9/6/13

More than 36 million tons of food waste reaches U.S. landfills every year where airtight conditions prevent perfectly biodegradable material from becoming beneficial mulch. To prevent such waste, compost organic matter at home whenever possible. One more thing you can do: Eat the peels from foods. Instead of buying slivered almonds, buy whole ones with the skin still on; it's loaded with essential flavonoids that have cholesterol-lowering benefits. Don't peel apples; instead, wash the whole apple and eat the skin -- studies have shown the peel can help reduce bad cholesterol, too. And the other waste? Try juicing it to get all the benefits, and then sprinkle the unused pulp on the yard for instant nutrition for your lawn.

9/5/13

While it may seem like common knowledge to wash your hands after you've touched grimy surfaces, many of us don't realize we need to wash our hands after we've done laundry. Dirty clothes, especially undergarments, can harbor illness-causing germs and bacteria. When you're sorting laundry, you risk contaminating your hands, which is problematic especially if you multitask laundry with preparing lunch or dinner. Make a habit to wash your hands after sorting the laundry to keep your food and family healthy.

9/4/13

Back to school season means new lunch boxes for the kids. When looking for a new lunch box, think fabric bag. A fabric lunch sack replaces throwaway brown paper bags, is more durable and can insulate food to keep it fresher longer. Plus, it's machine washable. Since mold, mildew and other germs can grow in a reusable lunch bag, be sure to wash it at least once a week to keep those germs away and keep the bag fresh. If you insist on using a hard plastic lunch box, use a chemical-free sanitizer like CleanWell, which will kill 99.9 percent of germs but is free of harmful triclosan found in most sanitizers today.