Topic: hints and tips

Buy The Right Fish: Avoiding Mercury

Buy The Right Fish: Avoiding Mercury

Fish is one of the healthiest foods you can eat—if you’re eating the right kind. So far, we’ve explored the wild caught vs. farm-raised debate, and ways to tell if your fish was harvested sustainably. Now let’s tackle the mercury question, shall we? There’s been so much hype surrounding fish and mercury that I think a lot of us aren’t sure whether our seafood dinner is tantamount to sucking down an old thermometer, but the good news is that mercury in fish might pose less of a problem than you believe. Some of the fish we eat most often, like shrimp, salmon and tilapia, show consistently low levels of mercury contamination. As long as you avoid (or don’t eat too much of) certain types of fish—most of which are fish we consume less of in America anyway—you should be just fine on the mercury front. More »

Green Thumb Guide: How To Grow Radishes At Home

Green Thumb Guide: How To Grow Radishes At Home

Late summer is one of the best times to plant radishes, especially certain varieties. Whether you sow seeds directly in an outdoor garden or plant indoors in containers, radishes are easy-to-grow, and many types will be ready to eat about a month after planting (if you’ve haven’t noticed, I’m a bit impatient, so I favor growing things—like arugula and mint, too—with not-so-delayed rewards). More »

Well-Equipped: A Good Food Processor Isn’t As Expensive As You Think

Well-Equipped: A Good Food Processor Isn't As Expensive As You Think

The food processor is one of the most useful kitchen tools. I only began using one two years ago, before which I a) thought they were overwhelmingly expensive, and b) had no real idea what to do with one. Now I use it for everything from chopping vegetables to mixing drinks to making hummus, tapenade, nut spreads and pesto. And the one I currently own was only $40. It’s small—a bit smaller than I would like; but it also works fine for only two people. More »

DIY Citrus Seedling Pots

DIY Citrus Seedling Pots

Unless you plan to start a ton of seeds at once, there’s no need to spend money on those big, plastic seed-starting trays (which are wasteful and make it difficult to retrieve seedlings without disturbing the roots) or spring for the fancy bio-degradable peat-moss pots. Just recycle your old oranges, grapefruit, lemons and limes. More »

Get To Know Your Bike: Basic Bike Maintenance Every Woman Should Know

Get To Know Your Bike: Basic Bike Maintenance Every Woman Should Know

I’ll admit it: I’m guilty of BWUI—biking while (woefully) uninformed. I have no idea what most of the parts on my bike do. I’d have no idea how to fix something if it broke. I am pretty much your cliche of a girl bicycler: I want a pretty vintage bike (preferably with a pretty little basket), and if one screw came loose on this pretty little bike, I’d be screwed. More »

Staying Hydrated While Flying

Staying Hydrated While Flying

Dehydration is a common problem for passengers when flying, due to the lack of humidity in the air within the plane. Besides the uncomfortable thirsty feeling dehydration brings, it can increase your feelings of travel fatigue and your risk of catching a cold.

1Above is a new product billing itself as “the world’s first aerotonic flight beverage.” In non-marketing speak, that means “drink to keep you hydrated while flying” (seriously, aerotonic is not even a real word, guys). The New Zealand-based company claims 1Above will deliver “electrolyte-enhanced hypotonic hydration, GRAPELO (a unique blend of circulation-supporting polyphenol extracts like those found in red wine), and essential daily nutrients.” More »