Blog Posts by Good Housekeeping

Simple steps to ensure your food is safeFirst, organic baby spinach was recalled (again!) in 39 states due to possible E coli. contamination. And then, Kellogg's recalled 36,000 boxes of Special K Red Berries cereal due to concerns over glass fragments. It seems no food (fresh or packaged) is safe. So what can you do? Once a recall hits, you can only dispose of the product and follow the guidelines. Fortunately, there are other ways you can minimize health risks. Here's a handy checklist to get you started.

In the Supermarket
1. Prioritize your shopping
Pick up canned and packaged foods first, then fresh items. Keep raw meat away from other edibles, since its packaging could be leaky.

2. Check that the produce cooler is cold
"Many food-borne bugs thrive in warmer temperatures," says Trevor Suslow, Ph.D., an extension research specialist at UC Davis.

3. Keep a cooler with ice packs in your trunk
In order to prevent pathogens from multiplying, food should not be at room temperature or above for more

Fight aging with the right beauty productsWith a slew of anti-aging ingredients claiming to be the Holy Grail of eternal youth, choosing skincare products is overwhelming! But you can shop smart, if you do your research. We've done the work for you and broken down the key players in this handy cheat sheet.

1. Retinol
Retinol is a derivative of vitamin A, making it a milder version of retinoids (a prescription-only wrinkle fighter). While it takes several weeks to see results, retinol is the most effective over-the-counter anti-aging ingredient when it comes to "smoothing wrinkles, unclogging pores, lightening superficial brown spots, and improving the texture of the skin," says Amy Wechsler, New York City dermatologist. Because of retinol's potency, skin irritation is common, especially in direct sunlight. Apply retinol-based products at night on dry skin to avoid sensitivity and be sure to apply a moisturizer with SPF every morning.

Related: 12 Anti-Aging Essentials

2. Niacinamide
If you have dark spots resulting from acne

Our top picks to cure dry, crackly handsEspecially in winter, hands have to withstand a daily onslaught of cold weather, dry heat, and harsh soaps. So the scientists in our Beauty Lab took up arms and gathered 22 creams, from drugstore staples to deluxe formulations. First we lab-tested moisturizing claims; then 260 testers tried the top 12 and weighed in on scent, silkiness, and how skin, nails, and cuticles felt post-slather. In the end, all our favorites kept on hydrating six hours after application - doesn't that deserve a hand?

Related: 7 Anti-Aging Ingredients You Need to Know

Here, our top 3 picks.

Best Overall
Eucerin Intensive Repair ($6, 2.7 oz., amazon.com)
The scent-free, nongreasy purse-size potion creamed the competition on hydration.

Best Splurge
Aveda Hand Relief ($21, 4.2 oz., amazon.com)
Pick this citrusy star, loaded with plant extracts, for quick absorption, major moisture, and nice conditioning for nails.

Related: How to Treat Winter Skin

Best Value
Vaseline Intensive Rescue ($4, 3 oz., amazon.com

Spice up your guacWhether you make your guacamole from scratch or go start with our recent store-bought taste test winner, here are four ways to jazz up your guac.

1. Smoky 'n' Sweet
Stir in 1 finely chopped chipotle in adobo (more if you can stand the heat), 2 tsp. of the adobo sauce it's packed in, and 2 Tbsp. orange juice (a little sweet to balance the heat).

2. Tangy Treat
Many of the prepackaged guacamoles are a little too tame for me. I like my guac on the tangier, spicier side, so I like to stir 1/4 c. jarred salsa verde into it. Salsa verde contains a lot of the ingredients I'd be adding to it anyway, like lime juice, chiles, and onions.

Related: Bobby Flay's Party Recipes

3. Tropical Twist
Sometimes if my guests aren't as into spicy foods as I am, I like to turn down the heat in my guacamole by adding some finely chopped mangoes and/or pineapple and then topping it with crumbled up bits of cooked bacon. The mangoes and pineapple bring refreshing sweetness and acidity to the rich, creamy

Keep your home germ-free with these tips for cleaning your home1. Underside of Rugs
To remove dust and dirt that's gone deep down into the rug, simply flip it over and vacuum the underside.

2. Blinds
The material they're made of - metal, wood, or fabric - determines how you dust them. For metal blinds, wipe with a sock lightly dampened with water or multi-purpose cleaner. For wood blinds follow the same procedure using only a little tap water. Do not overwet the wood and be sure to buff dry right away. For fabric blinds, go over the blinds with a dry microfiber cloth.

3. Credit Cards
These everyday essentials get handled by lots of people, and germs can lurk in the crevices around the numbers. Give debit and credit cards a quick cleaning with an alcohol wipe and let them air dry before placing them back in your wallet.

Related: How To Speed Clean Your Bathroom In Just Minutes

4. Kitchen Trash Can
Clean your can or the plastic liner in your utility room sink, the shower, or outside. (Be sure to

Try these helpful hints for a successful marriageEveryone knows successful marriages take work but wouldn't it be great if we could uncover a secret formula to marital bliss? It turns out, researchers have done just that! Read on to discover small yet powerful ways to improve your marriage.

Your "how-we-met" story speaks volumes.
Next time someone at a dinner party asks, "How did you two meet?" pay attention to how you respond. Your answer can predict whether your marriage will make it, says John Gottman, PhD, a psychologist at the University of Washington, Seattle's Family Research Laboratory (aka "The Love Lab").

Gottman took oral histories from 52 couples married an average of five years, analyzed their stories and physiological responses, and checked back with the couples in three years. Their story predicted with 94 percent accuracy which couples would stay together. (The figure was 88 percent in a separate study in which Gottman followed newlyweds.) Happy couples spoke with laughter and nostalgia, even when

Tea KettleYear-round, we drink tea-the beverage that results from steeping leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant in water. The plant, native to Asia, has been consumed in China for at least 3,000 years. Of course, tea has since spread to the west, and in the U.S. dozens of jars of tea leaves line the shelves of specialty shops. Still, a mystique clings to tea. We drink it for health, taste, warming in the winter, and cooling in the summer. Here are five things you may not have known about the ancient beverage:

1. All tea comes from the same plant.
White, green, and black teas all come from the same plant, Camellia sinensis, an evergreen. Leaves are picked every one to two weeks, depending on the kind of tea desired. Whether the tea is white, green, or black depends on how the leaves are processed and oxidized. Herbal teas, such as mint or chamomile, are a separate category (tisanes). So are red teas, made from a shrubby plant native to South Africa.

Related: 5 Drinks to Warm You Up

BreadThat's the question on many people's minds considering everyone from The New York Times reporters to Miley Cyrus are pondering the merits of a GF diet. But the answer, it turns out, isn't so simple.

For some people, about 1% of the population with celiac disease, eating foods with gluten causes severe damage to the lining of their intestines, which can lead to a host of uncomfortable symptoms as well as an increased risk of cancer. For them, avoiding gluten is crucial and no amount is safe. Families living with someone who has celiac disease have to take special precautions to avoid cross-contamination, say by devoting a toaster to gluten free foods and by taking care not to use the same serving utensils for dishing out foods that contain gluten along with foods that don't.

Far more people suffer from gluten sensitivity, a condition with complaints that range from headaches to fatigue to diarrhea. Doctors aren't sure why, but these people also feel better after removing