his findings. However, The American Plastics Council disagrees. Consequently, I recommend living on the side of caution. Choose plastics that are not known to leach such as: 5PP, 4HDPE and 2HDPE - look for these symbols on the bottom of the containers. Even better, store left over food in glass containers.

Use wood or stainless steel serving utensils instead of plastic (for the same reasons as above).

Consider replacing your Teflon pots and pans with stainless steel, cast-iron, glass or ceramic cookware. Teflon contains a chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, that releases toxic fumes when heated to high temperatures. Because PFOA is constantly present in the bloodstream of the general U.S. population, and the environment, the EPA has launched an investigation into whether or not it is carcinogenic in humans.