1. Help For A Die-Hard Vegetable Hater
2. SOS For Halloween Candy Cravings
3. Can Seaweed Make Me Slim?

Help For A Die-Hard Vegetable Hater!  I’ve never been able to eat green vegetables like broccoli and asparagus because they taste unbearably bitter to me.  When people try to push veggies on me, I joke that my taste buds are super-sensitive and can’t eat the stuff.  But I was reading the other day that it’s this bitterness that makes greens such great disease fighters.  With my family history of cancer, I figure I should stop joking and start chomping.  How can I make them tastier? 

Your aversion to greens may indeed mean that you are among the 25 percent of people who detect even tiny traces of bitterness in vegetables very intensely.  And it’s true that these supertasters do eat fewer veggies, which can increase their risk of cancer and heart disease.  To reduce the pungent flavor (without allowing nutrients to leach out), try either of these methods: Sauté vegetables for five minutes in a healthy oil like olive or avocado, or blanch them in boiling water for two minutes.  Also, sprinkling hot water with salt (nature’s bitterness blocker) makes them more palatable. 

SOS For Halloween Candy Cravings!   Halloween is just around the corner, and that means my kids’ buckets of candy will be all over the house.  And even if I manage to withstand that temptation, there are candy jars staring at me all day at the office, courtesy of my “thoughtful” coworkers.  I’ve lost 37 pounds since February, and I don’t want to fall off the sensible-eating wagon.  But I have a definite spot for Kit Kats.  Any advice? 

Since you can’t avoid the bowls of candy that pop up everywhere at this time of year, beat the urge to splurge by consuming more cinnamon.  Then cinnamic aldehyde in this spice mimics the action of blood sugar-regulating insulin to prevent the sugar crashes that trigger cravings.  My favorite way to indulge is sipping a cinnamon-based herbal tea, like Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice ($2.50 for 20 tea bags, at grocery stores).  It’s safe to drink as many cups as you like, but I especially recommend a cup after dinner when the desire for sweets can be highest. 

Can Seaweed Make Me Slim?  My coworker recently started eating little fruit gelatin snacks that she says contain a weight-loss ingredient called kanten, a form of seaweed.  I was skeptical at first, but there’s no denying that it’s working: She easily lost about 10 pounds in just over a week!  How does kanten work, and is it worth a try? 

Kanten is a zero-calorie substance made from the seaweed Gracilaria lichenoides.  It’s sold in the United States mostly in powder form under the name agar.  And there’s solid evidence that it works: New research shows that people who eat kanten regularly consume 50 percent fewer calories daily than those who don’t.  The appetite-curbing mechanism?  Kanten is 80 percent fiber, so it slows digestion and promotes the feeling of satiety.  Want to try it yourself?  In a sauce pan, combine 2 cups unsweetened fruit juice (such as apple or pomegranate) and 2 Tbs. powdered agar, like Now Agar Powder ($6 for 2 oz., at health-food stores).  Bring to a boil and cook for 30 seconds more.  Then pour into a bowl and chill until set.  Eat at least ½ cup every day for optimal slimming.