We looked at a couple of spinach alternatives last week, but with the new warnings against lettuce, we're starting to reevaluate some of our salad options. After all, it is always good to have a backup plan, even though no one has become sick as a result of contaminated lettuce at this time. NPR has several suggestions for alternatives to typical salad greens. Their picks include arugula, baby bok choi, swiss chard, collard greens, watercress, cabbage and brussel sprout petals. Chef Patrick O'Connell came up with recipes for all of these alternatives, too.

The only potential drawback of this list is that most of the salads/sides are actually hot dishes, and not what you would necessarily expect to stand in for a pre-dinner salad. Fortunately, with fall and winter on the way, a warm salad can be very satisfying and this is a good opportunity to try a few new greens in a new way, such as Braised Baby Bok Choy or Brussel Sprout Petals with Coriander Vinaigrette.

[Thanks, Jose!]

An article from Newsweek discusses the possibilty that soy and rice milks can actually harm kids, especially toddlers. There have been reports of vitamin and protein deficiencies - rickets and kwashiorkor , respectively - in very young children who were given rice or soy milk as a substitute for regular milk or baby formula. One would think that calcium deficiencies could be a problem, as well, but it was not reported in the article.

The problem is not the products themselves, but that parents don't necessarily know what they are giving to their children. Rice and soy milks can be very healthy, low in fat and cholesterol, and are great choices in adult diets. Some people believe that this directly translates for their children, failing to take into consideration that adults and children often have different nutritional needs. In reality, these products are not milk substitutes, but milk alternatives. Adults have much more varied diets than children and can get any nutrients that they may be missing from other sources, so when parents see these alternative "milks" as direct substitutes for dairy milks, their kids can miss out, even if adults don't. If proper nutrition is provided to the kids, any problems that could be associated with a lack of dairy can be avoided entirely and non-dairy milks can be a great addition to kids' diets.

Like so many other people, I've been using my nonstick frying pans for many years now, in addition to my other pots and pans. With cancer concerns relating to the toxic perfluorochemicals coming to light, it's time for some new cookware. After all, the EPA is only "phasing out" these chemicals to avoid shutting down very large portions of very large companies. PFOA has been shown to cause cancer and, like mercury and lead, build up in the body over time, so there is no reason to continue our exposure to it.