Every cook needs a solid cutting board for everyday chopping — but to have one that can double as a no-fuss family charcuterie dinner is a big win. In my kitchen, I value tools that are practical, functional and have dual purpose, but it makes me a little giddy when they are beautiful, too. The Fab Slabs Laurel Cutting Board is stunning and rightly deserves a position on your counter.

Manufactured in Australia, this large cutting board is naturally and permanently antibacterial and uniquely gorgeous. Each board is individually handcrafted from a slab of camphor laurel timber, a type of wood with oils that make it “naturally antibacterial.” In fact, according to Fab Slabs, the company makes the “world’s most hygienic cutting boards and grazing platters.” The largest cutting board is about 18 inches long, almost 12 inches wide and about 1 inch thick. Each with character and rustic charm, these cutting boards are kiln-dried, which “stabilizes the timber and prevents it from cracking, twisting, warping, cupping and going moldy.”

I used the Laurel Cutting Board to prep vegetables for snacking and roasting throughout the week, mince garlic to sauté for marinara sauce and shred carrots to make my Carrot Cake Snack Balls. To keep the board in place, prevent wobbling and ensure safety while chopping, place a plastic cutting board mat directly underneath the wooden cutting board to help the board grip the counter. If you don’t have a mat, wet a thin hand towel and wring out as much water as possible before laying the cutting board on top.

When chopping a juicy tomato or slicing a sizzling roast, you will notice there is no groove to catch run-off juices and liquids, so be careful moving the entire board to another surface for serving.

This cutting board also can serve as a grazing board, charcuterie tray or family snack board. It is the perfect size for layering a variety of fresh vegetables, dips, whole-grain crackers, cheese, pickled vegetables, fresh or dried fruit and pieces of dark chocolate.

Through my weeks of testing, I ran into a common problem among wooden cutting boards: taking on odors. In the past, I avoided cutting aromatics (onions, garlic, leeks) because they tend to leave behind an odor that can transfer onto food during your next use, even after thorough washing. After doing some research, I found a way to remove the odors: Combine 1 tablespoon baking soda with 1 teaspoon water and mix to form a paste. Rub the paste on the affected portion of the board and allow to sit for about 10 minutes. Then, using a cloth, wash the board and allow it to air dry.

While the Fab Slabs Laurel Cutting Board claims it can be used for all types of foods, including raw meats, I was hesitant to test this. I prefer to maintain a separate cutting board for raw meats in my kitchen. However, Fab Slabs claims to have “extensive tests completed by NATA approved laboratories,” indicating the antibacterial properties of the wood.

Wooden cutting boards should not be placed in the dishwasher, as the heat and water dry out the wood, causing it to warp and crack. Instead, wash the board in warm, soapy water and allow it to air dry. According to the Fab Slabs recommendation, you can disinfect the board after contact with raw meat by rubbing it with a solution of 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water.

It is important to note that if you choose to use your Laurel Cutting Board for all types of food, you must wash the board thoroughly after each different food in order to prevent cross-contamination.

When the board appears to be getting dry, rubbing a food-grade mineral oil (or odorless almond oil) on it will revive its color and help maintain it for many years.

Truly stunning, remarkably useful and perfect for weekend meal prep, casual weeknight chopping or a grazing board, the large Fab Slabs Laurel Cutting Board is a beautiful kitchen tool with several functions. While I still admittedly hesitate to cut raw meats on the same board as fresh produce, there is no doubt this cutting board is safe to use in a variety of ways, so long as it is washed and well maintained.

Growing up in southwest Georgia, there are few things more Southern than fried food. While there are some decent oven tricks to somewhat mimic fried food, I have found that using an oven often leaves one side of the food soggy. I was excited to review the Gourmia GAF680 Digital Free Fry Air Fryer to test its ability to cook crispy food – but I wasn’t expecting it to be such a versatile kitchen appliance.

Taking up about one square foot of counter space, the Gourmia air fryer is an all-purpose appliance that allows you to roast, bake, grill, fry and broil in less time and only a fraction of added fats or oils. The stainless-steel air fryer comes with a multipurpose rack and skewers for tiered cooking along with a book of 30 unique recipes with photos, including Southwestern Stuffed Peppers and “Grilled” Beef Fajitas. The digital touchscreen is easy to program, and cooking can be paused by pulling out the basket. This appliance has a much smaller cooking capacity (6 quarts) than a traditional oven, but it uses much less electricity and does not overheat the kitchen, which is especially nice during warm months.

The Gourmia air fryer comes assembled ready to use, but you may notice a burnt plastic smell during the first few uses (this goes away by the third or fourth use). The promised crispy texture is possible because the air fryer circulates hot air rapidly in all directions so that food is cooked on all sides. Most of the recipes recommend pulling the basket out halfway through cooking to shake the food, which prevents sticking and uneven cooking. I found this technique to be necessary and, even still, some foods did stick a little bit. Gourmia claims that recipes in the air fryer take 30 percent less time and that was evident in the recipes I used when testing the machine.

The first food I made in the air fryer: curly fries. Because who doesn’t like the idea of healthier french fries? I also made zucchini fries, fish sticks, grilled cheese, roasted chickpeas and more. While the panko-breaded zucchini fries had great crunch, I did have to cook two batches, which doesn’t save as much time in the long run. The air fryer was extremely useful for reheating leftovers such as roasted veggies, almond flour-crusted fish sticks and leftover homemade pizza, each of which took only a few minutes to get crispy and get hot. The air fryer also was the best and quickest way for me to make crunchy ranch roasted chickpeas.

Frying food can be messy and, because of the amount of oil required, may drive you to buy a lesser quality oil to manage the cost. When using this air fryer, you can use little or no oil, depending on preference and the type of food being cooked. While a balanced meal includes some healthy fats, this gives you control over what type of oil or fat to use and how much.

The Gourmia air fryer is easy to clean with some warm, soapy water and a cloth. Although not annoying to me, the appliance does have a low rumble, similar to a microwave, when in use.

The Gourmia GAF680 Digital Free Fry Air Fryer would be useful for families that need to make a quick meal on busy weeknights, especially if cooking other parts of the meal on the stove top. A single or married couple also may find it useful as an all-purpose appliance instead of having a toaster oven on the countertop. However, due to its limited capacity, it may not be best for large families or moms who are used to loading up the oven for food prep each weekend.

Crunchy Ranch Roasted Chickpeas Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 teaspoon avocado oil (or extra-virgin olive oil)
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Pat chickpeas dry with a towel and remove any loose skins. Place in a bowl and drizzle with avocado oil. Toss until all are coated. Add dry spices and stir until combined.
2. Place seasoned chickpeas in the basket of the air fryer. Press “fry” setting at 400 degrees Fahrenheit and reduce time to 14 minutes. Shake the basket once or twice during cooking to ensure chickpeas cook evenly.
3. At the end of cooking time, test a chickpea to see if it is done – it should be completely dry with no moisture in the center. Cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes if needed.

NOTE: These roasted chickpeas are best the day they are made but can be cooled completely and stored in an airtight container.

As a cast-iron skillet newbie, I asked my friends and social media community what recipes I should try to test my new piece of kitchen equipment. But once I began using it, I realized what makes it special isn’t that it’s limited to certain recipes, but that it can be used on a daily basis with a wide range of recipes. This cast-iron skillet not only could take the place of my go-to nonstick pan, but also has a few added benefits including even cooking and heat retention.

The Kitchen HQ Elite 12” Nonstick Cast Iron Frypan is a large, family-sized pan perfect for everything from roasting a chicken to scrambling eggs. The side pour spouts make it easy to remove fat and drippings or pour a sauce on top of roasted meats.

This pan will test your strength. To be frank, it’s very heavy. But the skillet’s helper handle makes it much easier to move from one place to another.

Because of the nonstick coating, this frypan doesn’t offer a dose of iron, one reason why some people use a cast-iron skillet in the first place. It’s not necessary to keep up with a schedule to season this pan, either. As with any nonstick pan, the coating can eventually wear off and the nonstick layer probably won’t last the lifetime of the pan. For this reason, it’s still beneficial to care for the pan and avoid using metal or abrasive kitchen tools that could scratch its surface; silicone, nylon and wooden tools are recommended. However, big selling features include being able to easily wipe out the pan, use dish soap or put it in the dishwasher.

Using the nonstick cast-iron frypan is easy and intuitive. Whenever I was going to reach for my traditional nonstick pan, I used the Kitchen HQ Elite instead. I noticed that it took considerably longer to heat up on the stove top, which added time to some reasonably quick recipes such as scrambled eggs or quesadillas. However, this pan was perfect for making pan-seared chicken with roasted garlic gravy. I was able to easily brown chicken breasts on the stove top, then transfer the pan to the oven to finish cooking the chicken until moist and a head of garlic until sweet and nutty. After removing the pan from the oven, I smashed the garlic cloves in the skillet along with some low-sodium broth to make a loose “gravy,” then allowed it to simmer until it reached my preferred thickness.

The large size of the pan was great for roasting a hefty 5-pound chicken, an excellent meal prep ingredient that can be used in a variety of meals throughout the week. I sliced the chicken to top green dinner salads one night, tossed it with pasta (or zoodles) and pesto another night and chopped some of the chicken to make quesadillas with beans and veggies for a 10-minute dinner.

In theory, the nonstick surface would make it easy to fry an egg without butter or added fats, but I did not have such luck and found a little bit of avocado oil helped the egg release and maintain a perfectly runny yolk.

The Kitchen HQ Elite 12” Nonstick Cast Iron Frypan is a good choice for cast-iron newbies like myself who want even cooking and easy transfer from stove top to oven. How long its nonstick cooking surface can last is yet to be determined, but I doubt it will have the life of grandma’s cast-iron skillet. Regardless, this large pan is great for recipes with many servings, requires minimal use of added oils and fats, and has easy care instructions for anyone uncertain about cast-iron maintenance.

Years ago, my family would rent a timeshare every year in the North Carolina mountains and all of my cousins, aunts, uncles and grandma would vacation together for a week of hiking, a little skiing, good food, movies, and board games. Each family would take turns cooking dinner for the huge group. Although I was only a tween, I loved helping cook and prepare the big meal when it was my family’s turn. One year, we made a white chicken chili recipe that we got from a friend and everyone raved about it!

About two decades later, I don’t have that family friend’s recipe, but I decided to create my own and load it up with flavor! This chili cooks in the slow cooker which also makes it very easy to put together and allows you to forget about it until it’s dinner time.

This Slow Cooker Chicken, White Bean & Pumpkin Chili is gluten-free and could be made vegan by replacing the chicken with an additional can of beans and the chicken broth with vegetable broth. There are several ways to make this chili fit your dietary and taste preferences. If you love the flavor of diced green chilies, grab the larger can at the grocery store.

If you want to lower the carbs a bit, you can eliminate one can of beans and replace it with more chicken. Of course, the toppings you serve can amp up the flavor and nutrition even more. And let’s face it, adding a variety of toppings is just plain fun!

This recipe works great if you want to double it, but don’t triple it like I did or you might find all of the ingredients won’t fit in your slow cooker. And then you will have to cook some of it on the stove top and the rest in your slow cooker. I learned this lesson the hard way so you don’t have to!

While my 3 year-old isn’t always fond of soup or stew recipes that have lots of ingredients all mixed together, this is one recipe she really enjoys! Of course, she especially likes it when she gets to crumble a few tortilla chips in her chili and place a big dollop of Greek yogurt on top! My 11-month old devoured it too.

Whether you are looking for a new slow cooker recipe, some time-saving recipes or a freezable recipe, this Slow Cooker Chicken, White Bean & Pumpkin Chili hits all the marks! I like to serve it with a quick green salad or some veggie sticks and dip — nice and simple.

Packed with protein and fiber, this flavorful chili will fill you up with good-for-you ingredients!

Slow Cooker Chicken, White Bean & Pumpkin Chili

Ingredients

• ½ large sweet onion, chopped (or 1 whole small onion, chopped)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 4 teaspoons cumin
• 2½ teaspoons chili powder
• 2 chicken breasts (about 1 to 1¼ pounds)
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 4-ounce can diced green chilies
• 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
• 2 15-ounce cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

Optional Toppings

• Cilantro
• Low-fat plain yogurt or sour cream
• Avocado
• Cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. In a large nonstick pan, saute onion in oil until translucent and slightly brown on edges. Add garlic, cumin and chili powder  and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Add onion and garlic mixture to slow cooker along with chicken breasts, chicken broth, salt, pepper, oregano, green chilies, pumpkin and beans.
3. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
4. Before serving, remove the chicken and chop into bite-size pieces and return to the chili or roughly shred with 2 forks in the slow cooker. Serve warm with your favorite toppings!

Muffins are requested often by my family. I have been determined to make a muffin that has absolutely:

• ZERO added sugar
• ZERO artificial sweeteners
• ZERO flour

In the last year, I have become intrigued and excited about two different baking techniques: 1) bean-based desserts and sweet breads, 2) date-sweetened desserts. As a mom of two girls, I want my daughters to be able to enjoy some homemade treats but want to limit their consumption of added sugars. Instead of buying sweets and treats at the store, we make them at home.

Whether you are in search for a gluten-free muffin recipe or just looking for a wholesome but delicious one, these Easy Flourless Blueberry Muffins will become your new favorite go-to muffin recipe. Made with a can of chickpeas and a small scoop of oats, the base of these muffins might sound odd and unappealing, but they are everything you want a blueberry muffin to be — light, moist and fluffy. Seriously.

Chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) are a great source of protein, fiber, iron and minerals. Beans are 100% gluten-free, making them a fantastic source of healthy carbohydrate for anyone needing to avoid gluten. They are also a foundational ingredient on the Mediterranean eating plan.

The other “secret” ingredient in these muffins are sweet, moist dates. When microwaved with a bit of water for a few minutes, they plump up and become remarkably soft so that they quickly puree in a food processor and become the “sugar” in the recipe. Find dates in the dried fruit section or the produce section of your grocery store. Even some warehouse stores have them. Look for pitted dates, but if you can’t find them, the pit is quite easy to remove.

If you are still a little skeptical, I get it, but this is one recipe worth trying at least once.

Why you are going to love this recipe:

• It is made entirely of whole foods — nothing processed
• It has absolutely NO artificial sugar
• It has NO added sugars — not even honey, maple syrup or agave
• The muffins are perfectly sweetened from dates
• The garbanzo bean and oatmeal base is rich in fiber, protein, iron and a variety of minerals
• They are moist and filling
• The muffins take less than 10 minutes to whip up.
• It makes 12 servings so you can enjoy them all week!

Easy Flourless Blueberry Muffins

Serves 12

Ingredients

• 15 oz can garbanzo beans rinsed and drained
• 1 cup medjool dates about 130-140 grams or about 8 dates
• ¹⁄₂ cup rolled oats
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¹⁄₄ cup coconut oil melted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups frozen or fresh blueberries

Instructions

1. Place dates in a microwave safe container along with 1 cup of water and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Drain off water.
2. Place softened dates and chickpeas in food processor and process until mostly smooth (you will need to scrape down the sides 2 or 3 times). Add in rest of the ingredients except blueberries and process until a batter forms.
3. Stir in blueberries. Scoop into greased muffin tin and bake on 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Recipe Notes
Make sure you drain water off dates before putting into food processor.

But this inspired me to begin thinking a bit more outside the box as to how I could turn leftovers into a completely different meal. This recipe was created when I had a mixture of leftover quinoa and brown rice and nothing to eat it with. After mixing it with some steamed edamame, bell pepper, feta, fresh cilantro and a quick vinaigrette that takes no time to shake up, it became the perfect salad to throw into my lunchbox!

This recipe can be thrown together in a matter of minutes and gets better as it sits. While salads may traditionally have a bed of lettuce, this one can be eaten on its own or over a bowl of fresh spinach or your favorite greens.

Vibrant and flavorful, this hearty grain and veggie salad is the perfect complete meal but would also be a great accompaniment at a picnic or shared meal gathering.  Perfectly balanced to include complex carbs for energy, plant protein to keep you satisfied and fat to help you absorb vitamins, this Quinoa Edamame Salad is definitely good for you, but the flavors won’t disappoint!

Regardless of whether you are vegetarian or not, this salad will fill you up without weighing you down. Enjoy!

Quinoa Edamame Salad With Citrus Vinaigrette

Serves 4

Ingredients

Salad

• 1 cup cooked quinoa or brown rice*
• 1 cup cooked edamame
• 1 red bell pepper chopped
• 1.5 oz feta cheese crumbled
• 2 tbsp cilantro chopped (plus extra for garnish)

Vinaigrette

• ½ orange juice, and zest
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon or lime juice fresh or bottled
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• ½ tbsp honey
• ⅛ tsp kosher salt
• ⅛ tsp black pepper

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the quinoa, edamame, bell pepper, cilantro, and feta cheese.
2. In a small jar with lid or leak-proof container, combine all vinaigrette ingredients and shake well.
3. Add ¼ cup of the vinaigrette dressing to salad and combine. Taste. Add more dressing if desired and adjust salt/pepper to taste.
4. Top with additional chopped cilantro and serve!

Recipe Notes

Makes 2 large (1.5 cups) servings or 4 small (¾ cup)

Serving Suggestions

This is a perfect stand-alone vegetarian meal but can also be prepared as a side dish. Consider serving over a bed of mixed greens or spinach. The salad could also be served inside a hollowed out bell pepper halve or raw zucchini boats. The dressing is amazing and can also be prepared to dress salad greens at another meal.

The term snack means different things to different people. Someone might think of a snack as a small bag of chips to stave off the afternoon munchies. Another person might consider a snack Greek yogurt and an apple. The key with snacking is identifying the purpose of a snack. For most of us, a snack is meant to hold us over because we start feeling hungry before the next meal.

Generally, a balanced meal that contains lean protein, healthy fat, complex carbohydrate and vegetables keeps us full and satisfied for three to five hours. Every person is different and everyone’s body is a little bit unique, but this is accurate for the majority of us. So, if meals are scheduled more than four to five hours apart — i.e. lunch at noon and dinner at 6:30 p.m. — then a snack is in order. However, if lunch is 1 p.m. and dinner is generally at 6 p.m., then a snack may not be necessary. It is important to identify the general time frame of meals so that you can determine when you should need a snack to curb your hunger. And if meal times vary from day to day, you may need to have a backup snack so you don’t get yourself in a fix.

Here are a few things you should know to make the best choices for you and your body:

Real Food

There is no doubt that choosing real, whole, unprocessed foods is the best way to nourish your body. Processing strips foods of a variety of micronutrients (such as vitamins and minerals) and fiber. Those micronutrients are involved in a variety of body processes such as metabolizing protein and carbohydrate, helping keep your hair, nails and skin healthy, maintaining healthy blood glucose, and preventing a variety of cancers by keeping cells healthy. Choose nourishing foods that fuel your body, supply it with energy and promote healthy appearance and vitality.

Sugars

Sugar comes in a lot of different forms and under a lot of deceptive guises. Ever heard of barley malt syrup, beet sugar, coconut sugar, dehydrated cane juice, fruit juice concentrate, maltodextrin or sucrose? There are more than 60 names for sugar so make sure to read those labels. Snack choices with too much added sugar will spike blood glucose and cause it to drop faster, leaving you feeling lethargic and tired.

In the future, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will require nutrition labels to indicate total sugars and added sugars on all food products so that it is easier for consumers to identify which products are high in added sugars. Until then, continue to inspect all packaged food ingredient lists and try to limit added sugar to less than 10 percent of daily calorie intake. If sugar is one of the first three ingredients, you may want to consider alternative choices.

Fiber

This remarkable form of carbohydrate helps us feel full and satisfied, reduces cholesterol, helps control blood sugar levels (goodbye cravings!) and normalizes bowel function. The name fiber may sound dull and boring but it is very active in working to keep our bodies healthy and happy. Foods rich in fiber include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds and they tend to take longer to chew than processed foods and therefore slow down the meal so our brains get the signal we are full. Choose snack foods that naturally contain at least 3 grams of fiber per serving.

Adequate Calories

Snacks that do not have enough calories — fewer than 100 — may not keep you feeling full until meal time and you might find yourself reaching for another snack before long. So, reaching for the lowest calorie snack is not the right solution.

Healthy Protein and Fat

Protein and fat take longer to digest and therefore can leave you feeling full and satisfied for a longer period of time. Ideas for lean protein include low-fat dairy, edamame, beans or legumes, eggs and even canned tuna or cooked chicken. Healthy fat includes those that are low in saturated fat and higher in unsaturated fats such as almond butter, roasted nuts (unsalted or dry roasted), avocado or guacamole.

Every time you eat, you have an opportunity to nourish your body. A snack is no different. Snacks are very useful mini-meals that help many of us get hunger and cravings out of our mind so we can focus on the life we are living.  To go through the day without thinking about how we will fuel our bodies in between meals may lead us to make unwise food choices or can cause us to overeat at the next meal.

To begin snacking well, I encourage you to choose two to three snacks each week that you rotate through each day to give variety without complexity. Make sure you add these foods to your grocery list and pack them in your lunchbox, bag or car so that you are never without.

Let’s begin with the basics. A typical large egg contains

• 6 grams of high-quality protein
• 147 milligrams of choline, a nutrient necessary for cell membranes and needed in larger quantities during pregnancy for infant memory development and function
• 41 IU of vitamin D
• 186 milligrams of dietary cholesterol

This is what you will get in a regular carton of eggs. But brands use trendy phrases these days to get your attention and imply a healthier product inside the shell — but is it really? Are omega-3-fortified or cage-free eggs superior to the regular ones? Is organic the way to go?

Let’s unveil exactly what these words mean so that you can decide if they are what you should buy on your next trip to the store! 

Conventional Eggs

Inexpensive and readily available, these eggs were laid by hens usually housed in a very full hen house, often without seeing daylight. Although the hens may not be treated as well as others, the eggs are full of the nutrients outlined above and a great protein choice for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack.

Cage-Free Eggs

These are eggs laid by chickens who usually are housed in an open barn. The chickens may still have little space to roam, but they are not caged and are allowed perches and nest boxes to lay their eggs.

Healthier than conventional? Likely not, but you are supporting farming practices that give the birds a better quality of life.

Free-range Eggs

These eggs come from chickens who are able to roam free outside, sometimes under a shaded canopy. The time they spend outside is determined by the farm, but their ability to get more movement and fresh air is what makes these chickens unique. In addition to eating grains, these chickens forage for plants and insects for food.

Healthier than conventional? Probably not. In theory, this sounds good but there isn’t clear evidence that these eggs are better for you. Essentially, by choosing to purchase free-range, you are making a statement with your wallet that you support farmers who are creating more humane conditions for their birds.

Organic Eggs

Chickens are provided organic feed and do not receive vaccines or antibiotics. These chickens are raised cage-free or free-range — check the label to be sure. Because these farmers cannot use vaccines or antibiotics, careful measures are taken to maintain the chickens’ health. For the feed to be certified USDA organic, the grain must be grown on land that has been void of pesticides and toxic chemicals for at least three years.

Healthier than conventional? Maybe. This study comparing organic, conventional and omega-3-fortified eggs shows that organic had slightly higher protein, potassium and copper levels, while the conventional contained higher magnesium and iron, and the omega-3 eggs contained higher manganese and calcium. Essentially, change the feed and the nutrition of the eggs changes as well, but it doesn’t necessarily make organic eggs better, just different in the amount of nutrients they supply the body.

Pasture-raised Eggs

These birds roam free on maintained pasture land and eat the plants and bugs available to them. The USDA does not regulate this definition and therefore, no standards are established.

Healthier than conventional? Unknown. There are no standards, so research and recommendations could be faulty.

Vegetarian Eggs

These eggs come from chickens provided a solely vegetarian diet, void of any meat or fish byproducts. Hens are kept indoors and are not allowed to peck at any worms or bugs on the ground.

Healthier than conventional? This guarantees there are no animal byproducts or questionable ingredients in the hen feed. This may be important to someone following a vegetarian diet, but there is not clear evidence that these eggs are healthier for you.

Pasteurized Eggs

These eggs have been heated to 140 degrees Fahrenheit for 3½ minutes, which completely kills any bacteria without cooking the egg. These eggs are ideal for pregnant women, children and those with compromised immune systems as the pasteurization process significantly reduces the risk of foodborne illness from salmonella. The chickens who lay these eggs do not necessarily experience any type of cage-free or free-range living conditions — pasteurization occurs after eggs reach the plant.

Healthier than conventional? Nutritionally the same as conventional eggs, but likely safer with lower risk of salmonella foodborne illness.

Brown Eggs

Unless otherwise noted on the carton, these eggs are simply conventional eggs. The color is determined by the breed of hen who lays it — brown eggs come from chickens with red feathers and red ear lobes.

Healthier than conventional? No nutritional differences.

Farmers Market Eggs

Each farmer determines how they raise and feed the hens. This is the perfect place to inquire about practices. Eggs purchased at the farmers market may or may not be less expensive than store brands. However, for safety purposes, ensure that the farmer washed and refrigerated the eggs within 36 hours to reduce risk of salmonella.

Healthier than conventional? This depends on the feed and farming practices. Talk with the farmer about these and ask if they conduct any nutrient analysis on their eggs.

Omega-3-fortified Eggs

The feed has been supplemented with an omega-3 fatty acid source like flax seed or fish to increase the quantity of omega-3 delivered by the egg. Nutrient analysis will differ by brand so read the Nutrition Facts Label. The hens may be raised conventionally or otherwise, but if the label does not imply a particular practice, expect conventional methods. According to the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, a conventional large egg has 51 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids.

Healthier than conventional? Most common brands found in grocery stores supply 160 to 225 milligrams omega-3 per egg. The Institute of Medicine recommends 1.1 to 1.6 grams of ALA (omega-3 fatty acids from plants) daily. Other institutions recommend additional sources of omega-3 fats, such as DHA and EPA, because it is unclear how much ALA is converted into DHA and EPA in the body. While fish like salmon, tuna and mackerel can supply substantially more EPA and DHA than omega-3 fortified eggs, this type of egg may be a good option for those who do not eat fish or other omega-3 plant sources like flaxseed, chia seeds and walnuts.

The Bottom Line

If food cost is important to you, conventional eggs may be the perfect choice for your family. Reasons for choosing non-conventional eggs can range from concerns about farming practices to whether the other foods in your diet are providing enough needed nutrients. No matter the egg you choose, always know that you have a choice and you decide what you consume and how much.

Store-bought dressings can be loaded with unwanted ingredients — added sugar, excessive sodium, preservatives and artificial colors. A close look at the nutrition label can help you choose which ones you use to dress your favorite salad veggies. Or, you can make your own! Making salad dressing might seem a bit intimidating at first, but it is truly foolproof and, if it doesn’t taste right, you can always tweak it. The best part is that it takes less than five minutes and only requires a few ingredients.

This recipe for Sweet and Tangy Balsamic Vinaigrette is the perfect foundation. You can use different flavored vinegars — apple cider or red wine or even flavored vinegars such as raspberry, blackberry or black cherry — and dried or fresh herbs to tweak it to reflect your tastes. Begin by adding a ¼ teaspoon vinegar, then taste and adjust to your liking. To sample your dressing, use a small leaf of lettuce so it doesn’t taste too strong. If you find that it is a bit too tangy, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Remember, a really good dressing is meant to enhance the flavor of the vegetables, not cover them up.

The recipe makes seven servings. Not sure what to do with leftover dressing? Here are three yummy ideas:

• Use as a marinade for chicken or pork.
• Toss a few tablespoons on fresh vegetables and then roast in oven on 400°F for 25 to 30 minutes.
• Add to a cold salad of quinoa or other whole grain, chick peas and fresh vegetables to liven it up!

Sweet and Tangy Balsamic Vinaigrette 

Makes 7 servings — 2 tablespoons per serving

Ingredients

• ½ cup balsamic vinegar (look for “aged” for best flavor)
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2½ tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a mason jar with lid and shake well. Store in refrigerator for up to five days.