Keeping your cool, part deux

Three tips on how to save on your electric bill stolen from SmartMoney.TV:

• Raise your themostat by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit before you leave the house and you can save almost 10 percent.
• Install a ceiling fan. It redistributes air and makes the room feel about 2 degrees Fahrenheit cooler. Adjust the AC accordingly. If you don't want to pay for a ceiling fan (the green tightwad doesn't), buy regular fans. (A small one costs less than $10.) They help.
  
• Desktop PCs, video game systems can add another 5 percent to your annual bill. Plug the into one power strip and unplug before you leave home.

Keeping your cool without blasting the AC

Summertime, and the livin' ain't gonna be easy ...

Dominion Electric in my home state of Virginia just gained approval to raise its rates 18%. Gasoline was more about $4.13 a gallon the last time I filled up. And, did I mention, we haven't eaten yet?

Here are some tips from the from the Alliance for Climate Protection, a non-profit group that wants to stop global warming (with a nod to Marshall Loeb of MarketWatch, who wrote about it), and some that I have added:

• Don't turn on the AC. Close the shades or use an awning to keep the direct sun out. I would add: Use an electric fan. Take more than one daily shower, if necessary. The wife is an expert on taking 5-minute showers with the shower head set at low-flow.
  
  
• If you must use an air conditioner, choose one room for it. Make sure it's the room you spend the most time in.
  
  
• Plant trees in places where your house gets the most direct sunlight. This is for the future, but trees in the right place can save up to 25% of a typical household's energy used for cooling by providing shade.
  
  
• Check those bulbs. Compact florescent light bulbs (CFLs) are more efficient than incandescent bulbs. They are up to four times more efficient, and last about ten times longer. They also use more than 50% less energy than incandescent ones.
  
  
• Watch those vampire appliances (the ones that suck power when you aren't using them). Computers and other electronic gadgets are the biggest offenders. Unplug them when you are not using them.
  
  
• And turn off lights after you leave a room (your parents were right).

Going Green gets cheaper

In a twisted sort of way, this is good news. Thanks to soaring energy prices, many green products don't look as expensive as they once did, says a recent Wall Street Journal article. Producers of green products use less fossil fuel than regular commercial manufacturers. They also tend to favor renewable-energy and energy-saving practices. Hence the savings.

Eco-Products Inc., a Boulder, Colo., company that makes compostable dinnerware is one company the Journal cited. Their product is made out of a corn-based polymer. Their competitors use petroleum.

Locally grown organic food producers are also benefiting from the run up in oil prices because they don't use petroleum-based fertilizers and their transportation costs are often less.

The Green Tightwad decided to look at green cleaning products to see how prices compare to the regular detergents and cleansers. The regular cleansers were cheaper, but some of the environmentally-friendly ones were in the ball park in terms of cost.

Large companies (Clorox with its Green Works line and Palmolive with its Eco Dishwasher detergent) have jumped on the green bandwagon, and their prices are the cheapest. They are undercutting some of the totally green companies like Seventh Generation. I think large corporations will eventually dominate the green product market. Look what happens to the little health food store when Whole Foods moves into the neighborhood. The organic food business is also dominated by big agribusiness. If green goes mainstream, corporate American will go for the greenbacks.

Green tip of the week
Your dishwasher drying cycle is an unnecessary waste of electricity and money. When your dishwasher's wash cycle is complete crack open the dishwasher and let the dishes air dry.

Let's go Hypermiling!

If you're looking to save gas without trading in your car for a Prius, become a hypermiler! Hypermilers use a variety of driving and maintenance techniques to exceed the EPA's estimated fuel efficiency. Some of the advanced driving tips are the product of a deranged mind, but many of the basic tips are very good.

I now find myself looking further down the road than I ever have and coasting up to red lights, rather than racing up to them and hitting my breaks. I am also less inclined to pass a slower car. I now think of the more leisurely pace as an opportunity to save gas.

Read all about it here.

And the website of the week is the Green Guide by National Geographic. No tightwad tips here, but you can easily kill a couple of hours reading their green living tips and the latest environmental news.

A little bit goes a long way ...

There are well known Green Tightwad tips that everyone knows -- inflate your tires, don't speed, insulate your home, switching to fluorescent bulbs etc. In no particular order, here is a list of things that you may not automatically think about:

• The bottled water craze has got to stop. Americans spend nearly $11 billion a year on something they can get for free. And we waste 17 million barrels of oil a year to manufacture the plastic bottles! It's insane. Filter your water if you must and put it in an Evian or some other fancy plastic water bottle. No one even has to know you aren't drinking the real stuff. Elizabeth Royte has written a book about the subject Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It. If you want to read more about this marketing scam, ask your library to get the book.
  
  
• Get the catalogs out of your mail box. Go a website called Catalog Choice.
  This is a green tightwad favorite. You reduce garbage and decrease the chance of impulse spending. What could be better? Unfortunately, you have to plug in individual catalogs and can't opt out of all catalogs, but it's still a good idea.
  
  
• And think about canceling your magazine and newspaper subscriptions. You can get most of them online for free. If you are a coupon clipper, not to worry, you can get those on the Internet as well.
  
  
• Clean up the air you breath. Tropical household plants can act as natural air-purifiers. Acacia, bamboo, ferns, lady palms, spider plants and others can remove airborne toxin.
  
  
• Reuse those one-gallon freezer bags. Just turn them inside out and put them in the wash machine when you do your laundry or wash them in the kitchen sink if they have been lightly used. The best ones are Glad Freezer bags, according to America's Test Kitchen.
  
  
• Refill computer printer cartridges. There is a reason why printers are so cheap. They stick it to you when you buy a new cartridge. You can usually refill them two times. And don't forget to set your printer for "draft quality" and "B/W only" (or sometimes this is called "grayscale" or "greyscale") if you don't need to print in color. The "draft quality" setting is plenty dark.
  

Stuff breaks. When should you replace them?

Major elements of a home (including foundations, exterior doors, basements and framing) should last at least 50 years, according to the National Association of Home Builders,

Other parts of the home have a much shorter lifespan. Here is a list of common appliances and their approximate life span. Approximate is the key word here.

Major appliances

Appliance	Expected life in years
Microwave oven	10
Garbage disposal	10-12
Trash compactor	10
Water heater, gas	11-13
Water heater, electric	13-14
Water heater, tankless (on demand)	20+
Smoke detector	10
Refrigerator, side by side	14
Refrigerator, top mount	14
Refrigerator, bottom mount	17
Refrigerator, single door	19
Refrigerator, compact (dorm type)	5
Washing machine, top load	14
Washing machine, front load	11
Dryer	13
Range, electric	17
Range, gas	19
Dishwasher	10
Cooktops	13-20
Air Conditioner (room size)	10

Keep what you have in good shape:

• Clean the condenser coils on refrigerators annually.
• Change air-conditioner filters monthly during the operating season.
• Replace washer fill hoses every five years; turn off the water supply when away for an extended period. Drain hoses if below-freezing temperatures are expected.
• Inspect and clean the exhaust duct on the clothes dryer at least once a year, and clean the lint filter before each use.
• Don't allow heavy grease buildup on the oven interior.

Replace them with energy star appliances.

The appliance life expectancy chart above should help you decide when to replace your appliances. You may want to consider upgrading some of them earlier, especially power hogs like refrigerators. There have been great leaps in appliance efficiency during the last four or five years. As long as you buy an Energy Star appliance, you'll see a noticeable decrease in your electric or gas bill.

One electricity hog not mentioned in the appliance section is your television set.

The plasma TV is the SUV of the appliance world.

If you are planning on getting a large-screen TV, go with an LCD instead of a plasma. The LCD sets use 30 to 40 percent less energy.

$4 gas makes some hybrids a better deal

Hybrids are more expensive than comparable gas models, but at $4-plus a gallon some of them may pay off more quickly than you think. Here is a chart that appeared in the Wall Street Journal this week.

If you have to pay to store it ...

Maybe you don't need it.

Self-storage companies have exploded in recent years, along with credit card debt. I can't help but think these two are connected.

People are buying way more stuff than they need and are putting it in storage. One woman that was cited by Melissa Repko of the Buffalo News pays $900 a month to keep her possessions in storage.

According to the article, a 5" by 5" unit, about the size of a closet, would cost about $30 or $40 per month. (Or $360 to $480 a year.)

A storage unit big enough for a car would cost about $150 to $200 per month. That's $1,800 to $2,400 a year!

If you are renting one of these things, clear it out and turn in the key. De-clutter your life and save some money. You'll feel better.

If you don't know whether you have a clutter problem, take this quiz, available at Oprah.com.

Here are some de-cluttering tips by 0rganizational guru Peter Walsh, host of TLC's hit show Clean Sweep.

Green Planet, coming to a TV near you

Check it out!

Planet Green, the first and only 24-hour eco-lifestyle television network, invites you to enjoy the freshest, ecoist shows on TV. From gear to gourmet, renovation to innovation, find out what's cool, what's hot and what's next. For more ways to make your world more beautiful, watch Planet Green in the stunning clarity of HD. It's an eye opening experience.

Taco please, hold the antibiotics

Kudos to Steve Ells, founder and chief executive of Chipotle Mexican Grill, who aims to offer what he terms "food with integrity" to the mass market.

The Mexican fast food restaurant Chipotle is worth a visit if you haven't been there. Chipotle's has incorporated sustainable architecture in many of their restaurants.

These include time clock/photocell controls that regulate lighting levels throughout the day, taking ambient light into consideration. They use motion sensors in the rest rooms and walk-in cooler, and highly efficient sprayers are used at sinks, etc.

They also use responsible and sustainable farmed ingredients in the chain restaurants. The pork Chipotle sells comes from hogs raised naturally on family farms, without antibiotics or hormones.

The majority of their chicken are naturally raised. Almost 30% of their beans are organic. They haven't been able to switch to organic vegetables because of the expense (a frequent Green Tightwad complaint).

But note: This isn't diet food. Their burritos are enormous. One would be enough for two people.

Link

Where's the (organic) beef?

The Wall Street Journal recently tasted test grass-fed and organic beef that is available at some supermarkets. Here are the results (and prices). (Note: This is big. The capitalist's Bible has an article about organic grass-fed beef.)

We put them to a taste test. We lightly salted and peppered the hamburgers and steaks and put them on the grill, and cooked the filets mignons in an oven. Here's what we found:

La Cense Grass Fed Beef
	Where	www.lacensebeef.com
	Price	$26.97 for eight 6-ounce burgers/ $21.88 for one 5-ounce filet mignon
Comments
These cows graze on an 88,000-acre ranch in Montana and are 100% grass-fed. The burgers had a distinctive, sweet taste that one tester liked but the others found a turnoff. The New York strip steak and flank steak were tender and had a more subtle flavor.

Estancia Beef
	Where	www.estanciabeef.com; some retailers
	Price	$39 for 5 lbs. of ground beef/$120 for four 8-ounce tenderloin steaks
Comments:
The company says that this beef, from cattle raised on the grasslands of Uruguay, has about half the fat and cholesterol of standard beef. The ground beef was so soft the burgers easily fell apart -- but, once cooked, they were tasty. The filet mignon was tender.

Blackwing Organic Beef
	Where	www.blackwing.com; retail stores such as Woodman's Food Markets and Big Y
	Price	$4.90 for one pound of ground meat/$9.90 for one 6-ounce filet mignon online
Comments:
The organically raised beef is from Piedmontese cows, originally from Italy and raised in Canada. They are fed organic snow peas, alfalfa, flax and barley. We found that the burgers packed good, rich flavor but were a bit dry compared with the others. Our tasters applauded the buttery and flavorful filet mignon.

Dakota Beef
	Where	www.dakotaorganic.com; Costco and regional stores such as Food Emporium and Gelson's
	Price	$32 for four one-pound packages of ground beef/$50 for four 8-ounce filet mignon steaks
Comments:
The company-owned cattle are raised on organic grass and organic grains, including corn. A main goal of production is to reduce the cattle's stress and treat them humanely. A few testers were turned off by the filet's strong flavor. But it's juicy New York strip and rib eye steaks were real crowd pleasers, as were the succulent burgers.

(Adapted from the Wall Street Journal)

Fresh U.S. produce, by season (part deux)

I've put the fresh produce in table format in case you want to print it out.

All year round: Good old bananas.

Spring	Summer	Fall	Winter
(3/21 - 6/20)	(6/21 - 9/22)	(9/23 - 12/20)	(12/21 - 3/20)
- Apricots - Artichokes - Asparagus - Avocados - Cabbage - Carrots - Celeriac - Chives - Collards - Fava Beans - Fennel - Fiddleheads - Greens - Lettuce - Mango - Morels - Mustard Greens - New Potatoes - Onions - Peas - Pineapple - Rhubarb - Spinach - Spring Baby Lettuce - Strawberries - Sugar Snap and Snow Peas - Vidalia Onions - Watercress	- Beets - Bell Peppers - Black berries - Blue berries - Broccoli - Carrots - Cherries - Chinese Cabbage - Corn - Cucumber - Eggplant - Green Beans - Nectarines - Okra - Onions - Peas - Potatoes - Peaches - Plums - Radishes - Raspberries - Summer Squash - Tomatoes - Valencia Oranges - Watermelon - Zucchini	- Acorn Squash - Apples - Bell Pepper - Belgian Endives - Butternut Squash - Cabbage - Cauliflower - Celeriac - Corn - Cucumbers - Figs - Garlic - Ginger - Grapes - Greens - Mushrooms - Okra - Onions - Parsnips - Pears - Pomegranates - Pumpkins - Quinces - Sweet Potatoes - Spinach - Swiss Chard	- Apples - Beets - Broccoli - Brussels sprouts - Cabbage - Carrots - Cauliflower - Celery - Chestnuts - Grapefruit - Kale - Leeks - Lemons - Oranges and Tangerines - Potatoes - Radicchio - Radishes - Rutabaga - Spinach - Sweet Potatoes - Turnips - Winter squash

Go on a (car-free) diet!

If you live in an urban area with good access to public transportation, why not go car-free?

In an article called "Wheeling and Dealing by the Hour," Candice Jones of Kiplinger's Personal Finance reminds us of the money we can save by going car-free.

Car-sharing is a hot trend in a growing number of cities.

For an hourly rate plus an annual membership fee, you get access to a car to run errands, go on a date or take a quick trip to the 'burbs. Zipcar -- the largest car-sharing company -- emphasizes the environmental benefits, as well as the cost savings.

With Zipcar, you pay $9 or more an hour, depending on the car, plus an application fee of $25 and an annual membership fee of $50. In each of the 35 cities where Zipcar operates, its cars are parked in designated spots around town. Members, who must be at least 21, reserve a car online, use a card to unlock it and locate the keys inside. Gas and insurance are included.

The savings are real: Drive a Zipcar Honda Civic 10 hours a month for one year and the fees total $1,155, compared with $4,500 in annual ownership costs for a new Civic that you drive 5,000 miles a year.

A 24-hour reservation can cost less than $70, for up to 180 miles. Renting an economy car for one day typically costs about $80. And gas is extra.

In a website called Arlington's car-free diet, you can get your own personal calculator on how much you will save (and CO₂ emissions you'll reduce) by going car-free.

If you must buy gasoline ...

One of our goals in life is to attain a car-free lifestyle.

But for now, buying gas is one of life's necessary evils. Here's how to reduce the impact on your wallet.

In Kiplinger's Personal Finance on Sunday, June 1, 2008, we found out that the Pentagon Federal Credit Union Platinum Gas Cash Rewards Visa is one of the most generous credit cards for gas purchases. (Not a member of the military? No problem: Become a credit union member by joining the National Military Family Association for $20 at www.nmfa.org.) The card rewards users with 5 percent on gas purchases, 2 percent on groceries and 1.25 percent on everything else.

Let's start with food

You can make a positive environmental statement by using cloth or sturdy reusable plastic bags.

This is one of those ideas that, when you hear it, you smack your head and say "Why didn't I think of that." Worldwide, 42 billion non-reusable plastic bags are used each month. They take forever to break down, kill countless birds and fill up landfills.

Using reusable bags is not only a painless way to help the environment, they also work better. You don't have to worry about them tearing as you lug a gallon of milk into the kitchen. It's also an inexpensive way to feel virtuous and smug while standing on the supermarket checkout line. Hint: Don't leave them in the trunk of your car or you'll likely forget them.

Now let's talk about what goes into the bags.

First of all, cook! Make your own food. You know what's in it, and it's cheaper.

One of the best tightwad, environmental and healthy things you can do is cut back on meat, especially beef, and eat more plants. This eye-opening video by Mark Bittman at the TED conference explains it very well. If you go to the TED site, check out some of the other videos. They are very good.

The Mark Bittman talk is at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/263

If you're interested in learning more about what you've been putting into your body, Michael Pollen's latest book, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto is a real eye opener. It's incredibly well-researched and beautifully written. (Pollen teaches journalism at Berkeley.)

According to Pollen, any traditional diet is better than the current American diet. The old Eskimos' diet of whale blubber beats ours. Even the good food (spinach, broccoli, etc.) is not as nutritious as it once was.

Pollen's previous book ,The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, is also a wonderful book. It's a scathing critique of industrial farming and ranching techniques, and a powerful argument for buying locally grown foods. The Bittman video covers some of the same ground.

Pollen's web address is http://www.michaelpollan.com/

Pollen and others are fans of buying food directly from the producers at farmer's markets and by other means. Farmer's markets in many urban areas are very expensive. Unless you are very well off, you may want to think about what's worth buying and what's not.

If you are looking to limit your pesticides exposure without breaking the bank, take a look at the list below. The Environmental Working Group (http://www.foodnews.org/) has rated 45 fruits and vegetables for pesticides from worst to best. Some foods absorb more pesticides than others. If a food absorbs a lot of pesticides, buy organic. If it doesn't, buy the cheaper non-organic produce.

Along with watching out for food high on the pesticide list, you may want to buy non-organic thick-skinned produce that you peel (bananas and grapefruit for example) and organic thin skinned items (peaches, apples etc).

The Full List: 43 Fruits & Veggies

RANK	FRUITS OR VEGGIES	SCORE
1 (worst)	Peaches (most pesticide)	100
2	Apples	96
3	Sweet Bell Peppers	86
4	Celery	85
5	Nectarines	84
6	Strawberries	83
7	Cherries	75
8	Lettuce	69
9	Grapes - Imported	68
10	Pears	65
11	Spinach	60
12	Potatoes	58
13	Carrots	57
14	Green Beans	55
15	Hot Peppers	53
16	Cucumbers	52
17	Raspberries	47
18	Plums	46
19	Oranges	46
20	Grapes-Domestic	46
21	Cauliflower	39
22	Tangerine	38
23	Mushrooms	37
24	Cantaloupe	34
25	Lemon	31
26	Honeydew Melon	31
27	Grapefruit	31
28	Winter Squash	31
29	Tomatoes	30
30	Sweet Potatoes	30
31	Watermelon	25
32	Blueberries	24
33	Papaya	21
34	Eggplant	19
35	Broccoli	18
36	Cabbage	17
37	Bananas	16
38	Kiwi	14
39	Asparagus	11
40	Sweet Peas-Frozen	11
41	Mango	9
42	Pineapples	7
43	Sweet Corn-Frozen	2
44	Avocado	1
45 (best)	Onions (least pesticide)	1

Organic food is also very common in supermarkets. Much of it is trucked or flown in from large farms in California, so it may not taste as good as locally grown. But it's certainly better for the soil and your body than non-organic food.

Buy in season for the best deals and taste. Here is a list of common fruits and vegetables in season in the Northern Hemisphere.

Spring (March 21 to June 20)

• Apricots
• Artichokes
• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Celeriac
• Chives
• Collards
• Fava Beans
• Fennel
• Fiddleheads
• Greens
• Lettuce
• Mango
• Morels
• Mustard Greens
• New Potatoes
• Onions
• Peas
• Pineapple
• Rhubarb
• Spinach
• Spring Baby Lettuce
• Strawberries
• Sugar Snap and Snow Peas
• Vidalia Onions
• Watercress

Summer (June 21 to Sept. 22)

• Beets
• Bell Peppers
• Black berries
• Blue berries
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Cherries
• Chinese Cabbage
• Corn
• Cucumber
• Eggplant
• Green Beans
• Nectarines
• Okra
• Onions
• Peas
• Potatoes
• Peaches
• Plums
• Radishes
• Raspberries
• Summer Squash
• Tomatoes
• Valencia Oranges
• Watermelon
• Zucchini
  
  

Fall (Sept 23 to Dec 20)

• Acorn Squash
• Apples
• Bell Pepper
• Belgian Endives
• Butternut Squash
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Celeriac
• Corn
• Cucumbers
• Figs
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Grapes
• Greens
• Mushrooms
• Okra
• Onions
• Parsnips
• Pears
• Pomegranates
• Pumpkins
• Quinces
• Sweet Potatoes
• Spinach
• Swiss Chard
  
  

Winter (Dec 21 to March 20)

• Apples
• Beets
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Chestnuts
• Grapefruit
• Kale
• Leeks
• Lemons
• Oranges and Tangerines
• Potatoes
• Radicchio
• Radishes
• Rutabaga
• Spinach
• Sweet Potatoes
• Turnips
• Winter squash
  
  

Year round
Good old Bananas

Buying pesticide-free food in season and maybe at a farmer's market is more than half the battle. If you want to find out how many servings of fruit and vegetables you should be eating, type in your age, gender and level of physical activity at this website

http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/

A tightwad article about produce wouldn't be complete without a plug for frozen fruit and vegetables. They are cheaper than fresh, nutritionally equivalent, and a lot of them are pretty darn good. There is even a growing selection of organic frozen produce.

If you are having trouble getting the recommended amount of fresh fruit, or you are buying it and throwing it out, it's time to try something else.

One simple and quick way to get your daily fruit requirement is with a home-made smoothie made with frozen fruits. This is not a perfect solution. Smoothies do not satisfy your hunger as well as eating a piece of fruit. And you can pack on the pounds if you overdue them.

That said, if you throw four or five different frozen fruits into a blender with orange juice as a base and maybe a fresh banana you can end up with a nutritious drink. Go for different color fruits (blue, red, orange, etc.) for a better nutritional mix.

Try to avoid added sugar and honey. Additional orange juice can help sweeten it. And please keep in mind, as Aristotle said, "moderation in all things". A small smoothie fifteen minutes before you eat a meal might curb your appetite. A "super big gulp" smoothie will end up on your belly or derriere depending on your body type.

Meat

As Bittman explained in his video, beef is an ecological nightmare. Cutting back on red meat is good for the environment, your pocketbook and your overall health.

Organic beef is showing up in supermarkets and at some farmer's markets. It's expensive, and being a tightwad I can't bring myself to buy it regularly.

However, if you want to try it why not buy a piece and cut it in half? A proper serving of beef is suppose to be about the size of a deck of cards. When was the last time you ate a piece of beef that small? Eat it slowly and savor every bite. Then fill up on veggies.

From the sea

Fish is a wonderful source of protein that is loved worldwide. That has unfortunately led to overfishing, as well as pollution problems caused by intensive fish farming. Mercury in larger carnivorous fish is also a problem.

Ideally, you should buy fish that is not endangered, that's free of pollutants, low in mercury, caught in an environmentally sound manner and not too expensive. Those "ideal" requirements cut down on your choices but there is still a whole lot of good fish you can eat.

The Blue Ocean website has a very good guide.

http://www.blueocean.org/seafood/

The Monterrey Bay Aquarium website has another excellent guide. They also have printable cards you can take to the fish store.

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp

The FDA has a site that list mercury levels in fish. This is particularly important for pregnant women and young children.

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/sea-mehg.html

From a tightwad point of view, the news isn't all that bad. A lot of the more expensive fish are expensive because they are over-fished. Also, some fish that are high in mercury -- swordfish and shark for example -- are also expensive.

Also, keep in mind most of the fish you buy in fish stores and supermarkets has been frozen and defrosted in the store. Why not buy it frozen in the first place? Frozen fish can be very good. The trick is to defrost it slowly in the refrigerator to preserve the cell structure of the fish. Also, avoid breaded fish. It's nasty.

Other food resources:

Have you ever wondered what is the best tasting supermarket olive oil or vinegar, but you weren't about to buy six kinds and taste them. America's Test Kitchen has done it for you. They also have excellent equipment reviews and their recipes are pretty good. This link does require a subscription but I think it is worth it (at least for a year).

http://www.americastestkitchen.com/

This link from Women's Health Magazine list the "healthiest packaged food for women." I have some problems with the whole concept. If you want to save money and gain the maximum health benefits, you should be eating foods that hasn't been over-processed. However, I occasionally eat some of these items and it's probably impossible to entirely get away from processed foods.

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/files/best-supermarket-foods/inde