It's rare to mix swanky cocktail recipes with the phrase “according to the latest scientific research," but hold on to your swizzle sticks. Scientists have just announced that alcohol increases the level of antioxidants in fruit. The researchers focused on strawberries and blackberries, but they suspect all fruit may be enhanced by a splash of the hard stuff. So to celebrate, we gathered fruit-filled recipes from some top "mixologists" (great job title). Tip: Do your party shopping at a health-food store -- fresh juices and fruit are readily available there.

Find out how to maximize the nutritional value of your favorite fresh fruit.

Strawberry Fields Forever
Serves one John Lennon fan
This luscious summer sipper is from mixologist Greg Best of Restaurant Eugene in Atlanta. It'll give you those extra antioxidants without any added sugars. "It's naturally sweet and tart from the strawberries, and the Dubonnet adds a subtle sweetness," notes Best.

1 1/2 ounces fresh strawberry juice
Juice from 1 lime wedge, squeezed
1/2 ounce Plymouth gin
1 oz. white Dubonnet, a wine-based aperitif
Club soda to taste
Mint sprig for garnish

Stir together the first four ingredients and pour into a tall glass filled with ice; add a splash or two of club soda for fizz, and garnish with a crushed sprig of mint.

Shanghai Twist
Serves two teetotalers
This exotic virgin cocktail -- or mocktail -- is "practically the fountain of youth," says Duggan McDonnell, owner of Cantina in San Francisco. It's made with an antioxidant-rich mixture of lemon, white tea, and aloe vera juice and sweetened naturally with agave nectar. So raise your glass and say "Gan bei!" (Chinese for "Dry the cup!")

8 ounces near-boiling water
1 bag Chinese white tea
1 tablespoon aloe vera juice
1 tablespoon agave nectar
Juice of 1 Meyer lemon
6 ounces Reed's Original Ginger Brew or other natural ginger ale

Steep the tea bag, aloe vera juice, and agave nectar in a mug of hot water for about 5 minutes, stirring gently. Remove the tea bag and let the mixture cool to room temperature. Fill two tall glasses with ice and pour in tea mixture, lemon juice, and ginger brew. Stir; garnish with a lemon slice.

Down the Rabbit Hole
Serves one avid gardener
Clean and crisp, this garden-fresh cocktail also hails from mixologist Best. The combo of carrot and cucumber juices is guaranteed to boost your daily dose of vitamins, and Cynar, the surprise ingredient, is an Italian liqueur thought to aid digestion. You'll need a  juicer. Or you may be able to find ready-to-go juice at your local juice-and-smoothie bar.

3 ounces fresh carrot juice
1/2 ounce fresh cucumber juice
1/2 ounce Cynar, an Italian herbal liqueur
1 ounce Square One organic vodka, naturally fermented
1 sprig of sage

Thoroughly mix all liquids. Serve on the rocks in a double old-fashioned glass. Clap the sage between your hands to bruise it and release its fragrant oils, and then toss it in.

Grand Tropical Touch
Serves one smoothie lover
Made with fresh-fruit puree and plain yogurt, it's easy to see how this smoothie-like cocktail made the healthy list. But it's the soy vodka that adds the wow. There's only one on the market right now -- 3 Vodka -- says this drink's mixologist, Fred Rhode of Hurricanes Lounge in Hemingway's at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando.

1 1/4 ounces soy vodka
2 ounces pureed fresh fruit (use passion fruit, mango, pineapple, strawberry, guava, banana, or a combination of two)
2 ounces plain yogurt

Either combine all ingredients in a blender with ice cubes and puree into a frozen slush, or mix ingredients together and pour over crushed ice. Serve in a tall glass and garnish with fruit.

Essence-of-Summer Sangria
Serves four to six on the patio
Everyone knows a little red wine may be good for you. And fresh fruit? Absolutely. So kudos to the Spanish, who have instinctively been putting the two together for centuries, often with a splash of rum or brandy. This recipe gets a fruity twist from mixologist Rhode, who instead uses Cointreau, an orange liqueur, to enhance the flavor of the fruit. Start this recipe the day before.

1 bottle red wine
1 ounce Cointreau
Mixed fresh fruit, sliced (typically, lemons, limes, oranges, apples, and/or pineapple)
Club soda, optional

Combine the red wine and Cointreau, add fruit, and marinate in the fridge for 24 hours. To serve, pour over a few ice cubes in a red wine glass. Top off with club soda if you like your drinks sparkling.

There's your cocktail menu. Now, just put together some deliciously healthy nibbles to match, and start practicing your toasts. Here's one from us: Drink to your health! 

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"Casual dining" chains -- from Chili's to The Cheesecake Factory -- are finally getting on the anti-supersize-me bus. Smart, since nearly half of today's customers say they want to eat more healthfully, according to a recent TGI Friday's survey. Although a few chains -- notably, Applebee's and Ruby Tuesday -- have offered healthier options for several years, the growth in good-for-you choices is great for weight-watching happy-hour goers, vacationers, and weary parents looking for a kid-friendly night out of the kitchen. That said, we're still talking menu extremes. Here are some of the best and worst bets.

Applebee's

Best: They’ve adapted their menu to include a steadily expanding list of Weight Watchers–approved items, which are going strong after 3 years on the menu. Among the newest items:

• Steak and Portobellos -- 330 calories, 10 grams fat
• Italian Chicken and Portobello Sandwich -- 360 calories, 6 grams fat
• Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake -- 230 calories, 3 grams fat

Worst: There's a reason the menu lists only fat and calories for its Weight Watchers items. You don't want to know the sat-fat content of, say, the Grilled Cheese BLT, a double-decker that includes jack, cheddar, and Swiss cheeses; bacon; and mayo.

The Cheesecake Factory

Best: We can't tell you that this popular deli-and-dessert place has managed to create a delicious 50-calorie cheesecake -- or even that it provides much nutrition info -- but it has added a group of new "Weight Management" salads, like the three below. All are slimmed down with low-cal dressings and smaller amounts of cheese, nuts, and avocado, so they come in at around 590 calories each.

• Chinese Chicken Salad
• California Salad
• Seafood Salad

Worst: The name says it all: Outrageous Chocolate Cake -- 1,380 calories a slice.

Chili's

Best: This is the only brave chain to show sodium counts online; unfortunately, the numbers would turn a cardiologist clammy. Even the otherwise-healthy "Guiltless Grill" suggestions below contain staggering amounts of salt: 2,720 mg for the chicken meal and 1,080 mg for the fish dish. But the calories are nicely under control.

• Guiltless Chicken Sandwich with steamed veggies and black beans -- 490 calories, 8 grams fat
• Guiltless Grill Salmon with similar sides -- 480 calories, 14 grams fat

Worst: At 2,710 calories and an artery-clogging 203 grams of fat, Chili's Awesome Blossom deep-fried onion is a fright.

Red Lobster

Best: Flip the menu to the "Lighthouse Selections" and you'll discover a whole page of appealing choices, including:

• A great happy-hour find: a glass of white wine and the Garlic-Grilled Jumbo Shrimp -- 300 calories
• Fresh fish dinners: half portions of grilled or broiled tilapia, salmon, or rainbow trout with seasonal vegetables or a garden salad -- 400 calories, tops

Worst: It's hard to make seafood totally bad for you, but some of the battered-and-fried fish entrees on the regular menu top 2,000 calories.

Ruby Tuesday

Best: Kudos to Ruby T for this bit of forward thinking: The restaurant has cooked with trans-fat-free oils since 2003. And there are now several menu options that won't leave you buried in dieter's remorse -- though note that these calorie counts don't include sides or dipping sauces. Still, they'll get you off to a nifty start.

• Grilled Chicken Salad -- 380 calories
• White Bean Chicken Chili -- 257 calories
• Creole Catch -- 312 calories

Worst: You could blow an entire day's calories on the Colossal Burger, which weighs in at 1,943 calories and a shocking 141 grams of fat.

TGI Friday's

Best: Even though the company doesn't give exact nutrition facts, a handful of dishes are flagged low fat/low carb, which means about 10 grams of fat or no more than 17 carbs, and 500 calories a dish.

• Dragonfire Chicken
• Shrimp Key West
• Sizzling Chicken with Vegetables

Worst: Don't even think about old TGIF standards like Stuffed Potato Skins -- or insane new ones like Fried Mac and Cheese(!). Both scream heart attack.

Learn how to slim down portion sizes at restaurants or at your dinner table.

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Remember when any fat was bad fat? When the only difference between a croissant and a Krispy Kreme was snob appeal? Now that (happily) science has found that some fats are good fats, it's all about avoiding the bad guys. But if sorting out omega-3s from saturated fats makes you want to drown your frustration in a quarter-pounder and fries (a whopping 56 grams of the ickiest stuff), here's a simple list that rates fats, from the top dog to the don't-even-think-about-it.

TOP FATS: THE OMEGA-3s

Among the best fats on the planet, omega-3s add years to your life by dramatically reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke. They may also stave off arthritis, depression, and some cancers, and might even tame menstrual cramps and postworkout soreness. Looking for clear, soft skin and great hair? Omega-3s do that, too.

Eat these frequently:
Fatty fish, such as wild salmon, sardines, herring, and tuna
Flaxseeds and flaxseed oil
Walnuts

GOOD FATS: THE MONOS

All monounsaturated fats are kind to your heart because they raise good HDL cholesterol and lower bad LDL cholesterol (the kind that clogs arteries). But virgin olive oil, the MVP of monounsaturates, does more. For starters, it contains micronutrients that are needed for hormone and enzyme production. But olive oil also boasts compounds that may fight breast and colon cancer as well as boost the cancer-fighting power of other foods.

Delicious sources are:
Olives
Virgin olive oil (be sure it's virgin; processing destroys nutrients)
Canola oil
Peanut and other nut oils
Nuts
Avocados

PRETTY GOOD FATS: THE POLYS

Most polyunsaturated fats are heart-friendly, but, with the exception of omega-3s, they don't have the star power of other healthy fats. Also, poly fats contain omega-6s, which are healthy unless you get too many of them -- and most Americans get up to 25 times more omega-6s than they need. Omega-6s should be eaten more sparingly because they can overwhelm the superstar omega-3s. Overall, try to get most of your polyunsaturated fats from omega-3 sources.

Find them in:
Corn, soybean, safflower, canola, sunflower, and cottonseed oils
Fatty fish (canned light tuna counts)

LOUSY FATS: THE SATS

Saturated fats are mainly trouble because they raise blood cholesterol to artery-clogging levels. In one study, eating a single slice of carrot cake and drinking a milkshake that were high in sat fat hindered the body's heart-protective functions. Loading up on saturated fats may also harm brain molecules that help form memories, raising the risk of dementia.

Skimp or skip:
Meats, particularly with visible fat
Poultry skin, fat, and dark meat
Whole-milk dairy foods, including butter, full-fat cheeses, ice cream, sour cream
Most hard margarines (those in stick form)
Coconut and palm oils
Lard and shortening

DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT 'EM: TRANS FATS

These fats are so scary that they're being banned in some cities, and food manufacturers and restaurants are working fast to find substitutes. Trans fats are formed when liquid oils are zapped with hydrogen, turning them solid (like stick margarine). Processed foods that contain trans fats have nearly eternal shelf life -- ironically, that's why trans fats were invented: to keep food from going bad. But trans fats turned out to boost bad cholesterol, decrease good cholesterol, gum up arteries, and set off inflammation throughout the body, which can trigger a host of problems, from stroke to diabetes.

Bypass completely:
Though things are changing quickly, be suspicious of any fast or processed food that's not labeled trans-fat-free (packaged-food labels must now list trans fats), including:
All deep-fried foods -- chips, French fries, onion rings, donuts, etc.
Many fast foods
Candy
Commercial baked goods -- cookies, pies, cakes, rolls, muffins, etc.

Bottom line: Stay away from trans fats the way you'd avoid highways on the day before Thanksgiving. Clog city.

Use the RealAge Recipe Box to plan a yummy low-fat, heart-friendly meal.

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A delicious meal should put a smile on your face -- not turn it bright red. Or itchy. Or bumpy. But for some people, certain foods can trigger hives (an eruption of small welts), swollen lips, itchiness, flushing, eczema (rough, itchy patches), or a hot-to-the-touch rash -- even if you've never reacted to a food before.

If the outbreak covers your entire body or is accompanied by chest tightness, wheezing, or shortness of breath, you're having a full-blown allergic reaction. Get to an emergency room -- pronto -- for a shot of epinephrine.

Otherwise, apply hydrocortisone cream to help soothe welts, rashes, and inflammation says RealAge medical expert and New York City dermatologist Amy Wechsler, MD. To quell itching, take an antihistamine pill like Benadryl. If you suspect hot spices are to blame, drink lots of water to help flush them from your system.

If you know what food triggered your reaction, you can steer clear of it in the future. But if you're not sure, write down everything you ate leading up to your outbreak -- use this list of common culprits as a memory jogger -- and talk with your doctor about allergy testing.

1. Cow's milk
2. Eggs
3. Peanuts
4. Tree nuts (cashews, walnuts, almonds, etc.)
5. Shellfish
6. Soy
7. Wheat
8. Red wine
9. Citrus (limes, oranges, etc.)
10. Tomatoes
11. Hot spices, such as chili seasonings

PS: Ironically, the one thing food can't do to your face is make it break out. "Studies have found no correlation between acne and food," says Dr. Wechsler. Even greasy fast food -- unless you're cooking it, not eating it. If you're prone to breakouts, the worst thing that could happen to your skin is working near a deep fryer, she explains: "All those cooking oils get onto your skin and into your pores." Clog city. Just eating fries and a chocolate shake, however, while it may not be good for the rest of you, won't do a thing to your face.

Get the breakdown on how to prevent breakouts.

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It happens to the best of us -- the overindulgent weekend. And if your coming-attractions calendar doesn't already include at least one bachelorette bash, a big wedding, and a few summer cookouts, it soon will. So what's a person to do when these parties pop up in the middle of swimsuit season?

Go. Have a blast. Forget the diet. Just implement a before-and-after contingency plan "to help you get back on track, so that your lapse doesn't become a collapse," says British diet and fitness guru Joanna Hall.

In her new book, The Weight Loss Bible, Hall serves up a buffet of ideas perfect for getting you through a 48-hour bridal extravaganza, Labor Day weekend, or no-guilt getaway with your girlfriends -- and leaving you able to still fit into your jeans on Tuesday.

Eat less, sweat more the day before and after. "If you know you're heading for a weekend of excess," says Hall, "squeeze in a workout and eat 300 fewer calories the day before the partying begins." Same goes for the day after. But don't punish yourself by skipping a meal -- it'll just make you cranky and hungry. Limit portions or forgo a snack (a blueberry muffin or small bag of potato chips each have about 300 calories).

Curb carbs at lunch and dinner. Hall is known throughout the UK for her Carb Curfew diet, which means “no starchy carbs -- bread, pasta, rice, potatoes or cereal -- after 5 pm." And for food-filled weekends, she suggests turning the carb cutoff back to noon. Why? "Chances are your fat intake will be higher on these days, pushing up your calorie intake, and with party food, it's often easier to avoid carbs than fatty foods."

Drink up! Lots of water, that is. A boozy weekend can leave you dehydrated and too hungover to stomach your usual workout. Hall’s advice: Drink plenty of water during and after endless cocktail hours or a wild weekend. As for postparty exercise, go for a walk instead of doing a full workout, "especially if you have a sore head!"

Eat a big bowl of veggie soup. "Foods with a high water content help stave off hunger and make you feel full. Studies show that dieters who follow this advice tend to stick to their plan without feeling unsatisfied or deprived." So before you leave home, slurp up a big bowl of vegetable soup.

Shake your booty. "Sometimes you just have to go out and burn a little more energy," says Hall. But here's the good news: Dancing is one of the all-time best calorie burners. So get out there and cut yourself a big ol’ slice of rug. You'll wind up boogying away a few hundred calories before the night is through.

Get a sweet payback. Keeping your weight and BMI (body mass index) at a healthy level can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.

Assess your BMI and waist-to-height ratio with this convenient calculator.

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Last night, the tacos smothered in onions were great. But this morning, your breath could fell a sumo wrestler.

What to do? When your breath has turned toxic because of smelly foods -- usually garlic, onions, or curry, but fish and cheese can do a number, too -- you need an air freshener for your mouth. And you need it often: every 30 to 60 minutes until the odorous offender has cleared out of your bloodstream, which can sometimes take up to 24 hours. Because brushing constantly is impossible, try countering breath-busting foods with what's likely to be handiest: other foods.

1. Lemons. Suck on a lemon wedge, or nibble on the rind -- easy to do in restaurants, where there's often a citrus garnish; if not, you can order sparkling water with lemon. For other times, lemon-flavored hard candies work just as well, and they’re totally portable.

2. Parsley and other green garnishes. When your favorite garlic-laden pasta dish or onion-topped burger arrives with a few sprigs of parsley on the side, consider it a hint, not just a colorful trim. Chewing on the sprigs releases parsley's pleasant, breath-freshening oils. Garnishes of fresh basil and rosemary work, too.

3. Apples and other crisp, fresh foods (firm pears, carrots, jicama). They're high in fiber, and all that chewing bumps up saliva production -- the combo acts like a scrubbing rinse for your mouth. Sweet.

4. Crunchy spices. For a more exotic solution, pick up some anise, cardamom, coriander, and fennel seeds, available in the spice aisle of most grocery stores. Mix equal parts in a small covered bowl, and keep it on the dining room table next to the salt and pepper. Chewing on a few seeds will release enough oil to sweeten after-dinner curry or coffee breath. And your mouth will taste amazing.

5. Mint sprigs or cinnamon sticks. Either of these deliciously potent flavors will squelch the sulfurous scent of onion and garlic. Plus, an essential oil in cinnamon kills a nasty type of oral bacteria, discouraging it from setting up house in your mouth. Cinnamon or mint gum is just as effective. If you pick a gum sweetened with xylitol, it will freshen breath and help reduce cavities -- smart, if you're a gum lover. Bonus: Regular oral care can make your RealAge as much as 6.4 years younger.

Learn more about how to care for your pearly whites.

6. Berries and yogurt. If you can't get through most days without indulging in foods that are less than breath-friendly, eat for prevention, which is even better than a cure. Consuming half a cup of plain, sugar-free yogurt twice a day can lower mouth levels of hydrogen sulfide (yes, that rotten egg smell). Berries (and melons, oranges, and other fruits high in vitamin C) also deter stinky mouth bacteria. Start and end each day with a cup of fruit topped with a big dollop of yogurt and you might never have to worry about bad breath again.

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Constantly wondering how to get your kids to eat healthier food? Wonder no more. With a little parental sleight of hand, finicky eaters will enthusiastically devour their legumes, nuts, and even veggies.

Is it worth it? You bet. By making simple changes now, you'll help your kids avoid obesity, heart disease, and diabetes later, says pediatrician Jennifer Trachtenberg, MD, author of Good Kids, Bad Habits: The RealAge Guide to Raising Healthy Children. We're all on board with that, right? And it's never too soon. The American Heart Association urges parents to focus on healthful eating habits in kids as young as 2 years old. Yes, 2.

Here are five sneaky ideas to boost the nutrition in everyday favorite foods. Just think: No more begging and bribery. And no more food pushed around the plate en route to the garbage can.

Smoothies: All kids, toddlers to teens, love smoothies, and lots of parents blend in soy powder, fresh or frozen fruit, or antioxidant-rich cocoa powder to up the nutrients.                          

Sneaky extra: Add a splash of omega-3-rich flaxseed oil, too. Kids will never taste it, and omega-3s help boost immunity and heart health, fight cancer, and promote brain growth.

Spaghetti sauce: What kid doesn't like spaghetti? If the sauce is based on tomatoes sautéed in olive oil, and the pasta is whole wheat, you've already got a healthy dish going.                                

Sneaky extra: Boost the sauce's nutrition by adding minced steamed carrots or stirring in pureed baby-food carrots. Your kids will never notice the extra veggies.

Tuna salad: Minimize the mayo, add finely chopped celery, and you're off to a good start.
Sneaky extra: Do what gourmet markets do to stretch their tuna salad profits: Mash and smash white beans, stir in as if they were mayo, and you've instantly upped the protein and fiber in your child's sandwich.

Chicken nuggets: Breaded chicken pieces are a fave with kids across America, but the fast-food versions are a nutritional wasteland. That's easy to fix at home. Just use whole-wheat bread crumbs and bake -- don't fry -- the chicken. Make big batches and freeze in pint-size portions.
Sneaky extra: To slip in more healthy omega-3s, simply mix ground walnuts -- a source of these good fats -- into the bread crumbs.

Pancakes: What kid doesn't do backflips for pancakes? Mix in blueberries to add vitamins and healthy plant nutrients.
Sneaky extra: Stir some yummy, nutty-tasting flaxseed meal (available at any health-food store) into the batter to ramp up the fiber, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Learn how to keep your kids healthy from breakfast time to bedtime with more tips from the RealAge Parenting Center.

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The only thing sweeter than sorbet at the end of a meal is the virtuous feeling that accompanies eating it. While others may be forking down Trans Fats a la Mode, you're enjoying a light, refreshing dessert whose essence is antioxident-rich fruit.

"Sorbets generally don't contain fat," notes John Dudek, pastry chef at Duane Park Cafe in New York City, who provided the pomegranate and spearmint-lemon sorbet recipes below. Sure, they have sugar, but less than many other desserts, since sorbet recipes are keyed to the tart, natural taste of fruit. On a hot summer night, serving any of these in a frosty martini glass is too cool.

NOTE: An ice cream machine makes whirring up your own sorbets, well, a piece of cake. But if you don’t have one, use the old-fashioned method -- it works just fine.

Pomegranate Sorbet
If fruits were colleges, the pomegranate would be Harvard. Among its Ivy League nutritional qualities are loads of protective polyphenols and potassium. Pomegranate juice also appears to decrease the thickness of plaque in the arteries.

Serves 6 to 8

2 cups unsweetened pomegranate juice
4 cups sugar
1/3 cup lime juice (about 3 limes)
Zest of 1 lime

1. Whisk together pomegranate juice and sugar in a stainless steel bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved.
2. Stir in lime juice and zest.
3. Chill mixture until cold and then process in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's directions.

Spearmint-Lemon Sorbet
Spearmint is a surprisingly good source of vitamin A, fiber, B vitamins, and iron; lemons are a vitamin C powerhouse. This sorbet is a great choice year-round, because both ingredients are almost always available.

Serves 6 to 8

2 cups sugar
2 cups lemon juice (about 12 lemons)
Zest of 1 lemon
1 medium-large bunch of mint

1. Combine the sugar in a saucepan with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until all sugar is dissolved (this is known as simple syrup). Chill for 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, pick off the mint leaves and place them in a food processor.
3. Combine 2 cups of cold simple syrup, the lemon juice, and 1 cup of cold water. Pour mixture over the mint leaves and puree until smooth.
4. Stir in the lemon zest.
5. Chill for 1 hour and then process in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's directions.

Honeydew-Mint Sorbet
The sweetness here comes from the apple juice concentrate used in this recipe from chef Beverly Lynn Bennett, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Living.

Serves 8

6 cups honeydew melon, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
3/4 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed (plus extra to taste)
1/3 cup freshly chopped mint (plus extra to taste)
1/4 cup lime juice

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth (do in batches if necessary). Taste and add more apple juice concentrate or mint to balance the ripeness of the melon.
2. Chill for 1 hour and then process in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's directions.

Berry Frozen Yogurt
Sometimes your mouth just hankers after something creamy. Enter low-fat yogurt. In this EatingWell recipe, it gives you almost the same rich effect as heavy cream, but without the saturated fat. Throw in the toxin-fighting, heart-protecting flavanoids in all those berries and you're enjoying health by the mouthful.

Serves 6

3 cups fresh or frozen and partially thawed blackberries, raspberries, or a mixture of blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries
6 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt

1. Combine berries, sugar, and juice in a food processor; process until smooth. Add yogurt and pulse until mixed in. If using fresh berries, transfer the mixture to a medium bowl, cover, and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
2. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Serve immediately, or freeze in covered container.

Strawberry-Citrus Sorbet
This RealAge fave combines different colored fruits (like strawberries and oranges), a key way to ensure a diversity of cancer-fighting phytonutrients. Plus, just 1 serving provides nearly a third of your daily vitamin C.

Serves 4

2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel

1. Combine the sugar in a saucepan with 1 cup of water and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until all sugar is dissolved and a simple syrup forms. Chill for 1 hour.
2. In a blender, puree the strawberries, orange juice, and orange peel until smooth. Gradually add the chilled syrup and blend well.
3. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
4. Serve immediately or cover and freeze for up to 3 days.

No Ice Cream Maker?
Here's the low-tech way to churn out great sorbet: Place the fruit mixture in a stainless steel or glass dish and put it in the freezer. When the mixture begins to harden -- about 30 minutes -- take it out and stir it till it's silky. Repeat several times, and voilá! Delicious handmade sorbet.

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If you don't know a pentapeptide from an antioxidant and, frankly, you don't care -- you just want your gator-dry legs to be soft and silky-smooth -- look no farther than your kitchen. The answer lies in that bottle of safflower oil sitting on the shelf. This polyunsaturated oil, beloved by cardiologists for being good for your heart, is just as good for your skin, but from the outside in.

The oil, which is pressed from the seeds of spiky yellow safflowers, is a super moisturizer. "That's because it's very high in linoleic acid, a fatty acid that skin normally makes to keep its moisture level up and barrier function intact," says New York City dermatologist Amy Wechsler, MD, RealAge's skin expert. Because the body's linoleic acid production gets sluggish with age, it helps to replace it from the outside.

"In theory, you could use olive oil, too, which is also high in linoleic acid. But you'd smell like a salad!" Wechsler says. Along with being odorless, safflower oil has the advantages of being colorless and cheap. And that's not all. Safe enough for sensitive skin, it's so gentle that it's massaged into the skin of newborn babies at some hospitals.

Although this natural oil is one of Wechsler's favorite treatments for dry lower legs (where flakiness can be especially persistent), you can use it body-wide -- though not when you're in a mad rush, as it takes time to soak in. "Smooth it on immediately after a bath or shower to seal in the moisture your skin has just absorbed. You can even apply it on your face, as long you don't get it into your eyes; stop a bit below the lower lid."

If you're not sure about moisturizing with pure cooking oil, you can find safflower oil in moisturizers, lip balms, and scrubs. "Look for a product that lists it among the first three ingredients, which means it contains a high concentration of the oil," says Dr. Wechsler.

Otherwise, just pour some safflower oil into a pretty little squeeze bottle and add it to your toiletries. No one will ever guess you cook with it, too. And your legs will look amazing!

Be good to your skin, from top to toe, with your own personalized skin care routine.

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