It’s the holidays, and I can’t help it: I like things that shine. For a really special touch, try edible gold and silver powder, sprinkles, or leaf. Easy Leaf Products makes these pure, fancy garnishes for adding sparkle atop frothy eggnog, dusted over cooked vegetables (like the tomatoes pictured below), or adorning a chocolate cake or truffles. Check out their online “How To Gild” guide for beautiful ideas (such as how to rim a glass with gold or silver) and recipes, including this one for Gilded Pumpkin Soup. According to Indian and Chinese medicine, gold and silver is considered a digestive aid and natural remedy, “thanks to its constitutional properties, especially related to the inner organs (heart, uterus, stomach).”

Time magazine has released its list of the top 10 food trends in 2008 (oh my gosh, it’s almost 2009! Woah, momentary freak out), and many of the items were covered in our very own pages within the last while. As the year wraps up, check out stories that made big headlines in 2008, including foodborne illness, bottled water, goat products, and local eating. And stay tuned for a great year of health news, delicious recipes, and green living ahead!

Good news for people who follow a Mediterranean diet rich in fruits, veggies, and olive oil: According to a new research analysis released this week by UC Davis, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and fiber and lower in fat may help fight the recurrence of breast cancer in certain women. And in other research, anticancer compounds were identified in extra virgin olive oil. For a handy cheat-sheet, check out our recent chart of cancer-blocking foods. And read more about smart strategies to avoid cancer in Beat the Odds.

The holidays are often some of the happiest times for families, but parties and gifts and general merrymaking aren’t without their potential risks for kids. Check out Delicious Living’s up-to-date guide to nontoxic toys, and take heed of this advice for safe holidays from Edward Krenzelok, PharmD, director of the Pittsburgh Poison Center and Drug Information Center at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and professor of pharmacy and pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh.

• Children are at greatest risk for alcohol poisoning during the holidays. Do not leave beverage glasses where children can easily reach them. A child’s natural desire to imitate partying grown-ups requires special vigilance on the part of drinking adults.

• Never leave gifts of perfume or cologne, which also contain alcohol, under the Christmas tree where a curious child might find them.

• Keep hot foods hot at 140 degrees or above and cold foods below 40 degrees to reduce the likelihood of food poisoning.

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I’ve heard of seasonal eating — but seasonal body care? Always on the lookout for yummy bath and body care (being Delicious Living’s beauty editor and all), I was intrigued to find out about a new company called Beekman 1802. Each totally natural soap is made from the milk of goats raised on this historic farm in upstate New York. It seems that Beekman’s philosophy has always been cool: The prim white manor was a stop on the underground railroad, and these days it’s a working organic goat and vegetable farm. The soaps are elegant, gentle, and make super presents. Here’s the most interesting part: Each of the company’s scented soaps are developed according to what’s in bloom during that particular month. Think vanilla, ginger, and fir for December; juniper berry and snow for January; and cinnamon and cardamom for May. (The entire set of 12 soaps (aka months) will be available online in April.) These are not the first goat’s milk products I’ve fallen for. I’m a devotee of Canus goat’s milk bar soaps and lip balms. And there’s always goat cheese. Need more specifics? Check out this list of creamy, delicious goat’s milk soaps and eats.

Another great gluten-free tool (I’m finding more every day!): GFree, an online gluten-free menu planning service, from the creators of Relish. These smart people teamed up with longtime GF expert Carol Fenster to provide menus, easy recipes, and even budget-conscious shopping lists (with predetermined gluten-free brands; no more studying the teeny print on every label!) to take the guesswork and monotony out of making GF home-cooked meals. For those of us who find meal planning tricky even without going GF, this is a hassle-free godsend — and a steal at only $10 a month for the subscription, for which you get five already-tested dinner recipes (from a choice of ten), plus access to recipes for baked goods, desserts, side dishes, and more.

I received these handy tips in my mail recently, from Boulder, Colorado’s fabulous local recycler eco-cycle. They’re worth taking into consideration this holiday season:

1. BYOB (Bring your own bag)

Stow reusable bags in your car, so you don’t forget. In addition ecocycle suggests saying no to all of the stickers, tissue paper and ribbons that tend to come with even the smallest holiday purchases. Forego complimentary gift-wrapping and instead wrap your own gifts using whatever recyclable papers you have around the house.

2. Placing an order online or by phone? Stop the junk mail before it starts.

Every time you order from a catalog or online, your name is likely to be shared with other catalog companies who then pass it to yet another list of companies, and so on. To stop this, as you order, tell the company: “Please do not rent, sell or trade my name.”

3. Choose recyclable holiday cards and envelopes

To tell if a card or envelope is recyclable, rip the card or envelope. If the dye goes all the way through, it is not recyclable.

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I never jumped on the low carb bandwagon (the diet would be pretty difficult to pull of as a vegetarian) but I have rethought my relationship to carbs over the past five years or so. What it boils down to is that I try to eat less bread. Well, according to the latest research from Tufts, maybe I should eat the bread after all. In the results of the small study, women on low carb diets actually showed decreased cognitive abilities. Less mental clarity is NOT something I need considering I am yanked from sleep at 4:30 most mornings by my 20 month old! Because the study was rather small I wondered about the value of passing on the results to you, but the researchers highlight some compelling info about why carbohydrates may help your brain function better during the course of a day. more

Just turn off the tube. According to the EPA, the millions (275, to be exact) of televisions in the U.S. eat up more than 50 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually. Hard to believe, but researchers say that’s equivalent to the output of more than ten coal-fired power plants. Ugh. Of course there are other benefits to turning off the set, but when you absolutely must watch The Office, make sure you’re following these guidelines from the Union of Concerned Scientists. more

With all of us waiting with baited breath to see what kind of crazy turn the economy will take next, even recycling centers from coast to coast are asking “Where to we go from here?” In the past decade, recycling has become standard protocol, but we may start to see some changes in what our city recycling centers will accept. Why? Because the drop in consumer-product production has slowed demand for recyclable goods. So those cardboard cereal boxes you so diligently recycled might end up accumulating in a recycling yard only to eventually get dumped in the landfill, according to the New York Times’ article “Back at Junk Value, Recyclables Are Piling Up.” That means that cities won’t profit as much from recycling materials and they may wind up deleting less lucrative plastics and metals from their “will accept” lists. I, however, refuse (no pun) to believe that recycling is totally passé. It’s still worth it to try — and, if you’re nervous about whether your local recycling center is shipping off recyclables to the dump, it’s worth a phone call to ask. In the meantime, try to reduce your packaging and waste this holiday season (that means wrapping paper!), and search out companies that have their own recycling programs, such as Stonyfield and Patagonia.