When I don't make sure Georgia has enough fuel for her day, it's meltdown time.

When post-work chores loom large, who has time to spend making dinner? My rice cooker saves the day.

The government keeps begging us to eat more whole grains-ideally, three servings a day, according to the United States Department of Agriculture's 2005 Food Guide. But if you're getting bored with ordering brown rice with your Chinese food, or fixing oatmeal for breakfast, there are plenty of alternatives.

2 cans minimal mercury tuna, such as Wild Planet

2 scallions, chopped

1 stalk celery, diced

2 tablespoons pistachios, chopped

1 tablespoon capers

3 tablespoons Greek-style nonfat yogurt

3 tablespoons light mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Balsamic vinegar

dash Tabasco sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Pasta, the staff of life. They say it's bread, but I don't think so. Does bread come in over 350 shapes, colors and sizes? Does bread have never-ending sauce options? Can you eat bread alone every single night? Maybe, but I'd bet you'd rather eat pasta.

Pasta, the staff of life. They say it's bread, but I don't think so. Does bread come in over 350 shapes, colors and sizes? Does bread have never-ending sauce options? Can you eat bread alone every single night? No, but you can eat pasta for dinner 7 days a week, with pleasure. "But how can you still eat pasta when you're on an allergen-free diet?", one might ask. If you're one of the 12 million Americans with Food Allergies, you're probably avoiding one or more of the following foods; wheat/gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, or shellfish. Given that pasta dishes are generally comprised of wheat/gluten, dairy, and eggs, and sometimes tree nuts, or fish and shellfish, eating pasta may seem like an impossibility. Not so! Go back to the basics, with simple, fresh, organic produce and allergen-free pasta will be the centerpiece of your summer table.

In my kitchen, the number one rule is: stay away from white foods. Rice, bread, pasta, tortillas - they're all subject to my dictatorial stance on refined carbohydrates. If it's not brown, we're probably not eating it. But what about white bread that's actually brown?

To appease the palates of the majority of Americans, many companies are manufacturing products made from white wheat flour - which, naturally, comes from the white wheat grain. This multitasking grain can be milled into flour that has the flavor and texture of traditional white flour with all the health benefits of the wheat-ier variety.

How hard is it to make a healthy breakfast cereal that tastes good, too? Apparently, it's nearly impossible, according to a painstakingly researched expose in Wednesday's New York Times.

Intrepid food reporter and cookbook author Marian Burros sampled roughly a hundred varieties of “alternative” cereals, and rough is the operative word: according to Burros, many of them tasted like cardboard, or sawdust.