• 12-ounce boneless sirloin steak, cut 1-inch thick
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• ¼ cup lime juice
• 6 cups Romaine lettuce leaves
• 5 ounces jicama, peeled and cut into 2-inch sticks, 2 cups
• 1 medium mango, sliced
• 1 small red onion, cut into small wedges
• 2 tsp honey
• 1/3 cup packed fresh cilantro
• 2 T olive oil
• ½ clove garlic, minced
• 1/8 tsp hot pepper sauce

For cilantro oil, in a bowl, combine cilantro, olive oil, garlic and hot pepper sauce and set aside. 

Season steak with pepper and place in a zip bag.  Set aside.

Stir lime juice into the cilantro oil.  Pour half the mixture over the steak.  Seal bag and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.  Cover and chill remaining lime-cilantro mixture for dressing.

Drain meat.  Discard marinade.  Grill meat on medium heat for 12 to 14 minutes or until meat is cooked through, turning once.  Remove from grill.  Thinly slice against the grain.

To serve, divide romaine into 4 individual salad bowls.  Top with steak slices, jicama, mango  and onion.  In a bowl, combine reserved lime-cilantro mixture with honey and drizzle over salad.

Makes 4 servings ; prep time 25 minutes

According to the 2006 study from the University of California, Berkeley, many common household cleaners and air fresheners emit toxic pollutants at levels that may pose health risks when used indoors.

According to William Nazaroff, a UC Berkeley professor of environmental engineering and the study’s lead author, “We’ve learned that we need to pay attention to other aspects of pollution sources that are right under our nose.”

When consumers buy commercial cleaning products, we expect them to do one thing: clean! We use a wide array of scents, soaps, detergents, bleaching agents, softeners, scourers, polishes and specialized cleaners for bathrooms, glass, drains and ovens to keep our homes sparkling and sweet-smelling.  But while the chemicals in cleaners foam, bleach, and disinfect to make our dishes, bathtubs and countertops gleaming and germ-free, many also contribute to indoor air pollution, are poisonous if ingested and can be harmful if inhaled or touched.  In fact, some cleaners are among the most toxic products found in the home.

Cleaning ingredients vary in the type of health hazard they pose. Some cause acute, or immediate, hazards such as skin or respiratory irritation, watery eyes or chemical burns, while others are associated with chronic, or long-term, effects such as cancer.

Ingredients with high acute toxicity include chlorine bleach and ammonia, which produce fumes that are highly irritating to eyes, nose, throat and lungs, and should not be used by people with asthma or lung or heart problems.  These two chemicals pose an added threat in that they can react with each other or other chemicals to form lung-damaging gases. Combining products that contain chlorine and ammonia or ammonia and lye (in some oven cleaners) produces chloramine gases, while chlorine combined with acids (commonly used in toilet bowl cleaners) forms toxic chlorine gas.

Fragrances added to many cleaners, most notably laundry detergents and fabric softeners, may cause acute effects such as respiratory irritation, headache, sneezing and watery eyes in sensitive individuals or allergy and asthma sufferers. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has found that one-third of the substances used in the fragrance industry are toxic. Because the chemical formulas of fragrances are considered trade secrets, companies are not required to list their ingredients but merely label them as containing "fragrance."

Other ingredients in cleaners may have low acute toxicity but contribute to long-term health effects, such as cancer or hormone disruption.  Some all-purpose cleaners contain the sudsing agents diethanolamine (DEA) and triethanolamine (TEA).  When these substances come into contact with nitrites, often present as undisclosed preservatives or contaminants, they react to form nitrosamines - carcinogens that readily penetrate the skin.  1,4-dioxane, another suspected carcinogen, may be present in cleaners made with ethoxylated alcohols.  Butyl cellosolve (also known as ethylene glycol monobutyl ether), which may be neurotoxic (or cause damage to the brain and nervous system), is also present in some cleaners.

Chemicals that are so-called "hormone disruptors" can interfere with the body's natural chemical messages, either by blocking or mimicking the actions of hormones.  Possible health effects include decreased sperm counts, increased rates of male birth defects and increased rates of some kinds of cancers.  The alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs) used in some detergents and cleaners have been shown to mimic the hormone estrogen; one APE, p-nonylphenol, has caused estrogen-sensitive breast cancer cells to multiply in a test tube study.

I believe the home should be the safest place in the whole world and challenge you to go to your cupboards right now and check the ingredients of your cleaning products and air fresheners.  If you have products containing the above toxic chemicals in your home, it may be a wise decision to take them to the hazard waste drop-off and purchase “green” products.  These are products which do not contain the above-mentioned toxic chemicals and use biodegradable cleaning agents, meaning they break down easily instead of hanging out in the ground for hundreds of years.

Some “green” cleaners are Shaklee’s “Get Clean”, Begley’s Best, and Seventh Generation.  Check online at www.shaklee.com and insert my name as distributor for your “Get Clean” products or check your local health food stores or online for Begley’s Best and Seventh Generation products.

Doing your part to help with global warming will be a big boost to your family’s immune system and your child’s ability to concentrate at school. 

Please contact me if you have any questions regarding sick home syndrome!

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